Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

Agile In Construction Projects, Chen Jin

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Key To Success Of Offshore Outsourcing, Deep Patel

Dissertations and Theses

With the proliferating growth in technology and Innovation and the necessity to use new technology skills, outsourcing has become a notable trend in the IT industry. Characterized by USP's like cost-effectiveness and timeliness, outsourcing companies has surged tremendously in the last decade. However, amidst the entire buzz, outsourcing has contributed to some major failures at recent times (A & M, 2016). That has even made organizations to critically think before going forward with an off-shore outsourcing company. A substantial issue on organizational capability and on-time delivery has questioned the very foundation of its efficiency. This has now leaded to surface …

To Overcome Communication Challenges In Distributed/Virtual Scrum Teams, Priyamvada Walimbe

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research is to give an overview of a scrum in distributed teams and to suggest ways overcome communication challenges in such projects. In this research proposal, the latest available research on a scrum in distributed teams will be thoroughly analyzed and evaluated to know the possible solutions for communication problems in distributed teams. A review of the literature suggested scrum is widely accepted agile methodology in software projects and also it works best within collocated teams. However, the literature review also proposes that lack of proper communication is one of the main challenge faced by distributed …

Erp Critical Success Factors: Importance Of Erp Consultants In Erp Implementation, Adekunle S. Balogun

Dissertations and Theses

Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP is one of the most popular and successful information technology solution used in many organizations to share information within different business units to enhance and maximize productivity. The system is expensive, time-consuming, and complicated to implement and manage. The difficulties of ERP implementation have resulted in high rates of unsuccessful ERP implementation according to the stories of many organizations that have implemented the solution. The failure of ERP implementation has then led to several studies to investigate the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that could influence the ERP implementation during and after implementation phases. Some of the …

A Different Approach To Project Management: The Use Of Soft Skills, Hannah Adams

Dissertations and Theses

The term soft skills is traditionally used to describe interpersonal and subjective skills such as leadership, communication, and emotional intelligence. This paper addresses a further explanation of soft skills, their relation to project management, project management education, and the highlighted differences between a transactional leader and a transformational leader. Project management has often been defined as the making of schedules/tasks; but more importantly providing the inspiration, motivation, and facilitator of great minds to produce innovative ideas. Because of the sheer necessity for human interaction within the project management profession, soft skills are of crucial concern. Although mastering soft skills is …

Improved Sprint Results With Offshore Indian Teams, Fnu Abdul Hasheem

Dissertations and Theses

Due to the cultural and linguistic differences, different time zones, and complexities of knowledge transfer involved in IT offshoring, offshore-outsourced projects are more prone to failure than in-house and domestically outsourced projects. These inherent risks exacerbate the communication, coordination and collaboration between vendors and clients and thus affect various stages of the offshore outsourced software development (OSD).

Communication is a major factor of success or failure for any software project. In offshore software development OSD, communication is more critical than collocated software development. Frequent communication is not always possible due to challenges like time zone differences, holiday customs etc. where …

Hybrid Agile Approach: Efficiently Blending Traditional And Agile Methodologies, Rashmi Wankhede

Dissertations and Theses

Agile development, in its simplest form, offers a lightweight framework for helping teams, given a constantly evolving functional and technical landscape, maintain a focus on the rapid delivery of business value. Traditional project management focuses more on distinct and predefined sequential phases. It assumes that once requirements are fixed there won’t be any changes or additions in future. In today’s world however this is not true and development teams have to incorporate changes at later stages to be competitive. This is where agile methodologies have an edge over traditional methods. Agile can handle more complex and highly adaptable projects. However, …

A Relevance Rule Organizing Responsive Behavior During Projectably Multi-Unit Tellings, Anri Zama

Dissertations and Theses

Research on projectably multi-unit tellings (e.g., stories) has largely focused on their contexts of emergence, beginnings, endings, and uptakes (or lack thereof), rather than on their ‘middles.’ The relatively small literature on such ‘middles’ has focused on different types of responsive behaviors when they do occur (e.g., continuers). However, there is virtually no research on relevance rules that might systematically organize these ‘middles,’ including the production of responsive behaviors (or lack thereof) and the management of intersubjectivity. This thesis describes and defends one such relevance rule: Advisors are strongly accountable for responding – either vocally and/or nonvocally – at each …

