In an effort to determine differences between family dinners across generations, this study examined typical family dinners of participants and how they have changed across the four generations addressed. Previous qualitative research has been conducted to determine communication frames that occur during family dinners and the effect of parenting styles on family dinners, but little research connecting generational differences to family dinners has been published. Data were collected from a homogeneous sample of twenty-four women living in three counties across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. By asking open ended questions during interviews, similarities and differences between family dinners across generations were identified, and target approaches to increase the frequency of future family dinners were discussed.

The Crisis and Emergency-Risk Communication (CERC) model is effective in providing communication recommendations for public health agencies and shows potential for use by other agencies with similar crises characterizations. The current study explores the challenges of earthquake scientists in communicating earthquake risk during the pre-crisis stage in order to grasp experts’ experience and gain insight into the complex and multifaceted world of communicating earthquake risk. The researcher integrates the in-depth knowledge with the recommendations of the pre-crisis stage of the CERC model. This study employs qualitative interviewing with earthquake scientists (N = 21) from the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC). Categorized under general challenges, communication challenges, and communicating probability challenges, findings from this study indicate that earthquake scientists face eight unique challenges, such as communicating uncertainty, emphasizing their responsibility as solely hazard communicators, and keeping public attention during earthquake quiet periods. Implications for earthquake scientists during the pre-crisis stage of CERC are discussed and recommendations are provided.

People’s perceptions of mining are heavily based on the media they consume and the messages therein. News outlets ordinarily report on mining only when there is an accident or environmental concern. When messages that the public is exposed to are negative, it is no wonder that there are negative perceptions about mining. Current public relations campaigns on the behalf of specific companies or select sectors do exist; however, this is often a reactionary move in response to recent shifts in the socio-political environment. The details of these campaigns are often tied up in proprietary information or withheld by public relations firms. Hiring public relations firms is often cost prohibitive for many single mining companies. Mining serves a vital purpose in providing society with the base resources to sustain the standard of living it has come to expect. This important purpose needs to be fully communicated to the public in order to educate them. Attitudes about mining need to be identified so misinformation can be accurately targeted. Before this can begin, these attitudes must be measured and knowledge gaps identified. This work focused on two main objectives on the mining industry’s behalf. The first focus was to determine attitudes towards mining and knowledge about mining. This was done through a survey administered to three counties in Kentucky. From this survey, guidance for communication efforts were produced, through the suggestion of specific topics for messages, which directly addresses identified attitudes of the public and misconceptions about mining. Relationships between knowledge and attitudes were explored, as well as relationships between demographic information and knowledge, and attitudes. Subsequently, an empirical model for predicting individuals' knowledge of mining was produced. The second focus was to apply theoretical foundations to educational and community engagement efforts. Different theories are required for different groups of people depending on the level that mining plays a role in those peoples' lives. In all, how the mining industry communicates with the public needs to be improved, and the work proposed here will steer these improvements.

The legend is a permanent fixture of human societies. Though the legends themselves are permanent, their functions and meanings can fluctuate as the context in which they are told and retold shifts. As societies move through history, certain authoritative institutions create narratives that direct those societies and frame debates within them. Issues neglected by these institutions yet experienced by members of the population can be said to be unconstructed. Social problems that have achieved some level of construction inevitably provoke those who dissent from those constructions. In these situations, members of a society look for alternative means for talking about these problems. Often they turn to the contemporary legend for this purpose. This study reviews a sample of the most popular legends in the early part of 2012 to determine the ways members of American society were dealing with the unconstructed social problems of that time.

Video game streaming has introduced to consumers a new method of creating branded content. Popular streaming platforms receive millions of broadcasters and viewers every month, and the current examines the influence of this type user-generated content on consumer attitudes and behaviors. The goal of this study is to understand how video game streams function as a marketing tool. To investigate this, a quantitative survey was designed and measured participants’ video gaming habits and their perceptions of credibility, usefulness of content, group identification, and purchase intention. Heavier gaming habits were found to be positively related to perceived credibility in a user-generated stream condition. Group identification and stream familiarity were found to be positively related to perceived credibility. These findings hold implications for using video game streams as a marketing tool, as heavier gamers were found perceive user-generated streams as a credible source of information.

This research examines the effects of maternal incarceration in the United States with a specific focus on the short- and long-term risks to which children are exposed when they live with their mothers pre-incarceration. It synthesizes the pre-existing body of research concerning the effects of maternal incarceration and places it in dialogue with the author’s unfolding personal narrative—a story of resilience. Employing an autoethnographic approach and analyses of the letters her mother wrote to her while in a state penitentiary, the author examines her own life relative to the relational communication patterns between her and her mother before, during, and after her mother’s incarceration.

