Margaret J. Pitts

Upward turning points and positive rapport-development across time in researcher—participant relationships:

Some of the first, and potentially most important, steps that researchers must take in the field are those related to rapport development with their participants. Both novice and experienced field researchers negotiate the difficulties and mysteries of establishing and maintaining this rapport. In this research, it was our intention to disentangle the often puzzling rapport-building process. We contacted 16 field researchers with varying degrees of experience and asked them to detail their relational turning points with select participants. Using the Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) as a narrative prompt we uncovered a pattern of rapport-building that took the shape of five semipermeable phases of researcher—participant rapport: Other-Orientation, Self-in-Relation to Other, Self-and-Other Linking, Interpersonal Connection, and Partnership. In this article we propose a preliminary stage model of rapport-building trajectories, and offer implications such a model might have for field researchers.

Dialectical Tensions Underpinning Family Farm Succession Planning

Though succession planning is vital if a farm is to survive, many farm families fail to take necessary succession planning actions. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 members of nine small-farm families in Pennsylvania revealed that dialectical tensions surrounding a farm transfer influence succession planning readiness and action. This report identifies five indigenous dialectical tensions that influence succession planning and describes five praxis patterns families use to manage them. Practical applications are outlined for agriculture estate planning professionals and others involved in family inheritance communication services to provide effective assistance to farm families in their succession planning efforts.

Mediated Intergroup Conflict: The Discursive Construction of “Illegal Immigrants” in a Regional U.S. Newspaper

Using an intergroup communication framework, this article examines how a newspaper in southeastern Virginia discursively constructs the “illegal immigrant” as a metonym for Latino immigrants. This mixed methods study traces the development of this newspaper discourse about illegal immigrants from1994 to 2006 using quantitative lexical analysis. It then shows how two local news events further instantiate an illegal immigrant metonymy influencing perceptions of Latinos, subsequent media discourse about immigration, and local immigration policies using critical discourse analysis. The quantitative findings suggest that news discourse focusing on (illegal) immigration tended to use lexical items low in optimism and commonality, consistent with out-group negativity. The qualitative findings show how two incidents involving “illegal immigrants” attached negative stereotypes to this category, which then potentially influenced perceptions of Latinos more broadly. This analysis shows some of the ways that media discourse influences perceived intergroup threats at the local and national levels.

Implications of the Virginia Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Mandate for Parental Vaccine Acceptance

In 2009, Virginia became the first state in the United States to enact a school vaccine mandate for the human papillomavirus (HPV), putting it at the forefront of the national HPV vaccine mandate controversy. It is critical to explore the public response and sensemaking where the mandate has already been enacted. Thus, we conducted 8 focus group discussions among 33 Virginia parents to explore how they conceptualized the virus and vaccine and their responses to the mandate. Findings suggest that many parents are skeptical of and reluctant to follow a state-mandated vaccine requirement, choosing instead to opt out of the vaccine until they decide the time is right for their daughter and/or until they feel confident in their knowledge about the virus, vaccine, and the impetus for the mandate. Study results can inform future legislation among states considering HPV-related mandates and aid in the development of health-promotion materials within the context of a state mandate.

Mapping the Processes and Patterns of Family Organ Donation Discussions: Conversational Styles and Strategies in Live Discourse

People in the United States report positive attitudes toward organ donation (OD); however there is a disjoint between pro-donation attitudes and declared-donor status. OD campaigns promote family discussions to increase donor status and compliance with OD wishes. Unfortunately, the discourse processes involved in family OD discussions have not been systematically studied. This investigation explores how families enact the recommendation to have a family OD discussion by mapping patterns, processes, and implications of 21 undirected family discussions. Analyses revealed 3 discussion styles: cooperative, collaborative, and challenging. Discussions were marked by a general pro–OD norm, a focus on individual rights and family loyalty, and 2 specific communication strategies used to explore individual boundaries, hypothetical ethical scenarios and hypothetical family scenarios. Finally, this investigation offers insight into the processes of OD discussions such as topic initiation, topic shifting, and establishing consensus. This research serves as a significant step toward enhancing competent discussions about OD.

