Majia Nadesan
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Phone: 602-543-6668
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FAB S140 PHOENIX, AZ 85069-3251
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Mail code: 3051Campus: West
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Majia Nadesan is a professor of communication in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. She received her doctorate in communication studies in 1993 from Purdue University after earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in the same subject from San Diego State University. Prior to joining the faculty at ASU's College of Human Services in 1994, Nadesan was an assistant professor at Syracuse University.
Professor Nadesan’s interdisciplinary research examines the ethical implications of societal governing logics and risk-management strategies.
She examined how expert understandings of autism shape how people diagnosed with the disorder are understood and treated in her book "Constructing Autism" (Routledge, 2005). In "Governmentality, Biopower and Everyday Life" (2008, 2011, Routledge), she looked at how global economic logics and technological assemblages shape everyday life practices and opportunities for U.S. citizens. In "Governing Childhood," she examined how these same economic logics and technological infrastructures impact children’s daily lives, creating vastly unequal childhoods.
Professor Nadesan has looked at how politics and scientific uncertainty complicate risk assessment in "Fukushima and the Privatization of Risk" (2013, Palgrave Pivot) and addressed risks to democratic society through comparative risk analyses of three crises: the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the 2010 BP oil spill and the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis in "Crisis Communication, Liberal Democracy and Ecological Sustainability" (Lexington, 2016).
Her work has addressed the populist response to the risk and crisis politics outlined in her earlier works with her edited collection with Amit Ron (2020) Mapping Populism (Routledge). She has mapped activists' efforts to redefine risk and crises causes and increase stakeholder participation.
Working with J. Keahey and M. Pasqualetti, she published an edited collection - Energy Democracies for Sustainable Futures (2022, Elsevier) - exploring energy and political sustainability in response to the escalating crises of the anthropocene.
Most recently her work has examined the biopolitics of pandemic governance and the crisis of liberal rights of self-determination in the context of growing authoritarianism globally.
At ASU's West campus, Nadesan teaches courses that look at risk and communications, bio/ethics, disability studies, economic and corporate communication, propaganda and social advocacy, and interpretive and critical methods.
- Ph.D. Communication Studies, Purdue University 1993
- M.S. Communication Studies, San Diego State University
- B.S. Communication Studies, San Diego State University
Books
Nadesan, M., Pasqueletti, & M., Keahey, J. (eds.) (2022). Energy Democracies for Sustainable Futures. Elsevier. 9780128227978
Ron, A., & Nadesan, M. (Eds.) (2020). New Directions in the Study of Populism. New York: Routledge.
Nadesan, M. (2016). Crisis Communication, Liberal Democracy, and Ecological Sustainability. Lanham, MD: Lexington.
Nadesan, M., Boys, T., Wilcox, A. & R. Wilcox (Eds.) (2014). Fukushima: Dispossession or Denuclearization. The Dispossession Press.
Nadesan, M. (2013). Fukushima and the Privatization of Risk. London: Palgrave.
Nadesan, M. (2011, 2008). Governmentality, Biopower, and Everyday Life. New York: Routledge. First published 2008. Reprinted in paperback and electronic forms with a 2011 Reprint edition publication date.
Nadesan, M. (2010). Governing Childhood into the 21st Century: Biopolitical Technologies of Childhood Management and Education. New York: Palgrave.
Nadesan, M. (2005). Constructing Autism: Unravelling the “Truth” and Understanding the Social. London: Routledge.
*Constructing Autism received the Arizona State University Award of Achievement in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity at the West Campus.
Book Chapters/ Encyclopedia Entries
Nadesan, M. (2020). Revisiting constructing autism. L'autismo oltre lo sguardo medico. Critical Autism Studies. Volume 1. Erickson. ISBN: 9788859020912 https://www.erickson.it/it/l-autismo-oltre-lo-sguardo-medico
Nadesan, M. (2019). Autistic ontologies and the open genome. In Tatyana El-Kour, Undurti N. Das, Neophytos Papaneophytou (eds.) Autism 360. Elsevier.
Nadesan, M. (2019). Governmentality: Genealogical analysis of modern logics of government. Sage Research Method Cases Pt.2 https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526495525
Nadesan, M. (2018). Radiophobia and the Politics of Social Contagion. In Breanne Fahs, Eric Swank, Sarah Stage, and Annika Mann (eds.). Transforming Contagion: Risky Contacts Among Bodies, Nations and Disciplines. Routledge.
