Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Organizational meetings are changing because of the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This model-building piece responds to several calls found in the organizational and groups literature to develop a framework to guide research on contemporary ICT use in meetings. Our model relies on the perspective of adaptive structuration theory (AST; Poole & DeSanctis, 1990) and highlights the importance of considering multiple levels of analysis and influence on organizational meetings. We first provide a justification for how contemporary, often portable, ICTs are changing the pace of meeting communication and access to information. To elaborate our meso-level model, we showcase three dilemmas—high-tech/low-tech, personal/work, and participation—that help illustrate the importance of considering multiple levels to understand meeting practices. From the model we derive twelve testable propositions that should help guide future meetings research.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Part of the dilemma in addressing mental illness in the media surrounds the diverse and scattered disciplinary efforts. In this presentation, we present a first effort to bring together theory and methods from sociology (prejudice, social network contacts, and survey research) and cognitive psychology/communications research (retention; physiological, cognitive and emotional effects, and experiments). We target the underlying roots of stigma and propose an integrated approach to guide future studies which combines a content analysis of television, with an analysis of effects on individuals and efforts directed to individual change.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In this paper we argue that group meetings are an overlooked structure in the current conversations regarding group and organizational temporality. Meetings are both instrumental and expressive social forms (Schwartzman, 1986) that are inherently temporal and communicative. Prior research on time has used meetings as the unit of analysis to study group interactions, but none has considered the unique position of meetings as a socio-temporal form and communication structure. Following the theoretical framework proposed by Ballard and Seibold (2003), we suggest that meetings both shape and are shaped by organizational members’ shared experience of time.

Publication Type: Session Paper
Abstract: Drawing from the social exchange approaches of leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational support theory, we investigated whether supervisors’ actions in work meetings they lead relate to subordinates’ perceptions of their supervisor, the organization, and behavior during such meetings. Using data from 291 working adults in a wide variety of occupations, structural equation modeling showed that employees’ perceptions of informational justice, meeting effectiveness, and meeting practices in supervisor-run meetings related significantly to perceived quality of their relationship with their supervisors (LMX), the organization (perceived organizational support), and meeting citizenship behaviors. Results indicate LMX served a mediating role in the relationships between supervisor actions during meetings and both perceived organizational support and meeting citizenship behaviors. The main implication of the study is that during meetings they run, supervisors have the potential to influence not only subordinates’ perceptions of the supervisor and subordinate behavior during meetings, but also subordinates’ view of the organization.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The 1990s brought about new legislation to track sex offenders and with it an acute awareness of the potential threat of sex offenders and their high rates of recidivism. Although sociologists are starting to examine public anxiety over sex offenders, there is still a relative dearth of research in this area specifically regarding notification meetings. In this paper, using data from the 1998 Impact Assessment of Sex Offender Notification on Wisconsin Communities, I examine post-meeting level of concern among meeting attendees to see how factors such as clarity of purpose of the meeting, quality of information presented, the amount of information presented on the sex offender in question, and mode of notification about the meeting directly and indirectly effect an attendee’s level of concern. Results in this paper suggest that notification meeting organizers and leaders could be doing more to reduce post-meeting level of concern among residents living in neighborhoods receiving a sex offender while still creating appropriate awareness of the situation. Steps in this direction could lessen the degree offender isolation as well as create a better understanding and awareness of sexual crimes among community members.