<p> The Internet, as a digital record of human discourse, provides an opportunity to directly analyze political communicative behavior. The rapid emergence of social online networks augurs a transformation in the quality and quantity of information people have to evaluate their political system. Digital formats instantiate new categories of actors and new capacities to intervene in political discourse. Existing theories of political communication fail to account for the time lag, speed, anonymity and nature of replication inherent in digital formats. To fully investigate the digital record, scholars need a new framework that apprehends the complex density of a multidirectional political discourse that defies traditional time controls. </p><p> Using information and linguistic theory we develop and apply a functional, information flow model that illuminates the conceptual relationships and capacities of people to shape their information environment. Actors are defined in terms of their communicative role in idea exchange and the logic of communication is alloyed with political considerations to examine the scopes of action and immersion scenarios that affect communicants. </p><p> Our modular and scalable theory offers a way to measure signal fidelity, node activation, and message branching. We define signaling and amplification schemes and effects and explore the benefits and disadvantages of amplification devices for speakers and recipients. We show how individual actors are linked by the micro information streams they receive and transmit. We are therefore able to model exposure conditions of a multiple input, noisy spectrum for citizens and provide a counterpoint to the simple, controlled environment of agenda-setting experiments.</p><p> Finally, due to its foundation in information theory, our framework provides a natural platform by which to organize and develop a research program that uses computational linguistics and data mining techniques.</p>

<p> <b>Purpose:</b> To achieve agreement amongst a group of aphasia experts regarding the most important patient characteristics and treatment components that mediate improvements in connected speech in persons with chronic post-stroke aphasia. </p><p> <b>Method:</b> A three-round Delphi study obtained the views of experts regarding patient characteristics and treatment components (e.g., focus, materials, task, duration/intensity, other) that positively, neutrally, or negatively influence connected speech. A structured eight-stage process included two data acquisition methods. First, a systematic literature review extracted patient characteristics and treatment components in studies for which connected speech was an outcome variable of interest. Next, over three-rounds, experts identified and rated patient characteristics and treatment components according to their relative influence on connected speech. Means, standard deviations, percentiles, and Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to investigate the importance of items, agreement amongst experts, and stability of responses across rounds. </p><p> <b>Results:</b> Fifty-two experts identified in the literature review were contacted to participate in the study, seven of whom completed all three Delphi rounds. Categorization of the narrative responses to first round questions resulted in 175 specific, five-point Likert-scale questions After expert ratings of Round two and three questions, 53 final items achieved greatest certainty to positively or negatively influence connected speech. Of these 53, 38 achieved high expert consensus, 11 moderate consensus, and 4 low consensus. Twenty-three of the ratings had strong stability across rounds, 38% had moderate, and 26% had weak. </p><p> <b>Discussion:</b> Comparison of the literature and expert responses in the Delphi study revealed contrasting thoughts on variables that influence connected speech. Studies identified in the literature review emphasized treatment of microlinguistic elements of language. In contrast, experts' responding to the Delphi questionnaire indicated that treatment should be directed toward macrolinguistic elements of language. Through this Delphi study, a panel of international aphasia rehabilitation experts identified and agreed upon key elements of aphasia therapy aimed at improving connected speech. When the tasks, materials, and types of feedback are considered, and treatment is constructed, these key elements can be integrated and manipulated and thus be used as mechanisms of, not just variables in, change.</p>

The past generation's revolution in medical ethics has had a tremendous impact on the definition of the therapeutic relationship. Where the traditional virtuous physician motivated by philanthropy once practiced "therapeutic deception", today health care practitioners in a variety of disciplines are held to a professional standard which demands that the therapeutic relationship be based in good communication between patient and caregiver. Medical ethics now looks to the images of contractual negotiation and covenantal compassionate presence to overcome the clash of values which may occur when patient and caregiver meet as strangers. In the U.S., a significant number of hospital patients are not only strangers to their caregivers and American medicine, they are strangers to the very language in which differences could be explained and strong therapeutic relationships established. Non-English speaking patients pose a complex problem for the ethical dedication to informed consent, as they are unable to take an active part in treatment without translation. In a study of 226 Hispanic hospital patients, non-English speaking patients were shown to have limited understanding of their conditions and treatment, and almost no meaningful interaction with their caregivers. Ironically, where patient satisfaction with medical care has been shown repeatedly to be based in factors of communication, non-English speaking patients placed almost no importance on their communication with the staff. Overall they had little interest in the active role that contemporary ethics assigns to patients. Non-English speaking patients' limited role in their own care also poses legal questions about the validity of their consent to treatment. Few non-English speaking patients are provided with translation, even for official consent documents. There is some indication, moreover, that an inability to speak English contributes to longer hospital stays. Providing the professional medical translation which would afford non-English speaking patients the ethical hospital care that they deserve might not only ensure against litigation, it may also save money for hospitals, insurers, and public health funds.

