Ephraim Okoro

Eportfolios in Business Communication Courses as Tools for Employment.

Eportfolios are a powerful tool for business students to gain self-awareness and take control of their learning experiences. Ideally, they can be used as online profiles in the job application process, allowing more authenticity, personalization, and completeness than traditional résumés. In our colleges, eportfolios help students reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and form goals for professional development. Overall, however, our students’ eportfolios lack the professional touch of their résumés. We believe extensive coordination within a college is required to help business students create eportfolios that they can use to market themselves for professional positions.

A Measured Approach to Adopting New Media in the Business Communication Classroom.

introduces students to the functionality of this virtual world. For the second, she morphs a traditional assignment into a new media one, the job interview. Using Second Life as well, Kendra Carmichael, with the assistance of her colleagues, developed the fictional company AxeCorp that could more closely simulate the exigencies of a “real-world” corporate office than the two-dimensional website they had used previously. Students were assigned various roles as employees and “real” executives were enlisted to fill supervisory positions. In the final article of the column, authors Jennifer and Christophe Veltsos provide a cautionary note. Although technology-mediated communication certainly provides a wealth of options for teaching and learning, it can also infringe on a student’s right to privacy, violate the fair use of intellectual property, or breach the regulations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. They provide excellent advice and resources for instructors who plan to incorporate new media in their courses.

Perceptions of Civility for Mobile Phone Use in Formal and Informal Meetings

We report our survey research about what American business professionals consider appropriate or civil mobile phone behavior during formal and informal meetings. The findings come from two of our recent research studies: an open-ended survey of 204 employees at a beverage distributor on the East Coast and a nationwide, random-sample survey of 350 business professionals in the United States. There were significant differences by age, group, gender, region, and income level. The differences between women and men were quite striking, with men nearly twice as likely to consider various mobile phone behaviors as acceptable in informal meetings.

Land reform, land rights, and development challenges in Nigeria: A focus on the Niger Delta

1. Introduction: Natural Resource, Conflict and Sustainable Development in the Niger Delta Ibaba Samuel Ibaba, Okechukwu Ukaga and Ukoha O. Ukiwo 2. Because of Oil? Understanding the Globalization of the Niger Delta and Its Consequences Cyril Obi 3. Overcoming Tyranny and Underdevelopment in the Niger Delta Through Appropriate Human Resources Development and Utilization Samuel Ranti Akinola 4. Assessing the Human Development Efforts of the Niger Delta Development Commission Augustine Okhobo Dokpesi and Michael Irabor Ibiezugbe 5. Entrepreneurship Development and Poverty Reduction in the Niger Delta Gordon M. Bubou and Nimiye A. Egai 6. Non-Governmental Organizations and Conflict Resolution in Niger Delta: The Case of Yakubu Gowon Centers Peace Process in Ogoni Ambily Etekpe 7. Land Reform, Land Rights, and Development Challenges in Nigeria: A Focus on the Niger Delta Yinka Kehinde Binuomoyo, Johnson B. Ogbewo, Ephraim A. Okoro, and Okechukwu Ukaga 8. Challenges to Fundamental Rights of Women in the Niger Delta Adaora Osondu 9. Conclusion: Reclaiming Politics and Reforming Governance: Options for Sustainable Peace and Development in the Niger Delta Ukoha O. Ukiwo, Okechukwu Ukaga, and Ibaba Samuel Ibaba