Papers by Ann Neville Miller
This study used a qualitative method to investigate motivational and contextual factors predicati... more This study used a qualitative method to investigate motivational and contextual factors predicating Nairobi City County public secondary school students' seeking out sexual radio and TV content. It examined these issues amongst 546, 13-20 year old respondents. Data were collected through focus group discussions conducted in five clusters of secondary schools in Nairobi City County. Results indicated that adolescents sought sexual radio to learn and sexual TV content for companionship. The bedroom was the context most associated with higher levels of sexual radio and TV content exposure. By youths' descriptions, parents employed a wide range of strategies to mediate their children's radio and television usage. They themselves suggested many broad relational strategies for mitigating the influence of sexual media content on adolescents.
African journal of AIDS research : AJAR, 2016
Research in Western nations suggests that parents' involvement in their children's media ... more Research in Western nations suggests that parents' involvement in their children's media use can make a difference in how adolescents select, process and respond to sexual television messages. Little or no published research has investigated this issue in sub-Saharan Africa, even though adolescents and young adults remain among the groups at highest risk for HIV transmission. This study investigated the relationship between Kenyan adolescents' level of exposure to sexual television content and their parents' mediation of their television use. A cluster sample of 427 Nairobi public high school students was surveyed regarding parental mediation of their media use and their intake of sexual television content. Co-viewing with opposite sex friends was associated with higher intake of sexual TV content. This relationship was stronger among boarding school students than among day school students. Parental mediation and co-viewing variables predicted three times as much var...
Communication Research Reports, 2016
This project compared the richness of reporting and reflection of three approaches to electronic ... more This project compared the richness of reporting and reflection of three approaches to electronic media diaries. For 1 week, 145 students were randomly assigned to keep daily diaries about their media use and perceptions of media content using one of three methods: (a) a traditional daily journaling approach conducted online, (b) an experience sampling method (ESM) approach that combined daily journaling with multiple daily message prompts, and (c) an approach that combined online peer-group discussion with online daily journaling. The goal was to determine if the supplementary diary activities yielded more detailed, emotive, and cognitive responses. Diary content was analyzed using traditional manual content analysis and linguistic software. Results indicated that the ESM condition elicited less cognitive-and affective-oriented language than the other conditions. The group discussion condition evidenced some advantage over the diary-only group in terms of number of media channels and specific content mentioned.
Tungiasis is a neglected parasitic skin disease widespread in resourcepoor communities in subSaha... more Tungiasis is a neglected parasitic skin disease widespread in resourcepoor communities in subSaharan Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. Besides physical suffering, individuals and family members of persons with tungiasis suffer from stigma associated with the condition and are often socially excluded. Review of literature shows that, little research has investigated the specifics of tungiasis stigma in tungiasis endemic areas. This article reports results of focus group and in-depth interview research on beliefs, stereotypes, and stigmatizing communication surrounding tungiasis from the perspective of persons living with tungiasis in Murang’a County, Kenya. The analysis and description of the nature of stigma communication associated with tungiasis were based on stigma communication theory (SCT). The findings of this study suggest that, besides stigma messages (mark, label, peril and responsibility) attributes provided by SCT, the nature tungiasis stigma communication would b...
Communication Education, 2020
Although a third of college students take at least one course online today (Lederman, 2018), surv... more Although a third of college students take at least one course online today (Lederman, 2018), surveys report that as many as 29% of college instructors do not accept online learning as an effective course-delivery mode (Online Learning Consortium, 2015). The spring 2020 COVID-19 pandemic triggered a crisis in education as all instructors were suddenly required to modify face-to-face courses for remote delivery (i.e., synchronous and/or asynchronous) within a matter of days. Many instructors accomplished this transition using video-conferencing software platforms that would essentially replicate face-to-face pedagogy in virtual online classrooms (Lang, 2020). Research suggests benefits of synchronous online "virtual classrooms" to, for example, reduce the perception of "distance" via increased social presence and to facilitate student engagement, but this delivery format represents a departure from the asynchronous delivery of most online courses to date (e.g., McBrien et al., 2009; Richardson et al., 2017). In response to the need to move suddenly online, reliable video-conferencing software that had been unavailable in the past was made available to both faculty and students. What is not clear, however, is how effective the teaching and learning experience was in this "trial by fire" synchronous online course delivery mode compared with in-person or even asynchronous online formats (Lu et al., 2013). Moreover, as the world awaits (as of this writing) the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, universities were faced with the challenge of determining how to deliver classes in the upcoming fall semester. New formats were proposed to address the dilemma about whether to bring students back to campus full time or to continue to deliver instruction remotely. One such format is HyFlex (hybrid + flexible) in which instruction consists of blending online student attendance and face-to-face student attendance in a single course. Beatty (2019) clarifies key principles of HyFlex courses as: (a) providing students a choice regarding how they will attend a given session, (b) offering equivalent learning activities in all modes, (c) using the same learning objects for all students, (d) ensuring that students are equipped with the technologies and skills to participate in all modes, and (e) employing authentic assessments. According to its proponents, the HyFlex model is more learner-centered and flexible than standard mixed mode classes, because students can make their own choices about fitting their learning needs to their course experience (Liu & Rodriguez, 2019). Another format-BlendFlex (blended + flexible)-differs slightly in that instructors preassign student
Communication Research Reports, 2018
In its original presentation, scores on two of the three subscales of the Classroom Citizenship B... more In its original presentation, scores on two of the three subscales of the Classroom Citizenship Behavior scale were highly reliable. Scores on the subscale measuring the third dimension of classroom citizenship behavior, Courtesy, had poor reliability. We inductively derived additional items for the Courtesy subscale and tested structure and reliability of the revised scale. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the scale readily divided into three factors of six items each, consistent with the proposed model. Furthermore, the subscale scores associated with these factors demonstrated high reliability. Next, two additional communication classes completed the revised scale and confirmatory factor analyses were run on the new version of the three-factor scale. Fit indices were good. The revised Classroom Citizenship Behaviors scale provides a stronger tool for investigating student behaviors that contribute to the effective functioning of the classroom environment.
