Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A&M University, 2005. / "Major Subject: Speech Communication" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. A.)--Texas A&M University, 2005. / "Major Subject: Speech Communication" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

System voice within interactive voice response systems (IVRs) was investigated. Specifically, users were randomly assigned a system voice personality (upbeat, professional, and sympathetic) and voice gender (male and female) when completing a health survey over IVR. Disclosure rates were not affected by the type of voice heard, nor did they differ by user gender. Additionally, disclosure was higher on the IVR version of the health survey than on a web-based version, further recognizing the privacy offered by IVRs.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A & M University, 2003. / "Major Subject: Speech Communication." Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Apr. 30, 2004.). Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Texas A & M University, 2003. / "Major Subject: Speech Communication." Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Apr. 30, 2004.). Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Educational reform movements have dominated educational arenas for decades. The public is demanding higher achievement of students and guarantees of equal opportunities and success for all. Many educational studies and articles document changes that need to occur, such as the implementation of high academic standards, effective teaching methodologies and leadership practices that support change. Some studies analyze how specific subgroups, e.g., race and gender, are influenced by the many educational reform movements across the nation, directed by local, state and federal entities, but few analyze how social class differences impact student achievement and future success. Even less scrutinize the specific behaviors used by educators that typically occur with different levels of social class, demonstrating unequal opportunities for students. This study utilizes specific and effective communication attributes used with teachers working with students from middle level socioeconomic backgrounds documented from another study and compares the findings to the same specific communication attributes used by school principals with their staff members during staff development meetings. The specific communication attributes are external and internal standards of authority, present versus future role orientation, cognitive skills and achievement, and verbal presentation skills. This study qualitatively examines the relationship of two principal-leaders working in middle schools with very different social class demographics. The study analyzes the types of communication attributes and behaviors commonly used by each principal during staff development meetings. The leader from the higher socioeconomic school consistently uses communication attributes that reinforce high expectations and effective techniques that promote problem-solving, critical thinking and self presentation skills. These specific communication attributes may serve as a learning model for teachers that may transfer to more effective classroom practices with students. The study also examines the characteristics and influences of social dominance in educational settings, effective leadership practices and the understanding of organizational culture, and how all of these foci illuminate the overall success of a school. The results of this study provide insight into how educational practices need to consider the knowledge of socioeconomic status and how this information can be used to establish more effective training opportunities for educational leaders.

Conflict discussions are important events in serious dating relationships. How disagreements are managed can impact the level of satisfaction with the interaction and may eventually or concomitantly affect the overall relationship as satisfying or dissatisfying interactions accumulate. This study investigated the role of conflict in relationships by examining relational responsiveness (i.e., the signed difference between partner's expectations and perceptions of actual behaviors during conflict) and the role of empathy (i.e., perspective taking, empathic concern, and emotional contagion) as a moderator of the association between expectations and perceptions of actual behavior. Couples discussed a recurring conflict with each other and completed questionnaires two weeks prior and immediately following their conflict interaction. Results from this investigation revealed that dating partners consistently expected their partners to demonstrate high levels of intimacy and equality/composure. Moderately low levels of formality and dominance were also expected, but these expectancies showed more variability. The findings also indicated that overall relational responsiveness was positively related to communication satisfaction. Limited support, however, was found for the role of empathy in determining the degree of relational responsiveness that may be perceived by dating partners during conflict. The overall level of responsiveness exhibited by people who were instructed to consider their partner's perspective was not significantly different from people who were told to consider their own viewpoint. Only one subcomponent of responsiveness (i.e., equality/composure) differentiated the levels of perspective taking. Additionally, empathic concern was not a significant predictor of overall relational responsiveness or any of its subcomponents. Emotional contagion, however, did significantly predict overall relational responsiveness and the subcomponent of dominance. As emotional contagion increased, overall relational responsiveness and responsiveness with respect to dominance decreased. A higher order negative relationship between emotional contagion and responsiveness with regard to intimacy was also found. These results suggest that the management of conflict in dating relationships appears to entail being responsive to partners' relational expectations and being relatively unresponsive to partners' emotions.

The effects of vividness have been argued to be weak, elusive, and illusory. This study reconceptualized vividness as a language characteristic along four dimensions: emotional interest, concreteness, proximity, and image valence, and attempted to extend Language Expectancy Theory as the explanatory mechanism for vividness. Based on LET, it was proposed that an interaction effect between source characteristics (sex and credibility) and message characteristics (vividness) would occur. No support for the hypothesized interaction effects were found although the extension of Language Expectancy Theory to vividness is, ultimately, supported. Based on this study's finding that vivid messages were only slightly persuasive (creating more positive message evaluation and message agreement than did pallid messages), it is concluded that vivid language is not a promising message strategy for the health context. Refinements of Language Expectancy Theory in terms of expectancy strength and source credibility are suggested, and directions for future research advanced.

Many studies have been conducted on the process of social support. However, very few of have focused on the seeking of that support. This paper utilized uncertainty reduction theory and facework in an investigation of who people turn to for social support and how it is obtained. Comparisons were made between men and women and between same- and cross-sex friends on the level of relational certainty, expectations for specific types of social support, the directness and amount of facework in support. The results suggests that men and women may be more alike than different. No gender differences were found and only one difference was found between same- and cross-sex friends. Specifically, a supplementary analysis using a subscale of the relational certainty measure revealed that same-sex friends are higher in general relational certain than cross-sex friends, but this difference did not emerge when same- and cross-sex friends were compared on certainty regarding the likelihood of receiving the needed social support. The results also suggest that relational characteristics such as the level of relational certainty play a role in determining who people are likely to seek out for social support and the messages they use to acquire the desired support.

The tremendous growth of internal organizational grievance mechanisms, including the use of ombuds, has not been met with an equal increase in research. Currently, little is known about the functioning of these grievance mechanisms. This dissertation presents an empirical study of an academic ombud. Using normative pragmatics and a social context approach to disputing as an analytic framework, 50 disputants who pursued grievances through an academic ombud were interviewed at various stages of the disputing process. This study offers a processual account of disputants' experiences with the dispute process by combining interview data with multi-perspectival analyses (member checks, artifacts) and triangulation with quantitative survey data. Additionally, design features of the ombud office are examined for their ability to achieve the goals of the office given the context of the dispute. The study concludes that the flexibility of the ombud is a strength for dealing with the varied grievances brought to the office. Disputants are generally satisfied with the process, and have a restored sense of faith in the organization having gone through the ombud. The social context of academics, however, prevents the ombud process from reconciling relationships between disputants. The study further concludes that any design of disputing systems must take into account the social context of tile disputing arena. The framework generated by combining tile study of design features with social context provides researchers and practitioners a more productive way of analyzing and designing disputing systems.