GRADUATE ELECTIVE OFFERINGS, AUTUMN 2008
COMM 801:ADVANCED RESEARCH METHODS IN COMM (Hayes)
STATISTICAL MODERATION AND MEDIATION ANALYSIS
This graduate course introduces methods of data analysis focused on questions about moderation (what conditions influence the strength of an effect) and mediation (testing causal sequences that produce effects). Topics will include estimating and probing interaction in linear models, the estimation of indirect effects in simple and multiple mediator models, methods that combine moderation and mediation (mediated moderation and moderated mediation) and application in statistical software such as SPSS, AMOS, and others. Solid performance in a course on multiple regression is a prerequisite.
Offered Monday and Wednesday, 4:30 to 6:18 in JR342
COMM 930: SEMINAR IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION (Eveland)
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND POLITICS
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to multiple theoretical perspectives on the study of the interpersonal discussion of politics and public affairs. We will address the literature on this topic from communication, political science, psychology, sociology - and anywhere else we find relevant work. I hope to have students from multiple departments enrolled in the course to increase the diversity of perspectives. Given that the class will be taught during a major election campaign, students will produce a data-based paper (from original or secondary sources available online or through me) related to the course content as one of the course requirements.
Some of the topics we will likely address include, but are not limited to
- Interpersonal communication theories that are ignored in the larger literature but that can inform political communication scholarship
- Adolescent discussion of politics in the family and schools, including family communication patterns, and its effects
- The development and political effects of agreement, disagreement, and diversity within social networks
- The role of informal political conversation in developing political knowledge or sophistication and opinion
- The nature and effects of deliberative polling and other deliberation experiments.
- The role of new communication technologies - online discussion forums, blogs, social network sites - for political discussion
- Situational and personality factors motivating the decision to discuss politics and the content of those discussions.
Offered Tuesday, 4:30 to 8:30 in JR3116
COMM 940: SEMINAR IN MASS COMMUNICATION (Knobloch-Westerwick)
MASS COMMUNICATION, AFFECT, AND EMOTION
Affects are crucial for the individual to ‘function.’ Moods have been called the ‘frame of mind’ because of their broad influence on information processing and behavior. Emotions quickly signal the meaning and relevance of any event to the ‘organism’ in the interest of survival and self-protection. Yet in modern media-saturated societies, the role of affect is quite different.
Mass communication messages from news and entertainment are typically designed to ‘play’ on emotions. Americans spend almost 10 hrs/day with media--a lot of their affective experiences are induced or influenced by media exposure. Commu¬ni¬ca-tion research overall, however, has neglected affects and started to pay more attention to the role of emotions and moods only recently.
This seminar will first introduce students to theories of affect and methods of measuring and manipulating affect. Then we will examine theories and research that have considered affects as important components of the communication process and its effects. The goal of the seminar is to develop a research proposal on the role of affect in mass communication processes.
Offered Monday and Wednesday 1:30 to 3:18 in CC0254
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