Nadesan, M. (2018). “Radiation refugees and chronic low-dose exposure to ionizing radiation: The rights of the exposed.” In Brian V. Klocke, Robert Perrucci, and Jon Shefner (eds.) Justice 21, Global Projects 28. UK: University of Bristol Policy Press.
Nadesan, M. & Cheney, G. (2017). Workplace Democracy. In Craig R. Scott and Laurie K. Lewis (Eds.) International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication. Wiley.
Nadesan, M. (2016). Catastrophe, Transparency and Social Responsibility on Online Platforms: Contesting Cold Shutdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant. In Adam Lindgreen, Joëlle Vanhamme, François Maon, and Rebecca Watkins (Eds.,) Digital Social Responsibility [working title]. Routledge.
Nadesan, M. & Pasqualetti, M. (2016). Dispossession, Justice and a Sustainable Energy Future. In Thijs Van de Graaf, Benjamin K. Sovacool, Arunabha Ghosh, Florian Kern, and Michael T. Klare Palgrave Handbook of the International Political Economy of Energy, London: Palgrave. 585-619.
Nadesan (2014). Biopower. In Thomas Teo (ed.) Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology CCXLVIII.. Springer Reference. http://www.springer.com/psychology/community+psychology/book/978-1-4614-5582-0
Nadesan, M. (2014). From Hiroshima to Fukushima. In M. Nadesan, T. Boys, A. McKillop, & R. Wilcox (eds.,) Fukushima: Dispossession or Denuclearization (2-23). Dispossession Press.
Nadesan, M. (2014). Fukushima and Dispossession: The End of Liberal Democracy in Japan? In M. Nadesan, T. Boys, A. McKillop, & R. Wilcox (eds.,) Fukushima: Dispossession or Denuclearization (100-129). Dispossession Press.
Nadesan, M. (2013). Neofeudalism and The Financial Crisis: Implications for OWS. In Renee Heath, Courtney Fletcher, Ricardo Munoz (eds.) Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland. Lexington (Rowman and Littlefield).
Nadesan, M. (2013). Autism: Profit, Risk, and Bare Life. In Joyce Davidson & Michael Orsini (eds.), Worlds of Autism: Across the Spectrum of Neurological Difference. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Nadesan, M. (2013) The Demise of Liberal Biopolitics: Wealth Accumulation and Disposable Populations. In Claudio Colaguori (ed.) Security, Life and Death: Governmentality and Biopower in the Post-9/11 Era. De Sitter Publications.
Nadesan, M. (2013). Media Armageddons and the Death of Liberal Biopolitics. In Kelly Gates and Anghy Valdivia (eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies: Volume VI: Media Studies Futures (670-696). New York: Blackwell.
Nadesan, M. (2013). Deconstructing Dualisms in Autism Research. Conference Proceedings from the Current State of the Clinic: Theories, Diagnosis, Treatment, the University of Zurich. http://entresol.ch/sites/default/files/veranstaltung/flyer/tagung_autismus_flyer_aktualisiert.pdf (Proceedings published in German)
Nadesan, M. (2012). Children, the Great Recession and Shifting Calculi of Risk. In S. Bialostok (Ed.) Education in the Risk Society: Discourse, metaphor, and risk identities in education contexts. Rotterdam: Sense Publications.
Nadesan, M. (2011). Transparency and Neoliberal Logics of Corporate Social Responsibility. In O. Ihlen, J. Bartlett, S. May (eds.) The Handbook of Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility (pp. 252-275). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Nadesan, M. (2009). Governing Autism. In M. Peters, A. C. Besley, M. Olssen, S. Maurer, & S. Weber (Eds.) Governmentality Studies in Education. Rotterdam: Sense Publications.
Nadesan, Majia (2007). Constructing Autism: A Brief Genealogy. In M. Osteen’s (ed.), Autism and Representation. London: Routledge.
Nadesan, Majia (2006). Organization, Identity and Space of Action. In L. Putnam and K. Krone (eds.) Organizational Communication 5 Volume Set. (Reprinted). Sage Publications.