The applicability of the theory of ironic processes of mental control (Wegner, 1994, 1997) to stereotype suppression was investigated in the context of information processing during structured employment interviews. Participants given either instructions to suppress Black stereotypes, instructions to consider applicant race, or control instructions listened to audiotaped interview scripts of Black and White target applicants. Effects on information processing were assessed via a post-interview recognition task. Applicant ratings and selection recommendations were also obtained. Participants in general exhibited a greater processing preference for stereotypical information when the target applicant was Black than when the target was White. No evidence of either immediate enhancement or post-suppression rebound effects was found. Individual differences in prejudice were also explored for potential moderating effects, but only limited effects on overt outcomes were found. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

This research analyzes the use of evaluative features in English language oral narrative re-tellings among a multi-lingual population of ninety-eight 2nd and 4th grade students. The results of the analyses strengthen our understanding of the use of evaluation by child narrators, suggesting that younger narrators reconstruct stories through re-creating the characters, while older children focus more on (precisely) reconstructing the text itself. Parallels with particular approaches to cognitive/psychological development are outlined, as are preliminary ramifications for educational methodology. In the initial rounds of both qualitative and quantitative analyses, it was revealed that the employment of seven evaluative forms cited in earlier research (e.g., Peterson and McCabe 1983, Bamberg 1991, Reilly 1992) as among the most commonly used by the present age group (i.e., causals, compulsion words, emphatic pronunciation, gratuitous terms, hedges, lengthening, and negatives) was unable to account for differences in perceived narrative skill within the sample. The manipulation of these seven features was extremely homogenous across skill, age, and language groups. As a result, a second round of analyses was undertaken. Both qualitative and quantitative findings concurred that the use of two particular evaluative features (i.e., references to mental activity, and character speech ), in addition to the utilization of certain textual devices (i.e., the presentation of mental activity within causal constructions, deference to a third person "other" as the source of the narrative information, careful monitoring and marking of errors), were capable of distinguishing both skill and age groupings within the sample. The manner in which the data from this research reflects the Vygotskian perspective on cognitive/psychological development is discussed. The educational implications of these findings---from assessment paradigms, to the planning of curriculum and instruction---are addressed. One of the major discoveries was that, counter to expectations, the multilingual subjects in this sample did not demonstrate divergent narrative forms based on their differing linguistic/cultural schemas. In fact, the perceived skill scores among the Limited English Proficient subjects appeased to be related to issues of fluency rather than differences in narrative form. These findings indicate that given a rich context in which information is repeatedly co-constructed, most language minority students are highly capable of both interpreting and reproducing information in a culturally/contextually prescribed manner.

<p> This research study used a quantitative comparative method to investigate the relationship between consumer satisfaction and communication based on the format of health record. The central problem investigated in this research study related to the format of health record used and consumer satisfaction with care provided and effect on communication with provider. The purpose of this current research was to ascertain if statistically significant differences existed between the format of health records (electronic versus paper) and the level of consumer satisfaction with care provided and communication with provider. The results of this research study found no support for the ideas that consumer satisfaction and consumer communication with their doctor were related to the format of the health record. Based on the results, further investigation is suggested to specify how the implementation of electronic health records may affect consumer satisfaction with health care provided and how this may affect communication with health care provider. </p>

<p> How do social media contribute to groups engaged in contentious politics within a domestic environment? While many have examined the influence of social media on the Arab revolutions of 2010-2011 from an international perspective, there are fewer studies examining the impact of social media within a national environment after these events. Through interviews with a group of 40 Tunisians, many of them active in contentious politics from 2010-2013, this research identifies what sources initially informed the group members of a movement as well as the sources that ultimately pushed them to become active. While information gleaned via social media certainly played a role in the decisions of many interviewees to join the movements examined in this research - unsurprising, given the high rates of internet use within the group - social media were often cited as less trustworthy than other sources and were more likely to inform the respondents of a movement's existence than to push them to act. While these findings are not unexpected, they do require that future efforts examining the role of social media in contentious politics within a country's borders differentiate how different types of sources are viewed by potential supporters and how they might contribute to mobilization in different ways. </p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to explore in-depth the research question, "How do texting and Textese influence students' learning of writing in Standard English in composition classes?" Yin's Five-Phase Cycle guided the research and aided in the determination of a qualitative case study research. The literature review identified that no single theory covered the phenomenon, so research was guided by five key theories: Technology Acceptance Model, Transactional Distance Theory, Media Richness Theory, Uses and Gratification Approach, and Threaded Cognition Theory. Participants included college English faculty from Illinois, 25 students enrolled in Composition I classes, and three consecutive semesters of former composition students' e-mails. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were held with faculty and member checked. A pilot study was conducted prior to inclusion of the 25 student volunteers completing the student questionnaires, and three consecutive semesters' e-mails from former students were analyzed for frequency data. All qualitative data were coded using MAXQDA+ software and analyzed. Results from data analysis revealed an evolving perception and usage of texting and mobile communication devices among faculty and students, a disconnect between faculty and students concerning use of texting and Textese, and frequency data revealing the influence did not permeate writing as much as previous studies implied. Results indicated most faculty and students had mixed attitudes, leading to implications that faculty needed to incorporate lessons involving texting, code switching, and detail richness into the course pedagogy. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: Texting, Textese, composition, social media, short message systems, formal/informal writing, Technology Acceptance Model, Media Richness Theory</p>

