Brittany Peterson

• Ohio University

In this chapter I narrate my experiences in Qualitative Camp—from Port Aransas, Texas, in 2007 to Bodø, Norway, in 2009—and speak to how my time learning in those spheres shaped, and continues to refine, me as a scholar-teacher. I oscillate between narrative vignettes and penned poetry believing that these aesthetic representations of my experience...

Organizational communication scholars have historically conducted research in large for-profit businesses, governmental agencies, and a few high-profile nonprofits/NGOs—all of which are relatively easy to access and presumably “safe” to study. It is largely unsurprising, then, that limited scholarship addresses the challenges associated with conduc...

Homelessness is an issue that impacts more than half a million people in the United States every day. Nonprofits are often on the front lines of efforts to aid individuals without homes. In this study, we focus on an area underexplored in the nonprofit literature, stigma, to explore the nonprofit’s role as a critical catalyst in managing stigma wit...

In this study, we examined online dissent as expressed by members and former members of a U.S. based megachurch. Our interpretive analysis of the data illuminated three audiences of dissent (i.e., self, others, the pastor) and uncovered three clear aims (i.e., individual sensemaking, community defense, providing corrective direction) of dissent pro...

In this piece I narrate the lived dialectical tensions I experienced and embodied as a health advocate for my daughter during her stay in the pediatric intensive care unit: emotionality-rationality and presence-absence. Ultimately, I argue that “metacommunication” (Tracy, 2004) is one strategy that can help health advocates recast these tensions as...

This study extends scholarship on stigma management communication and social support by exploring the experiences of fathers of children living with a rare health condition, Sturge-Weber Syndrome. Findings from this interview-based interpretive study reveal that fathers assuaged the negative effects of stigma on their children—and courtesy stigma o...

When Mars Hill Church came under fire for unethical activities, current and former parishioners began to share their stories of membership in and exit from the infamous mega church. In this study we explored the communicative space between the dominance of an organizational master narrative and the rise of a prevailing counter narrative, that is, t...

This entry discusses the common interpretive data analytic process known as thematic analysis, which involves immersing oneself in the data in order to identify common ideas or themes that emerge based on the phenomenon under investigation and that resonate with the research question(s) posed in the study. Subsequently, it discusses different kinds...

Prior to its dissolution, Mars Hill, a former megachurch, developed a reputation for abuse and dictatorial control, creating an organizational environment from which many sought to exit. However, for those members desiring to leave, exit was far from straightforward. Our interpretive analysis of former members’ stories revealed tension as Mars Hill...

This entry discusses the three types of content that underlie historical and modern-day approaches to organizational communication: task/production, social/maintenance, and innovation. It describes the origins and intersections and notes the alternative approaches to the content and function of communication. In addition, the entry explores the mod...

This study expands conceptions of organizational membership by examining individuals whose relationships with their organizations are traditionally characterized as involuntary in nature. Data from inmates and prison employees in four U.S. and Norwegian correctional institutions was examined using structuration theory as an emergent interpretive le...

In this essay, I articulate the ways in which my scholarship and personal life collided when I became an involuntary member in the antepartum unit of a major university hospital. I draw on research examples taken from my dissertation work in prison and my time in the hospital to illustrate the interconnectedness of these involuntary experiences. Af...

This study examines the social network ties, motivations, and experiences of high-stakes volunteers (HSVs): individuals who fulfill long-term, consistent, and intense time commitments providing medical, social, and/or psychological assistance. Interview, focus group, and observational data from three settings (volunteer firefighting, victims’ servi...

The meta-analysis combines 230 investigations of counterattitudinal advocacy (CAA). The results indicate that CAA efforts are effective [Inline formula]. Effect sizes varied little across four different methods of CAA induction (choice, task commitment, publicity, argument source). However, an additive cues model (ACM) demonstrates that as the numb...

This study explicates dialectical tensions in volunteer-manager communication stemming from the contested nature of volunteering and fluidity of volunteer membership. Interviews and observations of volunteers and supervisors in three nonprofit organizational contexts revealed four central tensions that are dialectical in nature: an attraction-adjus...

Prisoner reentry is one of the main criminal justice challenges confronting the United States, especially as the costs of recidivism and incarceration take increasing tolls on city and state budgets, and the effects of criminal activity are felt by families and local communities. Our goal in this article is to develop an alternative approach to pri...

This study analyzes the messages in hate group websites using a grounded theory approach. Through this process of interpretive inquiry we propose four prominent themes—educate, participate, invoke, and indict—that characterize the messages examined in 21 hate groups. These message themes speak to the: (a) education of members and external publics;...

This study provides an analysis of the relationships among perceived stigma, reported disclosure and perceived social support for those living with HIV. The meta-analytic summary of 21 studies (4,104 participants) showed, as predicted, a positive, heterogeneous correlation between disclosure and social support (ŕ = .159), a negative, heterogeneous...

This study investigates the relationship between classmates seeking out a student for advice (advice prestige) and that student's academic performance. Students' conversations could inhibit or encourage their academic performance depending on the conversation's topic. Specifically, it is hypothesized that as more classmates report asking a student...