Relational Maintenance,Relational Characteristics,and Relational Uncertainty in the Faculty Advisor-Doctoral Advisee Relationship

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which doctoral faculty advisors’ reports of their advisees’ use of relational maintenance behaviors are associated with the advisors’ perceived relational characteristics (i.e., liking, communication satisfaction, relational satisfaction, trust, and control mutuality) and relational uncertainty (i.e., behavioral, mutuality, definitional, and future uncertainty). Doctoral faculty advisors (N = 141) completed a questionnaire in reference to their relationships with a specific doctoral student advisee. The results of canonical correlations largely supported the predictions in that the advisors’ reports of their advisees’ use of relational maintenance behaviors were associated positively with the five relational characteristics but associated negatively with the four types of relational uncertainty. These findings extend both extant relational maintenance and advisor-advisee research.     

An Assessment of the Relationships between Resource Development Decisions,Library Collection Usage,and User Perceptions

Today's managers of library journal collection budgets experience pressures from shrinking resource allocations and rising costs. Consequently, they seek ways to assess the value of their collections in relation to user needs. This study at Montana State University seeks to understand what resources users (both faculty and graduate students) are citing in their research, the breadth of the information cited that is provided by the Library, how the Library's proactive and reactive efforts might influence user satisfaction with the information resources provided, and how user perceptions align and differ from information realities. It takes a unique approach by comparing LibQual+® survey results and faculty and graduate student citation behaviors.     

The relationship between college student feedback orientation and classroom engagement

ABSTRACT

This study explored the relationship between the four dimensions of students’ feedback orientation (i.e., utility, retention, confidentiality, and sensitivity) and the four dimensions of students’ classroom engagement (i.e., silent in-class, oral in-class, thinking about course content, and out-of-class) using the tenets of Feedback Intervention Theory (FIT) as a guide. Participants were 208 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of introductory communication courses at a large mid-Atlantic university. It was found that varying combinations of students’ feedback orientation influence students’ engagement, providing further support for FIT. Specifically, feedback utility was positively related to all four dimensions of student engagement. Furthermore, feedback confidentiality was negatively related to oral in-class behaviors. Future research should continue to examine the influence of instructional feedback on students’ classroom engagement.     

Precursors to College Student Burnout: Developing a Typology of Understanding

Burnout plays a fundamental role in students' lives. Although research has examined important themes and topics associated with the learning process (e.g., teacher behaviors), additional research is needed that explores how students influence their own learning. This study presents the results of a survey examining the precipitators of student burnout. More than 350 students were surveyed to access students' perceptions of what constitutes burnout as well as the extent to which burnout exists in their lives. A constant comparison method was employed to analyze students' comments, and five categories of antecedent conditions emerged: assignment overload, outside influences, lack of personal motivation, mental and physical health, and instructor attitude and behavior). Interpretations of findings in this study are discussed.     

Attribution Theory in the College Classroom: Examining the Relationship of Student Attributions and Instructional Dissent

This study sought to expand knowledge on instructional dissent by establishing the relationship between student attributions of instructor behavior (attribution theory) and their own communicative behavior following a difference of opinion with an instructor. Student participants (N = 244) completed survey questionnaires regarding their perceptions of instructor's internality for a perceived disagreement and their own communicative behavior following the incident (i.e., expressive, rhetorical, or vengeful dissent). Results indicate that students’ attributions of internality are positively related to all three forms of dissent.     

Surviving to Thriving: Advancing the Institutional Mission

ABSTRACT

Academic research libraries can employ several approaches to advance the institutional mission. First, libraries can shift from goals focused on collections and traditional library services and instead align with their campus academic plan and an emphasis on supporting the institution's strategic initiatives. A second approach is for libraries to modify their organizational structures from being function-based on the tasks that traditional libraries performed (e.g., public services, technical services, collection development) and move instead toward organizational units that directly support their university's missions (e.g., undergraduate education; graduate and professional education; research, scholarship, and creative activity; and public engagement). The key is to have library staff engaged in work that contributes to vital institutional outcomes such as student success and faculty research productivity. Academic research libraries should also continue to work towards an assessment program that demonstrates the value of the academic research library in providing quality services that advance the institutional mission.     

Students' Perceptions of Classroom Group Work as a Function of Group Member Selection

Course: Small Group Communication

The purpose of this assessment was to examine whether differences exist between students who self-select their classroom work group members and students who are randomly assigned to their classroom work groups in terms of their use of organizational citizenship behaviors with their work group members; their commitment to, trust in, and relational satisfaction with their work groups; and their self-reports of affective learning and cognitive learning. Participants were 126 students enrolled in a small group communication course. While students who self-select their group members and students who are randomly assigned to their groups do not differ in their use of organizational citizenship behaviors with their classroom work group members, students who self-select their classroom work group members do report higher levels of commitment, trust, and relational satisfaction, as well as more affective learning and more cognitive learning, than students who are randomly assigned to classroom work groups.     

