A study involving 108 freshmen and 109 sophomores enrolled in business communication classes at Portsmouth Polytechnic Institute in England examined the following questions: (1) Will there be significant differences between the means of freshmen and sophomores from England in rating trait-CA (communication apprehension), context-CA, and state-CA…

Accepting a definition of culture as "the total accumulation of an identifiable group's beliefs, norms, activities, institutions, and communication patterns," this paper, in an extensive literature review, conjectures that the environment has a far-reaching impact on the performance of the foreign student in the United States. The paper…

This paper examines the impact of traditional and accelerated public speaking instruction on undergraduate-level students' self-perceptions of communication apprehension and self-esteem. Subjects, students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs were enrolled in the same semester in either a 16-week traditional public speaking course…

One of the most common communication technologies being used in the classroom is the videocassette recorder. The videotaping of students' performances provides the instructor with a form of visual feedback that can be used to reinforce concepts and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the students' performances. Past studies have typically…

This publication (one of a series) contains 12 articles which report the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instruments for its investigation, and practical applications. Articles in the publication are: "Dynamics and Coordinate Systems on Skilled Sensorimotor Activity" (Elliot L. Saltzman); "Speech Motor…

A study questioned 12 human resource personnel, corporation managers, and diversity trainers about their perceptions of diversity training needs in Pacific Northwest high tech organizations. The overarching research questions for the study were as follows: (1) What are the most frequently reported diversity training needs among human resource…

This paper presents a literature review examining research that addresses the issue of freedom of expression as it relates to instructional decision-making for teachers in K-12 grades. The paper proposes to connect two sub-fields in speech communication: instructional communication and freedom of expression studies. In surveying the research,…

This paper examines the problem of how to reconcile the practical realities of the nature of the mass audience with the demands of personal and social development, particularly in Africa and other Third World Countries, where the demands of modernization have confronted traditional norms and values. After defining and clarifying key concepts such…

Findings of an exploratory qualitative study of personality characteristics observed to exist among a sample of new "advertising creatives" are presented in this paper. Subjects, 13 copywriters and art directors participating in a training program at an advertising agency with global billings of $4 billion, were interviewed in depth…

Noting the potential effect of print media on society, a study addressed the question of how "Time,""Newsweek," and "U.S. News and World Report" (USNWR) have presented the creation-evolution issue (particularly as taught in public schools) to its readers. Thirty-nine articles published form 1980 to 1992 were analyzed:…

A pilot study examined problems encountered by foreign instructors teaching in American colleges. Fourteen Chinese-born instructors teaching in Speech Communication answered a questionnaire containing 12 open-ended questions. Recurring themes were coded from the answers, and then organized into three categories: cultural differences; linguistic…

To gather information on parent preferences regarding the type of information communicated by schools to families, a survey was distributed to 444 middle and upper-middle class parents in Michigan. The survey divided techniques used by schools to communicate with the community into five categories: information about classroom curricula, student…

This investigation examines factors influencing United States student perceptions of native and non-native United States teacher effectiveness. A questionnaire employing measures of ethnocentrism, intercultural communication apprehension, willingness to communicate, and motivation was completed by 204 native United States undergraduate students.…

The purpose of this study was to describe college students' AIDS communication and explore the relationships between AIDS communication, involvement, and sexual behavior. A non-random sample of 334 college students was surveyed. AIDS message discrimination and multiple indicators of involvement were tested for associations with sexual behavior…

This paper reviews the group-related literature of intergroup relations and combines it with the existing theory of communications. Noting that communication scholars have recently entered this realm of intergoup relations and searched for the role of mass media in the process of ethnic newcomers' socialization, the paper conceptualizes…