Julie L. Semlak

Through the Years: An Examination of Instructor Age and Misbehavior on Perceived Teacher Credibility

This study used descriptions of a hypothetical instructor to test the effect of instructor age (young or old) and type of teacher misbehavior (offensive, indolent, or incompetent) on three dimensions of perceived teacher credibility (trustworthiness, caring, and competence). Older instructors were viewed as more credible than were younger instructors. In addition, offensive teachers were judged to be more credible than indolent or incompetent instructors; and indolent instructors were perceived as more caring and trustworthy than offensive or incompetent instructors. Results are discussed in terms of implications for student-teacher interaction.

Navigating Dialectic Contradictions Experienced by Female African Refugees during Cross-Cultural Adaptation

An increasing number of new Americans are refugees who have fled persecution, war, and the loss of basic human rights. The current study examines the dialectical tensions experienced by female African refugees during the cross-cultural adaptation process. Twelve female African refugees participated in two focus groups, uncovering the communication challenges experienced when relocating to the United States. These women navigate contradictions of positive and negative features of their new lives, of being included and excluded, of being accepted and rejected, and of the real and ideal. Their narratives are understood through the lens of cross-cultural adaptation and dialectical theory. The authors wish to thank Lori J. DeWitt, David H. Kahl, Jr., Adam W. Tyma, and Kelly E. Wolf for assistance collecting data for this project.

The Influence of Biological Sex, Self-Esteem, and Communication Apprehension on Unwillingness to Communicate

Role identity influences communication behaviors, particularly unwillingness to communicate, or the tendency to avoid oral communication, a phenomenon that communication instructors observe in many of their students. This investigation explores the effect of biological sex, self-esteem, and communication apprehension on the reward and approach-avoidance dimensions of unwillingness to communicate. Multiple regression analyses revealed significant relationships between biological sex and self-esteem on the reward dimension and biological sex and communication apprehension on the approach-avoidance dimension. Results suggest that women and men view communication differently and may be socialized to behave differently during communication encounters. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed for communication instructors.

Answering a Call for Service: An Exploration of Family Communication Schemata and Ethnic Identity's Effect on Civic Engagement Behaviors

This study explored whether family communication schemata, in tandem with ethnic identity, predicted civic engagement behaviors. The study revealed several significant and positive relationships: among the family communication schemata and civic engagement, between ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity affirmation, among family communication schemata and ethnic identity exploration, and between ethnic identity affirmation and civic engagement. A path model was used to demonstrate that expressiveness and structural traditionalism, two family schemata, predict ethnic exploration which in turn predicts ethnic affirmation which leads to one type of civic engagement, membership in formal groups.

Evaluating metrics for automatic mind map assessment in various classes

Over the past three years, we have been studying how automated evaluation of student mind maps (when compared to an expert map) shows student learning for a variety of metrics. The goal of this work is to build a system that would then allow students to evaluate their understanding of the terminology in a respective field. The weakness of our studies, so far, is that our focus group to study these metrics consists of a single course in the field of Computer Engineering, and though this class has been used over multiple years to demonstrate the feasibility of our approach in a longitudinal study, a broader study needs to be done. In this work, we show how our current metrics perform across three additional fields; specifically, we have collaborated with instructors in speech pathology, communications, and political science (in addition to our traditional class in computer engineering). We then use our methodology to determine if these courses and a term long mind map exercise have similar results than previously reported and are these results evidence of student learning. Our results show that our existing metrics have similar results for one of the three new courses. However, in the two other courses, the data shows no evidence of learning based on the mind map exercise. Each of the instructors of these courses describes their experience with the activity. Additionally, we evaluate the construction of the expert maps in each course to understand if there is a graph-based structural reason why we the results might be different. We conclude by suggesting our methodology is good for courses where terminology is clearly defined and is used and studied throughout the semester, and describe some future directions for this research.

Big Macs/Peanut Butter and Jelly: An Exploration of Dialectical Contradictions Experienced by the Sandwich Generation

Grounded in relational dialectics theory, this article reports a study exploring the influence of internal relational dialectic contradictions of women who are in the “Sandwich Generation,” or simultaneously providing some kind of care for generations of family both older and younger than them. Two hundred twenty-five female multi-generational caretakers (MGCs) reported their perceptions of the autonomy–connection, predictability–unpredictability, and openness–closedness of the relationship they have with an older adult for whom they provide care, as well as their current satisfaction level with this relationship. The data indicate communication between MGCs and their care recipient is more satisfying when the caretaker believes she has a high level of autonomy in the relationships and when there is a high level of openness within the relationships. These findings are interpreted using dialectic contradiction, change, and totality. This article also discusses practical implications of these findings for members of the Sandwich Generation.