Farming in the Face of Uncertainty: How Colombian Coffee Farmers Conceptualize and Communicate Their Experiences With Climate Change

Climate change is impacting agricultural systems around the globe, but little research has focused on how agricultural producers communicate their firsthand experiences with climate change impacts. Coffee, Colombia’s largest agricultural export (indirectly responsible for the livelihood of 2 million Colombians), is uniquely vulnerable to climate change. This study lays the groundwork for future adaptation communication efforts by analyzing 45 in-person, in-depth interviews of coffee farmers in Risaralda, Colombia. Dimensionalization, a grounded theory approach, is used to offer a theoretical data matrix to capture the major factors involved in Colombian farmers’ experiences with climate change from the farmers’ own perspective. The findings illustrate the conditions underlying Colombian coffee farmers’ belief that climate change impacts threaten their livelihoods and put farmers in a constant state of uncertainty

More than communities: organizing in online interaction spaces

This dissertation examined four online forums for evidence of organizing in order to evaluate the accuracy of the term "online community" for describing all online interaction spaces. The Four Flows Model (McPhee & Zaug, 2000) was used as a guiding theoretical framework during a content analysis of the messages within each forum in order to identify the type and amount of organizational processes enacted through forum members' interactions. Mintzberg's (1979) conceptualization of the organization and the Four Flows Model were used to interpret the results of the content analysis and a network analysis of the forums' communication networks in order to determine whether any of the forums functioned and were constituted as organizations. Evidence of all four types of organizing processes were found within each of the forums, and two forums were determined to function as organizations. The definition of online community was revised in light of the results, and a definition was offered for the new concept, "online organization" that describes how larger communities of shared interest can organize within online interaction spaces to accomplish members' shared goals. A theoretical model was also developed to situate all online interaction spaces relative to one another according to the prevalence of organizational and social messages within them

More Inclusive, More Practical: Climate Change Communication Research to Serve the Future

Climate change impacts are being felt around the world, threatening human well-being and global food security. Social scientists in communication and other fields, in tandem with physical scientists, are critical for implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies effectively and equitably. In the face of rapidly evolving circumstances, it is time to take stock of our current climate change communication research and look toward where we need to go. Based on our systematic review of mid- to current climate change research trends in communication as well as climate change response recommendations by the American Meteorological Society, we suggest future directions for research. We urgently recommend communication research that (1) addresses immediate mitigation and adaptation concerns in local communities and (2) is more geographically diverse, particularly focusing on the African continent, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and certain parts of Asia

“They Aren’t Going to Do Jack Shit”: Text-Based Crisis Service Users’ Perceptions of Seeking Child Maltreatment-Related Support From Formal Systems

Many of the children reported to child protective services (CPS) exhibit signs and symptoms that allow others to recognize their abuse or neglect and intervene; others, especially adolescents, must disclose their experiences to be identified. Relatively little is known about young people’s disclosure experiences, but individual, interpersonal, and cultural factors appear to influence when and how young people disclose. Technology-facilitated approaches, such as text- or chat-based hotlines or crisis services, may be one way to help young people share their maltreatment experiences and seek help. The current study contributes to the small body of literature that includes nonsexual maltreatment disclosures and sheds some light on how to support young people during their disclosures. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of all conversations from a text-based crisis service that resulted in a report to CPS (n = 244). Many of the texters had previously sought support from their peers or parents, and some had engaged with more formal systems. Many young people were hesitant to reach out to formal systems in the future, in part because of negative experiences during past disclosure experiences. Young people may be more likely to seek support through their preferred communication medium, so providing text- and chat-based communication may be one way to encourage and facilitate disclosure. As these resources become increasingly available, determining best practices for receiving disclosures through technology-facilitated platforms will be critical

Online information seeking behaviors of breast cancer patients before and after diagnosis: From website discovery to improving website information

