Judith White - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Judith White

Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 2015

An internet survey and follow-up mail survey were conducted in order to (a) determine New Mexico ... more An internet survey and follow-up mail survey were conducted in order to (a) determine New Mexico state legislators' preferred sources for information when making decisions about healthcare policies and to (b) assess the state legislators' attitudes toward e-mail more generally. Legislators were found to privilege expert colleagues and constituents over mass media as healthcare policy information sources; additionally, face-to-face encounters with constituents were preferred over e-mail, although respondents largely felt positive about using e-mail with both constituents and colleagues. These preferences regarding information sourcing and delivery indicate that public relations practitioners' (PRPs) continuing tendency to communicate with state legislators using traditional media-centric methods are problematic. Results suggest legislators could be reached with greater effect if PRPs were to supplement their use of mass media channels with more personal, symmetrical relationship management strategies.

Reporters link transfer of science/health/technology knowledge between researchers and mass media... more Reporters link transfer of science/health/technology knowledge between researchers and mass media publics. Levels of reporter literacy in these areas impact their ability to effectively serve as intermediaries in the knowledge transfer process. Reporters' orientation toward acquiring science/health/technology knowledge is important to their choices of education, training, and occupational experience. This study conceptualizes a way to measure such orientation, using descriptive data from an Internet survey of a random sample of reporters to construct an exploratory scale to measure science/health/technology orientation (SHTO). Survey respondents' scores ranged from 4-83 (87 maximum, mean 33.6, SD 15.5). No central tendency was found. Further research and analysis is needed to validate scale construction.

Iowa State University Summer Symposium on Science Communication, 2016

Journal of Applied Communications, 2005

The reasons people join voluntary professional organizations and continue membership is largely a... more The reasons people join voluntary professional organizations and continue membership is largely an unexplored area of research. This study sought to find some answers in membership data from the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) from 1991 to 2004. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and, in some cases, simple linear regression were calculated for a variety of variables for 1,441 valid records. The findings suggest that a relationship exists between organization involvement and members' identification with and sense of commitment to ACE, leading to continued membership. Findings also suggest that geography makes no difference in member retention. Results were unclear concerning the impact of employer affiliation on continued membership. Further research into individual member characteristics and the collection of more data are recommended.

Journalism Practice, 2012

Journal of Agricultural Education, 2007

Self-efficacy beliefs are defined as context-specific assessments of one's competence to perform ... more Self-efficacy beliefs are defined as context-specific assessments of one's competence to perform specific tasks, influence one's efforts, persistence, and resilience to succeed in a given task. Such beliefs are important determinants when considering agricultural science teachers' subject matter knowledge, teaching comfort levels, and their likelihood for success in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to assess selected Texas pre-service agricultural science teachers' knowledge and comfort for teaching state-mandated general agricultural science and technology objectives. Selected pre-service agricultural science teachers representing four Texas teacher education programs responded. Respondents' summed knowledge and teaching comfort scores revealed perceptions of "adequacy" in seven of the eight general agricultural science and technology areas. However, they had low levels of knowledge and teaching comfort for the soils and soil formation objectives. A moderate positive association existed between overall knowledge and teaching comfort, supporting previous self-efficacy research. The findings indicated that pre-service teachers need additional preparation in the eight areas essential to every agricultural education classroom. Additional research in pre-service teacher self-efficacy, confidence, and competence is needed to identify causal factors affecting the less-than-desired levels of knowledge and teaching comfort for state-mandated general agricultural science and technology objectives.

Journalism and mass communication, 2016

TEACHING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNSSince at least the 1990s, scholars and pract... more TEACHING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNSSince at least the 1990s, scholars and practitioners have recommended ways to incorporate the principles of integrated marketing communications (IMC) into the college classroom. The majority of the available scholarly work on IMC education has addressed a range of curricular and theoretical issues. However, while academics and professionals are in agreement that a campaigns course is an essential component of an IMC curriculum, and despite the increasing number of journals and conferences that focus on teaching IMC or its component parts (e.g., Teaching Journalism & Mass Communication, Journal of Public Relations Education, Journal of Advertising Education, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, the American Management Association's Educators' Conference), surprisingly little scholarship directly addresses the teaching of IMC campaigns or offers advice to educators on how to apply the principles of integration in their ...

