The impact of communication apprehension on college student retention and success

Communication apprehension is conceptualized as a causal agent in student success. It is implicated in both academic and interpersonal success, two factors identified by prior resesarch as primary predictors of persistence. A four year longitudinal study of the impact of communication apprehension on grade point average and persistence at the university level was conducted. Results indicated high CA students were significantly more likely to drop out and attain lower grade point averages compared to low CA students. The impact of CA was strongest during the first two years. A replication of the study confirmed the impact of CA on student persistence. It is concluded the impact of CA on the probablity of high CA students’ survival in college is substantial and this impact adds to the case favoring the provision of training programs to assist such students overcome their apprehension about communication.     

Communication Correlates of Perceived Machiavellianism of Supervisors: Communication Orientations and Outcomes

This paper reports the development of the Perceived Supervisor Machiavellian Measure (PSMM) for use in the organizational communication context. Data were drawn from full-time employees who were part-time graduate students in a corporate and organizational communication program. Employees' perceptions of supervisor Machiavellianism were negatively related to employees' perceptions of supervisor credibility (competence, caring, and trustworthiness), employees' attitudes toward the supervisor, employee motivation, and employee job satisfaction. Supervisors' perceived communication behaviors (nonverbal immediacy, responsiveness, and assertiveness) accounted for a significant amount of variance in perceived supervisor Machiavellianism. The results support a general model of supervisor behavior and provide a foundation for future research in organizational communication.     

Letters to the editor

This study examines editorial photography in nine major erotica magazines to determine how pictures vary as a function of the social class, gender and sexual preference of the intended readership. The analysis reveals that upwardly‐mobile, heterosexual men are treated to idealized images, whereas working‐class, heterosexual men are presented with more mundane yet highly‐sexualized images. Heterosexual women are provided with photographs of nude males in a low‐sexual context. Magazines for homosexual men present images, except for gender, very similar to those created for upwardly‐mobile, heterosexual men. These patterns are discussed from a functionalist perspective to show how erotica magazines contribute to social‐order maintenance.     

Relational Framing Theory: Utterance Form and Relational Context as Antecedents of Frame Salience

Using relational framing theory, this article examines the influence of utterance type and relational context on the salience of relational frames. The authors report the results of two studies that used scenarios to manipulate utterance form and information about the relationship between interactants. Participants rated the relevance of dominance-submissiveness and affiliation-disaffiliation frames to interpreting the hypothetical interactions. Results showed that judgments of dominance-submissiveness frame salience were sensitive to variations in utterance type and relational context, but the results were mixed for the affiliation-disaffiliation frame. The authors discuss the implications for relational framing theory and the possibility of an affiliation bias.     

The casualisation of teaching and the subject at risk

The casualisation of teaching in Australian higher education has come to be problematised as a risk to the quality of teaching and learning. However, the potential and location of risk, and therefore what constitutes an appropriate institutional intervention, requires interrogation as universities comply with the various regulations that, on the one hand, legitimise further casualisation in the name of flexibility, and on the other, insist on institutional responsibilities in the performance of quality. Taking a critical approach to risk consciousness, this paper examines the way casualisation is produced through workplace reform and problematised as a danger to the student learning experience through the quality agenda in Australian higher education. By examining the tensions between the discourses of flexibility and quality, the authors argue that casualisation should not simply be understood as a problem with individual teaching expertise that can be overcome through formal training of the individual. The neo-liberal political rationality that seeks to individuate responsibility and locate “risk” in this way masks the broader systemic tensions within the culture of the university which the authors argue have increasingly profound consequences for the quality of university education. Arguing that professional learning and quality enhancement are the product of open collaborative and collegial social practice, the authors conclude that addressing casualisation only in terms of systematic teacher training is a politically expedient response to a highly complex political issue facing Australian universities. Drawing on professional learning literature, the authors argue for a shift in policy and practice within the university to recognise, value and integrate the expertise and potential quality contribution of casual teaching staff at a micro-level with a particular focus on the teaching team.     

The influence of intercultural communication apprehension and socio‐communicative orientation on uncertainty reduction during initial cross‐cultural interaction

This study is an investigation of the influence of intercultural communication apprehension, socio‐communicative orientation, and uncertainty during initial cross‐cultural communication. Prior to interacting with unknown partners from another culture, participants completed measures of intercultural communication apprehension and socio‐communicative orientation. After interacting with their partners, participants completed measures of uncertainty. As predicted, intercultural communication apprehension was positively associated with uncertainty. Also as predicted intercultural communication apprehension was negatively correlated with socio‐communicative orientation. A third hypothesis, which was partially supported, posited that socio‐communicative orientation would be negatively correlated with uncertainty.     

A psychological pattern of anxiety in public speaking

In previous research, a physiological pattern of speech anxiety has been established for the periods before, during, and after delivering a public speech. However, no corresponding psychological pattern has been reported. Although strong correlations between psychological and physiological measures have not been found, it seemed reasonable to expect public speakers to exhibit a psychological pattern of speech anxiety similar to the physiological pattern. The results of this study support that hypothesis. The observed pattern is a monotonic function decreasing from the beginning of the speech through the post speech period.     

Teaching lifespan development: an experiential approach

The main purpose of this article is to describe a student exercise about ageing which is part of a university course about the lifespan for social workers. The year‐long course covers development from infancy to old age. In order to describe the context for the ageing exercise, the article also summarises exercises done by students prior to that about ageing. The ageing exercise could be generalised to shorter courses, to ones dealing solely with the elderly, and is suitable for both applied and theory‐based curricula, and to both undergraduate and continuing education. This exercise is compatible with an experiential and reflective approach to learning. Dealing with elderly people is often personally challenging for students as the elderly are at a different part of the life cycle from that of students’ usual friends and acquaintances. The exercise helps students to cope with the unfamiliarity of dealing with individuals unlike themselves, and often proves to be an enriching experience for them. At the same time it enhances their understanding and subsequent ability to relate to the elderly.