The Relationship of Online Communication Modes on Counselor Educator Job Satisfaction

With the increase in pressures related to teaching online, counselor educators are experiencing greater amounts of burnout. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative survey study was to assess for significant differences and correlations between synchronous and asynchronous communication modes on online counselor educators\u27 job satisfaction levels as measured by the Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure, and levels of burnout, as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey. The researcher used Moore\u27s theory of transactional distance as the theoretical framework to answer 2 research questions: (a) Is there a significant difference in faculty satisfaction and burnout levels based on communication modes?; and (b) Is there a relationship between satisfaction and burnout for faculty members depending on their use of synchronous and asynchronous communication modes? The researcher solicited participants for the study through the CESNET listserv and the CACREP graduate program database. A total of 125 participants completed surveys and 2 data analysis techniques were used. Results of the t test indicated that counselor educators had significantly higher levels of satisfaction, higher levels of personal accomplishment and significantly lower levels of emotional exhaustion when using synchronous communications. The Pearson correlation analysis results indicated significant correlations between satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment depending on the type of communications. The study will potentially contribute to social change by providing information useful for the implementation of teaching methods that improve overall faculty satisfaction and decrease burnout

Health communication management: the interface between culture and scientific communication in the management of Ebola in Liberia

The research questioned the efficacy of standard biomedical information sharing and communication processes in ensuring rapid and reliable behavioural changes in the control of epidemics, especially in high-context cultures. Information processing arousals and behaviour change motivations are subject to the level of interactions in the extrinsic and intrinsic elements of an information. Following, epidemic control can only be successful if relevant elements of a system’s values, norms, beliefs and practices for information processing are superimposed on scientific communication to create shared meanings. An empirical research approach in grounded theory underscore the data collection of this research with the data analogy utilising the MAXQDA Analytics Pro software. Ebola behavioural changes were identified to be enabled by the functional properties of community mobilisation as a structure and process for meaning making and behavioural motivation. A contextual health communication model dubbed the ecological collegial communication model has been modelled for epidemiological control as the output of the research. Specific to the methodology, a systematic qualitative and data analysis process in grounded theory was adopted for conducting the research and the dissertation writing. Commencing the process was the identification and analysis of the problem from the perspectives of the challenges to the Ebola communication management. This was comprehensively identified from the fundamentals of the process of communication to the communication itself and was assessed from the motivational factors underlying the behaviours within which the rationality of the behaviours could be understood for their inflexibility to change or their insensitivity to the Ebola messages. The mediations of the behavioural motivators in the cognitive processes to information processing were considered for their intrinsic and extrinsic values to arouse information processing and persuade change. To explore the interface between communication and culture in cognitive processes of information processing and decision making, literatures on behavioural theories, including anthropological theories from which the processes and determinants of behavioural enactment are predicted were reviewed in chapters two to four. Intention (also used interchangeably in this dissertation as motivation) was unanimously construed as proximal in determining behaviours in the literatures. However, intention was also construed to have linkages with other factors in the determination of behaviours.:Dedication ii Declaration iii Acknowledgements iv Table of contents v List of figures vi List