<p> Previous scholars have found that organizational members use various tactics to encourage their peer coworkers to voluntarily exit their organizations. These tactics are known as peer-influence exit tactics. What has been missing from the literature is clarity about the factors that influence organizational members' use of peer-influence exit tactics. This dissertation explored the construct of peer-influenced exit to develop greater clarity about the motives for encouraging peer coworkers to leave, the characteristics of the peer-influence exit tactic source and receiver, and the organizational influences on peer-influenced exit. Study 1 used an open-ended survey design to explore the motives, process, and means through which peer-influenced exit occurs and the success of using peer-influence exit tactics. Results indicated that organizational members use eight peer-influence exit tactics and have four overarching motives for using them. Organizational members also reported that they consciously planned their tactics and the tactics were used with some success. Study 2 used an experimental design to explore how certain tactic source and receiver characteristics and organizational characteristics affect the use of peer-influence exit tactics. Results of an exploratory factor analysis revealed that organizational members use affirmation, unprofessional, depersonalization, and professional peer-influence exit tactics. Results of the experiment indicated that organizational members use affirmation, unprofessional, depersonalization tactics more frequently with low performing peer coworkers than with high performing peer coworkers. No differences emerged regarding the use of peer-influence exit tactics based on the cohesiveness of the organizational culture. The results also revealed relationships between competitiveness, agreeableness, and self-esteem of the source and peer-influence exit tactics. Study 3 incorporated a correlational design in which working adults were surveyed about their personal experiences with peer-influenced exit. Results revealed that personal gain, altruistic, organizational enhancement, and climate improvement motives predicted the use of peer-influence exit tactics, as did the competitiveness, agreeableness, and self-esteem of the source, perceived similarity, work performance, liking, and organizational influence of the target, and the organizational climate, supervisor complicity, and coworker regard. The results provide greater insight into the antecedents and outcomes of organizational exit that are valuable for both organizational communication scholars and organizational practitioners. </p>

<p>Many people, organizations, institutions, and governments want and need to generate creative breakthroughs and foster creativity, but are not aware of what conversational conditions make their occurrence more likely. The creative collaborative process is dependent upon communication. There have been few studies that have analyzed in situ group creativity with a robust communication theory capable of showing what actual kinds of conversations create new and useful meaning. The purpose of this research was to identify conversational conditions that facilitate creative breakthroughs in collaborative workgroups. </p><p> A case study is presented of a 4-month creative collaboration between members of a design consultancy and a senior university design class tasked with designing 21^st century communication products for a well-known greeting-card company client. The research design utilized a social constructionist communication theory, the coordinated management of meaning, (CMM). Creative breakthrough moments were identified in three different interactions from questionnaires and videotaped data. Reflective interviews of all the participants also enabled insight into the creative breakthrough moments and the narrative process that developed new meaning. The videotaped conversational patterns that produced those creative breakthrough moments were then recursively examined and analyzed with conversational analysis, CMM research methodology, and figurative language. Six specific conversational conditions were discerned as present in creative breakthrough emergence. </p><p> A reflexive pattern of critique, relationship, responsibility, idea generation, and reframing authorship enabled participants to co-evolve design narratives that made new meaning. Creative breakthroughs and new creative meaning emerged from an improvisational structure of six specific conversational conditions. By participating within this improvisational structure, group members utilized critique as a creative springboard for innovation and took fresh perspectives. These findings are counter to the dominant themes in design and sociocultural literature that nonjudgmental conditions, brainstorming, and individuals building on input are the main pathways for creativity. </p><p> <i>Key Words</i>: Creative breakthrough, conversational conditions, facilitate, in vivo collaborative workgroups, relational responsibility moves, new meaning-making, improvisational language structure, figurative language, CMM, social constructionist communication theory, creative and generous listening, creative collaboration </p>