Tahleen A. Lattimer

University at Buffalo, State University of New York | SUNY Buffalo · Department of Communication

Children's entertainment media has been the topic of great scholarly and public concern for as long as entertaining media have existed. Typically, this concern is focused on the potential for media to negatively impact young audiences' social and academic development. But is this concern warranted? What exactly do children "get" from entertainment...

Due to the popularity of Walt Disney Studio films and characters, and the fact that young audiences often emulate their favorite Disney characters’ actions, an understanding of the values depicted by Disney’s popular heroes and villains is warranted. Guided by the model of intuitive motivation and exemplars, and extending previous work investigatin...

Translational research is seemingly ubiquitous, yet complex and difficult to concretely define. We contribute to this conversation by reflectively and critically evaluating a collaborative, multidisciplinary program called the Photographs of Meaning (POM) for pediatric palliative caregivers. The POM program brings together the public health issue o...

How do terrorists persuade otherwise decent citizens to join their violent causes? Guided by early mass communication research investigating propaganda’s efficacy and the model of intuitive morality and exemplars, we investigated the persuasive moral appeals employed by terrorist organizations known to be successful at recruiting others to their ca...

Chronic illness affects millions worldwide, rendering the life of those affected complex to manage. Extant research points to the need for effective and supportive care for the successful treatment, yet health care encounters for this population are often filled with negative experiences, ranging from discontinuity of care to disenfranchisement fro...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a terminal, neurodegenerative disease, and consequently is difficult to communicate about as it is stigmatized, and discussions are rife with misconceptions. By situating AD conversations in the sociocultural space of the opportunity model of presence during the end-of-life process, a framework developed illustrating the...

Introduction Mental health and delivery of care is a global issue, that was only magnified by COVID-19. Over the past 3 years, people’s time spent watching television increased, while the way that mental health care was delivered changed. Audiences can gain insight into mental health issues through positive or negative mediated depictions on televi...

Critical to managing a crisis such as COVID-19 is the propagation of information to all vulnerable populations. Despite guidelines regarding communicating with people with differing accessibility needs during crises, some often find their needs unmet. Following a lack of assisted communications for d/Deaf people during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Twit...

Background: End-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) are a common phenomenon in which dying patients experience dreams/visions often of deceased loved ones before death. Past research has highlighted the need for education and awareness to improve clinical engagement at the bedside in response to ELDVs. Objectives: To explore the perspectives of mult...

Guided by the model of intuitive-motivation and exemplars, we content analyzed the population of N = 734 Walt Disney Studio film synopses to determine whether Disney’s heroes and villains were motivated by altruistic or egoistic values, and if these values were associated with films’ audience ratings, box-office performance, or the future productio...

Background: Within United States cultures and societies, topics related to death and dying continue to be taboo, and opportunities for presence and engagement during end-of-life that could lead to a good death are avoided as a result. Several efforts have been made to help people engage in advance care planning (ACP) conversations, including comple...

BACKGROUND Within most Western societies, topics related to death and dying continue to be taboo, and opportunities for presence and engagement during end-of-life that could lead to a good death are avoided as a result. Several efforts have been made to help people engage in advance care planning (ACP) conversations, including completing advance ca...

Death is a ubiquitous theme in television dramas and we argued that mediated depictions of end-of-life experiences have the potential to provide glimpses into the ways in which characters experience real-life issues and can serve as conversation starters within family viewers. The study aimed to identify how a popular television drama, This is Us,...

Background While the majority of research assesses the impact of end-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) on patients, more recent research has begun to explore their impact on family caregivers (FCG). Objective This study evaluates the relationship between general attitudes about dreams, perspectives of ELDV and their role the bereaved FCG experien...