of photos vii List of matrices vii List of tables vii List of appendices viii Abbreviations ix 1 Communication and culture of the 2014/2015 West Africa Ebola outbreak 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Conceptualisation of the research problem – the key factors of the Ebola outbreak 4 1.2.1 Structural violence 7 1.2.2 Communication deficiency 10 1.2.3 Cultural models (values and practices 20 1.2.3a Death and funerals 21 1.2.3b Caregiving 26 1.2.3c Reliance on traditional healers 31 1.3 Research objectives 37 1.4 Definitions 38 1.5 Questions formulation and research questions 42 1.6 Justification 52 1.7 Conclusion 58 2 Theoretical frameworks consistent with the 2014/2015 Ebola outbreak health communication approaches – A discourse 59 2.1 Introduction 59 2.2 Psychological/behaviour science models 60 2.2.1 Health belief model 61 2.2.2 Protection motivation theory 64 2.2.3 Theory of planned behavior /reasoned action 71 2.2.4 Social cognitive theory / social learning theory 76 2.3 Summary 79 3 Information processing/communication theories 81 3.1Introduction 81 3.2 Elaboration likelihood model 81 3.3 Activation model 86 3.4 Narrative theory and entertainment education 88 3.5 Summary 95 4 Ecological theories / framework 97 4.1 Introduction 97 4.2 The PEN-3 Model 98 4.2.1 Health education (cultural identity)100 4.2.2 Cultural appropriateness of health behavior (cultural empowerment) 101 4.3 Bioecological theory 103 4.4 Developmental process of Bronfenbrenner’s model in the framework of the 2014/2015 Ebola outbreak 108 4.5 Theoretical framework of this dissertation 119 5 Research process and methodologies 125 5.1 Introduction 125 5.2 Justification of the research methodology 128 5.3 Overview of Monteserrado County 134 5.4 Techniques/procedures 137 5.4.1 Archival materials/documents 138 5.4.2 Ethnographic/observations 139 5.4.3 Key informants/in-depth interviews 142 5.4.4 Focus group discussions 143 5.5 Data analysis 146 5.5.1 Codes 147 5.5.2 Qualitative analysis employed in the research 152 5.6 Role of the researcher 153 5.6.1 Origins of the project 153 5.6.2 The discourse - philosophical worldview 156 5.6.3 Concluding thoughts 157 6 Data analysis: cultural practices, health and communication in the Liberian context 160 6.1 Introduction 160 6.2 Ethnicity and religion 162 6.3 Social organization 171 6.4 Aspects of death and burial practices 179 6.5 Concept of health and health care 186 6.6 Communication and information sharing approach in Liberia 193 6.6.1Traditional communication and the town crier in Liberia 195 6.6.2 Contribution of Crusaders for Peace 201 6.6.3 Development of overarching Ebola communication messages 206 6.7 Conclusion 210 7 Data analysis: Socio-cultural patterns in Ebola perceptions, content of messages and behavioural outcomes 212 7.1 Introduction 212 7.2 Parent codes – summative description and discussions 214 7.3 Understanding the socio-cultural patterns in Ebola knowledge and behaviours: Perceptions of Ebola transmissions 226 7.4 Content and nature of Ebola messages in perceptions and behaviours 237 7.5 Conclusion 276 8 Data analysis: Understanding the motivators of Ebola behaviours – an analytical interrelationships model perspective 278 8.1 Introduction 278 8.2 Patterns of Ebola behaviours 279 8.3 Conclusion 317 9 Decoding: the interface between culture and communication in the Ebola communication management 319 9.1 Introduction 319 9.2 Contextual elements of effective communication – the interface 321 9.3 Cognitive heuristics to “…protect yourself…” 336 9.4 Processes of moderations of “protect yourself” in cognitions 339 9.5 Conclusion 343 10 Theoretical and conceptual inferences from empirical data and framework for a culturally appropriate communication 344 10.1 Introduction 344 10.2 Research questions 344 10.3 Epidemic control: The cultural model framework to persuasive communication for epidemic management 359 10.3.1 The composite conceptual analytical elements of the model 364 10.3.1a Model definition and assumptions 365 10.3.1b The ECCM – the interactive elements of a system 367 10.3.1c Pattern of communication in the ECCM 371 10.3.2 Summary 374 10.4 Processes of how to apply the ECCM 375 10.5 Limitations of the model 382 10.6 Conclusion 383 11 Conclusions and recommendations 385 11.1 Introduction 385 11.2 Key conclusions 385 11.3 Implications 387 11.3.1 Policy framework implications 387 11.3.2 Theoretical implications 390 11.4 Further research 393 11.4.1 Approach to communication 393 11.4.2 Cultural dynamics 396 11.4.3 Health perceptions 398 11.4.4 Ebola orphans and victims 398 11. 5 Research limitations 399 References 40

