Social Support in Young Adult Cancer Survivors and Their Close Social Network Members

A cancer diagnosis often causes biographical disruption in the lives of young adult (i.e., 18-39; YA) survivors and their close social network members (i.e., familial, plutonic, or romantic relational partners with whom the survivor has a salient relationship; SNM). In order to integrate their illness into their lives, normatively regain balance and equilibrium, and achieve a “new normal” following a cancer diagnosis, YA survivors and their close SNMs must work to reconstruct their biographies by engaging in tangible interpersonal communication processes often used to initiate and maintain relationships. However, YA cancer survivors report facing social struggles due to the biographical disruption of their illness across the trajectory of diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. To learn more about their unique social experience of cancer, I conducted private, open-ended narrative interviews with 20 YA survivor-close SNM dyads, 1 YA survivor-SNM close triad, and 10 individual YA survivors (N = 51). I used thematic narrative analysis to determine how and why YA cancer survivors and their close SNMs communicate social support messages with romantic partners, family, friends, peers, and one another. By examining the narratives of YA survivors, their close SNMs, and the dyad itself, this dissertation explores the interpersonal communication processes used to initiate and maintain relationships across the illness trajectory by focusing on the barriers and facilitators these individuals experience in the communication of social support. Through their individual narrative accounts, YA survivors explained why and how they perceived various support attempts from others to be positive or negative, and their close SNMs detailed their attempts to navigate the YA’s larger support network and assume the duties inherent in their newly-adopted “top supporter” role. In addition, reports from YAs and their SNMs revealed that they often engaged in mutual pretense, a unique and often unsustainable form of support that occurred between YA survivors and their close SNMs involving topic avoidance and emotional management. Implications for the advancement of interpersonal communication theory and for practical intervention targeting YA patients and survivors, their close SNMs, and medical practitioners are also discussed

Bringing Home the Crisis: How US Evening News Framed the 2011 Japan Nuclear Crisis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112264/1/jccm12068.pd

A Comparison of Arch Height Index Measures Between Collegiate Basketball and National Basketball Association Players

The rate of game related basketball injuries is 2xs greater in professionals than collegiate players and the most common injuries occur in the lower extremity. Arch mechanics are often cited as a related factor and the Arch Height Index Measurement System (AHIMS) is a reliable and valid system for quantifying mobility. However, normative or comparative values for basketball athletes have not been reported.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/dpt_symposium/1028/thumbnail.jp

The Lost Art of Closing

Selama puluhan tahun, para manajer penjualan, pelatih, dan penulis membicarakan tentang closing sebagai tahap paling penting dan paling sulit dari penjualan. Mereka menciptakan trik-trik paksaan untuk permintaan terakhir, mulai dari closing "menerima pengiriman" sampai closing "sekarang atau tidak pernah sama sekali". Namun, taktik-taktik ini kerap menjauhkan pelanggan, menimbulkan fad-fad bagi closing "lemah" atau bahkan mengabaikan sama sekali rencana closing yang terkesan hebat secara teori, tapi sering mengakibatkan hasil yang beragam atau buruk. Hal itu membuat satu generasi tenaga penjual mempertanyakan bagaimana mereka seharusnya berpikir tentang closing, dan strategi-strategi apa yang akan mendatangkan hasil yang sebisa mungkin terbaik. Kini, Anthony Iannarino mengatasi kebingungan ini dengan suatu pendekatan baru yang disesuaikan dengan realitas sosial dan teknologi di zaman kita. Dalam buku The Lost Art of Closing, dia menunjukkan pada Anda cara mengubah permintaan terakhir menjadi salah satu bagian paling mudah dari proses penjualan dengan secara sistematis mencapai serangkaian komitmen terdahulu pada sepuluh hal penting di sepanjang perjalanan pembelian. Kuncinya adalah mengarahkan pelanggan melalui serangkaian tahap penting yang dirancang untuk menghindari kemandekan pembelian

Laughing at death [electronic resource] : the forms and functions of humor in illness trauma narratives

This thesis attempts to demonstrate that public storytelling and memoirs - if crafted and shared effectively - may elicit beneficial private/intrapersonal and public/interpersonal functions, and might be utilized as effective media for the formulation and dissemination of humorous health narratives. Through the study of three illness trauma narratives that utilize humor, this thesis analyzes the forms in which productive humor was employed throughout the process of narrative construction, and the information the humorous aspects of the narrative product expresses to audiences about the illness experience. More specifically, this thesis attempts to demonstrate that the integration of humor with health narratives can effectively call attention to health issues such as REM sleep behavior disorder, severe drug addiction, and cancer

Family caregiver communication in oncology: Advancing a typology

Objectives The quality of communication between the patient and family caregiver impacts quality of life and well-being for the two; however, providers have few tools to understand communication patterns and assess the communication needs and preferences of caregivers. The aims of this study were to examine family communication patterns among oncology patients and their caregivers and to identify common characteristics among four different types of family caregivers. Methods Nurses recruited oncology patient-caregiver dyads through a large cancer treatment center in the Southeast. Patients and caregivers were separated from one another and interviewed during chemotherapeutic infusions. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and thematized. Results A sample of 24 patients and their caregivers (n = 48) were interviewed. The majority of dyads (21, 88%) shared the same family communication pattern. Common caregiver communication features support previous work identifying four caregiver communication types: Manager, Carrier, Partner, and Lone caregivers. Manager caregivers lead patients by utilizing extensive medical knowledge, whereas Carrier caregivers were led by patients and described tireless acts to maintain the family and avoid difficult conversations. Partner caregivers facilitated family involvement and open communication on a variety of topics, while Lone caregivers focused solely on biomedical matters and a hope for cure. Conclusions Caregiver communication types were corroborated by patient-caregiver descriptions of caregiving. However, more information is needed to ascertain the variables associated with each caregiver type. Future work to improve identification of caregiver types and create targeted caregiver care plans will require further study of health literacy levels and tested communication interventions per type