Current Communication Theory Research Articles

Mykola Tutkovsky: polyphony of artistic roles

Relevance of the study. The proposed research is determined by the realities of the musical society, they are characterized by the active inclusion of collective listening acceptance in the creation of modern musical projects. The lack of a musicological base determined the strategy of understanding the process of communication in music in the perspective of the achievements in the current communication theory. The ideas of the theory of communication developed by American and Canadian scientists Marshall McLuhan, Harold Innis, and John Durham Peters became the theoretical support of the presented considerations. Communicative strategies of the Socratic-dialogic and evangelical-dispersive type receive scientific approval in the research in the musical and communicative sphere.
 Main objective of the study is to substantiate of the hypothesis about the nature of musical communication as an act of collective (composer, performer, listener) sound-intonation intentionality, where the creativity or passivity of the reaction of the collective listener directly depends on the performance creativity. The discursive understanding of the role of the collective listener in music is carried out using the complex methodology of scientific knowledge, which combines the methods of theoretical generalization, discourse analysis, comparative studies and empirical observations.
 Results. For the first time, the definition of musical communication is formulated as a process that unites its participants with the desire (conscious or not) of spiritual development by immersion in acts of musical and intonation creation. Emphasis is placed on the function of individual intentionality of the musical and performing component in communicative processes. The author's definition of an individual musical and performance style as a system of expressive means corresponding to the specificity of the performer's musical worldview has been spread. This system, while maintaining its integrity, functions as a supporting factor for the re-intonation of various compositional styles and a guarantor of auditory co-intonation in musical communication processes. Empirical testing of the theoretical generalizations presented in the proposed research is based on the personal professional experience of the author.

Is the collective listener a passive recipient or a creator of ideas? (about the intentional dimension of music performance

Relevance of the study. The proposed research is determined by the realities of the musical society, they are characterized by the active inclusion of collective listening acceptance in the creation of modern musical projects. The lack of a musicological base determined the strategy of understanding the process of communication in music in the perspective of the achievements in the current communication theory. The ideas of the theory of communication developed by American and Canadian scientists Marshall McLuhan, Harold Innis, and John Durham Peters became the theoretical support of the presented considerations. Communicative strategies of the Socratic-dialogic and evangelical-dispersive type receive scientific approval in the research in the musical and communicative sphere.
 Main objective of the study is to substantiate of the hypothesis about the nature of musical communication as an act of collective (composer, performer, listener) sound-intonation intentionality, where the creativity or passivity of the reaction of the collective listener directly depends on the performance creativity.
 The discursive understanding of the role of the collective listener in music is carried out using the complex methodology of scientific knowledge, which combines the methods of theoretical generalization, discourse analysis, comparative studies and empirical observations.
 Results. For the first time, the definition of musical communication is formulated as a process that unites its participants with the desire (conscious or not) of spiritual development by immersion in acts of musical and intonation creation. Emphasis is placed on the function of individual intentionality of the musical and performing component in communicative processes. The author's definition of an individual musical and performance style as a system of expressive means corresponding to the specificity of the performer's musical worldview has been spread. This system, while maintaining its integrity, functions as a supporting factor for the re-intonation of various compositional styles and a guarantor of auditory co-intonation in musical communication processes. Empirical testing of the theoretical generalizations presented in the proposed research is based on the personal professional experience of the author.

Effective Communication Strategies of Sustainable Hospitality: A Qualitative Exploration

Sustainability is a pivotal issue for the development of hospitality. The industry has attempted multiple ways to achieve this goal, with effective communication being one of the most prevalent ones. However, the communication effect which hospitality has obtained in terms of persuading customers to practice sustainability is imperfect. This study draws upon the communication literature and textually analyzes hospitality professionals’ perception worldwide to generate a typology for hospitality practitioners to follow while conducting communication with customers on sustainability. The findings suggest two strategies and seven tactics that are of value to help hospitality achieve better communication. Thus, this study can extend the current communication theories on how to undertake sustainable hospitality communication and elucidate its operation in the industry.