The knowledge, the will and the power : a plan of action to meet the HIV prevention needs of Africans living in England

The Knowledge, The Will and The Power is a statement of what we, the NAHIP Partners, plan to do to prevent HIV transmissions occurring during sexual activity among the diverse population of Africans living in England (Chapter 1). We describe the size and context of Africans living in England (Chapter 2), the size of the HIV epidemic and the number of new infections occurring (Chapter 3), as well as the behaviours and facilitators of new infections (Chapter 4). We then articulate how the NAHIP partners intend to influence future behaviours (Chapter 5). The final three chapters describe what is required in order to meet the HIV prevention needs of individual African people (Chapter 6), of NAHIP partner organisations (Chapter 7) and of those undertaking decisions related to policy, planning and research (Chapter 8)

Perception of meaning and usage motivations of emoticons among Americans and Chinese users

Do people of different cultures agree on the meaning and use of emoticons? This study addresses this question from an inter-cultural perspective and explores the use of emoticons in the American and Chinese Computer-mediated communication (CMC) communities. The research indicates that both the Americans and Chinese participants use emoticons for entertaining, informational and social interaction motivations but the Americans are more likely to use emoticons for information motivations than the Chinese and the Chinese participants are more likely to use emoticons for social interactions than the Americans participants. The results correspond to the cultural differences between the two countries in low-/ high-context and individualism/collectivism dimensions. Moreover, the results also show that the Americans and the Chinese disagree on the meaning of most emoticons used in the study

Medication Adherence and People Living with HIV: A Qualitative Study

Abstract While significant strides have developed evidence-based preventions and treatments for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), only 26% percent of HIV-positive people in care achieve the treatment objective of viral suppression (Viral Suppression, 2018). While the literature has identified a positive relationship between patient-provider communication and optimum treatment adherence, nonadherence is poorly understood, and no evidence-based model for such communication exists. This study aims to examine the perspectives of HIV-positive patients and family/friend caregivers (FFC) related to treatment adherence, as most of the literature has been dominated by the clinician’s point of view. Further, this work seeks to provide knowledge that will inform medication-taking behaviors so that future interventions can include patient-driven adherence discussions in treatment planning. This project employs a grounded theory approach to analyze HIV-positive patient and caregiver interviews about treatment. A convenience sampling method drew participants from an HIV support organization in Memphis, Tennessee. Results indicate that medication adherence demands collaborative communication between patients, caregivers, and providers that prioritizes the patient’s perspective. This communication approach requires the provider to respond to the patient’s concerns first to achieve positive medication-taking practices and quality of life. Adherence communication also allows the provider to perform a holistic assessment of the patients’/caregivers’ cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and environmental capacity to achieve treatment goals. Central to medication adherence is the discussion of supportive services. Keywords: HIV, medication adherence, patient-provider communication, caregive

Bowen Family Systems Theory and its Relationship to Teachers: Does Differentiation of Self Predict Teacher Job Satisfaction?

Educational leaders are charged with maintaining the academic success of students, the faith of stakeholders in the educational process, and the growth of the educational profession. These objectives have become difficult during a time of noticeable discontent among the stakeholders of educational systems. The discontent is noted strongly among the ranks of teachers who continue to cite decreased job satisfaction as they face increased internal and external accountability pressures, declining resource availability, and reduced familial support. The resulting teacher job dissatisfaction has led to an increased need among the leadership of educational systems to develop an understanding of the issues related to the recruitment of students into teacher education programs, the new teachers’ initial training, and teacher retention. This research examined the role of individual teachers’ relational development as a determinant of teacher job satisfaction in an attempt to find a predictive trait that could be of future use to educational leaders in teacher training, recruitment, and retention. The concept of differentiation of self as developed by Murray Bowen’s family systems theory was used as the developmental marker within this research model since it provides a measure of emotional versus intellectual governance as well as individuation versus corporate belonging. This study examined whether differentiation of self as measured by the Differentiation of Self Inventory—Revised (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998; Skowron & Schmitt, 2003) with the sub-categories of emotional reactivity, fusion, emotional cutoff and the ability to act from the I-position had any predictive relationship on teacher job satisfaction as measured using the Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (Lester, 1984, 1987) with the subcategories of supervision, colleagues, working conditions, pay, responsibility, work itself, advancement, security and recognition. The results indicated the subcategories of colleagues, working conditions, responsibility, and security could be predicted by the subcategories of differentiation of self. The findings of the research have the potential to be used by educational leaders in the development of teacher training programs, teacher recruitment efforts, and teacher retention programs through an improved understanding of the role individual developmental health plays in the level of subsequent job satisfaction experienced by the teacher

