Communicating Identity in the Workplace and Affinity Groups Spaces

The following dissertation examined affinity group creation and purpose. By using identity management theory and communication privacy management theory the author was able to understand what one both reveals and conceals within an affinity group and organization at large. Two studies addressed the utility of an affinity group for those currently involved in homogeneous racial and nonracial groups, as well as for future employees who may become the next affinity group attendees. Using a thematic analysis, Study I revealed affinity group perceptions including several subthemes (logistics, helpful, harmful, more heterogeneity, and exclusion of identity). Organizational diversity sessions at large revealed similar subthemes (legitimizing identity, lack of safe spaces, intersectionality, and surface level discussions). Using a qualitative content analysis, Study II revealed that racial and nonracial minorities found affinity groups beneficial, whereas all opposed identified as White. Additionally, varied results found for what one discusses within an affinity group space, including open to discussing anything, as well as closed to providing any personal information. Participants also reported socially appropriate workplace topics including surface level topics, whereas inappropriate topics included religion, politics, and race. Understanding how future employees see diversity in an organizational context will better equip organizations to enact specific diversity strategies that move beyond the mere rhetoric of diversity

Imagined interactions as a link to political talk

According to the imagined interaction theory (IIT), IIs are the cognitive processes where individuals indirectly experience past or future interactions through the process of imagination (Honeycutt, 2003). Retroactive IIs occur after a conversation takes place, whereas proactive IIs occur when individuals imagine a conversation before the interaction (Honeycutt, 2010). The current study examined individuals‟ imagined interactions (IIs) regarding conversations about politics with family members. Participants completed an online survey where they recorded retroactive and proactive IIs, and completed a set of measures regarding their family and political affiliation. Both proactive and retroactive IIs fell into eleven categories for content. Proactive and retroactive IIs fell into nine categories for form. Results indicate that IIs helped participants relieve tension and anxiety about political conversations. This study suggests that individual‟s II consists of many diverse emotions, regardless of family type when imagining a political conversation with a family member. Also, individuals in consensual families found relational maintenance, conflict management, rehearsal, self-understanding, and compensation the most useful II functions during IIs of political conversations with a family member

Communicating Identity in the Workplace and Affinity Group Spaces

The following paper examined affinity group creation and purpose through an identity management lens by addressing the utility of an affinity group for those currently involved in homogeneous racial and nonracial groups as well as larger organizational diversity sessions. A thematic analysis revealed affinity group perceptions including several subthemes (logistics, helpful, harmful, more heterogeneity, and exclusion of identity). Organizational diversity sessions at large revealed similar subthemes (legitimizing identity, lack of safe spaces, intersectionality, and surface level discussions). Understanding how employees view organizational diversity efforts better equip organizations to enact specific diversity strategies that move beyond the mere rhetoric of diversity

Challenges and advances in the heterologous expression of cellulolytic enzymes: a review

Second generation biofuel development is increasingly reliant on the recombinant expression of cellulases. Designing or identifying successful expression systems is thus of preeminent importance to industrial progress in the field. Recombinant production of cellulases has been performed using a wide range of expression systems in bacteria, yeasts and plants. In a number of these systems, particularly when using bacteria and plants, significant challenges have been experienced in expressing full-length proteins or proteins at high yield. Further difficulties have been encountered in designing recombinant systems for surface-display of cellulases and for use in consolidated bioprocessing in bacteria and yeast. For establishing cellulase expression in plants, various strategies are utilized to overcome problems, such as the auto-hydrolysis of developing plant cell walls. In this review, we investigate the major challenges, as well as the major advances made to date in the recombinant expression of cellulases across the commonly used bacterial, plant and yeast systems. We review some of the critical aspects to be considered for industrial-scale cellulase production

Examining Undergraduate Communication Degree Programs: Mission Statements, Assessment Plans, and Assessment Evaluations

One hundred undergraduate communication programs listed in the NCA directory were examined in this investigation. The process involved gathering the university mission statement, departmental mission statement, program assessment plan, and program assessment evaluations. Results demonstrate that 98 institutions utilized mission statements, 81 departments provided mission statements, 18 departments made assessment plans available and the researchers obtained 4 assessment evaluations