Towards a theory of digital media

ABSTRACTThis article puts forward a theory of the role of digital media in social change. It begins by criticizing three theories that currently dominate our understanding of digital media and of media generally: network theory, mediatization theory and actor-network theory. It also identifies a gap in current communication theory, namely, that digital media mostly do not fit the divide into mass and interpersonal communication. A further problem is that insufficient attention is given to the difference between political communication and popular culture or everyday life. The article develops an alternative, focusing on four countries that provide a range of relationships between media and society; the U.S., Sweden, India and China. In all four countries, despite their differences, digital media, in contrast to traditional broadcast and interpersonal media, have led to a more differentiated media landscape. Greater complexity in political communication nevertheless runs up against the continuing dominance of elite agenda-setting. In terms of popular culture, all four countries have experienced a proliferation of media offerings and greater tetheredness between people. Hence, new divides are emerging between more active and variegated as against more passive and restricted media uses. The article concludes with implications of digital media for understanding media generally: with new digital media, there is now a need to rethink media theory in terms of fundamental debates about how media transform or preserve the social order.

Antibiotic Resistance: A Primer and Call to Action

During the past century, discoveries of microorganisms as causes of infections and antibiotics as effective therapeutic agents have contributed to significant gains in public health in many parts of the world. Health agencies worldwide are galvanizing attention toward antibiotic resistance, which is a major threat to public health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013; World Health Organization, 2014). Some life scientists believe that we are approaching the post-antibiotic age (Davies & Davies, 2010). The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance is fueled by complex factors with biological, behavioral, and societal aspects. This primer provides an overview of antibiotic resistance and its growing burden on public health, the biological and behavioral mechanisms that increase antibiotic resistance, and examples of where health communication scholars can contribute to efforts to make our current antibiotic drugs last as long as possible. In addition, we identify compelling challenges for current communication theories and practices.

Intelligent participation: communicating knowledge in cross-functional project teams

This paper suggests 'intelligent participation' as a framework through which members of cross-functional project teams can engage productively in communicating knowledge. It identifies the transmission model of communication, and its accompanying discourse, as an implicit, but restrictive, conceptualisation underpinning much current research. It critiques that model as an oversimplification of energetic team exchanges into inert information transfer and proposes instead that communication be understood as a complex, living process. Understanding communicating knowledge as an ongoing series of interactions among participants, this paper fuses complex responsive process theory with the perspective of complex adaptive systems. It argues that focusing on local interactions within a systemic context enables a more realistic account of project interactions. This approach augments project management work on knowledge transfer with current communication theories, and also suggests specific capacities that may be developed to integrate cross-functional conversations that foster innovative, emergent outcomes.

Remembering “Memory,” Part II: A Rhetorical Commentary on an Institutional Keyword in Communication Studies

In an earlier paper we considered “how the emergence and epistemological performance of ‘memory’ across the discipline not only illuminates important fault lines but also reveals fertile sites of multiplicity.” In this essay, we seek in the end to demonstrate how the meaning(s) of “memory”—as a keyword in communication organizations and as a signifier of the (un)remembered disciplinary history of communication studies—have not received nearly enough attention for their effects on current communication theory and praxis.

The Contingent Impact of Contextualization on Computer-Mediated Collaboration

Computer-mediated collaboration, a rapidly expanding form of work, introduces unique opportunities but problems as well. One of these problems is the higher risk of misunderstandings. Current communication theories suggest that misunderstanding may be reduced by contextualization, i.e., providing contextual information to explain a core message. However, we hypothesize that contextualization is beneficial in some situations but not in others. Treating contextualization as a form of adaptive behavior, we propose a model for understanding its contingent impact on performance in collaborative tasks. We explain the motivation for contextualization and argue that it can be predicted by the extent to which the perspectives of the collaborators are different or shared: A difference of perspectives between collaborators motivates them to contextualize to increase mutual understanding (MU) and thereby increase performance. Computer support should also motivate communicators to contextualize by making it easier for them to do so. A controlled experiment tests these relationships in a collaborative machine-assembly task performed by dyads. We manipulate the collaborators’ perspectives and the level of computer support, and we measure contextualization behavior, MU, and performance. Results show that contextualization is effective only for dyads with different perspectives and may be detrimental when perspectives are similar.