Types Of Social Support In Distance Education And Academic Performance At A Southwestern Historically Black College And University

As a result of rapid growth in distance education, increasingly more students are enrolling in online courses. Nearly 81% of all U.S. postsecondary institutions offered “at least one fully online or blended course” in 2003 (Jones & Davenport, 2018). Previous research has demonstrated African American students site “convenience” as an influence in enrolling in an online course (Kwun et al., 2012). While online learning offers benefits to both institutions and students (Anderson, 2008), research has also found students may exhibit stress and anxiety as a result of isolation and loneliness caused by distance learning (Duranton & Mason, 2012; Heinman, 2008; Kim, 2011; Muirhead & Blum, 2006). Additional research found online students at HBCUs preferred face-to-face, traditional courses over online delivery and hybrid modalities due to teaching quality and communication difficulty between the teacher and student (Kwun et al., 2012). These tensions are eased when instructors practice social support through the building of community. This explanation, referred to in the literature as Community of Inquiry, or CoI (Garrett et al., 2010), attributes online student success through Social Support Theory (Albrecht & Adelman, 1987). The theory is defined as the verbal and non-verbal communication between recipients and providers that reduces uncertainty about the situation, the self, the other, or the relationship, and functions to enhance a perception of personal control in one’s life experience (Albrecht & Adelman, 1987). There is a lack of research focused on instructor social support and its effect on online student academic success at HBCUs. The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental study is to ascertain if online instructor social support is significantly related to online student academic performance at a Southwestern HBCU. A construct of CoI and grounded in Social Support Theory was used to interpret the results. This study examined three instructor social support predictor variables of the dependent variable, student expected grade. Using a sample taken from the site location, frequency analyses, descriptive statistics, Pearson bivariate analysis, and multiple regression analysis, the research questions posited by this study were answered. Findings provide further evidence of the impact of instructor emotional and informational social support on online student perceived expected grade. Results also indicate instructor instrumental social support was not significant as a determinate of student academic performance. These findings have practical implications and recommendations for higher education distance learning policies and professional development strategies for HBCUs that offer online courses and degrees

Affective dysfunction and affective interference in schizotypy

Affective dysfunction is a core feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Schizophrenic and schizotypal participants report higher levels of unpleasant and lower levels of pleasant trait affect than controls. In response to pleasant stimuli, though, participants often report similar levels of pleasant emotion to controls, but heightened unpleasant emotion, suggesting pleasant experiences may be affected by intrusive unpleasant emotion. An emotional Stroop task was used to examine the relationship between affective interference and trait affect in schizotypy. No significant differences were found between schizotypal participants and controls on e-Stroop performance, but schizotypal participants did self-report more unpleasant trait affect and less pleasant trait affect than controls. Of the schizotypy symptom dimensions, only cognitive disorganization was significantly correlated with unpleasant interference on the e-Stroop. Self-reported trait affect was not correlated with e-Stroop performance, but unpleasant trait affect was correlated with positive schizotypy symptoms and pleasant trait affect was inversely correlated with negative symptoms. Results suggest avenues for future exploration of unpleasant trait bias and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

Trait Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Job Satisfaction: A Quantitative Analysis of Faculty that Teach Online

