An assessment of the discriminant validity of the checklist of behavior alteration techniques: A test of the item desirability bias in prospective and experienced teachers’ likelihood‐of‐use ratings

This study assessed the discriminant validity of the checklist of Behavior Alteration Techniques. Specifically, the ability of the BATs checklist procedure to discriminate between the likelihood that individual BATs would be selected and the social desirability of those same BATs was examined. The BATs checklist should discriminate between the likelihood that individual BATs would be selected and the social desirability of those same BATs because 50 years of observational studies of teacher discipline behavior suggest that teachers typically and routinely employ negative and antisocial strategies to correct student misbehavior (Burleson & Waltman, 1993). In a within‐subject, repeated measures designs, prospective teachers and experienced teachers provided likelihood‐of‐use and social appropriateness ratings to the BATs checklist in the four hypothetical situations typically employed with the BATs checklist. As predicted, likelihood‐of‐use and social appropriateness ratings were significantly correlated. Thus, the BATs checklist is not able to discriminate between the likelihood that BATs would be used and the social appropriateness of those BATs. As Campbell and Fiske (1959) have argued, an instrument's discriminant validity is a minimum standard that social scientific instruments must meet.     

The four‐day workweek and media use: A glimpse of the future

The Medium and Message of the Introductory Mass Communication Course

Introduction to Mass Communications, Jay Black and Frederick G Whitney (Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown, 1983), 473 pp., $18.50.

Mass Media in America, Don R. Pember (Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1983), 441 pp., $16.95.

Mediamerica, Edward Jay Whetmore (Belmont, CA: Wads‐worth, 1982), 365 pp., $15.95.

Free But Regulated: Conflicting Traditions in Media Law, Daniel L. Brenner and William L. Rivers (Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1982), 283 pp., $24.95.

The First Amendment Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Meaning of Freedom of Speech and Press, Bill F. Chamberlin and Charlene J. Brown (New York: Longman, Inc., 1982), 218 pp., $27.95.

Terrorism, the Media and the Law, Abraham H. Miller (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Transnational Publishers, Inc., 1982), 221 pp., $25.00.

Readings in Mass Communication: Concepts and Issues in the Mass Media, 5th ed., eds. Michael Emery and Ted Curtis Smythe (Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, 1983), 549 pp., $17.95.

Perspectives on Mass Communications, eds. Warren K. Agee, Phillip H. Ault and Edwin Emery (New York: Harper and Row, 1982), 476 pp., $13.50.

Mass Media III: An Introduction to Modern Communication, Ray Eldon Hiebert, Donald F. Ungurait and Thomas W. Bohn (New York: Longman, 1982), 643 pp., $17.95.     

Gender differences in television use: An exploration of the instrumental‐expressive dichotomy

This study applied an interpersonal approach to understand gender differences in television use. Research shows that males are socialized to be instrumental in communication while females are socialized to be expressive, or focused on relationships. We expected this instrumental‐expressive dichotomy to emerge in television use. In two studies we found limited support that males had an instrumental viewing style, with goal‐directed reasons for watching and intentional, concentrated, and selective use of television. Females had a relationship‐oriented approach to television similar to the expressive orientation. These findings are linked to prior research on the uses of television.     

A cross‐cultural analysis of children's television use

This study compared uses of U.S. television by foreign children residing in the U.S. and their American counterparts in light of theories of acculturation, cultivation, and uses and gratifications. Compared with U.S. children, foreign children: used television more for learning purposes, were relatively more interested in television programs, spent more time watching television, identified more frequently with television characters, and expressed stronger beliefs in the social reality portrayed by television.     

‘Alive’ on the internet: A user‐centred evaluation of BIS‐online

Recent UK government initiatives have encouraged academic staff to consider using IT to enhance students' experience of higher education in terms of its quality, flexibility and effectiveness. In 1999 second year undergraduate students studying Information Management at Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh were invited to use a set of tailored web resources in support of the module Business Information Sources. This article presents the results of an evaluation conducted to discover the student view of the web site materials and the alternative learning methods employed for the module. Student opinions were sought on the accessibility, retrievability and usefulness of the information presented, and the ‘enjoyment’ of the learning experience. A comparison of the 1998/9 student examination performance was made with that of previous cohorts to determine whether adding another dimension to the experience of taking the module might impact the quality of the students' learning. The findings presented in the article will inform the further development of such initiatives, which in tum should improve the electronic delivery of learning materials in UK higher education.     

