Text mining in business libraries

This article considers the increase in business research that involves text-mining techniques. The authors provide a brief survey of possible text-mining applications in business school research, the steps and life cycle of text-mining projects, and a text-mining case study from Vanderbilt University Library and the Owen Graduate School of Management. The authors give suggestions on how libraries and librarians can increase skills and services to partner with researchers and support this form of research.     

The Family Environment of “Quick-Witted” Persons: Birth Order,Family Communication Patterns,and Creative Facility

“Creative facility” refers to the ease, rapidity, or fluency with which people are able to formulate and produce novel, appropriate messages. Previous research indicates that people differ in this regard and that the phenomenon is linked to various personality and cognitive-style variables. This study aims to investigate whether aspects of family structure (i.e., birth order) and family processes (i.e., family communication patterns) are related to creative facility. Results indicated a significant interaction between birth order and family conversation orientation such that, for first-borns, higher levels of conversation orientation were associated with slower message production. No effects were observed for family conformity orientation. Among the implications of the findings is the need to assess birth order in studies of family communication patterns.     

A Comprehensive Model for Addressing Severe and Persistent Mental Illness on Campuses: The New Diversity Initiative

In response to the increase in severity and prevalence of student‐presented mental disorders on college campuses, a comprehensive campuswide identification and intervention program titled “The New Diversity Initiative” was developed to help college counselors and student personnel staff address students with severe mental disorders. Details of the program and recommendations for college counselors interested in implementing such a program are provided.     

Verbal retelling abilities in adolescents with and without language-learning disabilities for social studies lectures

Verbal retelling abilities for social studies lectures were examined and compared in 20 adolescent boys, ages 12-5 to 14-7, with language-learning disabilities (LLD) and 29 with normal language abilities (NL). Participants viewed one videotaped social studies lecture with a comparison expository discourse structure and one with a causation discourse structure. Following each lecture presentation, participants verbally retold the lecture. Results of several repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated that the group with LLD produced a significantly smaller number of T-units, subordinate clauses, subordinate clauses per T-unit, T-units per second, lecture components per second, and percentage of lecture components in their retellings, compared with the group with NL, regardless of lecture type. Both groups produced a significantly greater number of T-units and subordinate clauses for the comparison lecture. By contrast, both groups recalled a significantly greater number of lecture components per T-unit and per second for the causation lecture. Results indicated that the comparison discourse structure facilitated more substantive and elaborate retellings, whereas the causation discourse structure facilitated more efficient, concise retellings in both groups. Research and instructional implications are discussed.     

“More alike than different”: learning about diversity from people with disabilities

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Health Communication, Intercultural Communication

Objectives: After completing this semester-long activity students, should be able to (1) apply course concepts (i.e., stereotypes, identity, listening, language, and conflict) to diverse real-world scenarios; (2) explain the utility of intergroup contact theory in relationship to communication and social diversity; (3) critically reflect on social diversity explored through communication behaviors; and (4) develop communication competence toward diverse others, specifically persons with disabilities (PWDs).     

Improvements in school climate associated with enhanced health and welfare services for students

School improvement initiatives are needed to better meet the needs of underprivileged students, to reduce underachievement and to break a continuing cycle of disadvantage. This article describes part of a school improvement initiative in New Zealand that provided additional funding for school nurse and social worker services in nine secondary schools with the most disadvantaged students in New Zealand. It describes the nature and delivery of services provided by the social workers in these schools. In addition, the article reports changes over time in staff and student views about school climate including a comparison with non-participating schools of similar socioeconomic status. The findings indicated that school climate is a useful intermediate measure of the effectiveness of school improvement initiatives. There were significant improvements in staff views about school climate over time, with staff views about school climate becoming more favourable on scales measuring Improvements in the Last 12 Months and Support for Ethnic Diversity compared to eight non-participating schools. Student views were more favourable on scales measuring Satisfaction with School, Support for Achievement and Support for Ethnic Diversity, compared to the non-participating schools.