Papers by Michael S Jeffress
Pedagogy, Disability and Communication: Applying disability Studies in the Classroom, 2017
A chapter that focuses on a high educational impact practice nonverbal communication assignment t... more A chapter that focuses on a high educational impact practice nonverbal communication assignment that promotes a discussion of disability perspectives in the classroom.
Pedagogy, Disability and Communication: Applying Disability Studies in the Classroom, 2017
A chapter on how to incorporate disability perspectives into public speaking pedagogy.
Journal of Media Critiques, 2017
Joel Osteen is America's most popular televangelist and pastor of the country's largest congregat... more Joel Osteen is America's most popular televangelist and pastor of the country's largest congregation, Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. The 54-year old has been preaching since 1999, and his sermons air in over 200 U.S. markets and over 100 around the world. This study provides a brief introduction to the man and his ministry and reports the results of a self-selective survey (N = 403), employing analysis of variance and correlation analysis to examine relationship between viewer exposure to Osteen and perceptions of him and his message through five measurement scales. Key demographic variables are also considered for interaction effects.
Sport in Society, 2018
Power soccer is a sport in which teams of four compete against each other in an effort to drive a... more Power soccer is a sport in which teams of four compete against each other in an effort to drive a 13-inch soccer ball through goals using motorized wheelchairs. The athletes typically have upper and lower extremity impairment and the sport is played co-ed. Because chairs are motorized, traditional physiological gender differences in sport have been removed. Still, the sport is over 80% male. This study explored the experiences of female power soccer players in light of three distinct positions they hold: as athletes with disabilities in a predominantly non-disabled world; as athletes with more impactful physiological impairments within the disability sport community; and as women in a co-ed male-dominated sport. Results indicate experiences of ableism and minimally impactful but present sexism. Finally, participants note how they engage with social dynamics related to their disabilities and gender.
Adapted physical activity quarterly : APAQ, 2017
Power soccer (or powerchair football), the first competitive team sport for users of motorized wh... more Power soccer (or powerchair football), the first competitive team sport for users of motorized wheelchairs, is receiving increased attention among people with disabilities, healthcare professionals, and academics. The present study provides a qualitative analysis of the experiences of 34 American power soccer athletes. Participant observation and in-depth interviews with 11 female and 23 male athletes were conducted between 2007 and 2013. Results indicate that involvement in power soccer provides participants with an increased sense of empowerment, acquisition of social capital, and psychosocial benefits, including a deep satisfaction of the desire to participate in competitive sports and an opportunity to be independent. Implications of these findings for improving the quality of life of people with physical disabilities and for future research are discussed.
International Perspectives on Teaching with Disability: Overcoming Obstacles and Enriching Lives, 2018
Chapter reports quantitative and qualitative findings from a survey of college students enrolled ... more Chapter reports quantitative and qualitative findings from a survey of college students enrolled in courses taught by instructors with disabilities.
International Perspectives on Teaching with Disability: Overcoming Obstacles and Enriching Lives, 2018
Chapter reports quantitative and qualitative findings from a survey of disabled educators on thei... more Chapter reports quantitative and qualitative findings from a survey of disabled educators on their experiences with self-disclosure and self-advocacy.
International Perspectives on Teaching with Disability : Overcoming Obstacles and Enriching Lives, 2018
Editor's preface and introduction for _International Perspectives on Teaching with Disability_ (... more Editor's preface and introduction for _International Perspectives on Teaching with Disability_ (Routledge, 2018)
Communication, Sport and Disability
Journal of Media Critiques, 2015
In 2008, MySpace was one of the world's top Internet destinations. Behind only Google and Yahoo i... more In 2008, MySpace was one of the world's top Internet destinations. Behind only Google and Yahoo in Internet traffic in America, it was the most popular social networking site (SNS) with some 300,000 profiles being added daily. Although MySpace would soon be supplanted in the SNS world by the likes of Facebook and Twitter, it still has over 50 million unique users each month and over 300,000 video views monthly. Research performed during the period of its height in popularity is still valuable not only for historical perspective, but also for what it teaches about the habits of SNS users today. This study of the uses and effects of MySpace among Christian teens and young adults (n = 242), computes four composite variables: a Positive Effects Variable (PEV), a Negative Effects Variable (NEV), an Expressing Faith Variable (EFV), and a Friends and Family Variable (FFV), in order to consider interaction effects among various categories such as, age, gender, church attendance frequency, MySpace use experience and frequency, number of MySpace friends, etc. The results provide important insights for those who wish to maintain and promote a group identity through SNS platforms.
