This study investigated the results of employing shared story reading during literacy instruction for participants with severe and multiple disabilities. This intervention was conducted in an effort to improve independent responses made by participants with severe and multiple disabilities within a small group on a task analysis during shared…

This mixed-methods study looks at patterns of emoticon usage in adult, ESL student writing. Data are drawn from 13 students and their participation in online discussion forums designed to supplement a traditional ESL writing course. The study conceptualizes computer mediated communication as a hybridized and emergent form which utilizes features…

User experience (UX) research in the design of technology products utilizes human-centered design (HCD) methods to summarize and explain pertinent information about end users to designers. However, UX researchers cannot effectively communicate the needs and goals of users if designers do not find UX research (a) easy to integrate into design…

Deliberative democracy has been promoted as a way improving legitimacy and political equality in policy debates. This dissertation seeks to understand how deliberation takes place within the intersection of two unique spaces: dialogue among members of regional civil society groups and communication in online fora. The motivation for this research…

This article presents the address given by Valenino at the sixty-first convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) held in Louisville on March 18, 2010. In her address, the author discusses the fourth "C" and how the last part of the title was inherited. As a teacher of composition and oral communication, the…

This article argues that accessing and taking note of the voice of pupils is critical in working towards removing barriers to effective learning. Pupil voice was accessed using an innovative form of group interview incorporating an Ishikawa or fishbone tool and card sorting exercise. The data were collected from 132 pupils, from Years 7 to 9 (aged…

The purpose of this article is to examine the communication behaviors of online leaders, or those who influence other members of online communities in triggering message replies, sparking conversation, and diffusing language. It relies on 632,622 messages from 33,450 participants across 16 discussion groups from Google Groups that took place over…

Within the last 12 years, email has emerged as the most commonly used form of written communication in the corporate workplace. Several factors have contributed to the widespread use of email. This form of communication is generally rapid, is more economical than distributing or mailing printed documents, and permits simultaneous communication…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of symbolic expressions (e.g., "BTW," "LOL," "UR") in an SMS text messaging corpus consisting of over 10,000 text messages. More specifically, the purpose was to determine, not only how frequently these symbolic expressions are used, but how they are utilized in terms of the language functions…

It seems to happen every day. A meeting is called to outline a new strategy or sales plan. Down go the lights and up goes the PowerPoint. Strange phrases appear--"unlocking shareholder value," "technology-focused innovation," "maximizing utility." Lists of numbers come and go. Bullet point by bullet point, the…

The belief systems with which teacher candidates enter their preservice programs powerfully shape their perceptions about teaching and learning. Data were gathered from 412 teacher candidates over the course of 5 academic years. Each of the participants posed 2 questions at the beginning of their course that they would like to be answered during…

People are considerably more defensive in the face of group criticism when the criticism comes from an out-group rather than an in-group member (the intergroup sensitivity effect). We tested three strategies that out-group critics can use to reduce this heightened defensiveness. In all studies, Australians received criticism of their country…

This report provides descriptive national data on the prevalence and characteristics of services and support programs for military service members and veterans at postsecondary institutions in the United States. This survey provides the first nationally representative data on this topic. The data presented in this First Look were collected for the…

Text messaging has gained widespread popularity in higher education as a communication tool and as a means of engaging students in the learning process. In this study we report on the use of text messaging in a large, year-one introductory chemistry module where students were encouraged to send questions and queries to a dedicated text number both…

Patients with diabetes who experience low-health literacy often struggle in their roles as health consumers. A multi-disciplinary group of educators and researchers collaborated to develop a video intervention to help these patients better understand their disease and communicate more effectively with their physician. We describe the assessment…