Steven J. Venette

Charting new territory: assessing the online frontier of student ratings of instruction

Computer‐mediated communication pervades society today. Higher education is no exception. Recently in the USA, a debate has emerged regarding online administration of student ratings of instruction (SROIs). Since these end‐of‐semester messages offered by students are used to influence merit, promotion and tenure decisions, the utility of administering them online ought to be examined. This comparative analysis of messages communicated by students via online and paper‐and‐pencil SROIs revealed several conclusions. First, the means by which online data were collected positively influenced overall student response rate, as well as internal question‐by‐question response rate. Second, no significant differences were revealed in (1) student responses to the Likert‐type scale assessments, (2) number of comments provided to the open‐ended questions, (3) number of positively and negatively charged comments offered in the open‐ended responses or (4) major content themes addressed in the open‐ended comments. Finally, students provided more descriptive detail in the online than the paper‐and‐pencil responses. When administered effectively, collecting student rating messages online may be better than doing so in the traditional paper‐and‐pencil format.

Risk as an Inherent Element in the Study of Crisis Communication

Despite the fact that most Mississippians living on the gulf coast knew about the approach of Hurricane Katrina and had adequate time to evacuate, only one-third of that population left. Almost two-thirds of those who stayed indicated that they did so because they did not think the storm would be that bad (Harvard, 2006). Emergency risk messages that appeared in the most popular newspaper in the region attempted to communicate the grave danger of this massive storm. Unfortunately, these messages often relied on comparing the imminent threat to 1969s Hurricane Camille. If community members viewed Camille as causing few deaths or serious injuries, they would have little reason to accept evacuation as better than staying. This study analyzes emergency risk messages presented in the Biloxi Sun Herald and explains how people could construe an interpretation of reality that would lead them to remain in the path of one of the deadliest storms in American history.

Special Section Introduction: Best Practices in Risk and Crisis Communication

Secretary Tommy Thompson shockingly revealed on December 3, 2004, ‘‘I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do’’ (Branigin, Allen, & Mintz, 2004, para. 8). After the September 11, 2001 attacks, concern about increased terrorism, both internationally and domestically, has escalated. Until recently, little of the government’s increased focus on terrorism had been placed on the food supply. To address this need, the Department of Homeland Security established the National Center for Food Protection of Defense (NCFPD). This center’s mission is to advance the safety of the food supply through research, education, and outreach. A primary concern is to study risk and crisis communication with the goals of increasing the effectiveness of messages associated with foodborne hazards and training potential spokespeople to use developed communication strategies effectively. The vulnerability of the nation’s food supply to terrorism is evident in the thousands of foodborne illnesses that occur accidentally in the United States annually. The National Institute of Health reports that every year in the United States foodborne pathogens cause 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and over 5,000 deaths (National Institute of Health, 2005). Additionally, the economy loses

A Receiver‐Based Approach to Effective Instructional Crisis Communication

75,000 for every person who becomes ill from eating contaminated food (Nganje, 2001). Working with subject matter experts from many fields including veterinary science, microbiology, economics, psychology, food science, and public health, communication scholars at the NCFPD have discovered that risk and crisis communication theory and concepts are generally sound, yet spokespeople make consistent, predictable errors when messages are not planned and when communication networks are not pre-established.

Stonewalling as an Image-Defense Strategy: A Critical Examination of BP's Response to the Deepwater Horizon Explosion

Much research has informed the development of a valuable series of sender‐focused best practices for effective crisis communication. Relatively little crisis communication research, however, focuses on receiver‐focused best practices as related to eliciting appropriate actions before, during and after crisis events. Because effective instructional communication is measured by learner (i.e., receiver) outcome achievement of affective (perceived value), cognitive (comprehension) and behavioural (performance) variables, this study examined perceived message effectiveness and behavioural intention using the IDEA model of instructional risk and crisis communication. Results of this comparative quasi‐experimental study revealed that messages integrating all elements of the IDEA model were more effective than status quo messages and point to the need for continued research on effective instructional crisis communication message design.

Essential Communication Resources for Combating Bioterrorism: Some Practical and Generalizable Recommendations

This research investigated BPs response to accusations that the organization prioritized money and time over safety following the Deepwater Horizon explosion. This article uses Benoits image-repair theories to examine BPs congressional testimony. Analysis of the testimony revealed a previously unidentified image-defense strategy, labeled here as stonewalling. This tactic redirected the audiences attention to miniscule and unimportant details, which enabled BP to temporarily prevent further damage to the companys image. The effectiveness and ethics of stonewalling are discussed in light of the 10 best practices of crisis communication.

The Perceived Paranormal and Source Credibility: The Effects of Narrative Suggestions on Paranormal Belief

This study explores the communication resource preferences for employees in a risk-intense setting. Specifically, the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture was surveyed to determine which communication resources they preferred for the prevention of bioterrorism and unintentional infestations of dangerous pests and diseases. The study concludes that both rapid and flexible channels of communication such as e-mail and the Internet and more standard resources such as manuals were preferred. Frequent risk messages such as pest alerts were not considered as valuable. The study also notes that those employees who feel they have adequate communication resources also have more confidence in their ability to limit or prevent a bioterrorism or accidental infestation.

Validating the High Reliability Organization Perception Scale

This study examined the effects of source credibility, message modality, and narrative suggestions on paranormal beliefs. The study was conducted on 281 participants at a large university in the southern United States. The findings support paranormal belief as a narrative malleable construct. The source credibility of the narrative character witnesses (children, university students, and scientists) was found to influence the persuasiveness of narratives; however, message modality (audio-spoken vs. written) was not observed as an influential factor of paranormal belief.

Perceptions of High School Opinion Leaders about the Role of College Debaters in the High School Debate Community

High Reliability Organizations (HROs) face constant threats but manage to operate with relatively few accidents. The current study examines the reliability, factor structure, and discriminant validity of a new HRO Perception Scale. Results indicate the scale is reliable. The two-factor model, including self-efficacy and organizational risk response factors as part of the HRO Perception Scale, was supported. Finally, discriminant validity was established between the HRO Perception Scale and the Meyer & Allen Revised Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. Future research should examine the validity and reliability of this scale across organizational and cultural contexts.

Media use, information seeking, and reported needs in post crisis contexts

The role of college debaters in the high school debate community is explored through the perceptions of 87 opinion leaders from the National Forensic League and state high school activities associations. The findings suggest college debaters are conveyers of innovation, are not viewed uniformly by high school debate opinion leaders, and may cause the discontinuance of innovative practices.