Simulation in Higher Education: A sociomaterial view

This article presents a sociomaterial account of simulation in higher education. Sociomaterial approaches change the ontological and epistemological bases for understanding learning and offer valuable tools for addressing important questions about relationships between university education and professional practices. Simulation has grown in many disciplines as a means to bring the two closer together. However, the theoretical underpinnings of simulation pedagogy are limited. This paper extends the wider work of applying sociomaterial approaches to educational phenomena, taking up Schatzki’s practice theory as a distinctive basis for doing so. The question ‘What is being simulated?’ is posed, prompting discussion of multiple bodies, performances and experiences. The potential of adopting such a framework for understanding simulation as a pedagogic practice that brings the classroom and workplace together is illustrated with reference to clinical education in nursing.     

Prisons,old cars,and Christmas trees: A metaphoric analysis of familial communication

This paper is a metaphoric analysis that explores college students’ perceptions of their families in relation to their family of origin, concept of family, and family communication. Metaphors were thematically analyzed and placed in categories of positive, negative and neutral responses given by individuals. Constant comparative method was also used to identify themes and dimensions among the metaphors. Throughout the results, students had an overwhelmingly positive attitude toward their family of origin and the concept of family. Responses about family communication, however, tended to range mainly from a neutral to negative perception. Additional results, implications, and future directions for family communication research are also discussed.     

Copyright and Regulation

Information Hotline, “Special Copyright Issue, (November 1976)“ (Science Associates/International, Inc., 1841 Broadway, New York 10023—$8.50, paper, with a discount scale for bulk purchase)

Copyright Revision Act of 1976: Law, Explanation, Committee Reports (Commerce Clearing House, Inc., 4025 West Peterson Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60646—$12.50, paper)

Media Law Reporter has come to light since the brief note in the January issue (see 8:52)

Robert Trager and Donna L. Dickerson's College Student Press Law (NCCPA Publications, School of Journalism, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701—$5.00, paper)

William Ruckelshaus and Elie Abel, eds. Freedom of the Press (Washington: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1976—$2.50, paper)

Richard Olin Berner's Constraints on the Regulatory Process: A Case Study of Regulation of Cable Television (Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Co., 1976—price not given, but about $15.00)     

THE BERLIN NEWSPAPER DER PANZERBÄR,APRIL 1945

The Berlin newspaper Der Panzerbär, which functioned briefly in April 1945, is of historical interest to the study of propaganda, and that of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) in particular. The newspaper's contents reveal the NSDAP propaganda machine functioning in circumstances of immediate violence and utter irrationality. The involvement of NSDAP propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels in the newspaper is documented, although it appears to have been peripheral. Its contents, which are consistent with what has been written about Goebbels’ late-war approaches, reveal the last stand of NSDAP propaganda mythology, as well as efforts to link the NSDAP cause to that of European civilization – all underscored by threats from both internal and external sources.     

Slavic‐Related Pamphlets from the Communist Party USA's Reference Center for Marxist Studies

This article describes the nearly 1,000 Slavic‐related pamphlets acquired in 2006 by New York University's Tamiment Library from the Reference Center for Marxist Studies, which was the library of the Communist Party USA.     

Relational messages in conflict situations among siblings

The purpose of this study was to explore the association of sibling conflict style (i.e., integrative, distributive, avoidant) with perceived relational communication themes (i.e., immediacy, similarity, receptivity, composure, formality, dominance, equality, task orientation). Participants were 186 undergraduate students who reported on a recent conflict episode with a sibling. Results indicate that (a) siblings who used the relational communication themes of immediacy, similarity, receptivity, composure, and equality reported using the integrative conflict strategy, but not the distributive conflict strategy, and (b) siblings who used the relational communication theme of immediacy and to a lesser extent the theme of task orientation, but not the relational communication themes of similarity and equality, reported not using the avoidant conflict strategy.     

On‐the‐job relationships among self‐reported oral communication apprehension,job satisfaction,and organizational citizenship behaviors

This study assessed the relationships among self‐reported oral communication apprehension (CA), job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) for employees of a bank located in the southeastern U.S. Results indicated positive relationships between several of the job satisfaction and OCB variables, and several negative relationships between oral CA and OCB variables, and oral CA and job satisfaction variables. Also, individuals with high oral CA, in comparison to those with low oral CA, were found to score significantly lower on dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior and job satisfaction. Implications of these findings for the organization are discussed, as are reactions to the research findings by bank personnel.     

Notes on Contributors

The study reported herein aimed to identify and discuss the nature and pattern of the uses of new media through a notable YouTube phenomenon. It analyzed 132 online videos centered on ‘Bus Uncle,’ a YouTube celebrity who rose into fame in Hong Kong during April 2006. Most of the videos drew references from local popular culture texts. They were mostly playful and sarcastic in their undertones. The collective behaviors in YouTube suggest that this hugely popular video-sharing site takes on the roles as public space, a playground and a cultural public sphere.