Despite the internet being a common place breast cancer patients seek information, navigating this Wild West of content can be challenging. The present study analyzed open-ended data from breast cancer survivors (n = 77) regarding their online information seeking behaviors when looking for breast cancer information to help inform the creation of improved online educational materials. Participants were asked what prompted them to seek information, which websites and search terms they used both before and after diagnosis, what information was useful, what misinformation was found, and what they would like to see improved. Results indicated symptoms, tests, or diagnoses prompt women to seek breast cancer information online, and that many different search terms and websites are used. More search terms and websites were utilized after diagnosis compared to before diagnosis, but the most common search terms and websites did not change much from before to after diagnosis. Cancer specific and general medical websites were the most popular. The most useful information related to treatment, obtaining information from other breast cancer survivors, statistics, and positively-valenced information. Though misinformation was not reported by many participants, some mentioned outdated survival rates, inaccurate information about alternative treatments, and other breast cancer patients’ experiences that did not align with their own. Participants desired improvements in treatment information, more factual information, a guide, and information that is easy to understand. Creation of a guide and use of search engine optimization to help breast cancer patients navigate this online information could be beneficial

Climate Change Communication Research: A Systematic Review

This study is an examination of climate change communication research in which we examine topical, geographical and methodological trends. Using 160 peer-reviewed journal articles as evidence, we assess the field’s climate change research to-date and draw recommendations for future directions for research. Our findings illustrate that the majority of surveyed research focuses on public knowledge of and public belief in climate change, draws data from the Global North and tends toward quantitative methodological approaches, although a diversity of methodological approaches are represented. We recommend that future research correct ethnocentric tendencies by studying underrepresented regions such as the African continent, Latin America and the Caribbean, attend more to studies addressing adaptation to climate change impacts and embrace methodologies that address the localized nature of climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts

Enhancing effective healthcare communication in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand: Considerations for research, teaching, policy, and practice.

OBJECTIVE In this article we present a conceptual framework for enhancing effective healthcare communication in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. METHODS Through an iterative, deliberative dialogue approach, we, as experts from a variety of health professions and academic disciplines, worked together to identify core values and considerations for healthcare communication across numerous health professions and disciplines and within research, teaching, policy, and practice contexts. RESULTS The framework developed includes five core values at its centre: equitable, inclusive, evidence-based, collaborative, reflective. Around this are concentric circles showing key elements of collaborators, modality, context, and purpose. Each of these is explored. CONCLUSION This work may support benchmarking for healthcare providers, researchers, policymakers, and educators across a breadth of professions to help improve communication in clinical practice. The framework will also help to identify areas across disciplines that are shared and potentially idiosyncratic for various professions to promote interprofessional recognition, education, and collaboration. INNOVATION This framework is designed to start conversations, to form the foundation of a dialogue about the priorities and key considerations for developing teaching curricula, professional development, and research programs related to healthcare communication, providing a set of values specifically for the unique contexts of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. It can also be used to guide interdisciplinary healthcare professionals in advancing research, teaching, policy, and practice related to healthcare communication

Decoupling Charge Transport and Electroluminescence in a High Mobility Polymer Semiconductor.

Fluorescence enhancement of a high-mobility polymer semiconductor is achieved via energy transfer to a higher fluorescence quantum yield squaraine dye molecule on 50 ps timescales. In organic light-emitting diodes, an order of magnitude enhancement of the external quantum efficiency is observed without reduction in the charge-carrier mobility resulting in radiances of up to 5 W str(-1) m(-2) at 800 nm.We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through a programme grant EP/M005143/1. We would like to thank the Doctoral Training Centre in Plastic Electronics EP/G037515/1. K. B. acknowledges financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (BR-4869/1-1). The group at Würzburg would like to acknowledge support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG Research Unit FOR 1809) and from the SolTech Initiative of the Bavarian State Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts. D. H. and K.B. would like to thank Dr. Jiři Novak and Jakub Rozbořil (Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Czech Republic) and Dr. Tom Arnold (Diamond Light Source, Didcot, UK) for assistance during the synchrotron experiment and Diamond Light Source, Didcot, UK for financial support