Tout Mount: The Caribbean Journal of Cultural Studies, 2019
Power soccer is a sport in which teams of four compete against each other in an effort to drive a... more Power soccer is a sport in which teams of four compete against each other in an effort to drive a 13-inch soccer ball through goals using motorized wheelchairs. The athletes typically have upper and lower extremity impairment and the sport is played co-ed. Because chairs are motorized, traditional physiological gender differences in sport have been removed. Still, the sport is over 80% male. This study explored the experiences of female power soccer players in light of three distinct positions they hold: as athletes with disabilities in a predominantly non-disabled world; as athletes with more impactful physiological impairments within the disability sport community; and as women in a co-ed male-dominated sport. Results indicate experiences of ableism and minimally impactful but present sexism. Finally, participants note how they engage with social dynamics related to their disabilities and gender.
Journal of Media Critiques, 2017
Joel Osteen is America's most popular televangelist and pastor of the country's largest congregat... more Joel Osteen is America's most popular televangelist and pastor of the country's largest congregation, Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. The 54-year old has been preaching since 1999, and his sermons air in over 200 U.S. markets and over 100 around the world. This study provides a brief introduction to the man and his ministry and reports the results of a self-selective survey (N = 403), employing analysis of variance and correlation analysis to examine relationship between viewer exposure to Osteen and perceptions of him and his message through five measurement scales. Key demographic variables are also considered for interaction effects.
CSL: The Bulletin of the New York C. S. Lewis Society, 2017
Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 2017
Power soccer (or powerchair football), the first competitive team sport for users of motorized wh... more Power soccer (or powerchair football), the first competitive team sport for users of motorized wheelchairs, is receiving increased attention among people with disabilities, healthcare professionals, and academics. The present study provides a qualitative analysis of the experiences of 34 American power soccer athletes. Participant observation and in-depth interviews with 11 female and 23 male athletes were conducted between 2007 and 2013. Results indicate that involvement in power soccer provides participants with an increased sense of empowerment, acquisition of social capital, and psychosocial benefits, including a deep satisfaction of the desire to participate in competitive sports and an opportunity to be independent. Implications of these findings for improving the quality of life of people with physical disabilities and for future research are discussed.
In 2008, MySpace was one of the world’s top Internet destinations. Behind only Google and Yahoo i... more In 2008, MySpace was one of the world’s top Internet destinations. Behind only Google and Yahoo in Internet traffic in America, it was the most popular social networking site (SNS) with some 300,000 profiles being added daily. Although MySpace would soon be supplanted in the SNS world by the likes of Facebook and Twitter, it still has over 50 million unique users each month and over 300,000 video views monthly. Research performed during the period of its height in popularity is still valuable not only for historical perspective, but also for what it
teaches about the habits of SNS users today. This study of the uses and effects of MySpace among Christian teens and young adults (n = 242), computes four composite variables: a
Positive Effects Variable (PEV), a Negative Effects Variable (NEV), an Expressing Faith Variable (EFV), and a Friends and Family Variable (FFV), in order to consider interaction effects among
various categories such as, age, gender, church attendance frequency, MySpace use experience and frequency, number of MySpace friends, etc. The results provide important insights for those who wish to maintain and promote a group identity through SNS platforms.
