Search

Style—or the aesthetic dimensions of public presentation—is a dominant mode of symbolic expression. However, no one has explored how style functions as a coherent and generalizable symbol system influencing public conversations about athletic recruitment. The purpose of this essay is to fill this gap by developing a critical framework for theorizing the rhetoric of style in athletic recruitment discourse and significantly, how this is done through social media. We analyze sports journalism, recruiting websites, and the public messaging of athletic departments and athletes on social media according to five structural components: stylistic homologies, aesthetic rationales, primacy of text, imaginary communities, and market contexts. Our analysis offers practical lessons for athletes, journalists, and college athletic departments, but we also highlight several conceptual, methodological, and theoretical implications for scholars of communication and sport and social media interested in better understanding social influence in a dynamic and hyper-competitive context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sporting environments are informal contexts of learning that are dependent upon coaches' use of effective instructional communication strategies. Coaches' use of power while communicating instruction to athletes is especially germane, as coaches must appropriately use relational influence to inspire optimal athletic performance. Using French and Raven's power bases (i.e., expert, referent, reward, legitimate, and coercive power), this study considers Division I student-athletes' reports of affective learning for their sport and coaches, cognitive learning, state motivation, and team winning percentages as a function of their coaches' use of power. Data collected from 170 student-athletes participating in team sports at Power 5 institutions revealed two significant canonical correlation roots. The first demonstrated that the increased use of prosocial power and avoidance of antisocial power were associated with greater amounts of affective learning for coaches, cognitive learning, and state motivation. The second revealed that expert power was associated with increases in cognitive learning and winning. This research has heuristic implications for expanding the assessment of athlete experience, as well as practical implications regarding the identification of effective modes of relational influence in coaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly every student will go through the selection interview process to obtain a job in his or her future vocation. Regardless of the major of the student or the profession which they will pursue, the selection interview remains a constant. There has been some attention paid to the validity of the selection interview, and personality constructs for employee selection, but there remains a gap in the literature concerning the interviewer's "questions or the questioning process." Traditional interviews were based more on hypothetical questions that allowed candidates the opportunity to give the "right" answers without being completely honest. Bowers and Kleiner (2005) noted the ineffectiveness of the traditional interviews leading to successful hires. To remedy this problem, the behavioral interview was created. Behavioral interviewing is based on the premise that the best predictor of future performance is past behavior. In the activity described in this article, students will engage in a mock selection interview where they will experience one of the most common selection interviewing techniques: the behavioral-based interview.

This article describes an activity using Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" as a supplemental text in an undergraduate group communication course. This book will help stimulate conversation and promote easy avenues for classroom discussion. In addition to weekly quizzes over each chapter to help facilitate rich classroom discussions, the primary learning activity incorporates topical papers and/or group presentations that draw from material within the book. For the topical papers, the objective is for individual class members to each write a short (two or three pages) paper reflecting on how a certain chapter applied to the class. Group communication themes that are covered in the main textbook and in class lectures will be reinforced to students by applying them to portions of "The Tipping Point." They should pull out stories and form a coherent message in their connection of Gladwell's writing to class material through reflection or topical papers. Group presentations would have a similar goal in that groups would present over a portion of the Gladwell text in order to amplify the meaning and understanding of various group communication terms and themes. A list of references and suggested readings is included.

College athletes are active on a variety of social-media platforms. As a result, most athletic departments require them to participate in social-media education. Although this practice is becoming more prominent, little research has explored how college athletes perceive such training. This case study explored college athletes' social-media use and their perceptions about social-media education. Semistructured interviews of 20 college athletes at a Division I university were conducted. Using social-cognitive theory as a framework, analysis revealed that while participants expressed a desire for social-media education, they indicated that most of the messages they receive about social media tend to be forgettable. Consequently, athletic departments need to take a more reflexive approach to social-media education that incorporates college athletes' feedback to optimize this instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twitter has become a popular topic in sport communication research. Little research to date, however, has examined Twitter from the perspective of student-athletes. This research explored how student-athletes at an NCAA Division I university used Twitter and reacted to critical tweets from fans. Semistructured interviews with 20 student-athletes were conducted. Analysis revealed that student-athletes used Twitter in 3 primary ways: keeping in contact, communicating with followers, and accessing information. With respect to critical tweets, student-athletes reported various perceptions about them and diverse strategies for responding to them. The results suggest that Twitter is a beneficial communicative tool for student-athletes but also presents challenges, given the ease with which fans attack them via this social-media platform. Accordingly, athletic departments must be proactive in helping student-athletes use Twitter strategically, particularly in responding to detractors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined student-athletes' usage of and motivations for playing the video game Fortnite. Social video games such as Fortnite are growing in popularity and athletes have become a visible consumer group. Semi-structured interviews with 22 Division-I student athletes were conducted. Analysis of the interviews generated six usage and motivational categories: (a) Fortnite as a Competitive Outlet; (b) Fortnite and Addiction; (c) Fortnite as Shared Athletic Experience; (d) Fortnite as Social Bonding; (e) Fortnite and External Social Connections; and (f) Fortnite as Relaxation. The results suggest that video games such as Fortnite provide meaningful social connection fulfillment needs for student-athletes, and also allow them to interact with fans and student-athletes at other schools. Yet, Fortnite also fosters addictive tendencies that can negatively impact their academic performance and well-being. Accordingly, coaches and others student-athlete support personnel can use video games to help studentathletes meet socialization needs while also promoting educational programming to help them minimize negative effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interim coaches have become commonplace in college athletics. With much at stake, they must act as leaders despite the constraints that accompany interim status. This case study provides an initial examination of interim leadership in the domain of college athletics by focusing on a specific high-profile interim coach's initial press conference. The authors specifically consider the content of The Ohio State University football coach Luke Fickell's first press conference after being named interim head coach. Their analysis reveals that Fickell strategically managed the interim label and the temporal nature of the interim role, balanced service goals and career-aspirant ones, and performed collective identity through a variety of means. The implications of these practices for interim coaches in college athletics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With such overall variety in leadership study, it is surprising that interim leadership has gone largely unnoticed in the literature. The present study addresses this gap in the organizational and leadership literatures by examining the implications of interim leadership on both individual and organizational identity. Using data from semi-structured, in-depth interviews of 24 interim leaders from an organization (“Interim U”), we found that the questions of “Who am I?” and “Who are we?” were heavily entangled in the individual-collective identity management discussion. This study examines the ways in which the identity of interim leaders are managed and enacted at Interim U, and how the individual and organizational identities reflexively interrelate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on a positive social media behavior among teenagers using social media like facebook, instagram and twitter which is also effecting athletes in schools and communities making them more visible and vulnerable.

The article examines the relationship between organizational success, culture change, and interim leadership. It notes that an organization's success is associated with the existence of a strong organizational culture which can be created, imported, and managed and is considered as an achievement in managerial communication. It mentions that leadership is at the forefront of reengineering efforts for any organization that facilitates organizational culture change.