The relationship between student communication motives and perceived instructor communicator style

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student communication motives (i.e., relational, functional, participatory, excuse‐making, sycophantic) and perceived instructor communicator style (i.e., friendly, impression leaving, relaxed, contentious, attentive, precise, animated, dramatic, open, dominant). Participants were 228 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of communication courses at a small Midwestern university. Results indicate that (a) the perceived instructor communicator style attributes of impression leaving, friendly, and contentious predict student use of the relational motive, (b) the attribute of friendly predicts student use of the functional motive, (c) the attributes of animated, contentious, and friendly predict student use of the participatory motive, (d) the attributes of attentive and contentious predict student use of the excuse‐making motive, and (e) the attributes of contentious and friendly predict student use of the sycophantic motive.     

An instructor self‐disclosure scale

This ‐paper introduces the Instructor Self‐Disclosure Scale and reports on two initial studies that address the reliability and validity of the scale. The Instructor Self‐Disclosure Scale is an 18‐item measure of the amount of instructor self‐disclosure. In Study One, instructor self‐disclosure was positively related to the student motives of relational, excuse‐making, and sycophancy. In Study Two, instructor self‐disclosure was positively related to out‐of‐class communication, the student interest dimensions of meaningfulness and impact, and cognitive learning. Additionally, the Instructor Self‐Disclosure Scale appears to be a unidimensional, internally reliable measure.     

The Theory of Planned Behavior and College Students' Willingness to Talk about Smoking-Related Behaviors

More than 60% of college students admit to trying smoking (Rigotti, Lee, & Wechsler, 2000 Rigotti , N. , Lee , J. E. , & Wechsler , H. ( 2000 ). U.S. college students' use of tobacco products: Results of a national survey . Journal of the American Medical Association , 284 , 699 – 706 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). To reduce this number, researchers have attempted to determine factors influencing smoking behaviors. However, studies about communicative acts related to smoking intentions and behaviors, which may be factors, are lacking. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study hypothesized that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control regarding communicating about smoking would be positively associated with behavioral intentions to engage in such communication. It was found that students' attitudes toward communicating about smoking were positively associated with behavioral intention, but perceived behavioral control and subjective norms concerning smoking-related communication behaviors were not associated with behavioral intention.     

An Examination of Aggression and Adaption Traits with Moral Foundation

ABSTRACT

Moral Foundation Theory forwards that morality is a traitlike disposition that guides one's behaviors, attitudes, and communication. This study examined the relationship between participants' moral foundations and their aggressive and adaptation communication traits. Results of this study suggest that the foundations that concern others (i.e., harm/care and fairness/reciprocity) were associated negatively to verbal aggressiveness, argumentativeness, and Machiavellianism and associated positively with responsiveness, assertiveness, and cognitive flexibility. The foundations that concern socially binding constructs (i.e., in-group/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity) were negatively related to Machiavellianism and cognitive flexibility.     

Repeated Exposure to Daytime Soap Opera and Shifts in Moral Judgment Toward Social Convention

This study examined the influence of prolonged exposure to soap opera on character dispositions and real-world moral judgments. Eight groups viewed from 0–7 weeks of soap opera prior to a final week after which participants completed measures of disposition towards show characters as well as perceptions of morality in real-world situations. Results demonstrated the effect of prolonged exposure on both the polarization of dispositions toward characters and a trend in moral judgments toward social convention. These findings highlight the role of disposition within social cognitive theory, and the importance of dispositional considerations in understanding learned morality.     

Public Library Evaluation: A Retrospective on the Evolution of Measurement Systems

This article aims to provide a historical and contemporary perspective on how public libraries establish indicators for measuring success, using the Free Library of Philadelphia as a focus of analysis. From the 1970s though the late 1980s, libraries focused on measuring internal statistics, such as bibliographic resources, to communicate the strength of their collection. Within the past twenty years, libraries have shifted their measurement structures toward outward performance in the communities they serve. The challenge today for libraries such as the Free Library is to establish structured formats for guiding community plans for their particular library and establishing agreed-on measures. Simultaneously, these structures need to incorporate ongoing evaluation methods.     

Text Mining and Subject Analysis for Fiction; or,Using Machine Learning and Information Extraction to Assign Subject Headings to Dime Novels

Abstract

This article describes multiple experiments in text mining at Northern Illinois University that were undertaken to improve the efficiency and accuracy of cataloging. It focuses narrowly on subject analysis of dime novels, a format of inexpensive fiction that was popular in the United States between 1860 and 1915. NIU holds more than 55,000 dime novels in its collections, which it is in the process of comprehensively digitizing. Classification, keyword extraction, named-entity recognition, clustering, and topic modeling are discussed as means of assigning subject headings to improve their discoverability by researchers and to increase the productivity of digitization workflows.     

Virtuality,Technology Use,and Engagement Within Organizations

Multinational organizations are turning to collaborative technology to enable virtual organizational structures. While collaborative technology provides distributed workers with new affordances to form relationships and share knowledge, collaborative technology also has complex, interwoven implications for virtual organizing. To disentangle these concerns, this study considers four key dimensions of virtuality—spatial dispersion, temporal dispersion, dynamic structure, and functional diversity—in relation to technology use and engagement with peers within an organization. Survey data were collected in a multinational organization that facilitates work through extensive use of collaborative technology. The results of structural equation modeling reveal connections between two dimensions of virtuality, use of collaborative technology and peer engagement in the organization. Findings suggest that understanding interactions in virtual organizations requires a more nuanced approach to virtuality and active management of technology implementation. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that managers need to actively manage the deployment of new collaborative technology by focusing on specific characteristics of work groups.     

Big Data: An Introduction for Librarians

Modern life produces data at an astounding rate and shows no signs of slowing. This has lead to new advances in data storage and analysis and the concept of “big data,” that is, massive data sets that can yield surprising insights when analyzed. This column will briefly describe what big data is and why it is important. It will also briefly explore the possibilities and problems of big data and the implications it has for librarians. A list of big data projects and resources is also included.     

The “Internet of Things”: What It Is and What It Means for Libraries

The “Internet of Things” is a popular buzzword but a poorly understood concept. In short, it refers to everyday objects that can sense the environment around them and communicate that data to other objects and services via the Internet. This column will briefly explain what the Internet of Things is and how it might be useful for libraries. It will also discuss some of the problems with and objections to this technology. A list of currently available Internet of Things examples is also included.