Nadesan, Majia (2003). Transversing Dualisms and Situating the Embodied Self in Organizational Theory and Practice. In R. E. Ramsey & D. Miller (eds.), Experiences Between Philosophy and Communication: Engaging the Philosophical Contributions of Calvin O. Schrag. State University of New York Press.
Holmer-Nadesan, M. (1998). Time-Space Distanciation and Organizational Communication. In G. Barnett's (ed.), Organizational Communication: Emerging Perspectives. Ablex Publishing Co.
Holmer-Nadesan, M. & Elenes, A. (1998). Pedagogical Implications of Chantal Mouffe's Poststructuralist Model of Agency and Reflexivity. In M. Peter's (ed.), Naming the Multiple: Poststructuralism and Education. Bergin and Garvey.
Putnam, L. L., & Holmer, M. (1992). Framing, Reframing and Issue Development. In L. L. Putnam & M. E. Roloff (eds.), Communication Perspectives on Negotiation (pp. 128-155). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Journal Articles
Nadesan, M. (2022). Crises Narratives Defining the Covid-19 Pandemic: Expert Uncertainties and Conspiratorial Sensemaking. American Behavioral Scientist. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642221085893
Nadesan, M. (2021). Technological Utopia, End Times and the SARS-CoV-2 Crisis: A Genealogy of Crisis Ideoscapes and Mediascapes. Communication +1, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.7275/x6qx-0r31. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cpo/vol8/iss1/8/
Nadesan, M. & Kim, L. (2021). The Geopolitics of Public Memory: The Challenge and Promise of Transnational Comfort Women Activism. Women’s Studies in Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2021.1954119
Nadesan, M. & Ron, A. (2020, November). Populism and Covid-19. Public Jurist: Hong Kong University Political Science Journal. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J9hkLHwPAbWVpQ9yRcMQ9RVHBX5Cn1Mf/view
Nadesan, M. (2019). Nuclear governmentality: Governing nuclear security and radiation risk in Post-Fukushima Japan. Security Dialogue. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010619868442
Poletaev, A. B. & Nadesan, M. (2017). About the drunkard and the keys which were not found. Journal of Vaccines and Clinical Trials 1(1) [2 page editorial] https://www.scitechnol.com/peer-review/about-drunkard-and-the-keys-whic…
McClellan, J., & Nadesan, M. (2015). Extending Critical Pedagogies: Attending to Economic Communication and Inspiring Critical Engagement. Management Communication Quarterly, 29.2, 3-42.
Nadesan, M. (2011). The Bio-politics of Transactional Capitalism. Media Tropes. Available http://www.mediatropes.com/index.php/Mediatropes/article/view/15747
Nadesan, M. (Winter 2010-2011). Enterprising Narratives and the Global Financialization of Microlending. Women and Language, 33.2, 9-30.
Nadesan, M. (2008). Hurricane Katrina: Governmentality, Risk, and Responsibility. Controversia, 5(2) 67-90.
Nadesan, M., & Zorn, T. (eds.)(2008). Forum on Meaningful Work. Management Communication Quarterly, 22(1).
Cheney, G., & Nadesan, M. (2008). A Response to These Essays and a Prologue to Further Investigations. Management Communication Quarterly, 22(1).
Nadesan, M. (2006). The Make Your Day Panopticon: Neoliberalism, Governmentality and Education. Radical Pedagogy, 8(1), http://radicalpedagogy.icaap.org/currentissue.html
Nadesan, M. (2002). Engineering the Entrepreneurial Infant: Brain Science, Infant Development Toys, and Governmentality. Cultural Studies, 16(3), 401-432.
Nadesan, M. (2001). Fortune on Globalization and the New Economy: Manifest Destinyin a Technological Age. Management Communication Quarterly, 14(3), 498-506.
Nadesan, M. (2001). Post-Fordism, Political Economy and Critical Oganizational Communication Studies Management Communication Quarterly, 15(2), 259-267.
Nadesan, M. & Trethewey, A. (2000). Crafting the Entrepreneurial Subject: Gendere Strategies of Success(?) Text and Performance Quarterly, 20, 223-250.
Nadesan, M. (1999a). The Discourses of New Age Corporate Spiritualism and Evangelical Capitalism: Capitalizing on Religion in the Entrepreneurial Age. Management Communication Quarterly, 13(1), 3-42.
