Tyler Harrison

Research

My primary area of interest focuses on how organizational structures, contexts, and relationships influence communicative practices within organizations, and how communication design principles can help us understand, explain and create systems of interaction. My work has explored these issues in the contexts of organizational conflict and worksite health campaigns. In the area of conflict, my work explores how the social context surrounding organizational relationships influences the pursuit and experience of conflict in academic institutions, particularly through the utilization of ombuds processes. I am currently working on a project to explore how different structural and design features of ombuds processes influence perceptions and communicative expectations of disputants. My research in health campaigns focuses primarily on organ donation. I have served as Principal Investigator or Co-PI on three Department of Health and Human Services grant-funded projects. The most recently completed project focused on promoting organ donation in 46 organizations in New Jersey and, in addition to testing different campaign strategies, investigated the influence of physical, social, and information environments of organizations on health campaign processes and outcome. Two ongoing projects are focused on promoting organ donation through DMV branch offices in Kentucky and Michigan. These projects utilize both mass media campaigns and interventions within DMV offices. Key to the success of these projects has been the opportunity to explore the context of sense making surrounding organ donation by focusing on the role of the media in influencing communication and decisions about organ donation.

Representative Publications

• Harrison, T. R., Morgan, S. E., & Di Corcia, M. J. ( 2008). The impact of organ donation education and communication training for gatekeepers: DMV clerks and organ donor registries. Progress in Transplantation, 18, 301 - 309.
• Harrison, T. R., Morgan, S. E., & Chewning, L. V. (2008). The challenges of social marketing of organ donation: News and entertainment coverage of donation and transplantation. Health Marketing Quarterly, 25, 33 - 65.
• Harrison, T. R. (2007). My professor is so unfair: Student attitudes and experiences of conflict with faculty. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 24, 349 – 368.
• Harrison , T. R. & Doerfel, M. (2006). Competitive and cooperative conflict communication climates: The influence of ombuds processes on trust and commitment to the organization. The International Journal of Conflict Management, 17 , 129 – 153.
• Harrison, T.R. & Morgan, S.E. (2005) "Hanging out" among teenagers: Resistance, gender and personal relationships. In Calvin Morrill, David A. Snow and Cindy H. White (Eds.) Together Alone: Personal Relationships in Public Places. University of California Press: Berkley
• Harrison, T.R. & Morrill, C. (2004) Ombuds processes and disputant reconciliation. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 32(4) 318-342.
• Harrison, T.R. (2003). Victims, targets, protectors and destroyers: Using disputant accounts to develop a grounded taxonomy of disputant orientations. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 20(3) 307-329.

Selected Grant Funded Projects

Principal Investigator. (2007-2010). Show Us Your Heart: Point of Decision Grassroots and Media Organ Donation Campaign. $826,000.  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation.

Co-Proncipal Investigator (2006-2010). The Drive for Life: The Use of Just-in-Time Information Public Education, and DMV Clerk Training on Donor Registrations and Family Nodifications.  $1.05 million. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation.  Susan E. Morgan (PI).

Co-Principal Investigator (2004-2008). The New Jersey Workplace Partnership for Life.  $1.67 milion. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation.  Susan E. Morgan (PI).