Politeness Strategies in Imagined Conversation Openers About Eldercare

In the United States, many adult children and their aging parents reach the point when it is necessary to address future care needs of the parent. Given that the prevailing culture values independence over interdependence, discussing future care needs can be face threatening. Therefore, an examination of how adult children approach such conversations and manage face needs is an important first step toward understanding what makes these conversations effective and supportive. We use politeness theory to illuminate ways in which adult children incorporate facework in imagined messages (“openers”) to initiate a conversation with their aging parent about eldercare. Openers were thematically coded for politeness strategies and messages. Imagined openers featured complex “strings” of positive and negative politeness strategies. Implications are addressed.

Communication and identity management in a globally-connected classroom: An online international and intercultural learning experience

ABSTRACT Though global classrooms are designed to expose students to varied cultural knowledges and experiences, how students consider and display their own identities in cross-cultural exchange has yet to be fully interrogated. This study focuses on U.S. college students who participated in a series of online conversations with learners in Singapore. Grounded in Goffmans sociological work and based on Hechts communication theory of identity, this article focuses on students’ conceptions of themselves relative to others, and perceptions of identity work in cross-cultural conversations. Limitations tied to this project and avenues for future research on intercultural communication classroom practice are considered.

Older Adults’ Evaluations of Middle-Aged Children’s Attempts to Initiate Discussion of Care Needs

We explored how older adults evaluated the strategies used by an adult child to initiate discussion of future care needs, and subsequently, whether these judgments affected older adults’ willingness to engage in discussions about eldercare if approached in a similar fashion by one of their own children. One hundred and thirty older adults were randomly assigned to read one of four scripts depicting efforts by a middle-aged daughter to raise the topic of future care needs with her mother by implementing a variety of facework behaviors. Scripts manipulated the degree to which the daughter conveyed respect for her mother’s desires for autonomy (negative face) and connection (positive face). The daughter’s facework significantly predicted older parents’ evaluation of her as supportive, which in turn predicted their willingness to discuss future care needs with one of their own children if they were to approach the conversation in a similar way.

Communication and Teleworking: A Study of Communication Channel Satisfaction, Personality, and Job Satisfaction for Teleworking Employees:

This study examines teleworkers’ job satisfaction related to the use of and satisfaction with a variety of communication channels and workers’ personality type. U.S. teleworkers (N = 384) completed an online survey and self-reported on dimensions of communication channel satisfaction, job satisfaction, and personality. Results indicated that extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are positively correlated with job satisfaction. Additionally, significant moderating effects were found for the relationship between openness and phone and video communication, and agreeableness and phone communication on job satisfaction. Findings from this study yield important practical implications for organizations including suggestions for optimizing communication satisfaction for employees of differing personality types and recommendations to help organizations effectively hire and retain teleworkers.

College Males’ Enduring and Novel Health Beliefs about the HPV Vaccine

ABSTRACT College males represent an important and overlooked catch-up population in the pursuit of human papillomavirus (HPV) prevention. An in-depth understanding of college males’ health beliefs about HPV and HPV prevention can guide the development of HPV health promotion messages targeted toward college males. We convened 9 focus groups among 84 college-aged males to discuss their perceptions of benefits and barriers toward HPV prevention 4 years after vaccine approval. Through participants’ discourse, we identified health beliefs that continue to endure as barriers to HPV prevention (e.g., lack of knowledge/awareness, apathy, dismissiveness, stigma, practical barriers, and skepticism). Prevention and protection endure as perceived benefits to HPV prevention. We also identified novel college male health beliefs that have emerged since vaccine approval and hold great potential for the development of more effective health messaging. One novel barrier that emerged was the perception that it was “too late” for college males to benefit from the vaccine. Several novel benefits also emerged including a perception of wider social benefit beyond the self and partner, reduced worry and anticipated regret, and the belief that “there is no reason not to [vaccinate].” This study was guided by the health belief model (HBM) and implications are discussed.