Search

Building from a panel at the 2022 National Communication Association (NCA) annual convention, the present article seeks to ground communication studies/sciences as central to interdisciplinary conversations surrounding sexuality education and communication. Communication is integral to sexuality education, and topics of communication, sex, and sexuality education are researched across disciplines. Still, research on sexuality education within communication studies remains under-attended, and interdisciplinary sexuality education research remains siloed by academic discipline. Presenting a forum featuring both emerging and leading scholars in the field of communication researching sex(uality) education, the present article seeks to establish the academic discipline of communication as integral to research on sexuality education. To do so, we first discuss communication as an academic discipline and its advancements in sexuality education research. Next, communication scholars offer their expertise in sex(uality education) communication topics including family conversations, cultural influence, health inequities in education, and medicine. Collectively, these perspectives offer an understanding of current sexual health research in the field of communication, as well as next steps through direct application to conversations about sex, improvement to our medical and education systems, and community-based education and intervention. It is our hope that this article fosters a larger conversation about the importance of communication (studies/sciences) in sexuality education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When conducting research on sensitive topics, it is challenging to use new methods of data collection given the apprehensions of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). This is especially worrying because sensitive topics of research often require novel approaches. In this article a brief personal history of navigating the IRB process for conducting sex communication research is presented, along with data from a survey that tested the assumptions long held by many IRBs. Results support some of the assumptions IRBs hold about sex communication research, but do not support some other assumptions. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper explores auto-photography as a form of research practice in the area of identity and self-esteem research. It allows researchers to capture and articulate the ways identity guides human action and thought. It involves the generation and examination of the static images that participants themselves believe best represent them. Auto-photography is an important tool for building bridges with marginalized groups in the research process, since it offers researchers a way to let participants speak for themselves. Furthermore, by using this method researchers can avoid exclusive reliance on survey questionnaires and other such research instruments that may be culturally biased. I present two research projects using auto-photography: one involving adolescent Latina girls and one involving Indian women. Based on the experience of these projects, I discuss auto-photography's importance in identity and self-esteem research. Finally, I discuss some of the benefits and challenges of working with this method. (Contains 1 table.)

The purpose of the activity described here is to integrate McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y into a group application: design a syllabus that embodies either Theory X or Theory Y tenets. Students should be able to differentiate between Theory X and Theory Y, create a syllabus based on Theory X or Theory Y tenets, evaluate the different syllabi created by the class, and draw conclusions about organizational communication based on Theory X and Theory Y. Moreover, this activity will challenge student assumptions about ontology and epistemology, and the reasons they are in college. Students will theorize why professors employ certain pedagogical approaches. This activity is intended for the following courses: Introduction to Organizational Communication, Introduction to Communication Studies, and Communication Theory.

The current research project is an exploration of male interpersonal communication about sex in Puerto Rico. This study looks at how, when, and why men talk (or do not talk) about sex; particularly with their partners. Attention is given to interpersonal, communicative, and cultural aspects of sex and safe sex practices of Puerto Rican men. Seventeen heterosexual Puerto Rican men participated in this study. Overall, the ability to have meaningful communication about sex and take recommended precautions for safe sex (i.e., monogamy, discussion of previous sexual partners, and condom use) is limited, according to the participants. Keywords: interpersonal communication, sex, safe sex, sexual partners, The geographical nature of Puerto Rico as an island presents unique intricacies that need to be considered in research. While there are many studies of sexuality that include Puerto Rican [...]

The manner in which word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing agents perceive communication quality, value, impact, relational change and conversational control in everyday and WOM episodes is discussed. The conversational geography of WOM marketing episodes is analyzed to identify differences related to the institutional nature of the WOM, sex of respondent, conversational partner and relationship type.

As nurses’ communication is essential to prevent, intercept, and resolve medical mistakes, it is important to understand how they learn to communicate about medical errors. In this study, we identify memorable messages about communicating about mistakes that nursing students receive during their training and how they make sense of these messages. Data were acquired through individual interviews with 68 nursing students. The data were analyzed using a thematic constant comparative method. While open and honest communication about medical errors was the overarching message participants formally and informally learned, for nursing students, communicating about medical errors is a much more complex process than using open and honest communication. When dealing with medical errors, nursing students relied on three major memorable messages to guide their communication: (a) Not everyone hears about errors, (b) hierarchy matters, and (c) passive communication is the best way to interrupt or report an error. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The ways providers story their mistake experiences help to explain how providers understand medical errors and how they communicate about those errors. Communication scholars have slowly begun to explore the communicative nature of medical error experiences, with communication research becoming more abundant over the past few years. Missing from this discussion is how students in health professions, in this case nursing students, tell medical errors narratives and how the stories help them determine how to respond to mistakes. In this article, we explore how nursing students narrativize their medical errors experiences during clinicals. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 68 nursing students. The interviews were transcribed and resulted in a total of 1,261 single-spaced pages of data. We found that nursing students told three different narratives: (a) the “save the day” narrative, (b) the “silence” narrative, and (c) the “not always right” narrative. Finally, we discuss the implications of these narratives and their impact on nursing education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies involving minority populations and safer sex have traditionally been approached from a public health perspective as a way to identify cultural and gender variables that can be used to quantify unsafe behaviors. This article offers a critical reflection on the process of conducting research in cross-cultural settings, exploring both participant and researcher concerns. Data were collected through an in-depth qualitative research study that investigated communication about sex in the relational lives of more than 40 adult men and women in Puerto Rico. The focus of this article is to explore the level of awareness of participants regarding the cultural and gender limitations of communication in their particular cultural context. Three major themes are reviewed, addressing the areas that participants identified as problematic: the teasing/joking attitude regarding sexual relationships; the need to create more open, honest communication with partners; and needed societal level changes involving machismo and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to use information technology (IT) to link pediatric primary care patients in the home with their clinicians have been rudimentary to date. We have developed a model information system that uses a ubiquitous user-interface, the telephone, and the electronic health record (EHR) to support health behavior change and weight loss for overweight urban children and their parents. In this paper, we present the technical architecture and underlying psychological theories used to build the system.