Data from 65 extension stakeholders engaged in forestry-related activities showed that communication barriers existed between university faculty and stakeholders. Stakeholders were not getting the information they needed, extension agents generally lacked appropriate content knowledge, and printed communications were ineffective or too technical.…

During a business communication course, 80 composition and technical writing aspects were tracked. Comparison of students' perceived difficulties with these aspects and formal assessments showed that the average convergence increased by 30% between pre- and postassessment. (SK)

Although parents and teachers want to improve parental involvement, they share no vision of how to accomplish this goal. This article reviews common parent/teacher misunderstandings and recommends that schools address teachers' time commitment, logistical and organizational barriers, inservice training deficiencies, and short-sighted…

One of the challenges for young children with communication disabilities and limited expressive language is learning to communicate in effective ways. Often, children communicate using idiosyncratic behavior and unconventional means. Their communication may even mirror that of very young children who are prelinguistic (e.g., reach for an item or…

Researchers have been placing an increased importance on discovering what variables contribute to better prognosis during behavioral interventions for children with autism. This article preliminarily identifies sleep problems that may exacerbate symptoms of autism; thus, possibly influencing effectiveness of daytime interventions. A data-base of…

Background: Student feedback is a valuable method to evaluate the quality of education. Using a WEB-based questionnaire, the objective of this study was to evaluate the factors that may affect the ratings given by the students and the impact of those ratings on the instructor's teaching performance. Methods: The questionnaire was organized into…

When a disaster strikes, the affected population relies upon the swift response and aid rendered by relief organizations such as the California-based Direct Relief International. Since 1948, Direct Relief's mission has been to provide essential material resources to locally run health programs in areas affected by natural disasters, wars, and…

This study examines partner violence within an incarcerated sample of women and men. Specifically, it focused on the relationship between explicit and implicit attitudes to the perpetration and victimization of violence. Findings revealed that violence was bidirectional, with males and females equally likely to report being the perpetrator or…

The aim of the current article is to review the peer-reviewed research literature on cues and concerns published between 1975 and 2006. To be included, articles had to report observational studies based on patient-physician consultations and report findings on patient expressions of cues and/or concerns. Quantitative and qualitative studies from…

The authors examine the effects of service barriers on the health status of older Chinese immigrants in Canada. A survey was completed in seven Canadian cities by a random sample of 2,214 older Chinese immigrants age 55 years or older. Service barriers related to administrative problems, personal attitudes, and circumstantial difficulties were…

This study explored the perceptions of 304 teacher education students regarding how effectively and meaningfully their instructors use the "Microsoft PowerPoint" presentation software program in their teaching and compared graduate and undergraduate students' perceptions to determine the extent to which graduate and undergraduate teacher educators…

This mixed-methods study probed the effectiveness of three kinds of objects (video, theory, metaphor) as common reference points for conversations between online learners (student teachers). Individuals' degree of detail-focus was examined as a potentially interacting covariate and the outcome measure was learners' level of tacit knowledge related…

R. Hart and D. Burks (1972) indicated that rhetorical sensitivity (RS) is a cognitive orientation to communication competence that stresses the importance of appropriate adaptation and flexibility in interpersonal communication interactions. In 1980, Hart, Carlson and Eadie developed an instrument called RHETSEN scale, a 40-item questionnaire. The…

A survey of all 38 current members of the (newly formed) National Educational Debate Association investigated why these directors opted to drop their Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) programs. Responses were received from 20 directors. The use of excessive speed in CEDA debate was mentioned as a reason for leaving CEDA by more of the…

This paper tells the story of a pedagogy conference keynote event that is both specific and individual as well as emblematic of the difficulties that individuals face as academics and teachers. The paper explores the problematic relationship between power and responsibility, between privilege and accountability--issues that teachers are always…