Making communication research matter: What do patients notice, what do patients want, and what do patients need?

Objective To explore limitations of current communication theory by considering different perspectives of researchers, clinicians, patients and teachers of communication. Method Theory development based on limitations of the current communication research literature due to inconsistencies between patient reports and observed communication behavior. Results While researchers focus on the mechanics and techniques of communication, patients seek relationships in which they experience trust, the right amount of autonomy, caring, and expertise. Patients’, physicians’, and communication experts’ perspectives do not always define the same problems and often point to different solutions. Conclusions In addition to studying clinician behaviors and patient perceptions of care, communication research should focus on five additional factors: what patients notice, want and need, and how their perspectives differ from those of physicians and researchers; the context, including illness severity and type and family influences; how complex health systems facilitate and impede communication; patients’ influences on physician communication behavior; and habits of mind that promote attentive care.

Conflict Communication Management: Why Australians Didn't See Their Troops in Iraq

As the first conflict to be viewed ‘in real time’, the Iraq war of 2003 was dominated by almost continuous footage delivered by technological and journalistic innovations. In contrast with the unprecedented coverage provided by British and American embedded journalists, little was reported of the role of Australian troops. The Australian media have been highly critical of the way the Australian Defence Force (ADF) restricted media access to Australian troops, claiming that the ADF obstructed the community's right to know with excessive secrecy and ‘strategic unhelpfulness’. The ADF says it was unable to provide media access because of operational and national security issues specific to this conflict. Research conducted amongst members of both the Australian media and the ADF's Military Public Affairs section suggests that the debate around access and secrecy is symptomatic of a much larger clash of cultures. The difficulties faced at the media/military interface are partially explained by the fact that current communication theory does little to enhance understanding of what is really happening in conflict situations.

Trust and leadership in virtual teamwork: A media naturalness perspective

AbstractParadoxically, virtual teams are ubiquitous and often successful, contrary to most current communication theories'predictions. Media naturalness theory (Kock, 2001), an evolutionary perspective on communication and its principles of media naturalness, innate schema similarity, and learned schema diversity can be used to understand, study, and manage successful virtual teamwork. In particular, potential problems of trust and leadership in virtual teams are shown to be amenable to solutions rooted explicitly in an evolutionary context. From a media naturalness perspective, geographic distance and technological complexity are secondary to processes of adaptation, as humans remain the most complex and flexible part of the communication system.©2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Establishing Internal Communication Channels that Work1

This paper consists of a case study that examines the trends in current and preferred methods of communication within a tertiary organisation. The study takes into account current communication theory and other factors such as the organisational culture and leadership style. Communication is a key aspect here. ‘Communication’ is a word and a concept that comes up in all kinds of for a and in all kinds of circumstances. It is generally agreed that ‘good communication’ is essential to any well‐run organisation. Communication is one of the core management processes at any level of an organisation, as staff in particular, need to receive information that is meaningful to their work and their commitment to the organisation. The initial study was specifically of the methods used by a chief executive when communicating the planning process to staff within their organisation. Questionnaires were used to discover current ways in which staff received their information, what staff considered to be the most effective method for them to receive information, and what was their preferred channel of communication. The results of structured interviews with the chief executive and general feedback from staff on communication initiatives were also part of the methodology. As a follow‐up to this study a further survey of the staff of two different faculties took place to see if the findings about the organisation are reflected at a micro level, within the daily running of faculties. The progress of communicating the planning process, which is still continuing, is also updated. The results and findings should help managers plan communication that is not only effective but also relevant and acceptable to those involved. 1Paper presented at ATEM Conference, 17 September 1997, Sydney, Australia.