Gary Pettey

Sounding Out Small Screens and Telepresence

The number of small and mobile screens being used for entertainment is growing daily. This paper presents the findings of the impact of smaller video format (specifically the Apple iPod), media content, and sound delivery on audience responses. The 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design varied screen size, content, and sound delivery. Participants were exposed to one of two presentations either on an iPod or on a 32 inch (81.2 centimeters) television with sound being supplied by either speakers or a headset. Participants saw either a 10-minute fast-paced (multiple cut) action sequence or a 10-minute slow-paced (long cut) conversation sequence from a feature length motion picture. The effects of differences in immersion, spatial presence, and social realism were measured. Screen size impacted reported sensations of spatial presence with subjects who viewed larger screens reporting higher levels. Subjects with headphone delivery reported higher levels of immersion than subjects with speaker delivery. Furthermore, se...

Telepresence, soundscapes and technological expectation: putting the observer into the equation

In an experiment exploring the impact of sound on sensations of telepresence, 126 participants watched a video clip using either headphones or speakers. The results illustrate that sound is an important factor in stimulating telepresence responses in audiences. Interactions between soundscape and screen size were also revealed. A traverse interaction between aural/visual congruency and soundscapes was evident. A second data set of 102 participants was collected to illuminate the effect of technological expectation that emerged in the first study. Expectations had been mentioned in other studies, and the data support the notion that people have an expectation of the technological quality of a presentation. The results suggest that examining expectations could assist in future conceptualizations of telepresence.

Charting the Verbiage of Institutional Vision: Implications for Academic Advising

Whether and to what extent a college or university vision is embraced, transformed into action, and dispersed to the campus community by academic advisors is largely dependent on the rhetoric of the vision statement. Through a content analysis of a nation-wide sample of vision and mission statements from NACADA-membership institutions, we isolated key linguistic components that constitute a well-conceived, effective, and easily diffused institutional vision. The prevalence of these components and the types of academic institutions most likely to possess them are discussed. Ways in which this information can be used by advising supervisors to evaluate their own institutions vision and the vision of their advising operation are presented. Relative Emphasis: theory, research, practice

The relationship of perceived physician communicator style to patient satisfaction

Using Nortons (1978, 1983) communicator style construct, this study examined how patients’ perceptions of their physicians communicator style was related to patient satisfaction. Eight communicator styles and six dimensions of patient satisfaction were identified. The results revealed that most of the significant relationships were nonlinear and that different styles were related to different types of satisfaction. Theoretic and pragmatic implications, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed.

Feeling and Learning about a Critical Event: The Shuttle Explodes.

This study examines the feelings, learning, and diffusion effects resulting from the Challenger explosion using a two pronged approach both in a cross‐section and an over‐time panel design. The sample consists of Cleveland State undergraduates.

Revisiting the use of secondary task reaction time measures in telepresence research: exploring the role of immersion and attention

In this experimental study, we use secondary task reaction time (STRT) to measure Attention to a media presentation and compare STRT to traditional self-report measures of Telepresence (immersion, social reality, spatial presence, and transportation) and enjoyment. Further, we compare the STRT measure with the composite items of Telepresence–Immersion. The results indicate that STRT may be useful for measuring some sub-dimensions of Telepresence. Implications are discussed.