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Best Match Title Creator Date Created (Newest) Date Created (Oldest) Date Added (Newest) Date Added (Oldest)
Negotiation, communication, and decision strategies used by hostage/crisis negotiators. (open access)

Negotiation, communication, and decision strategies used by hostage/crisis negotiators.

By conducting this theory-based empirical study, gathering data from working negotiators in the US and Canada, I have determined what primary dynamic activities, communication skills, and negotiation tools are used by hostage/crisis negotiators. Negotiators implement their negotiation and decision strategies differently depending on whether the situations they deal with are instrumental or expressive. I have determined which elements of negotiations and factors affecting negotiations differ while handling instrumental and expressive hostage situations. I found that the collected data did not reveal any significant relationship between handling instrumental/expressive hostage situations differently and belief in the elements of Brenda Dervin's and Shannon-Weaver's theories. I have also determined that the belief in the elements of the Dervin's and Shannon-Weaver's theories is workable and practical for negotiators to use. Based on the above findings, the model suggested by this research adds the elements and directives of Dervin's and Shannon-Weaver's models to the common approach used by the negotiators. This revised model suggests that the negotiators pay attention to the dynamics of the interactions presented between the two parties: the negotiators themselves and hostage takers. The revised model also recommends that the negotiators focus on not only the hostage takers behavioral characteristics, psychological conditions, and …
Date: May 2008
Creator: Hancerli, Suleyman
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Inquiry into Selected Communication Problems Inherent in Financial Statement Certification and Investor/Creditor Response in Light of the Recommendations of the Commission on Auditors' Responsibilities (open access)

An Inquiry into Selected Communication Problems Inherent in Financial Statement Certification and Investor/Creditor Response in Light of the Recommendations of the Commission on Auditors' Responsibilities

Business organizations disclose financial Information to a wide range of audiences through the medium of audited financial statements. Distinct classes of readers come in contact with these statements—each reader possessing varying degrees of financial expertise. Readers as "semantic reactors" develop their own expectations and interpretations of the messages management and the auditor are attempting to convey. In the process, many readers look upon the auditor's report as a "symbol" or seal of approval. The purposes of this study were to assess the role that communication theory plays In the auditor's attestation, to examine the perceived communication effects of the expanded auditor's certificate versus the current auditor's certificate, and to recommend ways in which communication problems can be dealt with more effectively. It was concluded that a communication problem does exist in relation to the auditor's report, and communication theory can play a distinctive role in reducing the magnitude of this problem. The profession should continue to seek answers as to the proper role of the auditor and management in relation to audited financial statements, as well as to settle the question concerning whom the statements are intended to serve.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Hemingway, James R.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Receiver Locus of Control and Interaction Involvement on the Interpretation of Service Complaints (open access)

Effects of Receiver Locus of Control and Interaction Involvement on the Interpretation of Service Complaints

This thesis examined how receivers who vary in Interaction Involvement and Locus of Control (LOC) might differ in their interpretations of service complaints. Locus of control was measured using Rotter's (1966) LOC scale, while Interaction Involvement was measured with Cegala's (1984) Interaction Involvement measure, including a separate assessment of the effects for each sub-scale. Individuals were assigned to four groups based on their Interaction Involvement and LOC scores. The groups were compared with one-another for differences in how complaints were interpreted. Four complaint categories and a corresponding scale were developed to measure these differences. The categories were Subject, Goal, Opportunity, and Accountability. Interaction Involvement was expected to affect how receivers interpret the subject and goal of a complaint, while LOC was predicted to affect understanding of the opportunity and accountability aspects. Two research questions explored possible relationships between the complaint categories and the independent variables for individuals within each group. The study's four hypotheses were not supported, although some evidence was found for a significant relationship between receiver Interaction Involvement and perceived complainant Opportunity, for External LOC individuals only.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Reed, William
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Towards a Theory of Electronic Communication and Protest (open access)

Towards a Theory of Electronic Communication and Protest

Paper seeks to explore the impact of electronic communication on social protest movements and how individuals petition for redress of grievances against the government.
Date: 2012
Creator: Stoner, Byron
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Identifying At-Risk Students: An Assessment Instrument for Distributed Learning Courses in Higher Education (open access)

Identifying At-Risk Students: An Assessment Instrument for Distributed Learning Courses in Higher Education

