An experimental study of the relationship between opinionated leadership and small group consensus

This study examined the relationship between the opinionated quality of leaders’ statements and small group consensus. Confederates trained to exhibit differing levels of opinionatedness served as “appointed” leaders of policy‐making groups. Groups with unopinionated leaders came closer to total consensus than groups whose leaders exhibited deliberately opinionated communication behavior. In addition, unopinionated leaders were rated more competent and more objective by their group members than were opinionated leaders. Findings relating opinionated leadership to maintenance of influence and member satisfaction were inconclusive.     

Frustration and language intensity

This study investigated the functional relationships among orientation behavior, leadership, and consensus. The study posited that orientation, when viewed as a message variable, is significantly related to the emergence of task leadership     

À La Carte Learning

ABSTRACT

Orientation for distance students often does not equal the ideal teachable moment for learning about library resources and services. Seeking ways to provide learning objects for students to use at the point of need, academic health sciences librarians have created printable guides, Flash video demonstrations and simulations, and interactive tutorials. This electronic poster demonstrates how the learning objects were created, modified, and inserted into various delivery platforms, such as the library's web page, course management system, and CD-ROM.     

Problem‐solving performance in naturalistic groups: A test of the ecological validity of the functional perspective

Critics argue that the use of zero‐history laboratory samples to study the processes of small‐group communication lacks ecological validity and limits our ability to determine the usefulness of small group communication theories for the everyday practitioner. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the functional perspective of small‐group communication has real‐world significance by testing its predictive ability in naturalistic problem‐solving groups in an organizational setting. Statistical analyses provided partial support for the relationship between functional requisites and problem‐solving performance in an applied setting. Specifically, analysis of the problem, orientation/establishment of operating procedures, and evaluation of the positive consequences of alternatives were each found to have an independent main effect on the level of decision utility.     

A study of the relative effectiveness of climax and anti‐climax order in an argumentative speech∗

Two experiments examine the relationship between ambiguity tolerance as a personality trait and verbal behavior. In the first experiment Bales’ IPA system was used to analyze a group discussion. The high ambiguity tolerators dramatized almost three times as much as the low ambiguity tolerators. In the second experiment, only two of the IPA categories were used, dramatizes and gives opinion. No differences were found in the gives opinion category. In the dramatizes category, however, the same effect was found again.     

Shaw,Caesar, and the critics

This study examined the extent to which the destruction of trust of one group member by another, influenced the quality of communication in a small group discussion. A nonfluency category system was applied to verbal data. Under trust‐destroying conditions, results indicated substantial decreases in verbal fluency of a naive subject, as well as the remaining group members.     

Understanding the psychometric properties of the humor assessment instrument through an analysis of the relationships between teacher humor assessment and instructional communication variables in the college classroom

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the newly developed Humor Assessment (HA) instrument. Previous research (Wrench & McCroskey, 2001) noted a construct validity problem with the Humor Orientation (HO) scale created by M. Booth‐Butterfield and S. Booth‐Butterfield (1991). This study examined the relationships between the HA, which corrects the construct validity problem seen in the HO, and affective learning, nonverbal immediacy, cognitive learning, learning loss, student motivation, and teacher credibility.     

The Special Library on Campus

Abstract

A library and media center orientation program was developed for administrators, faculty and support staff after examining their information seeking behaviors, prior research, and demographics of this group. The goal of the orientation was to promote the library's and media center's services and resources; to encourage this user group to make use of them; and to teach the basic skills needed to address their information needs. This article includes a literature review; explanation of the processes involved in creating a library orientation program for this group; and discussion including ideas and thoughts as to where further research about this user group or library orientation programs might be beneficial.     

PART VIII: THE ECONOMICS OF INFORMATION ACCESS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Traditionally the distance clinical laboratory science students visit Winston-Salem State University three or four times during the course of the semester. These visits are usually for orientation and testing purposes. While the students are aware that there is a library on campus, they are not familiar with all of the library's electronic resources that they have access to from their home computers. The distance and health science librarians decided to collaborate to design an informational CD-ROM specifically for these students.     

Ethnic stereotyping and judgments of children's speech

This study examined the relationship between quality of communication and the product of the small group. The purposes of the study were (1) to manipulate the quality of communication in problem‐solving groups, (2) to determine whether groups actually experienced communication of varying quality, and, if so, (3) to determine whether groups experiencing high quality communication produced a high quality product. Quality of communication was measured by the Leathers Feedback Rating Instrument. Quality of product was measured by a new Productivity Rating Instrument developed for this study. Results showed a strong, positive relationship between quality of communication and group product.     