Source Choice in Agricultural News Coverage: Impacts of Reporter Specialization and Newspaper Loc... more Source Choice in Agricultural News Coverage: Impacts of Reporter Specialization and Newspaper Location, Ownership, and Circulation. (December 2006) Judith McIntosh White, B.S.J., Northwestern University; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Tracy Rutherford This study examined coverage of the December 2003 bovine spongiform encephalopathy event to discover reporters’ sources for breaking agricultural news, the impact of reporter specialization on source choices, and the impact of newspaper differences, including location, circulation, and ownership, on coverage. Quantitative content analysis was performed on 62 stories selected through a keyword search for the period December 23, 2003 through October 31, 2004 from U.S. newspapers included in the LexisNexis database. These stories were divided into two equal groups based on reporter work-role identity and were analyzed by length, number of sources, and source variety, and by location, circulation, and ownership...

Cogent Social Sciences

Among U.S. college students, alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking, is an increasingly serious ... more Among U.S. college students, alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking, is an increasingly serious and pervasive problem. Student alcohol abuse can lead to societal and individual impacts, including "increasing rates of driving under the influence, unintentional injuries, and deaths, and a host of other social, psychological, and physiological problems". Discovering particular characteristics and patterns of communication during the college/university life stage may assist the design of more effective health promotion campaigns aimed at alcohol abuse prevention/cessation.Unfortunately, to date, interventions aimed at changing student behaviors and environmental facilitators have had limited success. In particular, little research has focused on understanding the nature of appeals targeting Hispanic/Latino students (e.g.). Such interventions may benefit from additional focus on increasing college students' social support reliance and/or on boosting their perceptions of self-efficacy and from further identification of specific appeals resonating with Hispanic/Latino students. The present study investigates students' ABOUT THE AUTHOR The research group behind this study focuses on science and health communication to the public and the applications of such communication to educational initiatives and health promotion campaigns. To date, their research has focused primarily on underserved populations, including senior adults and Hispanic/Latino groups in the Southwest United States. At various points in time, all the authors have been affiliated with the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, designated by the federal government as a Hispanic-serving institution. The current study falls squarely within this focus.

Cogent Social Sciences

Among U.S. college students, alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking, is an increasingly serious ... more Among U.S. college students, alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking, is an increasingly serious and pervasive problem. Student alcohol abuse can lead to societal and individual impacts, including "increasing rates of driving under the influence, unintentional injuries, and deaths, and a host of other social, psychological, and physiological problems". Discovering particular characteristics and patterns of communication during the college/university life stage may assist the design of more effective health promotion campaigns aimed at alcohol abuse prevention/cessation.Unfortunately, to date, interventions aimed at changing student behaviors and environmental facilitators have had limited success. In particular, little research has focused on understanding the nature of appeals targeting Hispanic/Latino students (e.g.). Such interventions may benefit from additional focus on increasing college students' social support reliance and/or on boosting their perceptions of self-efficacy and from further identification of specific appeals resonating with Hispanic/Latino students. The present study investigates students' ABOUT THE AUTHOR The research group behind this study focuses on science and health communication to the public and the applications of such communication to educational initiatives and health promotion campaigns. To date, their research has focused primarily on underserved populations, including senior adults and Hispanic/Latino groups in the Southwest United States. At various points in time, all the authors have been affiliated with the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, designated by the federal government as a Hispanic-serving institution. The current study falls squarely within this focus.

Since at least the 1990s, scholars and practitioners have recommended ways to incorporate the pri... more Since at least the 1990s, scholars and practitioners have recommended ways to incorporate the principles of integrated marketing communications (IMC) into the college classroom. The majority of the available scholarly work on IMC education has addressed a range of curricular and theoretical issues. However, while academics and professionals are in agreement that a campaigns course is an essential component of an IMC curriculum , and despite the increasing number of, 2016. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Despite the ascendance of integrated marketing communications (IMC) in the professional sector and the academy, surprisingly little scholarly work addresses the teaching of integrated marketing campaigns or implementation of the theory and practice of integration in the teaching of those courses. The present study addresses these gaps. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted on 39 integrated communication campaign plan books developed by students taking courses in the small strategic communication sequence housed in the communication department of a large university. While the majority of the campaigns evidenced integration of multiple IMC tactics, the degree and nature of integration were inconsistent. Additionally, there were significant differences in campaign content, inclusion and implementation of IMC tactics, and adherence to theoretical and/or ethical underpinnings , depending upon the instructor's prior professional background.

Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 2015

An internet survey and follow-up mail survey were conducted in order to (a) determine New Mexico ... more An internet survey and follow-up mail survey were conducted in order to (a) determine New Mexico state legislators' preferred sources for information when making decisions about healthcare policies and to (b) assess the state legislators' attitudes toward e-mail more generally. Legislators were found to privilege expert colleagues and constituents over mass media as healthcare policy information sources; additionally, face-to-face encounters with constituents were preferred over e-mail, although respondents largely felt positive about using e-mail with both constituents and colleagues. These preferences regarding information sourcing and delivery indicate that public relations practitioners' (PRPs) continuing tendency to communicate with state legislators using traditional media-centric methods are problematic. Results suggest legislators could be reached with greater effect if PRPs were to supplement their use of mass media channels with more personal, symmetrical relationship management strategies.

Reporters link transfer of science/health/technology knowledge between researchers and mass media... more Reporters link transfer of science/health/technology knowledge between researchers and mass media publics. Levels of reporter literacy in these areas impact their ability to effectively serve as intermediaries in the knowledge transfer process. Reporters' orientation toward acquiring science/health/technology knowledge is important to their choices of education, training, and occupational experience. This study conceptualizes a way to measure such orientation, using descriptive data from an Internet survey of a random sample of reporters to construct an exploratory scale to measure science/health/technology orientation (SHTO). Survey respondents' scores ranged from 4-83 (87 maximum, mean 33.6, SD 15.5). No central tendency was found. Further research and analysis is needed to validate scale construction.

Iowa State University Summer Symposium on Science Communication, 2016

Journal of Applied Communications, 2005

The reasons people join voluntary professional organizations and continue membership is largely a... more The reasons people join voluntary professional organizations and continue membership is largely an unexplored area of research. This study sought to find some answers in membership data from the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) from 1991 to 2004. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and, in some cases, simple linear regression were calculated for a variety of variables for 1,441 valid records. The findings suggest that a relationship exists between organization involvement and members' identification with and sense of commitment to ACE, leading to continued membership. Findings also suggest that geography makes no difference in member retention. Results were unclear concerning the impact of employer affiliation on continued membership. Further research into individual member characteristics and the collection of more data are recommended.

Journalism Practice, 2012

Journal of Agricultural Education, 2007

Self-efficacy beliefs are defined as context-specific assessments of one's competence to perform ... more Self-efficacy beliefs are defined as context-specific assessments of one's competence to perform specific tasks, influence one's efforts, persistence, and resilience to succeed in a given task. Such beliefs are important determinants when considering agricultural science teachers' subject matter knowledge, teaching comfort levels, and their likelihood for success in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to assess selected Texas pre-service agricultural science teachers' knowledge and comfort for teaching state-mandated general agricultural science and technology objectives. Selected pre-service agricultural science teachers representing four Texas teacher education programs responded. Respondents' summed knowledge and teaching comfort scores revealed perceptions of "adequacy" in seven of the eight general agricultural science and technology areas. However, they had low levels of knowledge and teaching comfort for the soils and soil formation objectives. A moderate positive association existed between overall knowledge and teaching comfort, supporting previous self-efficacy research. The findings indicated that pre-service teachers need additional preparation in the eight areas essential to every agricultural education classroom. Additional research in pre-service teacher self-efficacy, confidence, and competence is needed to identify causal factors affecting the less-than-desired levels of knowledge and teaching comfort for state-mandated general agricultural science and technology objectives.

Journalism and mass communication, 2016

TEACHING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNSSince at least the 1990s, scholars and pract... more TEACHING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNSSince at least the 1990s, scholars and practitioners have recommended ways to incorporate the principles of integrated marketing communications (IMC) into the college classroom. The majority of the available scholarly work on IMC education has addressed a range of curricular and theoretical issues. However, while academics and professionals are in agreement that a campaigns course is an essential component of an IMC curriculum, and despite the increasing number of journals and conferences that focus on teaching IMC or its component parts (e.g., Teaching Journalism & Mass Communication, Journal of Public Relations Education, Journal of Advertising Education, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, the American Management Association's Educators' Conference), surprisingly little scholarship directly addresses the teaching of IMC campaigns or offers advice to educators on how to apply the principles of integration in their ...

