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Featured researches published by Michael J. Papa.


Journal of Applied Communication Research | 2000

The mud, the blood, and the beer guys: Organizational osmosis in blue‐collar work groups

Melissa K. Gibson; Michael J. Papa

Abstract This essay examines the communicative processes associated with organizational assimilation within blue‐collar work groups in a manufacturing company. The study hinges on a heretofore unidentified variation to traditional assimilation models, labeled as organizational osmosis. Organizational osmosis refers to the seemingly effortless adoption of the ideas, values, and culture of an organization on the basis of preexisting socialization experiences. The study explores how a common ideological grounding and anticipatory socialization experiences increase identification mechanisms among work group members. This ideological grounding is influenced by interaction with family, friends, and peers during anticipatory stages and results in organizational osmosis. Because these newcomers strongly identify with the values and goals of the organization, these members submit to mechanisms of control and discipline in their work group. The essay concludes with implications for the future study of communication within blue‐collar work populations.


Western Journal of Communication | 1992

Functions of humor in conversation: Conceptualization and measurement

Elizabeth E. Graham; Michael J. Papa; Gordon P. Brooks

The purpose of this research was to explore humor from a functional perspective. Twenty‐four functions of humor were derived from prior literature. Items representing these 24 functions were subjected to factor analysis resulting in an 11‐item “Uses of Humor Index.”; Three primary factors emerged from this analysis: positive affect, expressiveness, and negative affect. Initial validation of the Uses of Humor Index was achieved via a peer evaluation, a measure of sense of humor, and assessment of interpersonal competence in naturalistic conversations. The implications of this study for future research concerning the use of humor in social interaction and the influence of humor on perceptions of interpersonal competence are discussed.


Communication Monographs | 1997

Organizing for social change within concertive control systems: Member identification, empowerment, and the masking of discipline

Michael J. Papa; Mohammad A. Auwal; Arvind Singhal

The Grameen (“rural”) Bank organizes grassroots micro‐enterprises for productive self‐employment and social change among the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh. It provides collateral‐free loans and various social services for the poor, but maintains a 99 percent loan recovery rate. Many of the banks more than two million members, 94 percent of whom are women, attribute their present well‐being to its ameliorative qualities. Using the theory of concertive control, we gained insight into why members and workers identify so strongly with the Grameen, how participation within this organization offers opportunities for empowerment, and how control systems operative within the bank account for its success. This theory also enabled us to examine how member and worker identification with the Grameen influences their evaluation of the disciplinary techniques that are part of the system. By examining the Grameens organizational processes in terms of the theory of concertive control, we identify some of the parado...


Journal of Business Communication | 1992

Communication Network Patterns and the Re-invention of New Technology

Wendy Papa; Michael J. Papa

This study examined the relationship between re-invention implementation and employee communication network variables (activity, size, diversity, and integrative ness) in a field study of 137 employees from a corporate office. In this organization, one employee discovered an improved method (a re-invention) for using a new computer system. Multiple regression analysis revealed significant positive relationships be tween three network factors (network diversity, network integrativeness and network size) and the speed with which employees implemented the re-invention.


Western Journal of Speech Communication | 1990

Perceptual and Communicative Indices of Employee Performance with New Technology.

Michael J. Papa; Wendy Papa

The relationship between employee performance with new technology and perceptual and communicative factors was investigated in a field study of 157 employees from a large corporation. Multiple regression analysis revealed that three perceptual factors (relative advantage, complexity, and trialability) and two communication factors (receiving task‐related messages and receiving negative evaluations of the new technology) explained a significant amount of the variance in employee productivity with a new computer system. Post hoc analyses revealed that two communication factors (receiving task‐related messages and receiving negative evaluations of the new technology), and two perceptual factors (relative advantage and complexity), were predictors of two additional performance measures: (1) the productivity decrease which occurred the first week the new technology was used, and (2) the speed with which the employees returned to previous productivity levels using the new technology.


Journal of Creative Communications | 2009

How entertainment-education programmes promote dialogue in support of social change

Michael J. Papa; Arvind Singhal

Mass media messages often prompt dialogue among listeners or viewers. Such dialogue may reinforce social stability or lead to pro-social change. If the dialogue prompted by a mass media programme is central to understanding media effects, what forms does this dialogue take, and how does it influence people to change their thinking and actions? These questions formed the basis of the present investigation, which examined an entertainment-education (E-E) programme in India, developed with the intention of promoting pro-social change (e.g., gender equality, family planning, etc.). We discovered that internal dialogue (parasocial interaction) between listeners and media characters lead to conversations about the educational content of the media programme that fuelled support for social stability and for pro-social change. Second, interpersonal dialogue within families, and dialogue at the group level among community members, facilitated discussion of sensitive or taboo subjects in ways that were supportive of social stability as well as social change in family and community dynamics. Finally, listeners and viewers of E-E programmes confronted powerful forces of resistance as they attempted to change community power dynamics. Despite these difficulties, our findings suggest that synergistic possibilities for social action emerge when E-E broadcasts disseminate pro-social models of behaviour that spark various forms of dialogue among audience members.


