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Faculty and Students Participate in the
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Communication Department
UCC 3100
P.O. Box 3062664
Tallahassee, FL 32306
Map
Contact: Dr. Art Raney
 send email
 850/644-9485
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Faculty Presentations
Listed in alphabetical order.
Influence of Source Liking and Personality Traits on Perceptions of Bias and News Source Selection.
This study examined news selection intentions that followed judgments of story bias and the extent to which those intentions were influenced by source liking. The study also examined the extent to which 2 personality traits -- argumentativeness and need for cognition – affected perceptions of story bias and intent to select an offending source in the future. Participants were more likely to say they would return to the source of a “biased” story if they liked and had selected the source previously than they were if the source was unknown. Individuals high in argumentativeness were less likely than those low in argumentativeness to view a story with negative information about their group as biased. Need for cognition was not consistently or strongly related to intent to return to an offending source. Implications for consumption of counterattitudinal information and source selection in the current news environment are discussed.
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Revisited: Communication Media Use in the Grandparent/Grandchild Relationship
The study at hand built on Harwood’s (2000) study investigating media use in interactions between grandparents and grandchildren, replicating some of Harwood’s research. It also extending Harwood’s study by adding the technologies of the cell phone, email, and instant messenger to the media he investigated (face-to-face, written documents, and telephone). Such a study allows finding out whether the availability of new technologies has any effect on the grandparent/grandchild relationship. Sixty-six dyads (N = 132) of grandchildren and grandparents participated in the study, completing a questionnaire on basic demographics, media use, and relational quality. Results show usage divides between grandchildren and grandparents, as well as within the grandparent group. The cell phone and face-to-face interaction are used most frequently in the grandparent/grandchild relationship. Technologies such as email or instant messenger are not used much even across the geographic distance they were designed to overcome. Follow up tests to a significant ANOVA did not show significant results for medium type chosen based on who initiates contact. Face-to-face remains the strongest predictor of quality inter-generational relationships, followed by use of the cell phone, the landline phone, and email (in that order). Findings are discussed in light of both media richness theory and the social influence model.
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Panel Participant: Issues in Contemporary Communication Law and Policy
Communication policy is shaped by numerous actors and institutional arrangements in a variety of settings throughout the world. Scholars, activists, communication technology and service providers, trade associations, private research firms, and government agencies all undertake research and analysis, and disseminate findings and arguments that contribute to the policymaking process. How can we understand the overall role of policy research and analysis in communication policy formation? How is it changing in light of globalization? In light of the Internet and digital media more generally? What ideas and information arising from policy research have shaped outcomes, whether in legislation, regulatory decisions, or international agreements? What institutional and logistical barriers limit the impact of policy research? What lessons can be drawn about the strategies that are most useful to enhance the importance and impact of policy research? To explore these questions, this pre-conference will examine two general domains of communication policy: community broadband and copyright.
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30 Years of Public Relations Scholarship: A Census of Our Research Methods
This systematic review of research published in two scholarly public relations journals offers an introspective analysis of research methods used during the past 30 years. This study was inspired by two debates historically rooted in the publishing of public relations research: 1) application versus theory building, and 2) use of quantitative versus qualitative methods. A census of research published from 1975-2005 in Public Relations Review (n=787) revealed use of quantitative methods in 270 articles (34.3%) and qualitative methods in 489 articles (62.1%). During the 1989-2005 time period, Journal of Public Relations Research (n=213) published studies that used quantitative methods in 97 articles (45.5%) and qualitative methods in 92 articles (43.2%). Use of research methods over time and use of combined/multiple methods also was examined. Finally, recommendations are offered to authors regarding technique and methodological choices.
Researcher-Researched ‘Difference’: In Search for Validity in the Global Sphere
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Session Chair: The Right to Know and the Right Not to Be Known
Papers in this session span public understandings of privacy, the newsgathering practices of journalists, the European approach to privacy and the Bush administration's altered definition of the rights to privacy.
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Examining Perceived Violence in and Enjoyment of Televised Rivalry Sports Contests
The scholarly attention paid to the ways in which viewers perceive sports action as violent, how those perceptions may differ across games, and how those perceptions might impact enjoyment is limited. The current project addresses this oversight through an investigation of intercollegiate (American) football contests between two heated rivals. A total of 554 individuals viewed one of 4 televised contests featuring the same hometown team: 2 against heated rivals, 2 against nonrivals. Results reveal that viewers clearly saw rivalry games as more violent than nonrivalry games. Moreover, games won by the hometeam were seen as more violent than those lost. Also, those perceiving high levels of violence reported greater enjoyment than those who perceived low levels of violence in all games. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that perceived violence contributes differently to the enjoyment of games won than games lost. Possible explanations for the findings are offered.
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