Reaching users on mobile devices has never been more critical for retailers given the ubiquitous use of mobile devices. U.S. consumers who shop online are using personal computers less and mobile devices more when doing so. The purpose of this single case study was to explore mobile device marketing strategies used by retail marketing leaders to reach mobile users effectively. Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Participants included a purposeful sample of 8 marketing managers employed by a Fortune 1000 retail organization in the Pacific Northwest. Data collected via in-person, semistructured interviews and a review of the marketing plan documents were thematically analyzed and methodically triangulated. There were 11 themes that emerged from the interviews and marketing plan document review. The results indicated that mobile marketing managers could focus their efforts on 3 of the 11 themes to reach mobile users. The 3 primary themes included getting close to their customers to learn about customers' preferences, gathering and using big data in an intelligent way, and tailoring experiences by sending messages and offers at times when users are most likely to transact. Results from this study may foster positive social change by increasing profits within the organization as a result of more effective mobile device marketing strategies. The profits retailers generate through effective mobile device marketing strategies could allow them to provide additional community support through charitable donations and provide additional support through the creation of new positions within the community.

U.S. advertisers spent over $2 billion on sporting events in 2014 directing advertisements towards consumers through digital devices used such as televisions, computers, smartphones, and tablets. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify motivation factors that predict the intention to view sports content on digital devices. Knowing such factors is important for advertisers to prioritize distribution channels. Uses and gratification theory formed the theoretical framework for the study. The methodology adapted a survey that encapsulated 9 motives. The research questions examined what motives influenced sports viewership, what motives predicted the intention to view specific sports content, and the differences in viewing intention across sports content types. Data were collected through a survey administered to a qualified random sample of U.S. respondents with 525 responses received. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis to group the questions into motivation factors, multiple linear regression to determine the significance of these factors in predicting viewership intent, and nonparametric Friedman testing to determine what demographics influenced viewership. Findings included: (a) 8 factors explained 76% of the variance; (b) 8 motives were significant in predicting viewership intention, with Escape (β = .714) ranking the highest; and (c) younger viewers had a greater intent to consume content on digital devices other than television, with smartphones (M = .73) ranking the highest. Social change benefits include: (a) sports content providers and advertisers could target the right content and advertisement to maximize viewership retention and revenue, and (b) users could view their desired sports content on their chosen device.

Technology and communication skills simultaneously increase organizational productivity and decision-making. However, excessive use of technology to make decisions can diminish the added benefits that nonverbal communication can bring. The interpersonal sensitivity effects on perception of service quality model, face-to-face communication versus teleconferencing, the technology acceptance model, and decision-making were the conceptual framework of the study. The research questions examined how excessive use of technology to make decisions can diminish the added benefits that nonverbal communication can bring to organizational leadership decision-making. Employing an exploratory multiple case study design, organizational leaders from the Southern California region, ranging in seniority from team-leader through executive, completed 25 member-checked interviews and 15 qualitative questionnaires. Using Yin's 5-step approach to analyzing the data, 8 themes remerged. From these themes, I developed 5 findings regarding technology, non-verbal communication, and decision-making. My study affects positive social change by educating organizational leaders on the importance of distancing themselves from work during nonwork hours, encouraging organizational leaders to develop guidelines around the use of teleconference software, promoting organizational learning with an emphasis on soft-skill training, and acknowledging when there is a misunderstanding in nonverbal communication. Organizational leaders can improve decision-making by using the favorable traits associated with both electronic and nonverbal behavioral communications.

Information is one the essential elements of science. It is an imperative condition that researchers review antecedent works as they advance and create new knowledge. Knowledge creation in science is a process of adding and refining new pieces of data, information, and knowledge to what has already been accomplished by others. Few scientific communities have unlimited access to scientific information sources. Most communities’ access to information is limited by economic, social, cultural, and technological conditions. This study investigates information seeking behavior and information dissemination practices of the Venezuelan scientific community. A model of scholarly communication in a context of dependency emerges from the following major themes: persisting interpersonal communication with the international scientific community; publication in international journals; prestige and name recognition; and contacting the authors to access full-text journal articles. A qualitative approach is used to illuminate the information seeking behavior of scientists in Venezuela, to discover the barriers experienced by the Venezuelan scientific community when accessing scientific information, and to explore their scientific information dissemination practices. Interviews were conducted in July 2009 with thirteen Venezuelan scientists from the fields of biology, chemistry, or physics. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in Spanish. Coding, categories, data analysis, and theory building followed a general inductive approach.