The Southern Communication Journal | 1989

Communicator competence and employee performance with new technology: A case study

Michael J. Papa

Abstract The relationship between employee productivity with new technology and communicator competence was investigated in a field study of 289 claims adjustors from two divisions of a large insurance company. Comparisons were also made with individual levels of past productivity. Each employees communicator competence was assessed using a standardized instrument before they began to operate a new computer system. Employees from one of the divisions were provided with a 45‐hour training program that focused on three aspects of communicator competence (message clarity, listening, and interpersonal skills) one month before the new system was implemented. An analysis of covariance revealed three noteworthy findings. First, employee communicator competence had the most significant effect on employee performance with the new computer. Second, employees who received the communicator competence training program performed at significantly higher levels with the new technology than employees who did not receive ...


Communication Education | 1991

The impact of diagnosing skill deficiencies and assessment‐based communication training on managerial performance

Michael J. Papa; Elizabeth E. Graham

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate an organizational diagnosis program that (a) commenced with the assessment of managerial communication skills and (b) provided the frame for follow‐up training programs. Two groups of managers (N = 96) participated in diagnostic assessment activities to evaluate their communication skills. One group of managers (N = 48) then received follow‐up communication skills training based on their assessed performance. Managers participating in communication skills training received significantly higher performance ratings on interpersonal skills, problem‐solving ability, and productivity over three long‐term assessments. Implications of these findings are discussed for corporate training programs and instructional development more generally.


Archive | 2003

Air cover and ground mobilization: Integrating entertainment-education broadcasts with community listening and service delivery in India

Arvind Singhal; Devendra Sharma; Michael J. Papa; Kim Witte

Contents: Preface. Part I: History and Theory. A. Singhal, E.M. Rogers, The Status of Entertainment-Education Worldwide. D. Poindexter, A History of Entertainment-Education, 1958-2000. P.T. Poitrow, E. de Fossard, Entertainment-Education as a Public Health Intervention. M. Sabido, The Origins of Entertainment-Education. A. Bandura, Social Cognitive Theory for Personal and Social Change by Enabling Media. W.J. Brown, B.P. Fraser, Celebrity Identification in Entertainment-Education. S. Sood, T. Menard, K. Witte, The Theory Behind Entertainment-Education. Part II: Research and Implementation. S. Usdin, A. Singhal, T. Shongwe, S. Goldstein, A. Shabalala, No Short Cuts in Entertainment-Education: Designing Soul City Step-by-Step. W.N. Ryerson, N. Teffera, Organizing a Comprehensive National Plan for Entertainment-Education in Ethiopia. B.S. Greenberg, C.T. Salmon, D. Patel, V. Beck, G. Cole, Evolution of an E-E Research Agenda. V. Beck, Working With Daytime and Prime-Time Television Shows in the United States to Promote Health. M. Bouman, Entertainment-Education Television Drama in the Netherlands. M.J. Cody, S. Fernandes, H. Wilkin, Entertainment-Education Programs of the BBC and BBC World Service Trust. A.C. La Pastina, D.S. Patel, M. Schiavo, Social Merchandizing in Brazilian Telenovelas. E.M. Rogers, Delivering Entertainment-Education Health Messages Through the Internet to Hard-to-Reach U.S. Audiences in the Southwest. Part III: Entertainment-Education Interventions and Their Outcomes. R.A. Abdulla, Entertainment-Education in the Middle East: Lessons From the Egyptian Oral Rehydration Campaign. Y. Yaser, The Turkish Family Health and Planning Foundations Entertainment-Education Campaign. N. McKee, M. Aghi, R. Carnegie, N. Shahzadi, Cartoons and Comic Books for Changing Social Norms: Meena, the South Asian Girl. A. Singhal, D. Sharma, M.J. Papa, K. Witte, Air Cover and Ground Mobilization: Integrating Entertainment-Education Broadcasts With Community Listening and Service Delivery in India. A. Singhal, Entertainment-Education Through Participatory Theater: Freirean Strategies for Empowering the Oppressed. T. Tufte, Soap Operas and Sense-Making: Mediations and Audience Ethnography. J.D. Storey, T.L. Jacobson, Entertainment-Education and Participation: Applying Habermas to a Population Program in Nepal. Epilogue.


The Southern Communication Journal | 1997

An applied test of the functional communication perspective of small group decision‐making

Elizabeth E. Graham; Michael J. Papa; Mary B. McPherson

The purpose of this study was to test the validity of the functional communication perspective on small group decision‐making in an applied context. Six task‐achievement functions were examined: (a) establishment of operating procedures, (b) analysis of the problem, (c) establishment of evaluation criteria, (d) generation of alternative solutions, (e) positive evaluations of alternative solutions, and (f) negative evaluations of alternative solutions. Seventeen seven‐person groups from a corporate setting were selected for the analysis. One discussion of each group was recorded and coded for the presence of task‐achievement functions. The decisions of the seventeen groups were evaluated by experts, and two categories were formed: effective decision‐making and ineffective decision‐making groups. The results indicate that effective groups employed significantly more statements that functioned to establish evaluation criteria and more statements that positively evaluated alternative solutions were found in i...

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Arvind Singhal

University of Texas at El Paso

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Kim Witte

Michigan State University

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Mohammad A. Auwal

California State University

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