Communication Commons^™

Unwilling Actors: Why Voluntary Mediation Works, Why Mandatory Mediation Might Not, Gary Smith

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article examines the debate over the introduction of mandatory mediation in civil litigation. It analyzes why and how voluntary mediation works in order to measure how the process might change under the new regime being implemented in Ontario. The underlying narrative structures of mediation are exposed using semiotic theories commonly employed in the study of theatre. This article will show that mediation, when imposed on unwilling parties, will hinder its efficacy and compromise its theatrical processes. The author concludes that the best way to ensure that making mediation mandatory does not discredit the efficacy and benefits of the process …

Ua3/9/5 Somerset Noon Rotary Club Speech, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Speech delivered by WKU president Gary Ransdell to the Noon Rotary Club in Somerset, Kentucky.

Ua3/9/5 Opening Faculty/Staff Meeting, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Speech delivered by WKU president Gary Ransdell at his first fall convocation. He discusses priorities, strategic planning, institutional peer group, programs of distinction, campus construction and improvement, traffic and parking, information technology, student compensation, athletics, employee benefits and policies, community relations, fund raising and student recruitment.

Ua3/9/5 Master Plan Speech, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Speech delivered by WKU president Gary Ransdell to the incoming Class of 2002.

Ua3/9/5 Hopkinsville Kiwanis Club, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Talking points used by WKU president Gary Ransdell at a meeting of the Hopkinsville Kentucky Kiwanis Club regarding Western Kentucky University.

An Empirical Test Of A Communibiological Model Of Trait Verbal Aggressiveness, Kristin M. Valencic, Michael J. Beatty, Jill E. Rudd, Jean A. Dobos, Alan D. Heisel

Communication Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to test Beatty and McCroskey's communibiological model of trait verbal aggressiveness. In general, this model views trait verbal aggressiveness as an expression of temperament; specifically, that trait verbal aggressiveness represents low thresholds for the fight or flight (FFS) neurobiological system. This model further contends that behavioral inhibition circuitry (BIS) moderates FFS activation by tempering aggressive impulses, otherwise FFS activation would manifest itself in the form of physical rather than verbal attacks. Beatty and McCroskey (1997) propose that low thresholds for stimulating the behavioral activation system (BAS) should be related to trait verbal aggressiveness to …

Ua3/9/5 Address To The Duke University Talent Identification Search Program, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Speech delivered by WKU president Gary Ransdell to students involved in the Duke University Talent Identification Search Program.

Ua3/9/4 Inaugural Address, Gary Ransdell

WKU Administration Documents

Inaugural address given by WKU President Gary Ransdell on May 8, 1998.

Ua3/9/5 Leadership For The New Millennium, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Speech delivered by WKU president Gary Ransdell to the Association of College Honor Societies. He was asked to speak on "what is needed to build a more vigorous and robust academic and social opportunity for our students."

Another Materialist Rhetoric, Ronald W. Greene

Ronald Walter Greene

No abstract provided.

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Theory And Pedagogy In The Basic Course: A Summary From Spano And Hickson, Mark Hickson Iii

Basic Communication Course Annual

I, too, have been pleased about the exchange of insights relative to the practical approach to teaching the basic course, as suggested by Spano (1996). While I agree with much of what Spano wrote, I am still concerned about the nature and status of some of the “theory” that has been developed and that is being developed in the discipline. To understand my overall view, however, one must review information about the nature of theory from meta-theoreticians, or critics of theory. And I think that we will find that there are some similarities between a practical view of theory and …

Teaching The Honors Public Speaking Course, Karla Kay Jensen, David E. Williams

Basic Communication Course Annual

The honors student comes to the public speaking class with a unique set of needs and learning preferences which require alterations to the traditional course. This article explores a variety of honors course formats, honors students’ characteristics and learning preferences, and some ideas for restructuring the typical public speaking course to best accommodate honors students. As such, this article can serve as an initial step toward creating a new honors course or restructuring an existing course. The suggested formats and content changes can create added challenge and participatory experience to improve honors education.

Author Identifications

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Policy

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

The Basic Course And The Future Of The Workplace, Andrew D. Wolvin

Basic Communication Course Annual

The preparation of students to function as effective communicators in the workplace is an important goal of the basic communication course. To meet this goal, students must be equipped with speaking and listening competencies in order to do their work. The basic hybrid course with units in intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and public communication offers a viable framework for workplace communication.

Commentary: The Research Foundation For Instruction In The Beginning Public Speaking Course, Lawrence W. Hugenberg, Barbara S. Moyer

Basic Communication Course Annual

The history of public speaking instruction is rooted in classical rhetorical theories. There is a lack of recent communication research findings cited in textbooks to support instruction in the beginning public speaking course. This research examined five leading public speaking texts in the hopes of finding contemporary communication research findings to support the advice given to students. This survey reveals little research being cited in beginning public speaking texts. The authors conclude with a discussion of reasons why research is not cited and offer communication scholars a challenge to conduct research to support pedagogical claims.

