University of Hartford

About: University of Hartford is a education organization based out in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 1244 authors who have published 2481 publications receiving 48973 citations. The organization is also known as: UHart.

A communication and cultural codes approach to ethnonational conflict

Abstract: This paper describes a communication and cultural code approach to ethnonational conflicts. More specifically, it describes theory and research emerging from transformative communication events aimed at building constructive relationships betwetact necessitated by conflict. These are dialogue groups organized according to principles established by Allport's (1954) contact hypothesis including sustained contact, cooperative interdependence, and norms of equality. Secondly, we state the assumptions of an interactional approach to conflict, which assumes that conflict is, by definition, interactive making communication impossible to avoid. These assumptions also include an emphasis on the relational aspects of communication, and the fact that interaction sequences become patterned over time and become constitutive of the defining characteristics of the conflict. Moreover, the participants are influenced by communication codes, which are culturally based orientations to producing and interpreting interactions. These codes are grounded in the work of Katriel (1986), Carbaugh (1990), Ellis (1994, 1999) and Philipsen (1997) and have implications for the meaning potential of individuals in conflict situations. Finally, we explicate these issues by describing research that is representative of this communication approach to conflict. This research conceptualizes reconciliation‐aimed contacts and demonstrates how communication codes are modified by situational constraints.

Design education : explorations and prospects for a better built environment

Abstract: Design education is the cornerstone of design professions. The approach to and the content of it are the backbone of design practices. This suggests that it has to be encountered and to be dealt with as a rich field of pedagogical discourse whose foundations, underlying theories, contents, and methods can be questioned and critically analyzed. Reaching across the boundaries of cultures and regions, the theme of this volume addresses design education in its fullest sense in order to reflect its worldwide status in 2010. Contributions to the volume exemplify worldwide efforts in shaping the future of design pedagogy. Theorists, academics, researchers, and practitioners have been discussing the role of design education in shaping the built environment since professional education was established two centuries ago. Strikingly, research on design education continues to be marginalized in academia. While the practice of design professions has changed dramatically and keeps changing, design education in the built environment-related disciplines reacts in a very slow manner at best, or resists change or adaptation at worst. The work of the contributors in this volume, however, represents honest attempts to introduce change, and to tame and react to the demands placed on design professions by societal, environmental, and cultural needs. It addresses topical concerns that pertain to the goals and objectives, structures and contents, and delivery methods and techniques required for responsive design education, a type of education amenable to graduating designers capable of creating better built environments.

Treatment preferences of patients with binge eating disorder.

Abstract: Objective The current study examined the treatment preferences of obese patients with binge eating disorder (BED). Method Participants were 103 consecutive patients with BED who responded to advertisements for treatment studies looking for persons who wanted to “stop binge eating and lose weight.” In addition to completing comprehensive assessment batteries, participants were provided descriptions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral weight loss therapy (BWL) after which they were asked to choose and rate their preferred treatment. Results Sixty-three percent of participants stated they preferred CBT. Treatment preferences were not associated with (1) histories of obesity, dieting, binge eating, or weight cycling, (2) current obesity or eating disorder features, or (3) psychological features such as depression or self-esteem levels. In contrast, participants' stated treatment preferences were aligned with their perception of their primary problem (eating disorder vs. obesity) and their primary goals for treatment (stop binge eating vs. lose weight). The patients who preferred CBT based their treatment selection more on their problem perception than on their primary treatment goal, whereas the patients who preferred BWL selected treatment based more on their primary treatment goal (weight loss) than on their problem perception. Discussion Obese patients with BED express treatment preferences that are not associated with variability in their clinical characteristics but are aligned with their perception of their primary problem and with their primary goals for treatment. © 2005 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Merck's One Less Campaign: Using Risk Message Frames to Promote the Use of Gardasil® in HPV Prevention

Abstract: In 2006, Merck introduced Gardasil® through its One Less campaign, highlighting how the vaccine protects against the transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) and, potentially, cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine how young women learned about Gardasil and if the One Less campaign influenced the patient's decision to receive/decline the vaccines. Participants primarily learned about Gardasil from television advertising, and felt the campaign addressed the psychometric paradigm hazard factors of control and dread associated with HPV. However, participants reported that physicians/physician's assistants and mothers remained the primary sources of influence when choosing to receive/decline the vaccine series.