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Twitter has created a number of issues for collegiate athletic programs. Via their tweets, student-athletes have sparked public relations issues for athletic departments and educational institutions. This research examined the messages student-athletes receive from athletic department officials and coaches about Twitter. Semi-structured interviews with 20 student-athletes at a Division I school were conducted. Results revealed that these messages occurred in 1 of 3 areas: (a) (non)training, (b) surveillance/monitoring, and (c) reactive training. The results indicate that student-athletes are left to their interpretations of what constitutes inappropriate Twitter content while also being subjected to monitoring. Education about Twitter typically occurs after a violation of an unclear or unknown policy. This reactionary and ambiguous approach to Twitter appears to be doing little to mitigate controversial tweets. Athletic administrators are encouraged to devote resources to front-end, rather than back-end, training and to define clear boundaries for Twitter usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family businesses comprise the largest portion of organizations in the United States. Although much is known about how individuals interact in these businesses, little is known about how family businesses function at an organizational level. Family businesses are likely to use strategic ambiguity in their mission statements to allow for multiple interpretations of the same message by their stakeholders. This study analyzed the mission statements of the 20 largest family businesses in the United States to explore their use of strategic ambiguity. Family businesses used strategic ambiguity for the purposes of unified diversity, promoting varied understandings of goals, and for facilitating organizational change, but not for the purposes of deniability. This research begins to provide an explanation of the potential driving factors of family business mission statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay expands upon recent scholarship that compares poststructuralist European thinkers with Kenneth Burke by comparing Derrida concept of undecidability with Burke notion of ambiguity. The article begins with an examination of the Derridean notion of undecidability followed by a review of Burke's treatment of the concept of ambiguity. The article concludes with a brief comparative discussion of undecidability and ambiguity that clarifies the differences and similarities, and suggests implications for critical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on assumptions of framing theories of anxiety/uncertainty management and planning, we considered how planning differs in intra- versus inter- cultural contexts, as well as how self-monitoring and tolerance for ambiguity are associated with plan complexity, anxiety, and uncertainty with reference to an anticipated interaction with a stranger. One hundred and eight American females responded to a videotape of either an American or a Korean confederate with whom they believed they would be holding a conversation. The content and complexity of respondents' plans were examined in conjunction with type of interaction, interaction anxiety, attributional certainty, self-monitoring, and tolerance for ambiguity. Plan content and complexity were not predicted by any of the variables assessed. However, self-monitoring and tolerance for ambiguity were associated with anxieties related to the planned interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay assesses feminist contributions to the field of rhetoric by examining how feminism reframed scholarly approaches to rhetoric. Two feminist methodologies, “writing women in” to rhetorical canons and “challenging rhetorical standards” are presented as primary feminist arguments in the field of rhetoric. Through this framework, the contributions of feminist rhetoric to communication are highlighted, and an agenda for future avenues of research is suggested, including the incorporation of power feminism through the use of intentional ambiguity, expansions of inter-rhetorical reflexivity in feminist work, and strategies for alliance building in classrooms and scholarly/social communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the role of spokespersons and message control in complex organizations facing ambiguous crises. Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) response to the anthrax crisis in 2001 is offered as a case study. A textual analysis of CDC telebriefings and corresponding print media coverage of the anthrax crisis reveals the use of multiple spokespersons and poor message control resulted in a seemingly fragmented CDC message and apparent loss of CDC credibility. The study concludes that limiting the number of spokespersons and appropriate use of strategic ambiguity may afford organizations an opportunity to make sense of the situation, avoid confusing and contradictory messages and protect organizational credibility. Recommendations include (1) limiting the number of spokespersons, which allows for greater message control while reducing contradictory and inconsistent messages, (2) maintaining an organizational willingness to revise publicly stated positions as more accurate information becomes available, and (3) actively using strategic ambiguity as a mechanism to protect organizational credibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent debate in the social sciences and the communication discipline has considered the value of ambiguity and uncertainty in a variety of contexts. This research considered the context of a community-level change regarding health care, and investigated the impact of perceived ambiguity on beliefs about the likely success of the initiative. Interviews with 48 key participants were content analyzed in terms of statements regarding ambiguity and beliefs about implementation. Results indicated that respondents overwhelmingly talked about situations of high ambiguity and overwhelmingly viewed these situations of uncertainty as detrimental to the initiative's success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses ambiguity and clarity of speech. Aristotle noted clarity as a criterion of style, "Style to be good must be clear, as is proved by the fact that speech which fails to convey a plain meaning will fail to do just what speech has to do." He went on to say, "Words of ambiguous meaning are chiefly useful to enable the sophist to mislead his hearers." Astrologers have based a thriving business on astute use of ambiguous phrases. Greek oracles were even more successful in gaining power and riches through careful use of ambiguity. Ambiguity has also been used by sources of almost unimpeachable character.

The relationship between the ambiguity perceived in subordinates' job roles and the ambiguity which they perceived in the instructions they received from their superiors was examined in a study involving hospital employees. The results indicated that communication ambiguity was a significant correlate of role ambiguity. Communication implications for managers and for ambiguity research are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]