Howard Journal of Communications, 2017
ABSTRACT In sub-Saharan Africa, research about the role of media as an influence on adolescent se... more ABSTRACT In sub-Saharan Africa, research about the role of media as an influence on adolescent sexual behavior has focused almost exclusively on the effects of health communication campaigns. Little research has explored the association between parents' attempts to guide their children's entertainment media intake, and adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors. The authors surveyed 360 Ugandan high school students regarding their parents' mediation of their media use; their attitudes about stereotypical gender roles in sexual relationships and casual sex; and their sexual behaviors. Co-using media with opposite sex friends was associated with higher endorsement of casual sex. Adolescents who reported their parents limited the amount of time they spent with media were less likely to report having ever had sex. However, both effects were smaller than the effects of relationship and demographic variables.
African journal of AIDS research : AJAR, 2017
Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk for contracting HIV. Although media campaigns have ... more Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk for contracting HIV. Although media campaigns have educated the population as a whole, few studies are available about the time sub-Saharan African youth spend listening to and viewing sexual messages via the entertainment and informational media. The goals of this project were: 1) to investigate what programming Nairobi adolescents access; and 2) to investigate the association between frequency of access and level of focus on physical relationships with adolescents' perceptions of descriptive norms of peer sexual behaviour, and their attitudes regarding men as sex driven, women as sex objects, and dating as a sport. A total of 464 students from 6 Nairobi secondary schools were surveyed. When students' favourite musicians had a strong focus on physical relationships in their songs, those students estimated the prevalence of risky sexual behaviours among their peers higher. These students also endorsed gender stereotypical and cas...
Health Communication, 2017
Research on the influence of media on youths' sexual behavior in sub-Saharan Africa has focused a... more Research on the influence of media on youths' sexual behavior in sub-Saharan Africa has focused almost entirely on the effects of multimedia health communication campaigns and edutainment programming. Scholarly literature is nearly silent about the influence of the multiple hours that young people in many sub-Saharan nations spend immersed in increasingly sex-heavy entertainment programming. We surveyed a stratified cluster sample of 437 Nairobi public high school students about motivational and parental mediation factors associated with their exposure to sexual radio and TV content. Watching sexual content in the bedroom predicted higher intake of both sexual radio and TV content. Believing that parents were successful in their efforts to limit media use predicted lower intake of both sexual radio and TV content. A friend/companion motive for watching was associated with taking in higher levels of sexual TV content. For day school students, watching sexual content in the sitting room also predicted higher levels of exposure to sexual TV content.
Sex Education, 2016
Although mounting evidence in Western nations indicates that entertainment media influence young ... more Although mounting evidence in Western nations indicates that entertainment media influence young people's sexual socialisation, virtually no research has addressed the topic in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study employed 14 focus groups of Ugandan high school students to identify media through which they were exposed to sexual content, how they interpreted and evaluated that content, and how they compared its influence with that of parents, schools and religious institutions. Participants most often mentioned TV, followed by print media and Internet as sources of sexual material. Media were said to present discrepant messages regarding the timing of sexual debut, with international programming urging early sexual debut and local programming described as urging young people to delay sex. Young people spoke of turning to ssengas and kojjas for sexual advice, and a number of boys suggested pornography could also be educational. Both local and international programming was interpreted as conveying views of men as sex driven and women as submissive in sex and relationships. Participants expressed the belief that sexual media content had a negative impact on young people. Most nevertheless assessed these messages as more influential than other sources of sexual socialisation.
Communication Research Reports, 2016
This study investigated the combined role of instructor communication variables (nonverbal immedi... more This study investigated the combined role of instructor communication variables (nonverbal immediacy and self-disclosure), instructor credibility (competence, caring, and trustworthiness), and student personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) in predicting students’ uncivil behaviors in class. A total of 406 students completed online questionnaires regarding the instructor of the class they attended prior to the one in which the study was administered. Personality and instructor behavior variables contributed approximately equally to explaining variance in student incivility. Students’ conscientiousness and agreeableness had direct negative relationships with incivility, whereas instructors’ amount and negativity of self-disclosure had direct positive relationships with incivility.
