Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies

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.

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.

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).

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.

Joel Osteen is America’s most popular televangelist and pastor of the country’s largest congregation, Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. 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 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

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.

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.

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.

Abstract: Economics is ever increasingly realising the role of information in business operations (Stiglitz 2000). While large operations often have complex systems to assist in the optimal use information (often accompanied by technological aids), these systems are unavailable to ...