WMU Graduate Students to Present Research at NCA in November

Several WMU communication graduate students will be presenting papers and participating on panels at the annual conference of the National Communication Association to be held in Miami Beach, November 19-23. These papers represent both individual and collaborative research efforts and include student-generated papers as well as co-authorships with WMU faculty. Increasingly graduate students, with the aid of faculty mentoring, are focusing on venues for disseminating the work they have done on papers and projects. Presentations at conferences are an excellent first step in the transition from course paper or research project to publication in an academic or trade journal.

This year WMU also has a significant presence at the NCA conference through our alumni. Each year several of our students continue their graduate studies at universities around the country. In addition, some of our alumni continue to participate in the research process and participate in conferences to extend their learning and professional growth.

Dr. Mark Orbe, associate professor in the department, has prepared a pamphlet outlining the contributions of WMU faculty, graduate students, and alumni to the 2003 NCA conference. Excerpted in the following are the contributions of our graduate students and our recent alums.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Ainsworth, Rickey, Presenter (2354). Listen, Think, Move, & Share: Utilizing the Four Corners of a Classroom to Cultivate a Community Where Reaching In and Reaching Out is a Core Aspect of Learning.

Akkoor, Chitra V., Presenter (3747). Culture as Context: Group Process at an Asian Indian Hindu Temple.

Brown, Jennifer, Presenter (1248). Corporate Apologia and Business Fraud: The Case of Merrill Lynch.

Groscurth, Chris R., Presenter (3382). Race, Class, and Being “In the Know:” Comparing the Information Seeking Strategies of Racially Diverse First Generation College Students.

Presenter (4331). A Co-cultural Theoretical Analysis of Communicating on Campus: Exploring the Negotiation Strategies of First-Generation College (FGC) Students.

Presenter (4388). Negotiating Linguistic Intolerance: A Call for Theoretical Advancement in Intercultural Communication Competence Research of Linguistic Diversity.

Hargrow, Patrice Yvonne, Presenter (4331). Using the Life Story Narrative to Investigate the Communication Competencies of a Contemporary African American Female Preacher.

Jeffries, Tammy L., Presenter (3382). Saving a Seat: An Autoethnographic Study in Communicating Courage Amidst the Struggles in Pursuing The Dreams of a First Generation College Student of Color.

Presenter (4388). Intersections of Race, Identity, and Co-cultural Practices: A Content Analysis of a “White Black Woman.”

Prater, Angela D., Presenter (1435). Lessons in Teaching, Assessment, and Attitude Change in One Communicating Common Ground Project.

RECENT ALUMNI

Beal, Marsha, Presenter (4251). Mothers’-in-Law and Daughters’-in-Law Relationships: Affective Expressive Atmosphere as a Predictor of Communication Satisfaction.

Dempsey, Sarah E., Panelist (1216). Re-defining Academic Feminism: Creating Online Feminist Theorist Dialogue.

Presenter (1390). Working to Strengthen International Networks Within On-Line Spaces: Practices, Problems, and Possibilities.

Gates, Denise, Presenter (33101). Application of Co-cultural Theory to Subordinate Communication with Superiors in Organizations: A Preliminary Study.

Chair (3582). Language Barrier in South Florida

Heuman, Amy N., Instructor (1465). Short Course 22: Incorporating Cultural Issues into the Interviewing Course.

Panelist (2349). Challenging Academic Discourse.

Presenter (3349). Liz Claiborne’s Mambo: Cashing in on Latino/a Identity.

Hopson, Mark C., Presenter (1372). For Denise, Carole, Cynthia, and Addie Mae: Gazing at Whiteness in Spike Lee’s “4 Little Girls.”

Presenter (1483). Classroom Constructions of Black Masculinity as an Epidemic: A Critical Cultural Analysis of Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘The Tipping Point.”

Presenter (4388). Exploring Street Journals From a Co-Cultural Perspective: The Case of StreetWise.

Kausche, Angelika, Presenter (1548). Death of a Myth: A Situational Crisis Communication Analysis of the Crash of High Speed Train ICE 884 Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, Eschede, Germany, 1998.

Presenter (28103). Sensemanager Workshop: Becoming an Effective Sensemanager in an Incomprehensible World.

Krieger, Janice L., Presenter (28103). Sensemanager Workshop: Becoming an Effective Sensemanager in an Incomprehensible World.

Lee, Ee Lin, Presenter (1746). The Effects of Self-Construals and Verbal Argumentativeness on Classroom Negotiation.

O’Connor, Amy, Presenter (4348). Values Advocacy Re-Conceptualized: The Advocacy Identification Model.

Putman, Angela L., Presenter (3382). Giving Voice to the Voiceless: First Generation Mexican American College Students in a Border Community Speak Out.

Panelist (3761). From Graduate/Teaching Assistant to Community College Full-time Faculty.

Sanders, Felicia L., Presenter (4388). The Business of Black/Hair Politics: A Co-Cultural Analysis of Black Professional Women’s Aesthetic Representations in a Contested Site of Workplace Culture.