Communicatio, 2016
ABSTRACT Growing evidence in Western nations indicates that exposure to high levels of sexual med... more ABSTRACT Growing evidence in Western nations indicates that exposure to high levels of sexual media content influences adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behaviours in those countries. Although media in many sub-Saharan markets contain increasingly higher levels of sexual content, little research has investigated the effects of that content on adolescents’ HIV-related risk and protective behaviours. This project used cultivation theory to examine Ugandan adolescents’ media use, and to test the relationship between their exposure to specific television genres and their sex-related normative beliefs and behaviours. Three hundred and sixty secondary school students from four purposively sampled schools filled out a questionnaire about their television viewing, their beliefs about the prevalence of sexual intercourse among their peers, and their own sexual behaviours. Preliminary evidence of relationships between watching comedy and cartoon programming, and high estimates of the proportion of adolescents who engage in sexual intercourse, were observed. Watching comedy programming and non- African programming was associated with the higher likelihood to have ever had sexual intercourse.
Communicatio, 2015
Tungiasis is a neglected parasitic skin disease widespread in resourcepoor communities in sub-Sah... more Tungiasis is a neglected parasitic skin disease widespread in resourcepoor communities in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and the Caribbean. Stigmatisation of tungiasis sufferers has been identified as a key reason why tungiasis frequently progresses untreated in many parts of the world, however little research has investigated the specifics of tungiasis stigma or the communication strategies sufferers use to manage stigmatization. This article 524 Stephen Kimotho, Ann Neville Miller and Peter Ngure Managing communication reports results of focus group and in-depth interviews regarding strategies used to manage tungiasis stigma from the perspective of persons living with tungiasis in Murang'a County, Kenya. Most frequently mentioned were withdrawal tactics. Participants also engaged in refutation strategies to deny responsibility for their condition. Implications for stigma management communication theory are discussed.
Positing that white racial consciousness may be expected to develop chronologically through a ser... more Positing that white racial consciousness may be expected to develop chronologically through a series of distinct stages, much of the discussion surrounding stage-wide theories of white racial identity initially took place in the field of counseling, where the impetus for describing how whites construct a racial identity arose out of a concern to assist white therapists in recognizing their own racial biases, and to prevent them from viewing people of color monolithically (Hardiman, 2001; Pack-Brown, 1999; Reynolds and Baluch, 2001). Use of the models has now spread to other disciplines. Recently, however, they have come under criticism from various quarters (e.g., Behrens, 1997; Fisher and Moradi, 2001; Rowe, Bennett, and Atkinson, 1994), to the extent that it seems advisable to reconsider their usefulness for understanding white student performance of identity in multicultural courses. This chapter explores and critiques the earliest and most frequently cited of these models, the W...
Southern Communication Journal, 2010
... Previous research across Sub-Saharan Africa indicates that HIV-positive men are significantly... more ... Previous research across Sub-Saharan Africa indicates that HIV-positive men are significantly less likely than women to disclose their serostatus (Akani & Erhabor, 20063. Akani , CI , & Erhabor , O. ( 2006 ). ... Medical Anthropology , 22 , 23 52 . [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed ...
Qualitative Health Research, 2007
Understanding why, how, and to whom people living with HIV/AIDS disclose their diagnosis to other... more Understanding why, how, and to whom people living with HIV/AIDS disclose their diagnosis to others is a critical issue for HIV prevention and care efforts, but previous investigations of those issues in sub-Saharan Africa have been limited to one or two questions included in quantitative studies of social support or stigma. Instruments and findings on serostatus disclosure based on U.S. populations are likely to be at best only partially relevant because of Africa's primarily heterosexual transmission vectors and highly communalistic social structures. This qualitative analysis of two male and two female focus groups comprised of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in Nairobi, Kenya, revealed several HIVstatus disclosure patterns that appear distinctive to Africa. These include (a) intermediaries as vehicles for disclosure to family, (b) indirectness as a communication strategy, and (c) church pastors as common targets for disclosure.
Patient Education and Counseling, 2011
This study explored Kenyan patients&a... more This study explored Kenyan patients' perspectives on the role of ethnicity in the doctor-patient relationship. 221 participants completed questionnaires on ethnicity in doctor-patient relationships; eight focus groups were held with low- and middle-income urban and rural women. About half of participants expressed no preference for doctor ethnicity. Participants rated demographic factors as less important than factors related to the doctor's qualifications, communication skills, and cost of service. Those who did indicate a preference were more likely to prefer Indian doctors for eye problems and Europeans for major surgery, cancer, and heart problems. With less severe medical issues participants were more likely to prefer a doctor who was ethnically concordant with them. Reasons for this centered around communication issues. In contrast, several focus group participants did not want to be treated by doctors from their own ethnic group because of concerns about confidentiality. Additional research is needed on negative implications of patient-provider concordance. Medical service providers must be aware of concerns about ethnic concordance. Alternatively medical centers that deal with sensitive medical information need to consider hiring staff who are not of the majority ethnic group in their region.
Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 2011
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Papers by Ann Neville Miller