The problem of this study is whether between-channel redundancy in an instructional audio-visual message enhances immediate recall of information more than within—channel redundancy. A secondary purpose was to compare three forms of between—channel redundancy! audio—video, audio—video—caption, and audio-caption with one form of within-channel redundancy: video-caption. These comparisons were designed to demonstrate which form of redundancy had a higher association with recall of information. The subjects were administered the Kentucky Comprehensive Listening Inventory to measure listening skills, and the Receiver Apprehension Inventory to identify subjects who experienced significantly high apprehension as receivers of information. Then the subjects were randomly divided into four treatment groups and shown an eight minute newscast. All four groups were presented the same instructional message, but the mode of presentation differed depending upon the treatment group. After viewing the instructional program each member of each group was given a forty item multiple-choice retention inventory based on the information presented in the newscast. The data were presented in terms of correct responses on the Kentucky Comprehensive Listening Inventory and the forty item retention inventory. Discriminate analysis was used to determine which items from the multiple-choice retention inventory accounted for the most variance. Thirteen items were found to account for the greatest amount of variance. Reliability estimates were calculated for all four story categories and for the forty items collectively. All reliability estimates were acceptable.

Prenatal care (PNC) is an essential health service that can reduce adverse health and social outcomes through prevention, detection and treatment of abnormalities of pregnancy. It offers an opportunity to mitigate the impact of the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) on individual patients through advocacy and referral to social services. Despite a publicly funded health care system in Canada, disparities in access to PNC persist. Much is known about the barriers to PNC and client experiences of inadequate PNC (IPNC). Very little is known about care provider perspectives of IPNC, what should be done about it and are the barriers to doing it. The goal of this project was to address this gap in knowledge to inform the development of novel care delivery models that could reduce disparities in access to PNC in Hamilton. Using a Critical Theory lens, I conducted an interpretive descriptive study using individual interviews and focus groups with health and social service providers in Hamilton to explore their understandings of IPNC. Participants viewed IPNC as a small but important phenomenon disproportionately impacting people who are marginalized. The experience of IPNC is chaotic, worrisome and joyful for providers. An interdisciplinary, midwifery-led outreach PNC model would better meet the needs of the client population and providers alike. A Community Centred Care model of PNC embodies and enhances participant suggestions for addressing IPNC. Access to abortion, postpartum care and newborn apprehension require special attention. Peer participation and the impacts of patriarchy and racism must be addressed in the development of future PNC models. The ways in which participants described and proposed intervening in IPNC revealed an individualized understanding of the SDoH that is paralleled in existing research on IPNC. This conceptualization of the problem obscures the root causes of disparities in access and warrants future consideration. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Prenatal care (PNC) can help to reduce complications of pregnancy and birth and connect expecting families with other support services. Even though health care is free in Canada, people who are marginalized struggle to access enough PNC. We know the complexities of people’s lives and their negative experiences with the health care system prevent them from getting PNC. We know little about what PNC for people who don’t access it is like for the providers or why they can’t make their care easier to access. Mindful of systems of power, the goal of this research is to explore how health and social service providers understand inadequate PNC (IPNC), to inform accessible PNC models. Participants proposed an interdisciplinary outreach PNC model responsive to needs of the community. The Social Determinants of Health were an important part of how participants understood IPNC which shaped the way that they proposed to address it.

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Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies, Theatre, and Dance / Leann M. Brazeal / In this thesis study, the use of group work as an instructional strategy was assessed to determine the effect it has on students’ willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, and self-perceived competence. Students enrolled in a basic public speaking at a major Midwestern university completed Neer’s (1987) Classroom Apprehension about Participation Scale (CAPS) at the beginning of the semester and again four weeks later after being exposed to a treatment of group or no group. Results indicated students’ willingness to communicate and self-perceived competence increased over the four-week duration of the study regardless of treatment. However, a significant reduction of communication apprehension was seen in students using group work in their classrooms. Limitations and implications are discussed.

This experimental study examined the effects of an instructor’s face threat mitigation tactics on student self-efficacy for learning and perceived emotional support from the instructor in a written feedback setting. Participants (N = 401) were randomly assigned to one of four feedback scenarios in which level of face threat mitigation and instructor age and status were manipulated. Student grade orientation and state feedback apprehension were measured prior to being exposed to the feedback scenario. Results indicate that high face threat mitigation is positively associated with student self-efficacy for learning and perceived emotional support from the instructor. Results also revealed that state feedback apprehension predicts self-efficacy for learning and perceived emotional support from the instructor. Grade orientation predicted self-efficacy for learning but did not significantly predict perceived emotional support from the instructor providing feedback. Finally, scenarios manipulated for instructor age and status did not significantly differ in self-efficacy for learning or perceived emotional support from the instructor. Implications regarding theory, the measurement of feedback apprehension, and student-instructor communication are discussed.

Communicative challenges that hinder managerial engagement in social networks can impede innovation adoption and thereby damage the financial performance and competitiveness of a firm. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between communication apprehension (CA) and individual innovativeness in managers. The focus of the research questions was determining if a relationship exists between these variables before and after controlling for demographic characteristics. With diffusion of innovation theory as the theoretical framework, this research involved an attempt to address how adoption categories relate to varying degrees of CA. One hundred and five American-based owner-executives, senior managers, and middle managers completed 2 preexisting survey instruments on the Internet measuring individual perceptions of CA and individual innovativeness. Results from a Pearson correlation analysis indicated that a significant negative correlation existed between CA and individual innovativeness. A multiple regression analysis showed that CA and individual innovativeness were negatively correlated after controlling for gender, age, and education level. Furthermore, participants' level of education was negatively related to both total CA score and public speaking CA score. Leaders may apply these findings to achieve positive social change by using tools to reduce CA in managers. Such initiatives could lead to greater social confidence in managers, improved organizational performance, and more meaningful social engagement in the innovations that continue to shape the world.

