Communication Commons^™

Contents And Abstracts

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

The Internal Marginalization Of Basic Course Scholarship, Cheri J. Simonds, Stephen K. Hunt

Basic Communication Course Annual

There is an adage in the field of communication education that states, the difference between knowing and teaching is communication (Hurt, Scott, & McCroskey, 1978). That is, a teacher can be an expert in his or her field, but if he or she cannot communicate that knowledge in a way that students understand, learning is not achieved.

This statement highlights the central role of communication in the teaching and learning process. As communication education scholars and Basic Course Directors, we conduct research in the domains of communication pedagogy (i.e., research questions that address the best methods of teaching communication) and …

Strengthening The Introductory Communication Course: An Opportunity Through Better Alignment With Today’S Needs, Jon A. Hess

Basic Communication Course Annual

More than a century after its inception in contemporary form, the discipline of Communication has encountered a tremendous opportunity—the chance to become an “essential discipline” in the academy, one like Math or English, which universities consider indispensable to the work they do. And yet, as a discipline, we have not sufficiently moved toward taking advantage of that opportunity. While such a move will require action in curriculum, scholarship, and service, one of the highest-impact areas in establishing the necessity of Communication is the introductory course.

In order to understand the opportunity that lies before us, we have to understand how …

Nontraditional Students, Multilingual Learners, And University Type: The Vital Missing Comparisons In Our Basic Course Research, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, Brenda L. Macarthur

Basic Communication Course Annual

After the G.I. Bill was passed in 1944, the United States saw a massive expansion of higher education. The subsequent economic growth, expanding middle class, and support of public education meant that more Americans had access to college education than ever before (Bok, 2006).

In the decades that followed, a typical or “traditional” college student was a person who entered a four-year university at the age of eighteen immediately after completing high school, attended full time, considered their education a full-time responsibility, had no dependents, was employed part time or not at all, and graduated in four years (Center for …

Beyond 'Basic': Opportunities For Relevance, Deanna L. Fassett

Basic Communication Course Annual

Recently one of my colleagues asked me if I could foresee a time when I would give up supervising teaching associates; she said it in a kindly way, but with a cringe and a shrug, as if to suggest that I was sacrificing my efforts on something beneath me…a departmental service. I’ve been coordinating our introductory public speaking course and supervising TAs for fourteen years now, and I still get this question.

Each time, I explain that giving up those responsibilities would be like asking someone to uproot their research passion from, say, performance studies to instructional communication, from any …

Basic Course Strength Through Clear Learning Outcomes And Assessment, W. Bradford Mello

Basic Communication Course Annual

Former NCA President Richard West, writing in Spectra during his presidential year, lamented that the basic course in communication lacked national cohesion, especially compared to other disciplines like psychology, political science, or sociology (West, 2012). Some, including myself, may quibble with the comparison to other disciplines, arguing that History 101, Political Science 101 or Sociology 101 do not necessarily look the same at all institutions around the nation.

However, West’s call for examination of the basic course was a welcome one:

• I believe it is time for our organization to undertake a thoughtful examination of the basic course and ascertain …

A Digital Divide? Assessing Self-Perceived Communication Competency In An Online And Face-To-Face Basic Public Speaking Course, Joshua N. Westwick, Karla M. Hunter, Laurie L. Haleta

Basic Communication Course Annual

Previous research has documented an inverse relationship between speaking anxiety and self-perceived communication competence (SPCC). However, a recent assessment case study of an online basic public speaking course revealed that while the course decreased students’ speaking anxiety, it failed to increase their SPCC. Prompted by this surprising discrepancy and bolstered by continuing calls for increased exploration of educational quality of online public speaking courses, the current study compared SPCC between online (n = 147) and face-to-face (F2F) (n = 544) delivery of the large, standardized, multi-section basic public speaking course at our institution. Pretest scores of students’ overall SPCC were …

Assessing The Effects Of A Public Speaking Course On Native And Non-Native English Speakers, Tara Suwinvattichaiporn, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study tested whether there is a difference in the benefits of a traditional public speaking course for Native English Speakers (NES) and Non-Native English xii Speakers (NNES). The study assessed changes in Communication Apprehension (CA), Self-Perceived Communication Competence (SPCC), and Willingness to Communicate (WTC) before and after participants took the traditional public speaking course.

The findings indicate that NES and NNES had equal benefits and growth in these self-report measures and suggest that we should further investigate which public speaking course structure is most beneficial for NNES.

The Unaware, Accurate, And Overly Critical: Video Technology Use Of Improving Public Speaking Competency, Luke Lefebvre, Leah E. Lefebvre, Mike Allen

Basic Communication Course Annual

Students often hold overly favorable views of their public speaking skills. In this study, students set goals prior to speaking, and then assess the presentation via video replay. Although some basic courses use video, the technology is not standard practice nor consistently utilized to aid student skill development for speechmaking.

