Thesis (M.S.)--University of Akron, School of Communication, 2006. / "May, 2006." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 11/28/2007) Advisor, Carolyn Anderson; Faculty readers, Andrew Rancer, Heather Walter; School Director, Dudley Turner; Dean of the College, James Lynn; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on June 9, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-62).

<p> The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the application of open innovation theory concepts and practices employed in private industry to the federal public sector, specifically the Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Acquisition Management System (DAMS). This study considered using open innovation to improve the DoD&rsquo;s ability to move innovative products and services through the DAMS faster, at a lower cost, while continuing to meet performance requirements for the DoD&rsquo;s end-users. The theoretical lens was focused around the core concept of open innovation: collaboration with external parties, principally customers, and the acquisition, integration, and application of knowledge from external parties to improve innovation performance. The study also considered improved performance from the perspective of what the DoD, as the primary customer in the ecosystem, could do to raise the capacity of its supporting industrial base. Furthermore, the study considered the importance, use, and alignment of several secondary enablers that are needed to improve the probability of successfully implementing open innovation, including leadership and governance, culture, intellectual property and legal issues, funding, and technology. The study examined four propositions identified in the literature review and used realist synthesis in combination with the context, intervention, mechanism, and outcomes model to determine their validity. In the synthesis, the study identified four major findings that served to validate each of the propositions, essentially supporting the overall proposition that, as the primary customer in the ecosystem, the DoD&rsquo;s effective use of collaboration with industry throughout the process and its provision of the right type of information earlier in the process resulted in better innovation performance for everyone in the ecosystem.</p><p>

<p> This research study examined the general business problem that ineffective communications caused project management outcomes that lead to increased business costs. The specific business problem was complexity experienced by virtual teams, due to the lack of physicality, contributed to environmental barriers and ineffective communications. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to capture the lived experiences of project leaders who managed the complexity associated with virtual communication environmental barriers. The research question was: What are the lived experiences and informed perceptions of project leaders who managed the complexity associated with virtual communication environmental barriers? The conceptual framework guiding this inquiry was comprised of complexity theory&rsquo;s complex adaptive systems framework to include project leadership, team dynamics, virtual communication environments, communication method selection, and the management organization as the integrating components that influenced complexity. Data was gathered through telephone interviews conducted with 14 certified project management professionals sourced from LinkedIn, all of whom experienced project complexity and communication challenges within the virtual environment. The resulting data transcripts were analyzed using NVivo 11. The research question was answered through the findings that revealed a central theme and sub-themes of managing complexity due to virtual environments and communication barriers. The research findings indicated sub-themes of five virtual environments experienced by the research participants, created by the type of communication tools&rsquo; attributes that were experienced. The virtual environments were established from the types of communication links by using specific tools, and not defined as the physical environments based on locations of the senders and receivers. Secondly, the research findings indicated sub-themes of internal environmental barriers that were created inside of the project teams by people, language, culture, training, and leadership. Thirdly, the research findings indicated sub-themes of external environmental barriers that were created outside of the project teams by executive leadership, organizational structure, and customer relationship. Fourth, the research findings indicated sub-themes of task and project outcomes included project failure, project success, and project recovery. The results of this study contributed to the business practice through the findings that indicated how the participants managed communication environments through implementing processes, leadership escalations, communication tool selection, reduced feedback delays of communication, and built relationships among the team members that were central to managing the complexity in virtual teams. In addition, this study contributed to research by providing a holistic description of the virtual environments, identification of communication environmental barriers, and consolidated understandings from other studies. </p><p>

<p> <b>Purpose:</b> The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to identify and describe the behaviors that exemplary city managers practice to lead their organizations through conversation using Groysberg and Slind&rsquo;s (2012b) 4 elements of conversation leadership (intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality). </p><p> <b>Methodology:</b> This qualitative research study was used to describe the behaviors of exemplary Southern California city managers. The counties included in the study were San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino. The researcher selected 10 exemplary city managers that met 4 of the 6 criterion identified as exemplary. The phenomenological research design was selected to explain how these city managers lead through conversation. Data collection included semistructured interviews, observation, and collection of pertinent artifacts. The researcher used the NVivo software to provide analysis of the data and show the emerging themes. The themes were then examined to identify behaviors that the exemplary city managers practice to lead through conversation. </p><p> <b>Findings:</b> Examination of qualitative data from the 10 city managers, collected through in-depth interviews, observational data, and review of artifacts produced 20 themes and 299 frequencies within the conversational leadership elements. Ten key findings supported the conversational leadership elements of intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality. </p><p> <b>Conclusions:</b> The study supported Groysberg and Slind&rsquo;s (2012b) 4 elements of conversational leadership and identified specific behaviors that exemplary city mangers practice to lead their organizations. The culmination of research identified four conclusions. City managers must (a) engage in conversations that promote trust and listening attentively to engage stakeholders in honest communication, (b) focus development strategies to cultivate a culture of open dialogue and a two-way exchange of information, (c) use strategies to gain active contributors to ensure a member&rsquo;s commitment to organizational goals, (d) use conversation to create clarity of message, provide focus, and elicit feedback on goals and directions. Recommendations: Further research is needed on city managers practicing conversational leadership in different regions of the United States. Additionally, research is needed on for-profit, publicly traded companies and professional sports organizations and the use of conversational leadership.</p><p>