Teacher’ use of humor,self‐disclosure,and narrative activity as a function of experience

This investigation reported normative data for experienced (N = 20) and less‐experienced (N = 20) college teachers’ use of humor, self‐disclosure, and narrative activities. Results indicated that both groups of teachers observed in the study incorporated the three behaviors within their 50‐minute lectures. Experienced teachers, however, used humor, self‐disclosure, and narrative activities more frequently than the less‐experienced teachers. Additionally, the experienced teachers used the behaviors to clarify course content.     

A test of the initial processes of the goal‐planning‐action model of interpersonal influence

Dillard's goals‐planning‐action (GPA) model of interpersonal influence encompasses two different process models depending on the initial weighing of primary and secondary goals. In contrast to the GPA's prediction that the ordering of the intervening processes is moderated by the initial weighing of these two types of goals, a simplified version was found that fit the data both when the primary goal was greater than the secondary goal and when the secondary goal was greater than the primary goal. In both conditions, the two types of goals have simultaneous, direct relationships with the persuaders’ decisions to engage their targets, and indirect effects on subsequent plan generation.     

Audience ratings of the “naturalness” of spoken and written sentences

The authors of this research report list and discuss certain methodological and theoretical problems which they find in the Speech Monographs article on “Heart Rate as an Index of Speech Anxiety” by Ralph Behnke and Larry Carlile.     

VCR‐use and patterns of time shifting and selectivity

This article elaborates on research suggesting that the VCR is a time shifting device leading to more selectivity. It argues that time shifting can lead to time reduction or time filling and that selectivity can entail diversification or concentration of the TV diet. In both cases, however, no significant difference in TV viewing may occur as well. Data from a representative sample of 909 Flemish respondents showed no evidence of time‐reduction. The VCR is mainly used as a time‐filling device. VCR‐use does not seem to lead to concentration, but rather to diversification of the TV diet. Authors have claimed that the VCR is a device which allows better management of the viewing experience and which liberates viewers of the constraints of viewer or program availability. This article suggests instead that it may be more productive to look at the VCR as another channel (albeit it with peculiar characteristics). It influences the viewers’ TV consumption only to the extent that it is part of the viewers’ “channel repertoire” for selecting programs.     

A meta‐analysis of the cross‐situational consistency of communication apprehension

Parks’ (1980) criticism of the cross‐situational consistency of communication apprehension produced several studies that replicated the measures and procedures, hut found different results. A meta‐analysis of 17 studies was conducted to determine what conclusions are warranted given the available data. The meta‐analysis disclosed a large effect (combined z = 17.48, p < .0001) for cross‐situational consistency. The average r between trait‐CA and state/situational anxiety was .473. Further analysis of the “file drawer problem” showed that over 96 non‐significant tests must be unpublished in various file drawers to reduce the combined z to statistical non‐significance. Thus, the meta‐analysis warrants a strong claim for the cross‐situational consistency of communication apprehension     

The relationship between physicians’ use of power stategies and type a orientation in physician‐patient communication

Employing a two sample design, this study examined the relationship between physicians’ use of Behavior Alteration Techniques (BATs) and physicians’ type‐A orientation. Patient and physician respondents reported selection of antisocial BATs was a significant predictor of type‐A physicians.     

The status and future of audience duplication research: An assessment of ratings‐based theories of audience behavior

Audience duplication is recognized as a major component of program choice models and a fundamental aspect in understanding television viewing patterns. This study evaluates the utility of a specific set of ratings‐based audience theories developed over the past 25 years, and critiques their future relevance in an increasingly dynamic, complex media environment. An integrated model of audience duplication is presented as a way to assess the ability of current structural theories to explain audience behavior in the future. Recommendations are given for the direction of this research.     