The current period of rapid technological change, particularly in the area of mediated communication, has combined with new philosophies of education and market forces to bring upheaval to the realm of higher education. Technical capabilities exceed our knowledge of whether expenditures on hardware and software lead to corresponding gains in student learning. Educators do not yet possess sophisticated assessments of what we may be gaining or losing as we widen the scope of distributed learning. The purpose of this study was not to draw sweeping conclusions with respect to the costs or benefits of technology in education. The researcher focused on a single issue involved in educational quality: assessing the ability of a student to complete a course. Previous research in this area indicates that attrition rates are often higher in distributed learning environments. Educators and students may benefit from a reliable instrument to identify those students who may encounter difficulty in these learning situations. This study is aligned with research focused on the individual engaged in seeking information, assisted or hindered by the capabilities of the computer information systems that create and provide access to information. Specifically, the study focused on the indicators of completion for students enrolled in …
Date: May 2000
Creator: Osborn, Viola
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION, AND LANGUAGE (open access)

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION, AND LANGUAGE

A lecture delivered at Sandia Corp., Albuquerque, N. Mex., June 18, 1958. A discussion of information exchange theory is presented. Semantics in communications are examined, and the use of symbols in thinking and presentaion are discussed in some detail. (J.R.D.)
Date: July 1, 1959
Creator: Hammer, P.C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
This Isn't About Me: Communication Privacy Management Theory and Public Confession (open access)

This Isn't About Me: Communication Privacy Management Theory and Public Confession

Individuals at the DFW Church publicly confess intensely personal information, such as drug and alcohol addiction, spousal and child abuse, stripping, and sexual abuse. Using communication privacy management theory (CPM), I examined the way individuals at the DFW Church manage their private information, how they make disclosure decisions, and how they manage boundaries around their private information. I interviewed 13 individuals who participated in public confession, and coded their responses to identify the common themes and tactics for making disclosure decisions. Through this process, I pioneer the application of CPM to examine public disclosure events, rather than dyadic or small group disclosures. I also expand our current understanding of motivations for disclosure; rather than focusing on selfish or therapeutic motivations, participants want to encourage others through their disclosure. In terms of boundary management, individuals at the DFW Church believe that God owns part, or all, of their information; thus, disclosing their pasts is "not about them." Participants construct a new identity through their testimony narrative, effectively putting the old person in the past and presenting a new, Christian identity to the church body for group approval. In this context, confessing a negative behavior becomes a way to build a positive …
Date: May 2013
Creator: Brittain, Kära Ann Caskey
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The North Texan, Volume 33, Number 2, Spring 1983 (open access)

The North Texan, Volume 33, Number 2, Spring 1983

The North Texan includes articles and notes about North Texas State University students, faculty, and alumni activities.
Date: Spring 1983
Creator: North Texas State University
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Emergence of Organization Through Communication (open access)

The Emergence of Organization Through Communication

Taylor, Cooren, Giroux, and Robichaud (1996) theorize that an organization is created entirely through the interpretations of its members and it evolves as those conversations change. Demonstrating the Taylor et al. theory, the current study focuses on the outcomes of management vision and strategic planning sessions in a division of a large Southwestern University. It explores the ways organization emerges through the discourse of the managers, how text is amplified to support the organization as a whole, the ways organization continues to emerge in communication, and in what ways the emergent view of organization exists throughout the division. The results of the study support the Taylor et al. theory. Management participants created an expanded view of the organization through discourse and then linked it to the university as a whole. Evidence was found supporting continued reformulation but it was limited to the management participants and did not include hourly employees.
Date: August 2002
Creator: Hope, Michael
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Castle/Nikki Heat Phenomenon: A Detailed Examination of Female Representation in Entertainment Media (open access)

The Castle/Nikki Heat Phenomenon: A Detailed Examination of Female Representation in Entertainment Media