Graduate Teaching Assistant Training: Preparing Instructors To Assist Esl Students In The Introductory Public Speaking Course, Brooke L. Quigley, Katherine G. Hendrix, Karen Freisem

Basic Communication Course Annual

Much research identifies the need to assist English as a Second Language (ESL) students in our classrooms. Some communication educators have addressed this need by enrolling students in special sections of introductory courses for ESL students only. With a focus specifically on graduate teaching assistant (GTA) training, this paper suggests ways to assist ESL students, along with native speaking students, enrolled in regular sections of the introductory public speaking course. We first identify steps for assessing whether an ESL student is appropriately enrolled in a course. We then focus on ways instructors can assist ESL students with: 1) pronunciation, comprehensibility, …

The Debate On The Uses Of Practical Theory Continues, Lawrence W. Hugenberg

Basic Communication Course Annual

The first two essays by Spano and Hickson (Basic Communication Course Annual 8, 1996) involved some crucial issues about where the basic communication course stands in relation to theory, research, and practice. In this second round, specific examples are discussed by Spano. Hickson attempts to contextualize them. Such specificity involves delineating the nature of communication theory from a pragmatic perspective, not ideological from either a phenomenological not a positivistic stance. The importance of context is stressed and outlined as an aspect of human nature—perhaps the element which separates us from other living beings.

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Contents

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Predictors Of Self-Perceptions Of Behavioral Competence, Self-Esteem, And Willingness To Communicate: A Study Assessing Impact In A Basic Interpersonal Communication Course, Sherwyn P. Morreale, Michael Z. Hackman, Michael R. Neer

Basic Communication Course Annual

Considering the emergent role of evaluation in higher education, it is important that assessment procedures be developed for all communication courses. Courses such as public speaking already have well established assessment programs while other courses are in need of additional attention. This article describes an assessment program that examines the impact of an interpersonal course on undergraduates' self-perceived behavioral and affective competence. Using a pre- and post-test model, assessment was based on administration of the Communication Behaviors Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Willingness to Communicate Scale. These outcomes were measured as a function of gender, age, and ethnicity. …

Learning Style Preferences And Academic Achievement Within The Basic Communication Course, Charles A. Lubbers, William J. Seiler

Basic Communication Course Annual

Students enrolled in a basic communication course taught using the personalized system of instruction (PSI) were studied to determine the influence of learning style preferences on academic achievement. The twenty measures of the Canfield Learning Style Inventory (CLSI) were regressed with three measures of student academic achievement. Eight of the twenty were significant in at least one of the three equations. Two of the learning style measures (class organization and performance expectations) were significant with all three measures of achievement. Two applications of the findings for basic course instructors are presented.

Applying Multiple Intelligences Theory To The Basic Public Speaking Course, Kristi A. Schaller, Marybeth G. Callison

Basic Communication Course Annual

This article examines the theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) (Gardner, 1983; 1993) as it applies to the basic public speaking course. According to MI theory, intelligence is not a single dimension but is a composite of several aptitudes and talents. Gardner believes that individuals possess more than one intelligence, and MI theory defines seven. We argue that the basic public speaking course is an excellent forum for addressing students’ multiple intelligences while teaching oral and written communication skills. This paper introduces MI theory and provides suggested course assignments and activities that correspond with the multiple intelligences.

Delineating The Uses Of Practical Theory: A Reply To Hickson, Shawn Spano

Basic Communication Course Annual

Let me begin by thanking Professor Hickson for his comments on the article I published in the 1996 issue of the Basic Communication Course Annual (Hickson, 1996; Spano, 1996). I consider it a compliment that my ideas about practical theory interested him enough to write a rejoinder. More importantly, Hickson’s response provides us with an opportunity to “continue the conversation” on the role of theory in the basic course. It might be useful here to provide some background on how this conversation started.

In 1995 I presented a paper on practical theory on a SCA program sponsored by the Basic …

Back Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 10

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (174 pages, 6.4 MB)

Speech Intelligibility Of 4-Year-Old Children, M. Jane Firestone

Dissertations and Theses

While speech-language pathologists routinely measure and report speech intelligibility when assessing young children with speech impairments, normative data have not been available for comparison purposes. When assessing children to determine if their communication abilities are at or below that of peers, one must first know what the normative standards are. Knowing the normal distribution for speech intelligibility at several ages would allow for more precise uses of the intelligibility information than is currently possible. Only a few available studies exist to allow tentative normative comparisons of speech intelligibility data (Vihman & Greenlee, 1987; Ware, 1996).

The goals of this pilot …

Impact Of Singing Intervention On Vocal Fatigue Effects : A Single Subject Study, Nancy Devine Ferguson

Dissertations and Theses

This single subject descriptive study investigated the efficacy of singing intervention on the effects of vocal fatigue on the speaking voice of a non-singing individual. Baseline measures were taken on a single subject prior to voice treatment. Data were collected before and after the subject performed a vocally fatiguing task of 1 hour of prolonged reading at 80% of his maximum vocal intensity level. Data collection consisted of the following acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of the subject's speaking voice: fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, maximum intensity level, and maximum phonation duration, as well as obtainment of the subject's self-perceptions of vocal …