How three Southeast‐Asian newspapers framed the haze’ of 1997–98

‘Framing’ refers to the journalistic act of reporting the news through core and secondary themes. Computer‐aided content analysis was used to study three newspapers’ framing of the Southeast Asian smoke‐cloud ‘haze’ of 1997–98. The newspapers tended to emphasize generally non‐confrontational frames and to downplay those that potentially were politically sensitive. They also favoured frames that were largely specific to their home countries. This finding tends to support the argument that journalism in Asia is unique, likely because of the influence of regional and national ideologies. But the findings also suggest that some aspects of the newspapers’ ‘haze’ coverage were consistent with US‐Western journalistic routines.     

Students’ perceptions of instructors’ socio‐communicative style and the influence on instructor credibility and situational motivation

This study investigated whether instructors with different socio‐communicative styles differed in their students’ perceptions of their credibility and their students’ Situationen motivation. Students (N = 260) completed a questionnaire on the class/instructor they had immediately before their current class. The questionnaire consisted of measures of assertiveness, responsiveness, credibility, and situational motivation. Instructors with the socio‐communicative style of competent were perceived highest in all three dimensions of credibility (expertise, character, and caring) and in students’ situational motivation. Instructors classified as noncompetent were perceived as lowest in caring and expertise, while instructors classified as aggressive were perceived as lowest in character. Additionally, situational motivation was positively correlated to all three dimensions of credibility. The results support the importance of instructors being able to display assertive and responsive communication behaviors.     

Where the private meets the public: Results of a survey of library professionals’ observed student use of academic library spaces for prayer

Abstract

Reports of college students using the library for spiritual practices, including prayer and meditation, consist mainly of anecdotal observations, news stories, or press releases about the creation of such spaces within academic libraries. Driven by their own experiences with students using library spaces for prayer, the authors examined how prevalent this was across US academic institutions. Using a large-scale national survey, this study found library professionals observe a wide range of student prayer behavior in a variety of library spaces, regardless of institutional or campus demographics. The results provide academic libraries with evidence to support accommodating students’ spiritual needs in library spaces.     

The emergence of the anti‐hero in the contemporary drama

A brief discussion of the protagonist as he appears in the Western Theatre of today. An examination of new conditions of heroism as envisioned by playwrights in the Contemporary theatre.     

Understanding the context of records creation and use: ‘Hard’ versus ‘soft’ approaches to records management

Current records management methodologies and practices suffer from an inadequate understanding of the ‘human activity systems’ where records managers operate as ‘mediators’ between a number of complex and interacting factors. Although the records management and archival literature recognizes that managing the active life of the records is fundamental to their survival as meaningful evidence of activities, the context where the records are made, captured, used, and selectively retained is not explored in depth. In particular, the various standards, models, and functional requirement lists, which occupy a vast portion of that literature, especially in relation to electronic records, do not seem to be capable of framing records-related ‘problems’ in ways that account for their dynamic and multiform nature. This paper introduces the idea that alternative, ‘softer’ approaches to the analysis of organizational functions, structures, agents, and artifacts may usefully complement the ‘hard’, engineering-like approaches typically drawn on by information and records specialists. Three interrelated theoretical and methodological frameworks—namely, Soft Systems Methodology, Adaptive Structuration Theory, and Genre Theory—are discussed, with the purpose of highlighting their contributions to our understanding of the records context.     

The media and the crisis of democracy in the age of Bush‐2

In this study, I demonstrate the consequences of the triumph of neoliberalism and media deregulation for democracy. I argue that the tremendous concentration of power in the hands of corporate groups who control powerful media conglomerates has intensified a crisis of democracy in the United States and elsewhere. Providing case studies of how mainstream media in the United States have become tools of conservative and corporate interests since the 1980s, I discuss how the corporate media helped forge a conservative hegemony, failed to address key social problems, and promoted the candidacy of George W. Bush in the 2000 US presidential election.     

Eisenhower's ‘atoms for peace’ speech: A case study in the strategic use of language

This article examines the speech “Atoms for Peace,”; delivered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 8, 1953. The author demonstrates how a complex rhetorical situation resulted in the crafting and exploitation of a public policy address. Far from serving as a precursor to nuclear disarmament, the speech functioned to bolster the international image of the United States as a peacemaker, to warn the Soviets against a preemptive nuclear strike, and to alert the American public to the dangers of a nuclear exchange.