While the construct of emotional intelligence (EI), has been researched and discussed for nearly 25 years, most research of this variable has been done within traditional learning and workplace environments, namely face-to-face settings (Rudestam & Schoenholtz-Read, 2009), not the online learning environment, where, over the last ten plus years, education has largely been focused (Allen & Seaman, 2013). Mortiboys (2012), along with Powell and Kusuma-Powell (2010), found that successful college faculty tend to possess high levels of trait EI in traditional or face-to-face classroom settings, and yet, to date, very few similar studies have been conducted with faculty teaching in an online setting. This study sought to determine whether a relationship existed between self- assessed EI scores of university faculty members teaching at least one course online and their own job satisfaction levels. This study also sought to explore EI and job vii satisfaction scoring differences tied to the gender of the online instructors, utilizing the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire short form (Petrides and Furnham, 2004) and the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985). A sample of 72 faculty members that taught at least one course in an online format agreed to complete a self-report instrument. Data was analyzed using simple correlations and grounded theory principles (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Deductive reasoning was applied to the original research questions and quantitative results and inductive reasoning to assess the qualitative responses. Results indicated that trait emotional intelligence is only slightly, positively linked to faculty job satisfaction levels, more so for females than males. An analysis of statistically signi cant correlations at the factor level was also conducted. The study concludes with a discussion of results, limitations and implications for future research in this area

Risk, Relationality, and Reconciliation: Experiences of Reproductive Decision-making After Childhood Maltreatment

Little research has explored reproductive decision-making processes specifically among adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment. Life history and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 women and 2 men ages 25 to 35 in Saskatchewan who had experienced childhood physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or exposure to family violence. From a critical interpretivist theoretical perspective, thematic analysis of their retrospective narrative constructions explicated a process wherein contemplation on starting a family was entangled with worries about transmission of dysfunction, contemporary relationships with parents, and, for many of them, reflections on living with a parent with a mental health and substance use disorder. Vivid vignettes and figurative language describing childhood environments and roles provided the historical context for these contemporary intrapersonal and interpersonal life projects and dramas. Interpretation informed by concepts of metaphor, theories of social roles and intergenerational gifts, explanatory models of causation, and ideologies of forgiveness revealed varied streams of experience. This research found distinct and shared patterns of reflections, life paths, and ways of reconciling a life story and perception of risk after childhood adversity, reconstructed in the context of their interviews. Analysis of configurations among participants of the variations within five themes—1) metaphors of childhood environments, 2) childhood statuses and roles, 3) reproductive choices and explanations, 4) intergenerational gifts and transmissions, and 5) conditional and unconditional forgiveness or unforgiveness—elucidated three streams of experience. In participants’ reports of reproductive decision-making, the spectre of danger of intergenerational transmission of dysfunction was treated in different ways: 1) seven women described themselves as meant to be mothers who would not transmit dysfunction but would pass on the good gifts of family life to their children; 2) four women described themselves as not meant to be mothers (voluntarily childless or parent allies) who eliminated any risk of transmission of dysfunction; and 3) two men and two women were uncertain of starting families with children and described themselves as uncertain of their ability to eliminate risk and pass on good gifts. Between the components of reproductive decisions and contemplations of transmission appeared another component: identity. The participants implicitly reconstructed a figure of themselves as a good parent or good abstainer from parenthood. In the context of a history of childhood maltreatment, adult reproductive decision-making and negotiations of forgiveness were tied to the participants’ construction of their identity as represented in their narratives, and reflected relational ethical choices. This process of deciding whether to reproduce and forgive was based on primarily relational (over rational) considerations. This descriptive dissertation lends experience-near insight to our understanding of the phenomenon of reproductive decision-making, particularly for this demographic. It offers an introduction to the experiences of suffering, resilience, and strategies of adaptation among adults who had difficult childhoods and now ponder their generative choices. The findings have implications for health research and practice with men and women who choose or decline to start their own families after childhood adversity