Department of Communication faculty and doctoral students presented their award-winning research at the 81st annual meeting of the Central States Communication Association held March 28-31 in Cleveland. The convention theme, “Connecting in Cleveland: Exploring Intersections that Unite the Discipline,” brought together nearly 900 communication faculty, students and practitioners to present their research and conduct business meetings for their respective groups within the association.
Robert S. Littlefield, professor of communication, and current doctoral graduate students Kimberly A. Beauchamp, Michael Burns, Laura C. Farrell, Julie L. Fudge and Derek Jorgenson, presented at the annual conference.
Farrell and Fudge presented their manuscript, “An Exploration of Quasi-Stable Online Social Networks: A Longitudinal Perspective,” receiving the Nancy Burrell Award for the Top Student Paper and Top Debut Paper from the Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Interest Group.
Farrell, Littlefield and co-author Stella Opendi Sasanya received the Dan Millar Top Paper Award for their manuscript, “Menu Foods Pet Food Recall: Social Media at the Intersection of Emotion in Crisis,” presented at the Top Papers Panel sponsored by the Public Relations Interest Group.
Burns presented his manuscript as part of the top student papers panel to the Communication Theory Interest Group: “Recruiting Prospective Students with Stories: How Personal Stories Influence the Process of Choosing a University.”
Jorgenson presented his paper, “Sister Wives: A Positive Portrayal of Multiple-Marriages, A Negative Commentary on Polygamist Brides,” as a member of the top panel titled, “One Step Forward, A Thousand Steps Back: The Learning Channel’s World of Women,” sponsored by the Women’s Caucus.
Beauchamp and Littlefield presented their paper, “Communication Infrastructure, Capacity Building, and Development: Uniting Theory and Practice with a Culture-Centered Approach,” on a competitive panel sponsored by the Intercultural Communication Interest Group, titled “’Connecting’ across Culture: Workplace, School and Relational Contexts.”
It was announced at the business meeting that Littlefield was beginning his three-year term as incoming editor of the association’s journal, Communication Studies.
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