Antecedents of communication apprehension: A reaffirmation

This study examines the relationship between communication apprehension (CA) and students’ self‐reports of their communication experiences in interpersonal, small group, and public circumstances with peers, parents, and teachers. Questions concerning these experiences were posed from reinforcement, modeling, and social comparison perspectives. The strongest relationships were found between CA and reinforcement oriented questions that involved teachers in public speaking settings. Those with high CA found giving speeches with teachers present to be non‐rewarding The study also found support for a relationship between modeling and CA.     

An assessment of the role of communication apprehension in communicating with the terminally ill

Students who reported being high or low communication apprehensives in interpersonal encounters were asked to read a letter from a terminally or not terminally ill patient and write a letter in reply. These students also completed a variety of self‐report measures. In essence, high CAs were found to be less willing to communicate, less willing to volunteer, less willing to work with terminal patients, and felt less confident about their communication than low CAs. High CAs also disclosed less to terminal patients than did people in any other circumstance. Further, terminal patients who were depicted as quiet received less self‐disclosure and less communication that was sensitive to their perspective than did those in any other circumstance.     

Two studies concerning the predictive validity of the personal report of communication apprehension in employment interviews

Two studies were conducted to provide evidence concerning the predictive validity of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension in Employment Interviews (PRCAEI). The first study, conducted in a laboratory setting, indicated that those who scored relatively high on the PRCAEI were recommended to be hired less often than those with relatively low PRCAEI scores. High PRCAEIs were also seen as less trustworthy, less task oriented, and less socially attractive than low PRCAEIs. The second study, conducted in the field, found a negative relationship (‐.84) between candidates’ scores on the PRCAEI and the rank they were given by an interviewer. That is, the higher one's PRCAEI score, the lower interviewers ranked him or her relative to others interviewing for the position. These studies offer strong support for the predictive validity of the PRCAEI and suggest CA is an extremely important variable in job interviews.     

Visualization: The next generation

The purpose of this study was to determine whether adding an educational component to visualization (a procedure designed to reduce public speaking apprehension) increases the effectiveness of visualization. These data indicate that combining visualization and education is superior to either education or visualization alone or a no treatment control group in reducing self‐reported public speaking apprehension.     

Strategic pay reform: A student outcomes-based evaluation of Denver's ProComp teacher pay initiative

Denver Public Schools utilizes one of the nation's highest profile alternative teacher compensation systems, and a key element of Denver's Professional Compensation System for Teachers (ProComp) is pay for performance. This study analyzes the student achievement implications of ProComp utilizing matched student- and teacher-level data from 2003 to 2010. We find that student achievement increased during the years ProComp was implemented, but that these gains were observed for students taught by teachers enrolled in ProComp's alternative compensation system as well as non-participating teachers. While the findings are not consistent across grades and subjects, there is some evidence that teachers voluntarily opting into ProComp are more effective than those who do not volunteer. Finally, some ProComp bonuses were well targeted towards value-added measures of teacher effectiveness while others were not.     

2003年火星离地球最近

Mars recently emerged into the morning sky andhas begun an orbital(轨道的)dance with Earththat will,over the next several months,lead tothe best viewing opportunity since Neanderthals(穴居人)looked skyward. To get ready for this momentous(重大的)skywatch—ing event,now would be a fine time to reacquaint(重新认识)yourself with the Red Planet[maps/charts].All during