Communication patterns,sex, and length of verbalization in speech of four‐year‐old children

The mean length of verbalization of 56 four‐year‐old Head Start children was measured in four communication patterns—dyad, triad, small group, and role‐playing triad. The children produced more speech in the small group than in the dyad. Differences between other patterns were not significant. Similar results were obtained when repetitions of words and phrases were eliminated. Females produced, more speech than males in all communication patterns.     

Redesigning library orientation for first-year medical students during the pandemic

Background:Prior to 2020, library orientation for first-year medical students at Weill Cornell Medicine took the form of an on-site treasure hunt competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the orientation for the MD class of 2024 was shifted to an all-virtual format. This shift mandated a full redesign of the library orientation.Case Presentation:The Samuel J. Wood Library sought to preserve the excitement and fun of the treasure hunt in the new virtual format. The competition was redesigned as a Zoom meeting using breakout rooms, with library faculty and staff serving as team facilitators. Tasks were rewritten, shifting the focus from the library''s physical spaces to its virtual services and online resources. The redesigned orientation was evaluated using two data sources: a postsession survey of student participants and a debriefing of the library employees who participated. Student evaluations were positive, while the faculty and staff provided numerous suggestions for improving future virtual orientations.Conclusions:A successful virtual library orientation requires careful preparation, including testing the competition tasks, full rehearsal with library facilitators, and a thoughtful approach to technology and logistics. We have chosen to share the materials we developed for other academic health sciences libraries that may wish to take a similar approach to their own virtual orientations.     

Taking Assessment on the Road

Abstract

This paper presents the results of focus groups conducted by Utah academic librarians at branch campuses in Utah. Librarians met with distance learners on-site to gain insights into their informationseeking behavior and to learn if they are using library services. Students rely heavily on the Web for information and also utilize known resources in friends and family. Marketing and publicizing library services through classes and at the delivery sites is vital. Students appreciate the services libraries offer and strongly prefer face-to-face instruction and direct assistance from a librarian.     

Outreach to Distance Learners

Summary

It is the responsibility of any institution offering distance education programs to provide library resources and services for its students. In contrast to traditional students who can find the library on a campus map and go there, distance learners need orientation in order to “find their way” to their library. Librarians must be proactive in their efforts to make the library visible and accessible to these students. Library resources and services must be made available in ways compatible with the needs of students in these programs. The processes of designing, marketing, providing and evaluating appropriate library services demand continuous outreach to the distance education community.     

The Role of Cooperation in Creating a Library Online Tutorial

SUMMARY

Reference librarians at St. Charles Community College discovered the benefits of cooperation when they began the process of creating an online library tutorial. In the fall of 1999, librarians realized that their walk-in library sessions were becoming ineffective due to poor attendance by students. The tours didn't fit into on-campus students' busy schedules, and failed to serve distance students at all. Two reference librarians decided to work together to create a web-based tutorial introducing students to library online resources. It was an informal process that started with information gathering on what tutorials exist, how they were developed and what type of software was used. After the librarians decided on the format and appropriate software, they brought together their creative and technical strengths to design an appealing and functional tutorial. To create a “virtual tour” of the library's physical layout, the librarians also collaborated with the Instructional Support Center, a group of educational technology specialists who are part of SCC's community college consortium. The tutorial was completed in only a year, partly because working in a small library allows for constant contact between the librarians, but also due to the efficiency of using cooperation. This successful collaborative project eventually won the Missouri Community College Association's 2001 Technology Innovation Award.     

The meaning of “power”

This investigation attempted to (a) determine how individuals in positions of status and authority respond to the concept of power, and (b) develop an instrument that could be used to measure an individual's power orientation. The inquiry represented a preliminary step toward explorations of the theoretical proposition that there is a relationship between power orientation and overt communication behavior. The responses of over 500 individuals in supervisory positions in business, industry, government, and law enforcement to items reflecting thirty‐seven possible “meanings” of power were factor analyzed. The following six power orientations explain much of the variance in the way individuals are oriented toward the concept of powers (a) power as good; (b) power as resource dependency; (c) pofer as instinctive drive; (d) power as political; (e) power as charisma; and (f) power as control and autonomy. A forty‐item Power Orientation Scale was developed to measure these orientations.     

News and notes

Some groups of subjects who were high on orientation, and some low, engaged in problem‐solving discussion. Three subjects from each group had endorsed the most liberal position of the problem, three the most conservative. High orientation groups came closest to achieving consensus after discussion. Individual's self‐perception of orientation was also investigated.     

Distance Education and Virtual Reference

Abstract

Texas A&M University Libraries has been testing virtual reference services since February 2004, but during the fall semester 2005, the Libraries began implementing and actively promoting the services to various target groups. Distance education students were identified as a primary target group for virtual reference services, and as of the fall semester 2005, approximately 1,600 students were enrolled in 190 distance education classes. This paper presents the Libraries plan for promoting virtual reference services to distance education students and faculty and for evaluating the plan.