<p> The media coverage of female athletes has been an uphill battle ever since the passing of Title IX in 1972 over 40 years ago. However, with the ever-increasing popularity of social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, this new age model of communication remains the low hanging fruit for shaping the ways in which female athletes are represented to a mass audience. Analyzing the content of the aforementioned platforms from the 2016 WNBA Playoffs and Finals seeks to answer four questions regarding the themes espnW and ESPN are communicating, how their messaging differs, the ways in which female athlete stereotypes are fed into or challenged, and the responses from espnW&rsquo;s and ESPN&rsquo;s social media following. Together, the findings relevant to each question imply a step in the right direction for how female athletes are covered today&mdash;for their athletic accomplishments and not for their sex appeal&mdash;but the overall volume of this coverage remains low. The battle continues for female athletes far and wide to find their footing and prove their relevancy in a male-dominated industry.</p><p>

<p> The primary purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effect of emotions derived from the unique nature of spectator sport (e.g., intensive emotional responses, uncertainty of outcomes) on sport fans&rsquo; information processing and attitude formation regarding TV commercials presented in a sport broadcasting context. The current research advanced previous findings (e.g., Bee &amp; Madrigal, 2012; Wang &amp; Lang, 2012) related to the program-induced mood effect by making adjustments to the methodological approaches (e.g., real-time psychophysiological measures, mixed experimental designs) and by employing different theoretical approach (i.e., the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing). The affective priming paradigm (Bower, 1981, 1991) was re-conceptualized from the theoretical perspective of the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (Lang, 2006a, 2006b). </p><p> In order to test the study&rsquo;s hypotheses, a mixed method experimental design (i.e., game outcome [2] &times; uncertainty about outcome [2] &times; emotional tone of commercial [2] &times; video replication [2]) was employed. As hypothesized in this study, both the attitudinal formation and the information processing of emotional commercials by sports fans were significantly impacted by motivational systems which are activated by the outcomes (e.g., winning the game, losing the contest) and the closeness (e.g., tight game, lopsided score) of sporting events. The results of repeated measures of ANOVA indicate that the mood-inconsistent combination allocated more cognitive resource allocation to encoding. Moreover, the effects of commercials on attitudinal formations were significantly moderated by the game outcomes. </p><p> The current study provides several theoretical and managerial contributions in sport management and general motivated cognitive research. This study enriches our understanding of how sport fans process information and form attitudes relating to commercials. Furthermore, the results of this study related to the possible ways in which sport advertising influences consumers&rsquo; cognitive processing, attitudes, and so forth are of benefit to practitioners (e.g., sport team sponsors, sporting event advertisers) as well as scholars (e.g., sport marketing researchers). For example, by relying on the study&rsquo;s findings, marketing professionals in the field are able to create effective advertising strategies in order to maximize their goals (e.g., drawing attention to the commercial, increasing the memory of the viewer regarding the advertised product and brand, persuading the viewer to buy a product).</p>

<p> The fast-growing trend of using virtual teams comes with challenges including the lack of knowledge by some virtual team leaders for managing virtual teams. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the communication strategies that leaders use to manage virtual teams in real time to enhance team performance. The sample was composed of 4 successful virtual team leaders of a multinational accounting firm whose headquarters is in the northeastern region of the United States of America. The conceptual framework that guided this study was Tuckman&rsquo;s small group developmental model. Data consisted of semistructured interviews and the review of archival company documents. The interview protocol, interview transcription, member checking, and methodological triangulation allowed for data reliability and validity. Five themes emerged regarding completion of the 4 stages (comprehension, synthesizing, theorizing, and recontextualizing) of data analysis: time synchronization, face-to-face interaction, continuous training, communication tools and frequency, and leadership training and development. The findings of this study could contribute to social change enhancing communication strategies used in virtual teams, which could result in higher employee satisfaction, which in turn could benefit the organizations and virtual employees, their families, and communities.</p><p>