Differences between students’ self-estimated and earned grades students were categorized into five estimator groupings. Study 1 (N = 102) results indicated video self-evaluation positively influenced student ability for predictive goal-setting, improved accuracy for assessing speech quality, and diminished overestimation from the informative to persuasive speech.

To further explore the findings …

Assessment Of Student Learning Gains In Oral Competency, Lynn O. Cooper, Rebecca Sietman

Basic Communication Course Annual

The basic course in communication has a well-established record of enhancing oral competency, which plays a primary role in personal, academic, and professional success. However, there is limited empirical support to substantiate that the ways we teach this course are responsible for these gains. A 24-item Likert- like scale instrument developed from the eight Competent Speaker categories (Morreale, Moore, Taylor, Surges-Tatum, & Hulbert-Johnson, 1990; Morreale, Moore, Surges-Tatum, & Webster, 2007; SCA, 1993) has been reliably used for the past decade in campus pre- and post-assessments.

In Study One, measures of 2485 students taking the basic course over the past six …

Back Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 28

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (222 pages, 8.5 MB)

Agricultural Communications: A National Portrait Of Undergraduate Courses, Karen J. Cannon, Annie R. Specht, Emily B. Buck

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Considerable research has been conducted regarding competencies needed by agricultural communication program graduates during the past four decades. However, no studies have considered actual program offerings. This study used a qualitative approach to analyze courses offered in agricultural communication programs in the United States. Using content analysis methods, researchers analyzed published course descriptions and discovered 21 categories among 172 courses. Most popular were writing courses, followed by courses introducing students to the major, internship courses, and writing for publication and graphic design courses. Categories with the fewest offerings included research, study abroad, and international focused courses. Findings from this analysis …

Freedom Fighters: Stories From Freedom Summer 1964, Anna Mccollum

Honors Theses

Freedom Summer was a project conducted in Mississippi in 1964 as part of the civil rights movement. It involved hundreds of volunteers and members of the Council of Federated Organizations working to promote education and voter registration among the African American community across the state. The researcher found and interviewed veterans of Freedom Summer in order to write a series of profile stories centered around that subject. She visited them each in their hometowns (besides one phone interview with a woman from Iowa), photographed most of them and spoke to some of their peers for second and third sources. Through …

Oneworld Stories: Intercultural Competence Through Literature, Jessica M. Bunch

Honors Theses

For this study, I focused on the effective ways and benefits of teaching intercultural competence in schools. Without intercultural competence, children in the United States are unable to make a connection with the different cultures that surround them in the world. Basing my methods from Darla K. Deardorff Process Model of Intercultural Competence (256) and cultural reflection of folktales, I researched whether a child can connect to the world around them by comprehending a different culture more through interactive writing or informative reading. In order to answer this question, I conducted a two-part project to collect data. The first part …

A Comparative Analysis Of Curriculum Content Among Undergraduate Integrated Marketing Communications Programs, Braxton A. Jones

Honors Theses

The following thesis is an analysis of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) undergraduate programs. This thesis asks what the characteristics of an ideal undergraduate IMC program are and does any existing program have all these characteristics. The rise of IMC as a communication approach, combined with its adoption by many companies as the new marketing standard, has led many different universities to offer a curriculum in IMC, but the curriculum varies greatly. Since it is still a new subject, colleges place the new program in different disciplines, including the business school, the communications program, and the journalism department. While there are …

Controlling Cyber Arms, And Creating New Legos, John Arquilla, Joel C. Adams

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Be Your Own Guru: Authoritarianism And The Problem Of The Guru In Conscious Evolution, Mcauley, Charles E.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper is an exploration of the problematic nature of the guru/disciple relationship, specifically, in Western Society. It begins with a discussion of the nature of spirituality and the spiritual quest. To contextualize the process, I also discuss my own spiritual path based in Roman Catholicism, Taoism, Buddhism and my thoughts on the philosophy of Krishnamurti. I explore the topic of the authoritarian follower in some depth. Its connection is symbiotic to the existence of the authoritarian leader. This connection is demonstrated within this paper as well. Additionally, I look at the flaws in some well-known guru figures and how …

Exploring Intermedia Agenda Setting Effects Of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Andrew Abad

LSU Master's Theses

The HBO television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is a new and unique take on the typical political comedy show popularized by programs like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Uninterrupted by commercial breaks and with full creative control, host John Oliver and his team spend 30 minutes on Sunday nights discussing a typically underreported story at length, abandoning the monologue and interview portions reminiscent of traditional political comedy shows in favor of a long-form style investigation into a particular issue or topic. The main segment of each episode is then uploaded to the social media website, …