As entertainment reflects a culture's ideology, it is important for researchers to study its messages and subsequently its potential meanings. Entertainment has the power to inform and persuade, creating models for behavior with which the public interacts. The entertainment texts for the purpose of this study are the Castle television series and the Nikki Heat novels. Together, they create a unique multi-layer fictional world. By using postmodern, feminist, communication, and entertainment theories, the results of this study provide a tightly focused lens which views a narrow aspect of entertainment media. Each text was thoroughly examined using textual analysis, Feminist Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis, and conversation analysis. Contrary to expectations, the results indicated that the Castle and Nikki Heat texts support hegemonic ideology, particularly through the use of exaggerated stereotypes, strict gender roles, imagery, and narrative choices that help perpetuate rape culture. The discussion outlines how these results can be interpreted through the dominant messages presented in the texts. This research is intended to serve as a foundation for future research regarding entertainment media.
Date: December 2016
Creator: Skinner, Katharine Virginia
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Blogging and Tweens: Communication Portal to Reading Selection and Engagement (open access)

Blogging and Tweens: Communication Portal to Reading Selection and Engagement

The ethnographic study utilized the research techniques of observations, content analysis, and semi-structured interviews with tween participants (i.e., 9 through 13 year-old youth) during an 8-week literary blog project. Twenty-six participants created individual blog pages within a member-only classroom blog site that allowed for online communication between members. the blog project incorporated social networking applications with which youth frequently engage. the research questions ensured data regarding what facets participants found appealing and motivating during the project was collected. the questions allowed for determining if participants utilized peer blogs for reading material selection or repurposed the blogs to discuss other topics. Components of self-determination theory and engagement theory underlay the project design and aided in identifying motivational aspects of the data. Frequency tables outlined the identified patterns and structures of participants’ online activity. Participants found the ability to change the colors of their blog backgrounds and to design their individual blogs and the giving and receiving of feedback to be the two most appealing features of the project. Participants chose books from peer suggestions in the online world but also selected materials from recommendations they received in face-to-face interactions with their peers, their teacher, and the school librarian. Little evidence of …
Date: May 2012
Creator: Sharber, Shelli K.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information and meaning revisiting Shannon's theory of communication and extending it to address today<U+2019>s technical problems. (open access)

Information and meaning revisiting Shannon's theory of communication and extending it to address today<U+2019>s technical problems.

This paper has three goals. The first is to review Shannon's theory of information and the subsequent advances leading to today's statistics-based text analysis algorithms, showing that the semantics of the text is neglected. The second goal is to propose an extension of Shannon's original model that can take into account semantics, where the 'semantics' of a message is understood in terms of the intended or actual changes on the recipient of a message. The third goal is to propose several lines of research that naturally fall out of the proposed model. Each computational approach to solving some problem rests on an underlying model or set of models that describe how key phenomena in the real world are represented and how they are manipulated. These models are both liberating and constraining. They are liberating in that they suggest a path of development for new tools and algorithms. They are constraining in that they intentionally ignore other potential paths of development. Modern statistical-based text analysis algorithms have a specific intellectual history and set of underlying models rooted in Shannon's theory of communication. For Shannon, language is treated as a stochastic generator of symbol sequences. Shannon himself, subsequently Weaver, and at least …
Date: December 1, 2009
Creator: Bauer, Travis LaDell
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Speaking up: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Bystander Intervention in Racism (open access)

Speaking up: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Bystander Intervention in Racism

Because racism remains a significant issue in society, and many victims of racism do not speak up for themselves when faced with racism, it is important to explore how witnesses to racist events may react and intervene upon observing racism toward others. Thus, the current study explored how participants (bystanders) reacted verbally to racist comments made by a confederate during a partner activity, as well as how participants discussed their reactions in post-interviews. Forty college students participated in the study, and three of the participants verbally intervened upon hearing the racist statements. Ajzen's theory of planned behavior was utilized as a framework, and examination of the results indicated that components of the theory as well as social constructions of racism and appropriateness of intervention behaviors affect intervention outcomes. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications, as well as suggestions for future research are included.
Date: May 2010
Creator: Hall, Camille Ashley
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Care, Communication, Support: Core for Designing Meaningful Online Collaborative Learning (open access)

Care, Communication, Support: Core for Designing Meaningful Online Collaborative Learning

Article describes study seeking to identify emergent themes regarding higher education instructors’ perceptions concerning the provision of collaborative learning activities and opportunities in their online classroom.
Date: December 2017
Creator: Robinson, Heather; Kilgore, Whitney & Warren, Scott J.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Public School Educators' Use of Computer-Mediated Communication (open access)