Conference Presentations by Michael S Jeffress
Fred B. Craddock, Bandy Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Preaching and New Testament at Candle... more Fred B. Craddock, Bandy Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Preaching and New Testament at Candler School of Theology, sparked a revolution in the world of preaching in 1971 with the publishing of his first preaching text, As One without Authority, and its call for an inductive approach to homiletics. Craddock, who was heavily influenced by Kierkegaard, as well as by communication theorists such as McLuhan and Ong, argued that the problem with preaching resided in the authoritarian, deductive style that either put listeners to sleep or drove them away for the church. This essay explores seven major tenets of Craddock’s proposal that continue to influence leading thinkers in homiletics today.
oel Osteen is America’s most popular televangelist and pastor of the America’s largest congregati... more oel Osteen is America’s most popular televangelist and pastor of the America’s largest congregation, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. The 52-year old has been preaching since 1999, and his sermons air in over 200 U.S. markets and over 100 around the world. This essay provides a general introduction to the man and his message and provides a rhetorical analysis of a popular episode of Joel Osteen’s television program informed by viewer opinions collected through two self-selective surveys (N = 971).
Multimedia technologies and forms of communication dominate American culture and are increasingly... more Multimedia technologies and forms of communication dominate American culture and are increasingly permeating life inside the church. More preachers are relying on multimedia tools both for sermon preparation and delivery. This study examining major preaching texts published since 2000 reveals that homileticians are divided over the proper role, if any, multimedia should play in preaching and reveals the need to move toward a healthy theology of convergence.
Books by Michael S Jeffress
Communication, Sport and Disability: The Case of Power Soccer, 2015
Sports are ubiquitous in American society, and given their prominence in the culture, it is easy ... more Sports are ubiquitous in American society, and given their prominence in the culture, it is easy to understand how most youth in the United States face pressure to participate in organized sports. But what does this mean for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who live with one or more physical disabilities and, in particular, those in powered wheelchairs? Located at the intersection of sports and disability, this book tells the story of power soccer - the first competitive team sport specifically designed for electric wheelchair users. Beginning in France in the 1970s, today, over sixty teams compete within the United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA) and the sport is actively played in over thirty countries. Using ethnographic research conducted while attending practices, games, and social functions of teams from across the nation, Jeffress builds a strong case that electric wheelchair users deserve more opportunity to play sports. They deserve it because they need the same physical and psychosocial benefits from participation as their peers, who have full use of their arms and legs. It challenges the social constructions and barriers that currently stand in the way. Most importantly, this book tells the story of some amazing power soccer athletes. It is a moving, first-hand account of what power soccer means to them and the implications this has for society.
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Papers by Michael S Jeffress
teaches about the habits of SNS users today. This study of the uses and effects of MySpace among Christian teens and young adults (n = 242), computes four composite variables: a
Positive Effects Variable (PEV), a Negative Effects Variable (NEV), an Expressing Faith Variable (EFV), and a Friends and Family Variable (FFV), in order to consider interaction effects among
various categories such as, age, gender, church attendance frequency, MySpace use experience and frequency, number of MySpace friends, etc. The results provide important insights for those who wish to maintain and promote a group identity through SNS platforms.
Conference Presentations by Michael S Jeffress
Books by Michael S Jeffress
teaches about the habits of SNS users today. This study of the uses and effects of MySpace among Christian teens and young adults (n = 242), computes four composite variables: a
Positive Effects Variable (PEV), a Negative Effects Variable (NEV), an Expressing Faith Variable (EFV), and a Friends and Family Variable (FFV), in order to consider interaction effects among
various categories such as, age, gender, church attendance frequency, MySpace use experience and frequency, number of MySpace friends, etc. The results provide important insights for those who wish to maintain and promote a group identity through SNS platforms.
It contains 13 newly written chapters drawing on representations of disability in popular culture from film, television, and print media in both the Global North and the Global South, including the United States, Canada, India, and Kenya. Although disability is often framed using a limited range of stereotypical tropes such as victims, supercrips, or suffering patients, this book shows how disability and neurodiversity are making their way into more mainstream media productions and publications with movies, television shows, and books featuring prominent and even lead characters with disabilities or neurodiversity.
Disability Representation in Film, TV, and Print Media will be of interest to all scholars and students of disability studies, cultural studies, film studies, gender studies, and sociology more broadly.