Introduction: Intercultural Studies within Central States

The study of intercultural communication (IC) has a long history in the Central States Communication Association (CSCA). Some of the earliest work in IC has come from universities in the CSCA region, such as Indiana University (William Starosta) and University of Minnesota (Vernon Jensen and Rosita Albert). Since the inception of the Intercultural Communication Interest Group within CSCA in the early 1990s, IC scholars have contributed immensely to the discipline by studying different aspects of the relationship between communication and culture. Several active IC scholars present their recollections of the development of IC research in this issue.     

Sex as an Intergroup Arena: How Women and Gender Minorities Conceptualize Sex,Sexuality, and Sexual Health

We present a qualitative analysis of 186 women and gender minorities’ definitions of sex, sexuality, and sexual health, as well as their accounts of how those concepts changed for them over time. Participants describe these phenomena as communicative, layered, and related to identity. Definitions of sex produced themes of intimacy, consent, and who is involved; definitions of sexuality involved sexual orientation, sexual expression, and personal identity; definitions of sexual health included communication skills, an emphasis on physical and emotional health, and prevention and maintenance. Using the Communication Theory of Identity as a lens to guide our analysis and discussion, we argue that sex, sexuality, and sexual health are intergroup arenas that require an acknowledgment of group membership.     

Interiority as Epistemology: Situating Myself in the Central States Communication Association

I describe my approach to writing this essay as one of interiority, of exploring my deep inner thoughts and reflections on why I did what I did in CSCA over the years. Beyond saying that my CSCA activities were my attempt to be a good citizen of the academy through what is normalized as professional participation, I, through deeper reflection, now aim to write an African American female scholar’s interiority as discursive content.     

Chronemics in Instructor–Student E-Mail Communication: An Experimental Examination of Student Evaluations of Instructor Response Speeds

Text-based computer-mediated communication (e.g., e-mail) lacks nonverbal cues afforded by traditional face-to-face interaction in the classroom. A lack of cues may cause students to place increased importance on elements that are still present, such as how long it takes an instructor to respond to a message. This study experimentally explored how instructor e-mail response speed and message content interact to influence student perceptions of instructor interpersonal attraction and credibility. Results (N = 385) suggested that the quicker an instructor responds to a student e-mail message, the more positively s/he is evaluated in terms of social attractiveness, task attractiveness, competence, character, and caring. However, the content of the message did not significantly influence student perceptions of the instructor. These findings offer practical implications for instructor e-mail communication in the classroom and extend what is known about chronemics in computer-mediated communication to the instructional setting.     

浅析如何培养高职高专学生的实际英语语言应用能力

本文针对高职高专非英语专业学生在英语学习过程中出现的语言知识与语言能力背离现象进行了探因分析,并根据教学实践就如何使语言输入—吸收—输出这一语言学习过程中的三要素进行最佳结合,提出了自己的看法,即输入与交际结合,讲解与操练并行,培养学生具有较强的实际语言应用能力。     

Consuming to Cope: Investigating College Students’ Expressive Suppression as an Indirect Effect of Family Communication and Drinking Context

This study explored relationships between family communication patterns, college students’ expressive suppression, and drinking to cope, aiming to assess whether suppression might represent an indirect effect in the relationship between conformity orientation and drinking to cope. Participants (N = 251) completed an online questionnaire analyzed using CFA and SEM. Results indicated that conformity orientation has a small impact on drinking to cope and that conformity orientation predicts suppression. Specifically, students from protective family types tend to use suppression more and are more likely to drink to cope. Results also demonstrated a small relationship between suppression and drinking to cope. Lastly, college students’ use of suppression acts as an indirect effect in explaining a small part of the association between conformity orientation and drinking to cope.     

试论翻译的跨文化内涵

翻译是一种跨文化活动，其过程是用一种语言形式再现另一种语言形式里的内容。因此翻译的时候理解两种语言的跨文化内涵，是值得译者注意的一个重要内容。     

Math Anxiety,Need for Cognition,and Learning Strategies in Quantitative Communication Research Methods Courses

To understand student learning in undergraduate quantitative communication research methods course, this study examined relationships between perceptions of course topic difficulty, course topic understanding, and their relationship with students’ level of math anxiety, need for cognition, and learning strategies. A total of 196 participants voluntarily took part in this study. Results revealed that a higher level of math anxiety leads to a higher level of perceived learning difficulty for topics in the course and leads to a lower level of content understanding of the topics. For topics related to “Research Methods and Measurement,” a higher level of need for cognition results in a lower level of perceived learning difficulty and results in a higher level of content understanding. Use of critical thinking learning strategy has a significantly positive effect on perceived content understanding of topics related to “Research Methods and Measurement,” as does elaboration learning strategy on that of “Statistics.”     

秦汉－－魏晋南北朝时期云南民族融合研究

随着民族融合途径由单一性向多样化的转变、云南各民族之间的变化交流日趋密切，由此引发化冲突、民族融合等一系列连锁反应，形成这一时期云南民族融合不平衡性和渐进性的特点。     

Native science,intercultural education and place‐conscious education: an Ecuadorian example

This paper explores ways to bring together local and global knowledge systems in the context of education. It first discusses the concepts of native science and of intercultural education, key ideas in Ecuadorian indigenous education today. Both of these concepts seek to unite the local and the global in new ways. It explores the views of Ecuadorian indigenous educators and leaders around issues of education and science. The primary need voiced by these individuals is that of defending their communities against various kinds of encroachment, economic as well as cultural, and the enterprise of education is viewed within this reality. Finally, the paper discusses the paradigm of place‐conscious education, which the author argues is a unifying conceptual framework that speaks to the concerns voiced by these educators as well as those of educators elsewhere.