Public School Educators' Use of Computer-Mediated Communication

This study examined the uses of computer-mediated communication (CMC) by educators in selected public schools. It used Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory as the underpinnings of the study. CMC refers to any exchange of information that involves the use of computers for communication between individuals or individuals and a machine. This study was an exploration of difficulties users confront, what services they access, and the tasks they accomplish when using CMC. It investigated the factors that affect the use of CMC. The sample population was drawn from registered users on TENET, the Texas Education Network as of December 1997. The educators were described with frequency and percentages analyzing the demographic data. For the research, eight indices were selected to test how strongly these user and environmental attributes were associated with the use of CMC. These variables were (1) education, (2) position, (3) place of employment, (4) geographic location, (5) district size, (6) organization vitality, (7) adopter resources, and (8) instrumentality Two dependent variables were used to test for usage: (1) depth or frequency of CMC usage and amount of time spent online and (2) breadth or variety of Internet utilities used. Additionally, the users' perception of network benefits was measured. …
Date: December 2000
Creator: Urias-Barker, Zelina
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Prediction of Verbal Dominance Behaviors using Constructivist Theory (open access)

Prediction of Verbal Dominance Behaviors using Constructivist Theory

This study assessed how Constructivist theory accounts for verbal dominance. Conversations of rotating dyads were tape recorded, then coded for measures of dominance. Subjects completed a trait dominance scale and a constructivist personality test. Interpersonal rankings of dominance were found to be more consistent with observed behavior than trait dominance scores. Extreme trait dominance scores were associated with a constructivist measure indicating maladjustment. Dyads identified as more resistant to change were found to use fewer verbal control strategies; male/male dyads were characterized by direct, functional interactions. Dyads that were highly comfortable with one another utilized fewer verbal control methods. Lastly, interactions in which participants reported unfamiliar self-experiencing utilized higher levels of verbal control. Implications for group processing, assessment of dominance and sex differences are discussed.
Date: May 1990
Creator: Curlin, Caroline
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
"Respect is active like an organism that is not only cumulative but has a very personal effect": A grounded theory methodology of a respect communication model in the college classroom. (open access)

"Respect is active like an organism that is not only cumulative but has a very personal effect": A grounded theory methodology of a respect communication model in the college classroom.

This study examined the notion of respect in the college classroom. While pedagogical researchers had previously studied the phenomenon, each found challenges in defining it. Moreover, communication scholars do not examine respect as a primary pedagogical factor with learning implications. Focus groups provided venues for topic-specific discussion necessary for better understanding the diversity of students' worldviews regarding respect in the college classroom. Grounded theory allowed for searching theoretical relevance of the phenomenon through constant comparison with categorical identification. The most practical contributions of this research identifies as several major notions including, the importance of relationships within the process, student self-esteem, and global-classroom respect. In addition, implications emerged from the data as learning, motivation, and environment. One other practical contribution exists as a respect communication model for the college classroom. Further, examining students' worldviews of respect in the classroom provides benefits for pedagogical scholars, students, and instructors.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Martinez, Alma
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
"It's never been this bad...ever": An analysis of K-12 teachers' standpoints related to parent-teacher communication. (open access)

"It's never been this bad...ever": An analysis of K-12 teachers' standpoints related to parent-teacher communication.

With the rise of "helicopter" parents within primary and secondary education, school officials nationwide have started to address how to manage parental involvement in the educational system, specifically with regard to parent-teacher communication. Beginning in the 1980s, school administrators actively implemented programs targeting increased parental involvement in K-12 public schools, though the use of contact and relationship building strategies, in order to substantiate school-teacher-parent communication and further parental influence over decision making processes. While administrators and parents may view parent-teacher interactions as productive, teachers' negative experiences with parents may lead to stress, burnout, and attrition. Researchers have indicated that between 20 and 50% of first through third year teachers leave the profession due to increased, long-term stress, unrealistic workload, and an overall feeling of decreased personal and professional fulfillment. Likewise, through educational reform initiatives to standardize curriculum and increase parental involvement within public schools, teachers' roles within the educational system have shifted from positions of power, to figureheads for the system. The purpose of this study is to examine public school K-12 teachers' standpoints as they relate to parent-teacher communication.
Date: May 2009
Creator: Thomas-Seltzer, Ashley
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Application of Information Theory Concepts in the Investigation of the Growth Pattern of Production, Distribution and Velocity of Information (open access)

