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News Blotter |
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New scholarship led by PhD candidate Adam J. Mason looks at how we study and understand relational maintenance in new channels. The process of staying friends is old; but how we do that has changed alongside the rise of social media and other digital tools. Mason and Carr (2022) looks at how we can use and tweak established theories of offline relational maintance to effectively theorize and study the process even in new channels. Rather than inventing new theories, sometimes small tweaks to extant ideas can take us a long way!
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Comics are increasingly known by their crossovers and team-ups. But what makes for effective team players in a universe of Celestials and Omega-mutants? This social network analysis of team structures in the Marvel Comic Universe reveals some interesting insights into the thousands of collaborations that have occurred in its panels, and identifies (and explains) some of the unlikely superheros (and supervillians) who have teamed up the most. Make mine Marvel!
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We finally have a theory of identity shift! This amazing, multi-institutional collaboration with Yeweon Kim, Jacob Valov, Dr. Judith Rosenbaum, Dr. Benjamin Johnson, Dr. Jeff Hancock, and Dr. Amy Gonzales explicates a theory of a construct I've liked working with since Amy and Jeff put it forward:identity shift. Our newly-articulated theory draws on empirical findings to create a theory of how mediated selective self-presentation results in self-transformation.
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A long while in the making, you can now pre-order Computer-mediated communication, my new textbook for undergraduate scholars, is now available. The book focuses on both theories and applications of mediated communication, presenting classic theories in contemporary environments. Chapters address interpersonal, group, organizational, and political communication online, as well as social media, CMC for education and persuasion, and other contemporary topics. Instructor supplements forthcoming, including test bank and sample assignments.
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Overview |
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| Having received an education along US-27
in Michigan (including Alma College, Central Michigan University,
and Michigan State University), I emigrated from Michigan to Illinois by way of Oklahoma. A Professor of communication, I best-enjoy teaching courses in computer-mediated
and organizational communication, and work with diverse undergraduate and graduate students to delve deep into
the way communication and communicative technologies
change the way individuals learn about and interact with each
other. I count myself lucky I have a career to which I look
forward to every morning and that supports my other pursuits,
including travel.
At both the scholarly and personal levels, I love what I
do, and try to dive into each new activity fully. From researching
the ways that individuals use technologies to augment and
enhance decision making in work groups to sushing the slopes
of Colorado's back
bowls, I try to find the joy of each experience. Always
willing to try new things (from qualitative research to luging),
I find much of my life guided by a dogma common among my friends,
"Always do, never don't." At ease conducting social
network analyses and discussing theoretical implications of
research articles as well as touring vineyards and watching
Phineas
& Ferb with my nephews & niece, colleagues and friends
often describe me as eclectic, so I've tried to articulate
a bit of me below. |
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Professional
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I have taught courses in Communication and Business to
a variety of students: residential, nontraditional, and continuing
education at several institutions. I have had the opportunity
to teach courses in Mediated Communication, Group Communication, Public
Speaking, Organizational Communication, Social and Economic
Impacts of Telecommunication, Introduction to Media, and International
Business; as well as online courses in Interpersonal and Group
Communication.
As a researcher, I have a variety of research interests,
including the use of technology for communication and decision-making
within organizations (my primary focus) and online identity
construction and presentation. Trained in a variety of methodologies,
I have a preference towards experimental and survey research,
especially in online contexts. |
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Educational |
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Ph.D., Media and Information Studies;
Michigan State University
M.A., Interpersonal Communication; Central
Michigan University
B.S., International Business Administration;
Central
Michigan University |
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Personal |
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| I was born and raised just outside of Flint, Michigan. For
those of you who have seen Roger
and Me, those scenes (both geographical and political)
were the daily stage upon which my youth was played out. My
family comes from both sides of the union aisle (blue and white
collar, almost 50/50), which is probably what drew me to business
and communication in the first place.
Though I was born in Michigan, soon into high school I began
to take advantage of my new-found passion for travel and did
so frequently. Many of my travels brought me to the East Coast,
specifically the Garden
State, which I consider my second--and real--home. Many
of my friends live in the Philadelphia metropolitan area,
and it's not uncommon for me to come up missing on a Saturday
morning, only to be eating a Gino's
cheesesteak ("with") by evening.
Beyond my studies and travels, I am also a ravenous thespian,
an avid alpine skier, and enjoy lazing away an afternoon with
a good book on the shore of a nearby lake. I have a propensity
towards books as escapism, and was happy that the release
of the final Harry
Potter was during a time when losing a day to reading
it didn't detract from anything else. Alongside these more
pedantic pursuits, I've also had the privileged to perform
in a West End (London) theatrical
production, water ski in alligator-infested waters, sing
in a Parisian
cathedral, hit a deer with an airplane, and enjoy combative
watertubing. |
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