Focus groups with 23 public-administration faculty and practitioners identified the different interactions and experiences of men and women that perpetuate resistance to equal opportunities in the workplace. A communication model was developed that is useful for diagnostics and intervention in organizations trying to improve workplace relations.…

Education is challenged to use technology efficiently, since few software programs can share data. Users' applications and data are isolated from one another. The Schools Interoperability Framework enables applications to communicate through a common interface and standard data formats regardless of the host platform. Costs, advantages, and…

Examines the perceptions of 100 adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners from a variety of first language backgrounds with regard to their pronunciation difficulties and the strategies they employ when faced with communication breakdown. Findings are discussed with reference to pronunciation instruction and commercially available…

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…

Background: Dysarthria is a common post-stroke presentation. Its management falls within the remit of the speech and language therapy profession. Little controlled evaluation of the effects of intervention for dysarthria in stroke has been reported. Aims: The study aimed to determine the effects of a period of behavioural communication…

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…