Nadesan, M. (1999b). The Popular Success Literature and `A Brave New Darwinian Workplace.' Consumption, Markets & Culture, 3(1), 27-60.
Nadesan, M. & Sotirin, P. (1998). The Romance and Science of `Breast is Best': Discursive Contradictions and Contexts of Breast-feeding Choices. Text and Performance Quarterly, 18, 217-232.
Nadesan, M. (1997). Constructing Paperdolls: The Discourse of Personality Testing. Communication Theory, 7, 189-218.
Nadesan, M. (1997). Gender and Time in Interpersonal Systems. Symbolic Interaction, 20(1), 21-43.
Nadesan, M. (1997). Dislocating (Instrumental) Organizational Time. Organization Studies, 18(3), 481-510.
Holmer-Nadesan, M. (1996). Organization, Identity and Space of Action. Organization Studies, 16, 49-81.
Holmer, M. (1991). Statism, Capitalism, and Marxism. Filosofska Misul (trans. Philosophical Thought), 6, 16-27.
Courses
2025 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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CMN 506 | Humanistic Inq/Field Rsrch/Com |
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
SOS 596 | Capstone: Scientific Paper |
CMN 592 | Research |
COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
DST 458 | Disability & Comm Advocacy |
COM 435 | Disability & Comm Advocacy |
CMN 598 | Special Topics |
COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
2024 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
COM 415 | Risk Communication |
CMN 525 | Politics and Social Technology |
COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2024 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
COM 414 | Crisis Communication |
2024 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 506 | Humanistic Inq/Field Rsrch/Com |
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
SOS 596 | Capstone: Scientific Paper |
CMN 592 | Research |
COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
COM 250 | Communication & the Workplace |
DST 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
COM 415 | Risk Communication |
DST 458 | Disability & Comm Advocacy |
2023 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
COM 414 | Crisis Communication |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
SOS 596 | Capstone: Scientific Paper |
STC 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
DST 494 | Special Topics |
COM 494 | Special Topics |
COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
CMN 531 | Communication and Social Chang |
DST 493 | Honors Thesis |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
CMN 584 | Internship |
COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
DST 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2022 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
COM 414 | Crisis Communication |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 584 | Internship |
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
SOS 596 | Capstone: Scientific Paper |
STC 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
JHR 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 592 | Research |
DST 494 | Special Topics |
COM 494 | Special Topics |
CMN 598 | Special Topics |
COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
CMN 592 | Research |
CMN 584 | Internship |
COM 415 | Risk Communication |
COM 414 | Crisis Communication |
DST 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2021 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
COM 414 | Crisis Communication |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 584 | Internship |
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
STC 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
CMN 592 | Research |
DST 458 | Disability & Comm Advocacy |
STC 525 | Politics and Social Technology |
CMN 584 | Internship |
2020 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
CMN 592 | Research |
CMN 584 | Internship |
COM 415 | Risk Communication |
CMN 551 | Democracy & Power in Orgs |
2020 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 584 | Internship |
2020 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
CMN 506 | Humanistic Inq/Field Rsrch/Com |
CMN 584 | Internship |
CMN 593 | Applied Project |
STC 593 | Applied Project |
CMN 580 | Practicum |
CMN 599 | Thesis |
CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
DST 458 | Disability & Comm Advocacy |
CMN 598 | Special Topics |
Selected Examples of Professional Service
Editorial Board Membership
- Management, Communication, Quarterly 2006 to present
- Journal of International and Intercultural Communication 2013 to present
- Foucault Studies 2013 to present
- Social History of Medicine 2013-2014
- International Journal of Management Studies 2008-2013
- Women’s Studies in Communication 2004 to 2013
- Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies August 2008 to 2013
Grant Review
2017 Grant Review for the European Research Council
2016 Grant Review for the (French) Agence Nationale de la Recherche Département Sciences Humaines et Sociales - Human and social sciences
2014 Grant Review for the European Research Council Consolidator Grant
20100 Grant Review for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
2007-2006 Reviewed grants for National Science Foundation.
