Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: College residence halls house thousands of students every year.This provides students an opportunity to live closely with new people and develop social skills sought by employers (Myers & Larson, 2005).Living with new people also provides the opportunity for anxiety and conflict (Ingalls, 2000).Many residents reject the idea of initiating or processing their own conflicts, often turning to destructive conflict management behaviors such as avoidance (De Cecco & Richards, 1974;Sillars, 1980).A clearer understanding of influences on student conflict behaviors will help colleges and universities assist students in having positive experiences living on campus.While attempts to understand student conflict management are varied, few consider behavior patterns as systems (Duran & Zakahi, 1988, Kiernan & Gray, 2013, Martin & Anderson, 1995).This qualitative study applies an organizational communication framework and structuration theory (Giddens, 1984;Poole & McPhee, 2005;Sewell, 1992) as a lens to address conflict behavior systems and structures within post-secondary residence halls.Theoretically, this research adds to existing scholarship by applying structuration theory to a non-business context, extending the theory beyond the employer/employee dynamic it is often constrained to.Additionally this study uses structuration theory in a practical manner (Sewell, 1992) in the hopes of informing and improving roommate pairing and conflict approaches.Twenty-three student residents participated in in-depth interviews to answer research questions designed to address communication practices that relate to rules and resources of conflict structures as well as how the dimensions of structuration, power, meaning, and norms, influence the use of rules and resources (Poole & McPhee, 2005).The study identifies resources of authority, space, favor reciprocity, mutual respect, routines, external others, and time and discusses the associated rules within college residence hall rooms.These rules and resources are informed by systems of
Authors: Christopher Mueller, Sarah Riforgiate
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2290391057