Application of Information Theory Concepts in the Investigation of the Growth Pattern of Production, Distribution and Velocity of Information

The objective of this research is the investigation of the patterns of information growth to test whether there has been an "information explosion." To tackle the main problem, there are three issues which need to be addressed: (1) the concept of information dimensionality; (2) determination of common parameters to measure the amount of information within each dimension; and (3) a working definition of "explosiveness. "
Date: August 1987
Creator: Attia, Abdel-Hameed M. (Abdel-Hameed Mohammed)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Note on Zeno's paradox in quantum theory (open access)

Note on Zeno's paradox in quantum theory

A decaying quantum system, if observed very frequently in order to ascertain whether or not it is still undecayed, will not decay at all. The derivation of this effect - known, e.g., as Zeno's paradox - has been criticized recently. It has been argued that measurements performed in a very short time interval, ..delta..t, produce states with a very large energy uncertanty, ..delta..E, and that Zeno's paradox disappears if this is taken into account. By construction of an explicit counterexample it is proved, however, that there is no energy-time uncertainty relation of the required kind; therefore, the criticism mentioned is unjustified.
Date: February 1, 1980
Creator: Kraus, K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unification of quantum theory and classical physics (open access)

Unification of quantum theory and classical physics

A program is described for unifying quantum theory and classical physics on the basis of the Copenhagen-interpretation idea of external reality and a recently discovered classical part of the electromagnetic field. The program effects an integration of the intuitions of Heisenberg, Bohr, and Einstein.
Date: July 1, 1985
Creator: Stapp, Henry P.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Music and Information (open access)

Music and Information

The application of information theory to music may provide both a means for measuring the information content of the messages .of the system and for studying the effects of such messages in the field of psychology of music (e.g., the group at Iowa University which is carrying on work commenced by Carl Seashore 3 ). Before the techniques of information theory may be applied to a study of music much statistical data about the music system must be compiled. Masking data must be compiled dealing with many simultaneous tones as are encountered in music; the effects of timbre in overcoming or adding to masking effects must be investigated; the effects of masking on and by the singing voice must be tabulated; and similar data must be compiled dealing with the effects of other types of tonal interactions. This data of the effects of tonal interactions may be used both to reduce the effects of such auditory phenomena and to determine which components of a message pass through the communication channel (i.e., the ear). The masking problem, as illustrated in Figures 19 and 20, may be so acute in some compositions that the part of the signal carrying the information content …
Date: August 1956
Creator: Lawes, Robert Clement
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
In good communication and in bad: A study of premarital counseling and communication skills in newlywed couples. (open access)

In good communication and in bad: A study of premarital counseling and communication skills in newlywed couples.

This study examined the effects of premarital counseling on newlywed communication. It was predicted that individuals who had participated in premarital counseling would have lower levels of demand/withdrawal communication and higher levels of spousal support. The effects of the format of the counseling were also examined. Individuals who had been married less than two years completed a survey measuring their marital satisfaction, levels of demand/withdraw, and perceived spousal support. Social learning theory was used as a theoretical lens. Results suggested that participating in premarital counseling has no affect on newlywed communication. Newlyweds who had been exposed to a group format during their counseling had higher marital satisfaction than those who had just participated in a one-on-one format with a counselor.
Date: May 2009
Creator: Norvell, Karen
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dynamic Theory: a new view of space, time, and matter (open access)

Dynamic Theory: a new view of space, time, and matter

The theory presented represents a different approach toward unification of the various branches of physics. The foundation of the theory rests upon generalizations of the classical laws of thermodynamics, particularly Caratheodory's abstract statement of the second law. These adopted laws are shown to produce, as special cases, current theories such as Einstein's General and Special Relativity, Maxwell's electromagnetism, classical thermodynamics, and quantum principles. In addition to this unification, the theory provides predictions that may be experimentally investigated. Some of the predictions are a limiting rate of mass conversion, reduced pressures in electromagnetically contained plasmas, increased viscous effects in shocked materials, a finite self-energy for a charged particle, and the possible creation of particles with velocities greater than the speed of light. 8 figures.
Date: December 1, 1980
Creator: Williams, P.E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library