Instructional Communication Scholarship: Complementing Communication Pedagogy

Instructional communication and communication pedagogy are complementary areas of inquiry; that is, communication instructors will not be effective educators without strategically considering--for each course taught in a given semester--both pedagogical techniques (e.g., writing accurate course objectives; choosing or creating activities that align with the objectives; teaching communication skills using proven pedagogical strategies) and instructional communication practices (e.g., communicating with students clearly; confirming students; integrating appropriate humor). These disciplines offer micro (i.e., communication pedagogy) and macro (i.e., instructional communication) perspectives on teaching that both deserve close attention as instructors strive to be the best educators (and communicators) in the communication courses that they teach

Flirtation Rejection Strategies: Toward an Understanding of Communicative Disinterest in Flirting

Single adults often seek successful flirtatious encounters; yet these encounters can sometimes be considered failures. However, little research has identified flirtation rejection strategies enacted by those not interested in reciprocal flirting. The purpose of this study was to examine behavioral and verbal flirtation rejection strategies among college students. Stemming from a grounded theory methodology and a focus group method, 21 college students shared their experiences in focus group discussions. Thematic analysis yielded five behavioral rejection strategies (i.e., departure, friendship networks, cell-phone usage, ignoring, facial expressions) and four verbal rejection strategies (i.e., significant others, brief responses, politeness, insults) and sex differences in their usage. Results suggest that both men and women possess a predictable arsenal of available rejection strategies

The effect of metal nano-composites on the performance of thin film organic solar cells.

Doctoral Degrees. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.This thesis examines the role of plasmonic nano-particles in the fabrication of thin film organic solar cells (OSCs). Organic solar cells are made up of conducting polymers blend that are formed as ultrathin layers (a few tens of nanometers thick) on various types of substrates. These conducting polymers, unlike their inorganic counterparts, have high optical absorption coefficients, allowing for the fabrication of ultra-thin solar cells (100–200 nm) in thickness. Moreover, they offer several advantages over other solar cell technologies in terms; mechanical flexibility, cheap device processing using roll-to-roll printing methods and etc. Organic photovoltaics (OPV) is a sector that has been steadily increasing over the last past two decades, with a justifiable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17 % to date. However, organic photovoltaic cells whose photo-active material is sandwiched between two differing work functions, are exhibiting relatively low PCE due to poor charge carrier generation and charge transport processes. Several factors can be considered in improving the overall performance of organic solar cells. These include enhancing photon harvesting ability of the absorber layer, reducing energy losses through recombination processes and so on. In recent years, significant advancements in OSCs have been made through the use of metal nano-composites or nano-particles in the solar absorber and transport buffer layers. It is to be noted that the shape and size of the metal nano-composite play an important role to achieve the required impact in OSCs. This investigation emphasizes on the use of tri-metallic nano-composites to assist in improving optical absorption, free charge carrier generation and charge transport processes. The goal of the research was to improve the power conversion efficiency of thin-film organic solar cells by using a trimetal nano-composite in the active layer (P3HT:PCBM). Based on Ce:Co:Ca nano-composites (NCs), the best device enhancements of PCE value of 5.3 % were discovered. The PCE of Ag:Zn:Ni NCs increased by up to 84 % from an initial value of 1.8 %, while Ag:Fe:Ni NCs improved by up to 3.83 % from an initial value of 2.70 %. Metal NCs feature local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), which improves the power conversion efficiency of solution produced thin film organic solar cells. Because of the interaction with illumination, LSPR creates strong electromagnetic fields in the region of the particles on the one hand, and scattering effects in solar cell devices. However, high concentration of nanoparticles is found to be counter productive in the performance of OSC