Face[book] Management: Self-Presentation of Political Views on Social Media

This study explores Facebook users’ management behaviors related to their—and their friends'—political communication via social media, utilizing the concepts of context collapse and self-presentation. A new two-factor measure of Facebook management was developed, pilot tested (N = 139) and implemented in a survey utilizing a national sample (N = 352) of individuals aged 18–29. Results indicated Facebook users are not generally engaging in the strategic management of political disclosures or the political content to which they are exposed. However, as network sizes increase, participants engage in more disclosure behaviors and make greater efforts to manage content exposure. Additionally, participants with strong political beliefs engage in more Facebook management behaviors, possibly indicating an effort to limit cognitive dissonance.     

Bullying on the school bus: deleterious effects on public school bus drivers

Bullying is a serious communication problem facing teachers, administrators, parents, and students alike. Although much research has examined bullying intervention and prevention efforts in schools, bullying on the bus has received little empirical attention, even though victimization regularly occurs in this school-related environment. The purpose of this study was to examine how bus drivers are affected by student bullying during their routes. Participants included 117 public school bus drivers who reported on victimization from students during their bus route and resulting driver outcomes. Results of path analyses revealed significant mediation models; the bullying of bus drivers had effects on driver outcomes (i.e. anxious driving, occupational self-efficacy, emotional exhaustion, and cynicism) indirectly through its effects on job stress. Moreover, results of conditional process analyses revealed that these mediated effects were moderated by years of bus driving experience (i.e. moderated mediation); the indirect effects on driver outcomes were stronger for more experienced drivers.     

Bullying as a Display of Social Dominance Orientation

The study employed Social Dominance Theory in a communicative assessment of bullying in secondary education. Participants were 189 college students who completed a survey about their bullying perpetration in secondary school (physical victimization, verbal victimization, social manipulation, and attacks on property) and their current propensity to accept social hierarchy myths (social dominance orientation). Social dominance orientation was correlated positively with all four types of bullying behavior. Moreover, bullies’ sex moderated the relationships between social dominance orientation and physical forms of bullying (physical victimization, attacks on property). For communication scholars assessing bullying, these findings propose that this single variable (social dominance orientation) be included when addressing the psychological underpinnings of bullying behaviors.     

Should I Stay or Go?: Student Identity Gaps,Feelings, and Intent to Leave

This study examined gaps between students’ personal, enacted, relational, and communal identities. The particular interest was students’ intentions to leave the university as a function of their identity gaps, self-esteem, communication satisfaction, motivation, and general affect. Participants (N = 209 undergraduate students) completed self-report measures while reflecting on their communication with others at the university (e.g., faculty, staff, and peers). Results of path analysis models indicated that personal-communal identity gaps are predictive of students’ communication satisfaction, motivation, general affect, and their intentions to leave the university. This predictive ability is enhanced by the presence of personal-relational gaps.     

Social norms and expectancy violation theories: assessing the effectiveness of health communication campaigns

College students' processing of alcohol, smoking, and exercise social norms messages, and related effects on judgments, attitudes toward one's own behaviors, and attitudes toward undergraduates' behaviors were examined using social norms marketing and Expectancy Violation Theory (EVT) (N=393). Receiving statistical social norms messages led to an expectancy violation of the perceived social norm (i.e., a discrepancy between the expected and actual statistic conveyed with a message). Consistent with Boster et al. (), the effect of the message discrepancy on attitudes was mediated by judgments. In accordance with social norms, when participants were provided with a statistic, the majority moved their judgments (but not their attitudes) toward the provided statistic, a result only consistent with EVT in the case of positive violations. The results have multiple implications: (1) social norms messages may work to change judgments, but do not result in consistent attitude change; (2) the process of judgment change functions similarly across message topics, as well as message types (i.e., attitudinal versus behavioral); (3) judgment change does not appear to be the main cause for attitude change upon receipt of a social norms message; and (4) a message‐based expectancy violation does not function in the same way as a violated behavioral expectation.     

A primer on developing and using course-related library Web pages

Course-related library Web pages can be designed to introduce students to an academic library Web site and provide access to information relevant to specific courses. These pages are most often developed to support a library instruction session. The author's course-related pages are designed on a template that includes the main features of the library Web site (e.g., links to the online catalog, reference information, and interlibrary loan request forms), a list of pertinent online indexes and databases, links to electronic journals, and recommended Web sites. Technical and organizational issues related to creating and maintaining such pages are discussed, as are outreach efforts and faculty/student response to incorporating this type of Web page into library instruction. A sample evaluation form and a list of selected course-related library Web sites are included as appendices.     