Firstly, in this study, foreign language listening and speaking anxiety levels of the non-native EFL instructors working at preparatory schools of two state and two private universities in Turkey were discovered. Next, if their L2 learning contexts, English-speaking country experience, the length of their teaching experience and the institution they work at affect their listening and speaking anxiety levels was scrutinized. Secondly, these EFL instructors&rsquo / perceived competencies in teaching listening and speaking skills were identified. In addition, the effect of different variables on their perceived competency levels such as their undergraduate departments, their participation in graduate studies and in-service teacher training programs, the length of their teaching experience and also the institutions where they work was analyzed. Besides, the relationship between the listening and speaking anxiety levels of these instructors, and their self-reported competency levels in teaching these skills was explored. Finally, this study identified the EFL instructors&rsquo / frequency of addressing listening and speaking skills in listening and speaking tasks in the lessons according to the curriculum of the institution where they work in order to discover its relationship with the instructors&rsquo / perceived competency levels in teaching these skills. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, both of which were used in a complementary fashion in this study. In addition, a total of 150 non-native EFL instructors participated in the questionnaire phase of the study and nine instructors from the participant universities were interviewed. The findings of this study indicated that the participant instructors experience moderate level of foreign language listening and speaking anxiety. Moreover, these instructors&rsquo / L2 learning contexts, English-speaking country experience and their length of teaching experience significantly influence their foreign language listening and speaking anxiety levels. Furthermore, the instructors perceive themselves as competent in terms of teaching listening and speaking skills and their participation in in-service teacher training programs, graduate studies and their length of teaching experience were found to be the contributors of their competence. In addition, a moderate level of negative relationship between foreign language anxiety levels of the instructors, and their self-reported competencies in teaching listening and speaking skills was identified. Finally, a positive relationship was explored between the frequency of the instructors&rsquo / addressing listening and speaking skills in the classroom considering the curriculum of their institutions and their perceived competency levels in teaching these skills. In this sense, the results demonstrated the effect of the institution and the curriculum on the instructors&rsquo / perceived competency levels in terms of teaching listening and speaking skills.

The research deals with an aspect of communication which could effect the teaching/learning situation, namely communication apprehension. The research also deals with cooperative group work, and the role that it plays in reducing communication apprehension. A review of literature concerning cooperative group work, communication apprehension and the role of the educator was conducted in order to establish which factors could affect the role that these variables play in the classroom situation. A general survey of educators was distributed to all the English first language schools in the KOSH (Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein and Hartebeesfontein) area of the North West province, and the data was analysed by the researcher. The Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) was used as an instrument to measure the learners communication apprehension. The responses were analysed with the assistance of the Statistical Consultant Service of Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. The study was two-fold: to determine if educators in the English first language primary schools in the KOSH area of the North West province, were implementing cooperative group work models in their classrooms, and to determine if the Grade 7 learners in these schools experienced communication apprehension. The study also aimed to determine if cooperative group work lessened the degree of communication apprehension experienced. The first section of the study indicated that the educators in these schools were indeed implementing cooperative group work models, although 36.6% of these educators had not received any formal training in the implementation of cooperative group work in their classrooms. The second section of the study, the empirical study, indicated that the study population experienced an average communication apprehension of 47.7%. Afrikaans female learners experienced the lowest average communication apprehension of 44.2%, while Afrikaans male learners experienced the highest average communication apprehension of 54.8%. The study indicated that L1 learners and ESL (English second language) learners experience comparative levels of communication apprehension. The study also indicated that for each of the L1 and ESL groups, group work communication apprehension was lower than all other communication apprehension contexts. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2002

The research deals with an aspect of communication which could effect the teaching/learning situation, namely communication apprehension. The research also deals with cooperative group work, and the role that it plays in reducing communication apprehension. A review of literature concerning cooperative group work, communication apprehension and the role of the educator was conducted in order to establish which factors could affect the role that these variables play in the classroom situation. A general survey of educators was distributed to all the English first language schools in the KOSH (Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein and Hartebeesfontein) area of the North West province, and the data was analysed by the researcher. The Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) was used as an instrument to measure the learners communication apprehension. The responses were analysed with the assistance of the Statistical Consultant Service of Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. The study was two-fold: to determine if educators in the English first language primary schools in the KOSH area of the North West province, were implementing cooperative group work models in their classrooms, and to determine if the Grade 7 learners in these schools experienced communication apprehension. The study also aimed to determine if cooperative group work lessened the degree of communication apprehension experienced. The first section of the study indicated that the educators in these schools were indeed implementing cooperative group work models, although 36.6% of these educators had not received any formal training in the implementation of cooperative group work in their classrooms. The second section of the study, the empirical study, indicated that the study population experienced an average communication apprehension of 47.7%. Afrikaans female learners experienced the lowest average communication apprehension of 44.2%, while Afrikaans male learners experienced the highest average communication apprehension of 54.8%. The study indicated that L1 learners and ESL (English second language) learners experience comparative levels of communication apprehension. The study also indicated that for each of the L1 and ESL groups, group work communication apprehension was lower than all other communication apprehension contexts. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2002