The effect of metal nano-composites on the performance of thin film organic solar cells.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.This thesis examines the role of plasmonic nano-particles in the fabrication of thin film organic solar cells (OSCs). Organic solar cells are made up of conducting polymers blend that are formed as ultrathin layers (a few tens of nanometers thick) on various types of substrates. These conducting polymers, unlike their inorganic counterparts, have high optical absorption coefficients, allowing for the fabrication of ultra-thin solar cells (100–200 nm) in thickness. Moreover, they offer several advantages over other solar cell technologies in terms; mechanical flexibility, cheap device processing using roll-to-roll printing methods and etc. Organic photovoltaics (OPV) is a sector that has been steadily increasing over the last past two decades, with a justifiable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17 % to date. However, organic photovoltaic cells whose photo-active material is sandwiched between two differing work functions, are exhibiting relatively low PCE due to poor charge carrier generation and charge transport processes. Several factors can be considered in improving the overall performance of organic solar cells. These include enhancing photon harvesting ability of the absorber layer, reducing energy losses through recombination processes and so on. In recent years, significant advancements in OSCs have been made through the use of metal nano-composites or nano-particles in the solar absorber and transport buffer layers. It is to be noted that the shape and size of the metal nano-composite play an important role to achieve the required impact in OSCs. This investigation emphasizes on the use of tri-metallic nano-composites to assist in improving optical absorption, free charge carrier generation and charge transport processes. The goal of the research was to improve the power conversion efficiency of thin-film organic solar cells by using a trimetal nano-composite in the active layer (P3HT:PCBM). Based on Ce:Co:Ca nano-composites (NCs), the best device enhancements of PCE value of 5.3 % were discovered. The PCE of Ag:Zn:Ni NCs increased by up to 84 % from an initial value of 1.8 %, while Ag:Fe:Ni NCs improved by up to 3.83 % from an initial value of 2.70 %. Metal NCs feature local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), which improves the power conversion efficiency of solution produced thin film organic solar cells. Because of the interaction with illumination, LSPR creates strong electromagnetic fields in the region of the particles on the one hand, and scattering effects in solar cell devices. However, high concentration of nanoparticles is found to be counter productive in the performance of OSC

Tweet valence, volume of abuse, and observers’ dark tetrad personality factors influence victim-blaming and the perceived severity of Twitter cyberabuse

Previous research into Twitter cyberabuse has yielded several findings: victim-blaming (VB) was influenced by victims’ initial tweet-valence; perceived severity (PS) was influenced independently by tweet valence and abuse volume; VB and PS were predicted by observer narcissism and psychopathy. However, this previous research was limited by its narrow focus on celebrity victims, and lack of consideration of observer sadism. The current study investigated 125 observers’ VB and PS perceptions of lay-user cyberabuse, and influence of observers’ Dark Tetrad scores (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism). We manipulated initial-tweet valence (negative, neutral, positive) and received abuse volume (low, high). Our results indicated that VB was highest following negative initial tweets; VB was higher following high-volume abuse. PS did not differ across initial-tweet valences; PS was greater following a high abuse volume. Regression analyses revealed that observer sadism predicted VB across initial-tweet valences; psychopathy predicted PS when initial tweets were ‘emotive’ (negative, positive), whereas Machiavellianism predicted PS when they were neutral. Our results show that perceptions of lay-user abuse are influenced interactively by victim-generated content and received abuse volume. Our current results contrast with perceptions of celebrity-abuse, which is mostly determined by victim-generated content. Findings are contextualised within the Warranting Theory of impression formation

Childhood emotional trauma and cyberbullying perpetration among emerging adults: a multiple mediation model of the role of problematic social media use and psychopathology

Research suggests that a small minority of social media users experience problems as a result of their online use. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association of cyberbullying perpetration and problematic social media use with childhood emotional trauma, Cluster B (narcissistic, histrionic, antisocial, and borderline) personality traits, dissociative experiences (DEs), depression, and self-esteem in a nonclinical undergraduate sample. A total of 344 university students volunteered to complete a questionnaire that included measures on the aforementioned dimensions. Thirty-eight percent of the participants had emotional neglect and 27% had emotional abuse, while 44% of them demonstrated at least one cyberbullying perpetration behavior. Results indicated that cyberbullying perpetrators had higher scores on problematic social media use, dissociative experiences, Cluster B traits, depression and childhood emotional trauma, and lower on self-esteem. Path analysis demonstrated that, while adjusting for gender and age, childhood emotional trauma was directly and indirectly associated with cyberbullying perpetration via Cluster B traits. Moreover, depression and dissociation were directly associated with problematic social media use. The findings of this study emphasize the important direct role of childhood emotional trauma and pathological personality traits on cyberbullying perpetration