Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The current study examines the effects of self-disclosure of an interface agent and users' attachment styles on user-agent close relationship formation. The experiment was conducted in a 2(agent's self-disclosure: Disclosure vs. Non-Disclosure) by 4(participants' attachment styles). After interactions with the agent, participants evaluated their perceived closeness - inclusion of other in the self, subjective closeness, expectations of influences in future interaction, and trust – toward the agent.
The results are summarized as follows: 1) self-disclosure of an agent had a positive impact on perceived closeness toward the agent; 2) participants' attachment styles were related to perceived closeness; those with a dismissing style consistently perceived the agent as least intimate, while preoccupied and fearful as relatively intimate; 3) with respect to trust toward the agent, a significant interaction effect was found; preoccupied and fearful persons rated the agent as more trustworthy when they received self-disclosure from the agent than when they did not, whereas ratings of secure and dismissing persons were not affected by agent's self-disclosure. These results show that self-disclosure of an agent and users' attachment styles affect relationship formation in the user-agent context, similar to findings in human relationship. Theoretical and practical (agent design) implications are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Democratic theory has long recognized the necessity of
free-flowing information in order for citizens to participate
effectively in public life. From Milton’s defense of the institution of
the free press in Areopagitica to Dahl’s (1989) inclusion of a right to
free expression as a necessary institution of polyarchy in Democracy
and Its Critics, it has been rightly recognized that citizens must be
free to create and exchange information for democracy to function.
Democratic theory has concentrated on the ability of citizens to create
and manipulate privately held information because historically the
information needed for self-government has been in private hands but
vulnerable to official controls on information. The cluster of rights
that falls under the heading free expression could be expected to
ensure adequate access to information.
However, it can no longer be taken for granted that by guaranteeing
free speech and a free press that citizens’ need for information can be
satisfied. Since World War I, ever larger amounts of information have
come to be held by the state than historically has been the case.
Paradoxically, while this truly is an information age, it is also an
age in which conditions of scarcity prevail, due to the phenomenon of
official secrecy. There is a great deal of information in official
hands that can be found nowhere else, and access to it is limited.
Those who control access to information wield a great deal of power,
and it must be recognized that this power has the potential to distort,
if not stifle democratic
outcomes. Defenders of official secrecy argue that it is a necessary
tool for security in an age of global danger and instability. However,
even under the most felicitous of conditions, official secrecy subverts
democratic citizenship, accountability and state legitimacy, as well as
distorting the historical record. Just as state censorship limits the
movement of privately held information, official secrecy, however noble
the justification, limits the movement of information held by the
state. This paper will address how and why democratic theory has
historically recognized a need for free-flowing information and explore
why it has allowed official secrecy to flourish essentially without
comment. It will also suggest how democratic theory should begin to
account for official secrecy without jeopardizing state
survival.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The existence of the long-distance friendship questions traditional concepts in interpersonal communication. One example is relational closeness. Relational scholars have often considered frequent face-to-face communication as necessary for close relationships (Stafford, 2005). However, many individuals report close long-distance friends (Rohlfing, 1995). What does it mean to feel psychologically close to someone with whom one has little face-to-face interaction? This study explores this question by replicating Parks and Floyd (1996), which focused on how individuals define relational closeness. One hundred thirty-seven participants were randomly assigned to define closeness in relation to a geographically close or a long-distance friend. Gender and distance from friend interacted to predict how individuals defined closeness.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Relational closeness in long-distance (LD) friendships holds important practical and theoretical interest. However, when defining and measuring relational closeness, scholars have overlooked the LD friendship. For example, Bersheid et al.’s (1989b) work based on interdependence emphasizes face-to-face interaction and disadvantages the LD friendship. This study asked 113 participants to define closeness generally and in LD friendships. Results illustrated that previous methods of conceptualizing and measuring closeness do not fully capture the nuances of closeness when face-to-face contact frequency is low. Suggestions for developing such a measure and implications for current conceptualizations of relational closeness are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper explores Hillary Clinton’s recent candidacy to more fully understand the circumstances and contexts that appear resistant to women’s inclusion as national leaders. In so doing, I review important factors related to women’s attainment of presidential and prime ministerial posts worldwide. While scholarship on women executives is thin but growing, solely focusing on the success stories obscures the larger backdrop of the gendered processes involved in the pursuit of these high offices. To correct for this, I examine Hillary Clinton’s attempt at the Democratic Party nomination in the United States in 2008. Findings affirm the importance of institutional features in accounting for women’s successes and failures in obtaining executive office. Women rarely occupy dominant presidencies, especially those coming through the popular vote. While gender was certainly not the sole factor contributing to Clinton’s failure, it influenced the shape of the campaign, sometimes for better and at others for worse. While there is no clear evidence that the public voted against her because she was a woman, she experienced highly gendered media coverage. Understanding the potential sexism she would encounter, she based her campaign strategies often on gender balancing-adopting a combination of masculine and feminine traits. This likely helped lessen the traditional hinderance of her gender to her candidacy but also added another obstacle that her competition did not have. Above all, gender played a major role in her coming as far as she did. In light of comparative findings, it is no coincidence that she was the woman who made it the closest to the White House. The general disadvantages women face in obtaining the presidency-particularly a very strong presidency in a dominant country -were overcome because she was the wife of former President Bill Clinton. However, these same advantages related to her husband helped in her unraveling as a candidate given the particular context of the 2008 election.