Style Shifting In First-Encounter Conversations Between Japanese Speakers, Kenichi Shinkuma

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines style shift between formal and informal styles in first- encounter conversations between Japanese native speakers and demonstrates how the speakers shifted the speech style in the context. Many researchers have studied this type of style shift and demonstrated that style shifts occur within a single speech context where social factors, such as differences in age, status, and formalness remain constant (e.g., Cook, 2008; Geyer, 2008; Ikuta, 1983; Maynard, 1991; Okamoto, 1999). This study contributed support to these previous studies. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative analyses focusing on Japanese native speakers' use of style shifting in …

Dialogue In Identity-Based Conflict (Study Of Intergroup-Dialogue With University Students), Lisha Shrestha

Dissertations and Theses

An individual's struggle with "self," which consists of personal identity and social identity, can create both intra- and interpersonal conflict. In this study, I explored how such struggles inform identity-based conflict and how such conflicts are addressed by intergroup dialogue. A dialogue was conducted with University students, consisting of discussions about participants' struggles with "self" and social identity. These conversations were analyzed using a mixed methods and content analysis approach. The study revealed that identities such as gender play significant roles in creating conflict within "self" and with others. National origin, race, and ethnicity also affect personal identity; however, these …

The Role Of Network Position For Peer Influences On Adolescents' Academic Engagement, Price Mccloud Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Academic engagement has been found to significantly predict students' future achievement. Among adolescents, the peer context becomes an increasingly important point of socialization and influence on beliefs and behavior, including academic engagement. Previous research suggests that those peers with whom an adolescent spends much of their time significantly predict change in engagement over time (Kindermann, 2007). Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998) postulates that exosystem effects (those influencing factors that are not directly connected to individuals) play an important role in development, and social network theorists have suggested that the position one occupies within the greater network is …

Characteristics Of Spoken And Written Communication In The Opening And Closing Sections Of Instant Messaging, Kenta Nishimaki

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines opening and closing segments in instant messaging (IM) and demonstrates how openings and closings differ between oral conversation and instant messaging as well as the factors that account for the difference. Many researchers have discussed the differences and similarities between spoken and written languages. Tannen (1980) claims that spoken and written languages are not distinct categories and there is a continuum between them. She also holds that interpersonal involvement is one of the factors that determine if a particular communication is closer to spoken communication or written communication.

I will analyze IM, which is best thought of …

Peer Conversations About Inter-Racial And Inter-Ethnic Friendships, Lana Lee Buckholz

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand how early adolescents talk about cross-racial and cross-ethnic friendships. Gordon Allport's intergroup contact theory provided the framework for studying the elements needed for inter-racial and inter-ethnic friendship formation. Qualitative data were drawn from four separately recorded peer group conversations. Participants (n=18) were recruited from Parrish Middle School in Salem, Oregon. Patterns that emerged from the data were sorted, categorized and identified according to the tenets of intergroup contact theory or extensions of intergroup contact theory. Analysis also looked at the use of metaphors and storytelling among adolescents. Results showed that while intergroup …

Grouped To Achieve: Are There Benefits To Assigning Students To Heterogeneous Cooperative Learning Groups Based On Pre-Test Scores?, Arman Karl Werth

Dissertations and Theses

Cooperative learning has been one of the most widely used instructional practices around the world since the early 1980's. Small learning groups have been in existence since the beginning of the human race. These groups have grown in their variance and complexity overtime. Classrooms are getting more diverse every year and instructors need a way to take advantage of this diversity to improve learning. The purpose of this study was to see if heterogeneous cooperative learning groups based on student achievement can be used as a differentiated instructional strategy to increase students' ability to demonstrate knowledge of science concepts and …

Self-Disclosure And Self-Efficacy In Online Dating, Andrew Christopher España

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores online dating by studying the relationship between self-disclosure and self-efficacy in an online dating environment. This research study examines the way self-disclosure, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and gender interrelate in an online dating environment. This study includes, but is not limited to, discussion of the type of correlation between self-efficacy and self-esteem, the relationship between self-disclosure and self-efficacy, and the differences between men's and women's self-disclosure in an online dating environment. From conducting this study, the researcher was able to determine that there is a statistically significant relationship between gender and how it relates to self-disclosure and self-efficacy. With …

International Students' Experiences In Higher Education: A Case Study Examining Uncertainty Reduction Theory In Communication Classrooms, Susan Kuhn

Dissertations and Theses

This was an exploratory case study which focused on international students' experiences in higher education. In particular, this study investigated the efficacy of uncertainty reduction theory in communication classrooms. The research asked four exploratory questions: (a) What are the students’ perceptions of the teacher/student relationship? (b) Do international students experience uncertainty in communication classrooms? (c) If uncertainty is experienced, what is its source(s)? (d) If uncertainty is experienced, do students seek to reduce it, and if so, how?