2006 Reviewed grant for the Marsden (Research Fund) for the Royal Society of New Zealand
2006 Reviewed grant for the Research Training & Development Directorate
Economic and Social Research Council, the United Kingdom
University Service
2017-2016 University Promotion and Tenure Committee
2015 West Campus Sustainability Film Festival, PR and Facilitator
2014 (F/Sp): University Library Search: Served as New College rep (with Todd Sandrin)
2014 Spring: Represented New College on West Campus’ DRC Director Search
2012-2007 Faculty Advisor for the student club, Spectrum
2009-2005 TRIO’s Mentoring Program
*Silver Star Mentoring Award in 2002 awarded by Student Affairs *Above and Beyond Mentor Award 2005
2008-06 Campus Senate Representative for the College of Human Services
2007 Campus Grade Appeals Committee
2006-2004 Campus Promotion and Tenure--Member
2005-2002 Graduate Studies Advisory Council—Member
2004 Senate ad-hoc Committee on Alternative Models for Univ. Development
2004/03 Served on two search committees for American Studies
2000-1999 Teaching and Research Integration Grant Committee—Member & Chair
1999-1997 Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activities Committee—Member/Chair
1997, Jan. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration--Facilitator
1996-1994 Campus Senate Personnel Committee--Member
1996-1995 Evaluated candidates for the ASU West Regents' Scholarship
College Service
2017-2016 New College Personnel Committee, Chair
2017-2015 Board Member Center for Critical Inquiry and Cultural Studies
2016-2015 NCUIRE Funding Committee, Member
2016 Judge for the Undergraduate Student Research Expo April 2016
2015 Disabilities Studies Committee
2015 Committee for the Undergraduate Speaker, member
2015 Re-Boot Structural and Policy Changes Committee, member
2015 Judge for the Undergraduate Student Research Expo April 15, 2015
2014-2015 New College Personnel Committee (on sabbatical fall 2015)
2013-2014 New College Associate Dean (Research Dean, P&T, etc.)
2013-2014 Chaired New College Search Committee for Associate Dean
2013-2010 New College Promotion and Tenure Committee, chair
2012 ASU Road New Student Orientations Summer 2012 June 15 and July 13
2009 College Outcomes Committee, member fall 2009
2009 College Awards Ad-Hoc Committee, member spring 2009
2008 College Personnel Committee, member spring 2008
- College Curriculum Committee, chair in fall of 2006
2005-2002 Campus Representative for GSAC
2004 College Internal Grants Committee
2000 College Promotion and Tenure Committee
1998 College Standards Committee
1999 College Diversity Committee
1995-1994 College Strategic Planning Committee
Departmental Service
2017 Search Committees and Graduate Committees (MACS and STC)
2016 Social Technology & Communication Graduate Committee
2016 Master’s in Communication Advocacy Graduate Committee
2016 Assessment Outcomes Committee
2016 Search Committee for Social Media Lines
2015-2014 Search Committee for Communication Studies Assistant Prof hire
2015 Created Risk Communication course for the Risk Communication Certificate
2014 Peer Review Committee for Probationary Review
2012-2011 SBS Faculty Liaison Committee
2012-2010 SBS Personnel Committee (through spring of 2012)
2012 Ad-Hoc Assessment Committee (fall 2012)
- SBS Bylaws Committee, chair
- Ad-hoc SBS Bylaws review committee, fall 2009
- General Education Outcomes Committee, member fall 2009
- Search Committee Dept Chair—Member
- Bylaws Committee--Member
- Program Review—Member
- Peer Aspirant Committee--member
2007-1994 Fiscal Policy Committee—Chair
2004-2003 Undergraduate Studies Committee-Chair
2004-2001 Graduate Studies Committee—Member
2001-1998 Student Conference Planning Committee--Member
- Developed and implemented student portfolio project
1999-1998 Developed Departmental Assessment Program—Member
1999-1998 Search Committee (technology line)--Chair
1999-1998 Search Committee (cultural line)--Member
- Search Committee for faculty (intercultural line)—Chair
1998-1995 Department Curriculum Committee
- Search Committee for 2 yr lecturer—Chair
1997 Rep. for the Arizona Communication Association’s Annual Conference
1997-1995 Communication Studies Graduate Committee
Additional Professional Service
Ad hoc journal manuscript reviews for numerous journals and book publishers, including among others: Current Sociology, Journal of International Relations & Development, BioSocieties, Human Resources, Communication Monographs, Quarterly Journal of Speech, etc. Organization Studies, Security Studies, European Social Theory and Health Journal, and Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action Journal