Source Choice in Agricultural News Coverage: Impacts of Reporter Specialization and Newspaper Loc... more Source Choice in Agricultural News Coverage: Impacts of Reporter Specialization and Newspaper Location, Ownership, and Circulation. (December 2006) Judith McIntosh White, B.S.J., Northwestern University; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Tracy Rutherford This study examined coverage of the December 2003 bovine spongiform encephalopathy event to discover reporters’ sources for breaking agricultural news, the impact of reporter specialization on source choices, and the impact of newspaper differences, including location, circulation, and ownership, on coverage. Quantitative content analysis was performed on 62 stories selected through a keyword search for the period December 23, 2003 through October 31, 2004 from U.S. newspapers included in the LexisNexis database. These stories were divided into two equal groups based on reporter work-role identity and were analyzed by length, number of sources, and source variety, and by location, circulation, and ownership...

Cogent Social Sciences

Among U.S. college students, alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking, is an increasingly serious ... more Among U.S. college students, alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking, is an increasingly serious and pervasive problem. Student alcohol abuse can lead to societal and individual impacts, including "increasing rates of driving under the influence, unintentional injuries, and deaths, and a host of other social, psychological, and physiological problems". Discovering particular characteristics and patterns of communication during the college/university life stage may assist the design of more effective health promotion campaigns aimed at alcohol abuse prevention/cessation.Unfortunately, to date, interventions aimed at changing student behaviors and environmental facilitators have had limited success. In particular, little research has focused on understanding the nature of appeals targeting Hispanic/Latino students (e.g.). Such interventions may benefit from additional focus on increasing college students' social support reliance and/or on boosting their perceptions of self-efficacy and from further identification of specific appeals resonating with Hispanic/Latino students. The present study investigates students' ABOUT THE AUTHOR The research group behind this study focuses on science and health communication to the public and the applications of such communication to educational initiatives and health promotion campaigns. To date, their research has focused primarily on underserved populations, including senior adults and Hispanic/Latino groups in the Southwest United States. At various points in time, all the authors have been affiliated with the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, designated by the federal government as a Hispanic-serving institution. The current study falls squarely within this focus.

Cogent Social Sciences

Among U.S. college students, alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking, is an increasingly serious ... more Among U.S. college students, alcohol abuse, including binge-drinking, is an increasingly serious and pervasive problem. Student alcohol abuse can lead to societal and individual impacts, including "increasing rates of driving under the influence, unintentional injuries, and deaths, and a host of other social, psychological, and physiological problems". Discovering particular characteristics and patterns of communication during the college/university life stage may assist the design of more effective health promotion campaigns aimed at alcohol abuse prevention/cessation.Unfortunately, to date, interventions aimed at changing student behaviors and environmental facilitators have had limited success. In particular, little research has focused on understanding the nature of appeals targeting Hispanic/Latino students (e.g.). Such interventions may benefit from additional focus on increasing college students' social support reliance and/or on boosting their perceptions of self-efficacy and from further identification of specific appeals resonating with Hispanic/Latino students. The present study investigates students' ABOUT THE AUTHOR The research group behind this study focuses on science and health communication to the public and the applications of such communication to educational initiatives and health promotion campaigns. To date, their research has focused primarily on underserved populations, including senior adults and Hispanic/Latino groups in the Southwest United States. At various points in time, all the authors have been affiliated with the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, designated by the federal government as a Hispanic-serving institution. The current study falls squarely within this focus.

Since at least the 1990s, scholars and practitioners have recommended ways to incorporate the pri... more Since at least the 1990s, scholars and practitioners have recommended ways to incorporate the principles of integrated marketing communications (IMC) into the college classroom. The majority of the available scholarly work on IMC education has addressed a range of curricular and theoretical issues. However, while academics and professionals are in agreement that a campaigns course is an essential component of an IMC curriculum , and despite the increasing number of, 2016. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Despite the ascendance of integrated marketing communications (IMC) in the professional sector and the academy, surprisingly little scholarly work addresses the teaching of integrated marketing campaigns or implementation of the theory and practice of integration in the teaching of those courses. The present study addresses these gaps. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted on 39 integrated communication campaign plan books developed by students taking courses in the small strategic communication sequence housed in the communication department of a large university. While the majority of the campaigns evidenced integration of multiple IMC tactics, the degree and nature of integration were inconsistent. Additionally, there were significant differences in campaign content, inclusion and implementation of IMC tactics, and adherence to theoretical and/or ethical underpinnings , depending upon the instructor's prior professional background.