A phenomenological perspective was utilized in this study as the organizing, theoretical framework. Relevant literature on uncertainty reduction theory was reviewed as …

A Lay Theory Of Relational Satisfaction With Best Friends In Japan, Eriko Maeda

Dissertations and Theses

Using a total of 529 Japanese college students (275 females, 254 males) living in Japan, the present study employed five sequential stages. First, it explored Japanese people's beliefs about relational satisfaction with best friends and the organization of these beliefs. In order to explore these beliefs and their organization, this study replicated Cole and Bradac's (1994) study of a lay theory of relational satisfaction with best friends, which focused on people from the United States. The study then examined similarities and differences of Japanese beliefs and organization of the beliefs with those of the U.S. Lastly, the study investigated Japanese …

The Concept Of "Communication Skills" In The Discipline Of Speech Communication, Lynn Bales

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation explored the dialectic of communication competence from an historical prospective and successfully identified seven common threads in competence theory. Communication skills and skills classifications were linked to competency issues. A content analysis of the 452 page leading national skills level communication text identified 185 skills behaviors along with their associated communication competencies. Skills were described in twelve categories; however, no consistent definition or treatment of communication skills was in evidence. Implications of the findings were discussed.

Gender Differences In Conversational Style: An Experiment In Interpersonal Communication, Constance M. Cooper

Dissertations and Theses

Communication problems and conflict may occur between partners in intimate dyads when systematic gender differences in language contribute to misinterpretations.

This research investigated effects of gender on interpretations of hypothetical conversations between dyads, and also on judgments of likelihood of conflict.

Following research by Fishman (1983), it was hypothesized that male and female subjects' interpretations of male speakers would be more similar than would male and female subjects' interpretations of female speakers. Based on Tannen's (1990) work, it was hypothesized that male subjects' ratings of likelihood of conflict would relate to their interpretations of speakers as "controlling;" female subjects' ratings …

Intercultural Confrontation Styles Of Culturally Homophilous And Culturally Heterophilous Japanese And U.S. College Students, Toyoko Hattori

Dissertations and Theses

This study focuses on confrontational behavior patterns exhibited by Japanese and U.S. college students in the Portland Metropolitan area. Four questions are addressed: 1) is there a difference Japanese and U.S. confrontation styles? 2) do Japanese use differing confrontation styles depending upon whom they are interacting with? 3) do U.S. individuals use differing confrontation styles depending upon whom they are interacting with? and 4) is there a significant gender difference between Japanese and U.S. confrontation styles? In addition, correlations between the Japanese and U.S. reported confrontation styles and their demographic data are examined.

Communication And Socialization Skills Of Three Year Olds With A History Of Language Delay, Pamela Susan Dahm

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare receptive language, expressive language, and socialization skills of preschool children who have a history of expressive language delay (ELD) with age mates who have a history of normal language development.

Communication And Socialization Profiles In Toddlers With Expressive Language Delay, Shawn Spangle-Looney

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare expressive communication, receptive communication, and socialization achievement in 18- to 34-month-old ELD toddlers to the same skills in normally-speaking children. The questions this study sought to answer were, how do the three skill areas in ELD toddlers compare with the same skills in normal toddlers?, will ELD subjects evidence specific profiles of deficits involving not only expressive but receptive and social skills as well? and, within the ELD subjects will two subgroups emerge, one group having poor expressive skills only, and a second group having deficits in addition to expression.