Measurement Challenges In Shared Decision Making: Putting The ‘Patient’ In Patient‐Reported Measures, Paul J. Barr, Glyn Elwyn

Dartmouth Scholarship

Measuring clinicians' shared decision-making (SDM) performance is a key requirement given the intensity of policy interest in many developed countries - yet it remains one of the most difficult methodological challenges, which is a concern for many stakeholders. In this Viewpoint Article, we investigate the development of existing patient-reported measures (PRMs) of SDM identified in a recent review. We find that patients were involved in the development of only four of the 13 measures. This lack of patient involvement in PRM development is associated with two major threats to content validity, common to all 13 PRMs of SDM: (i) an …

Laughing Or Learning With The Chief Executive? The Impact Of Exposure To Presidents’ Jokes On Message Elaboration, Amy B. Becker, Don Waisanen

Publications and Research

Using the White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD) and the State of the Union (SOTU) as stimuli, our experiment (N = 403) examines the differential effect of exposure to humorous vs. serious presidential speech on the likelihood of engaging in post-exposure message elaboration. The results suggest that viewers are more likely to engage in message elaboration when viewing serious presidential speech like the SOTU rather than the more humorous WHCD. Additionally, disposition toward the president fails to moderate the impact of varied speech exposure on message elaboration. Our results ultimately show that, while WHCD humor may be quickly discounted, it can …

An Alternative Approach To The Singer's Breath: Method And Workshop, Bradley S. Williard

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This research endeavors to stretch the boundaries of vocal training, a field defined by its century-old techniques and teachings, to include the cultivation of a relationship with the breath, body, and Self. The paper reviews the contributions of Ilse Middendorf and Carl Stough’s work with the breath and body and outlines a new method, Unlock Your Breath (UYB) – Performance Breathwork, which integrates the greatest strengths of those methods. UYB Performance Breathwork teaches the singer’s breath as a way towards deeper embodiment of Self (mind-body-voice relationship), while creating a stronger breath-body-voice connection with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. This …

White Paper On Mentoring Research And Best Practices, Elina Erzikova, Diana Martinelli

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Sponsored by the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, this white paper draws upon mentorship research literature and summarizes 12 key insights and eight best practices gleaned from that work. Key insights include: mentoring as a bi-directional and multiple relationship process, mentors as co-learners, long-term benefits for protégés, mentorship’s long-term value, the roles of involvement and similarity, the power of both formal and informal mentorship, mentorship as leadership development, and the promise of e-mentoring. The paper also includes sections on mentoring college students and ways to evaluate mentoring programs.

Northside, Jesse L. Houk

Theses and Dissertations--English

The Northside of Lexington, Kentucky is an area with its own culture, community and art. While living in this community I was able to learn, grow and develop alongside this newly renovated area. The people and their lives intersect in such a way that creates a tension at times. However, many social awareness advocates vie for the success of this neighborhood for many years to come. The objective of studying such an area as the Northside in Lexington is to focus on the similarites rather than the differences in culture, community and artistic endeavor. With a collection of essays and …

Volume 34 - Full Volume, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Inroads To Outrounds: A Hofstedian Approach To Newcomer Integration Into The Culture Of Forensics, Chad Kuyper

National Forensic Journal

This study examines how newcomers to forensic competition in intercollegiate forensics integrate themselves into the larger community of competitors. Specifically, this study takes an intercultural approach and frames the forensic organization as a culture unto itself into which new arrivals must assimilate. To shed further light on this culture, this study determines where members of “forensic culture” are positioned on Hofstede’s cultural spectra. By modifying Hofstede’s original Values Module Survey and administering it to current competitors from around the country, insight can be gleaned into the cultural attitudes of the forensic organization, and the values that guide the practice of …

Jour 1700: Survey Mass Communication (Syllabus), Candy Justice

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Social background, scope, functions and organization of modern communication media, attention to all major mass communication media; philosophy and goals of modern journalism; impact on governmental, social and economic systems.

Jour 1700: Survey Mass Communication (Syllabus), Candy Justice

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Social background, scope, functions and organization of modern communication media, attention to all major mass communication media; philosophy and goals of modern journalism; impact on governmental, social and economic systems.

Jour 1700: Survey Mass Communication (Syllabus), Tori Cliff

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Social background, scope, functions and organization of modern communication media, attention to all major mass communication media; philosophy and goals of modern journalism; impact on governmental, social and economic systems.

Jour 1700: Survey Mass Communication (Syllabus), Pamela Denney

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Social background, scope, functions and organization of modern communication media, attention to all major mass communication media; philosophy and goals of modern journalism; impact on governmental, social and economic systems.