The Relationship Between “Teen Mom” Reality Programming and Teenagers' Beliefs About Teen Parenthood

A survey was conducted with U.S. high school students (M = 16.57 years of age) from the Midwest to examine whether exposure to “teen mom” reality programming (e.g., 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom) was related to teens' perceptions of teen parenthood. Contrary to our hypotheses, analyses revealed that exposure to teen mom reality programming was related to an increased tendency to believe that teen mothers have an enviable quality of life, a high income, and involved fathers. Teens who perceived reality television as realistic were most likely to hold these perceptions. The findings are discussed in terms of cultivation theory.     

The Literature on Academic Integrity and Graduate Students: Issues,Solutions, and the Case for a Librarian Role

SUMMARY

Graduate and professional school students face a variety of academic integrity issues and are sometimes academically dishonest. The author surveys the literature of the last decade on graduate student academic integrity, including plagiarism, cheating, falsification, and authorship conflicts, focusing on empirical studies in multiple disciplines, studies that portray issues arising in individual disciplines, and solutions suggested. The author proposes that librarians who serve, teach, and consult with graduate students should develop their instructional role in this area. By becoming aware of the chief academic integrity problems and the subject-discipline related concerns, they can better assist graduate students in the context of information literacy and collaborate with faculty on training and other solutions.     

Using Wikipedia to Teach Information Literacy

ABSTRACT

Today's college student often starts his research by using a search engine. Because of this, Wikipedia is increasingly becoming the go-to reference resource for the newest generation of students. However, many students do not know about the problems (e.g., vandalism) associated with this tool other than ambiguous warnings from librarians and faculty who say that it should not be used for research. Librarians and faculty should help remove the stigma associated with Wikipedia by embracing this Website and its imperfections as a way to make information literacy instruction valuable for the twenty-first-century student.     

Mobile devices in medicine: a survey of how medical students,residents, and faculty use smartphones and other mobile devices to find information

Objectives:

The research investigated the extent to which students, residents, and faculty members in Canadian medical faculties use mobile devices, such as smartphones (e.g., iPhone, Android, Blackberry) and tablet computers (e.g., iPad), to answer clinical questions and find medical information. The results of this study will inform how health libraries can effectively support mobile technology and collections.

Methods:

An electronic survey was distributed by medical librarians at four Canadian universities to medical students, residents, and faculty members via departmental email discussion lists, personal contacts, and relevant websites. It investigated the types of information sought, facilitators to mobile device use in medical information seeking, barriers to access, support needs, familiarity with institutionally licensed resources, and most frequently used resources.

Results:

The survey of 1,210 respondents indicated widespread use of smartphones and tablets in clinical settings in 4 Canadian universities. Third- and fourth-year undergraduate students (i.e., those in their clinical clerkships) and medical residents, compared to other graduate students and faculty, used their mobile devices more often, used them for a broader range of activities, and purchased more resources for their devices.

Conclusions:

Technological and intellectual barriers do not seem to prevent medical trainees and faculty from regularly using mobile devices for their medical information searches; however, barriers to access and lack of awareness might keep them from using reliable, library-licensed resources.

Implications:

Libraries should focus on providing access to a smaller number of highly used mobile resources instead of a huge collection until library-licensed mobile resources have streamlined authentication processes.     

Does E-mail Facilitate Negative Performance Feedback Giving?: Supervisor and Subordinate Responses Compared via the Concept of Social Accountability

With full- or part-time employees in Hong Kong as subjects, two studies examined how supervisors (n = 113) and subordinates (n = 145) reacted to a feedback scenario under the social accountability conditions depicted by a 2 (Valence: Positive or Negative) × 2 (Medium: FTF or e-mail) factorial design. Message valence explained greater variance than did medium, and e-mail was viable in mitigating both accountability-related reactions. Negative feedback, compared to positive feedback, created higher accountability that led participants in the role of a manager to feel greater anxiety and pressure, to perceive less effective message delivery and image and relationship management, and more likely to anticipate accountable behaviors. The perceptions by subordinate-subjects largely mirrored those by supervisor-subjects.     

A Library Research Course for Graduate and Professional Students in Communication Sciences and Disorders

SUMMARY

This article describes the formation and content of a required library and information research course for graduate and professional students enrolled in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Master of Arts degree program at Western Washington University. The course was created as a result of library assessment, student feedback, and faculty observations. In place since 2003, the curriculum continues to evolve and is sustained through the collaborative efforts of the library and the department faculty.