Care, Need, And Conceptions Of Love: A Reexamination, Janet Gruwell Morris

Dissertations and Theses

The present study examines the roles need and care play in such positive interpersonal attitudes as love, liking, attraction, and friendship, by both replicating and extending a 1982 study by Steck, Levitan, McLane, and Kelley. Subjects were presented with slightly revised Rubin Love Scales which were filled out as if by persons involved in relationships, and were asked to judge how much each hypothetical person loved, liked, was attracted to, and felt friendly toward their partner. In fact, the love scales had been divided into three components, i.e. need, care, and trust, and were filled out with each component at …

A Contextual Analysis Of Selected Communication Strategies Associated With Dyadic And Situation Characteristics: A Field Study, Gisele Marie Tierney

Dissertations and Theses

A contextual analysis investigation of related communication acts is concerned with the multidimensional nature of human interdependence. The communication strategy is a category of relational communication acts that can be viewed as one of the ways in which interactants promote or maintain a working consensus and enhance interpersonal discovery. Strategy use is motivated by the nature of the relationship rather than by the speaker's conscious attempts to direct outcomes.

Comparative Self-Monitoring Behavior And Recall Of Verbal And Nonverbal Interactional Information About Partner In Conversations With Ablebodied And Disabled Partners, Doris L. Werkman

Dissertations and Theses

When strangers meet, there is a high level of uncertainty due to the infinite number of possible alternatives in behavior between the two people. Previous research indicates that communicators will attempt to reduce the level of uncertainty by using available verbal and nonverbal information of the other, by seeking similarities with the other, and by observing the situation itself. This information is used to predict attitudes and beliefs, as well as to attribute characteristics of the other. Other studies indicate that a person will increase her level of self-monitoring activity when the level of uncertainty is increased.

A Multidimensional Analysis Of Physical Attractiveness In The Formation Of First Impressions, Jewel Marianna Smith Hunter

Dissertations and Theses

Before any words are spoken, an individual's appearance is his or her first line of nonverbal communication with the rest of the world. Prior research conducted on physical attractiveness has been vague and contradictory and has not assessed its many components. Rather, past investigators have perceived physical attractiveness as a "unidimensional" concept.

Several phases were involved in the task of proving or disproving the hypotheses of the study. The first general phase began with the selection of photographic subjects, progressed into the creation of a set of photographs which were to become the stimuli, and proceeded to the selection of …

Satisfaction And Quality : Patient Perspectives In Medical Care, Marguerite L. Foeller

Dissertations and Theses

Patient dissatisfaction with the physician/patient relationship and medical care is well documented in both the lay press and the medical literature. This problem appears to stem from communication between physician and patient and is drawing increased attention from the communication discipline. Research conducted in interpersonal communication satisfaction theory provides a basis for this study of patient satisfaction with physician/patient communication and its relationship to the perceived quality of medical care.

This paper reports two sets of interviews with a total of 108 respondents on the topic of physician/patient communication which resulted in the identification of nine salient issues which appeared …

Pragmatic Conversational Skills Of Young Adults In Normal, Emr, And Tmr Classrooms, Jane Nicholson

Dissertations and Theses

Current language theory focuses on how a person communicates within a context (Bates, 1976a). A person's communicative competence depends on how effectively she translates her cognitive and social knowledge into linguistic forms to interact in the specific situation, following pragmatic rules (Prutting, 1982b). Thus, in order to assess a person's language ability accurately, the clinician needs to assess pragmatic skills as well as cognitive, social, and linguistic skills. A person's pragmatic development culminates in the ability to participate in a conversation (Rees, 1978).

Toward A Behavioral Analysis Of Attentiveness As A Style Of Communication, Ray Alan Coker

Dissertations and Theses

Attentiveness, a variable of communication, primarily serves a stylistic function in the communicative process by providing behavioral evidence that an individual is actively involved in message reception. Past research suggests that while both verbal and nonverbal behaviors signal attentiveness, nonverbal cues are more closely associated with this construct. Among the many nonverbal behaviors of individuals in interactions, postural positions have been deemed highly indicative of attentiveness. At present however, most of the empirical evidence attesting to this notion has been established through the use of self-report measures. As a result of the felt need by this author to improve upon …

Toward A Phenomenological-Based Perspective Of Acculturation With Application To Scottish Immigrants, Dorothy M. Sermol

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is an attempt to construct a perspective of the acculturation of immigrants drawing on certain communication- based phenomenological assumptions. From these phenomenological assumptions a Framework of Acculturation is constructed as a guide through which to examine the acculturation process. The Framework of Acculturation is then applied to the particular group of Scottish immigrants who live in the Northwest of the United States.