The purpose of this essay is to examine the sense of immediacy in fiction, i.e., the sense that the story is unfolding before one's eyes; the sense that the story is happening now. What it is and how it can be achieved is discussed in relation to the author's own stories; as well dealing briefly with some more general points in regard to what fiction is and how it seeks to achieve what it attempts.

This study built on previous literature linking instructor immediacy, student motivation, and student learning. The purpose of this research was to examine main and interaction effects of instructor immediacy and student trait motivation on student state motivation and cognitive learning. A main effect of instructor nonverbal immediacy on student state motivation and cognitive learning was found to be statistically significant. Further exploratory research did not yield statistical significance for a main effect of trait motivation, as measured by need for cognition, on student state motivation and cognitive learning, nor an interaction effect of immediacy and trait motivation on both state motivation and cognitive learning.

The purpose of this research was to examine instructor verbal immediacy behaviors in virtual classrooms and their effects on student motivation and affective learning. Undergraduate students were divided into two treatment samples. Each group was asked to imagine they were enrolled in an online course and were reading the course homepage. Two different homepages were constructed using verbal immediate vs. nonimmediate items similar to those described by Witt & Wheeler (2001). Semantic differential-type instruments similar to that used by Richmond ( 1990) were administered to evaluate participants' state motivation and affective learning. Although no reliable effects on state motivation were discovered, the results suggest a possible interaction effect between sex and immediacy with regard to affective learning.

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal characteristics and pedagogical styles of effective abstinence instructors. Abstinence instructors receive regular training and evaluation and tend to remain in the abstinence education field for multiple years. Abstinence education programs are offered throughout the United States and present a pool of participants in which to sociologically examine the dynamics of the relationship of adolescents and instructors in a youth prevention program. This qualitative study is based on in-depth personal interviews of eight abstinence instructors who shared insights into their own teaching experiences, expressed their thoughts about who they are as a person and their experiences that impacted their teaching, what they know about teaching methods and relating to students, and how what they care about informed their instructional delivery. Three abstinence program administrators also presented their insights into effective abstinence instruction. Effective abstinence educators embody personal characteristics and pedagogical styles common to effective teachers in public schools and other positive youth development programs. Supporting the concept of teacher immediacy (Mehrabian, 1969, 1981), interview data indicate that abstinence instructors perceive that integrating who they are, what they know and what they care about into their teaching style and classroom persona increases their effectiveness. Findings from this study may inform recruitment, training, evaluation and retention of prevention program instructors for youth.

In this study, a theory that identified salience and immediacy as two constructs that significantly determine questionnaire response rates was tested. This theory emphasized the importance of identifying and rating factors that impact the immediacy and salience of a questionnaire to a specific population. It was proposed that factors that make a questionnaire highly immediate and salient to a given population should be identified first, and then implemented into the construction and administration of the questionnaire. In this way, researchers can manipulate the variables, which will maximize the response rate for their specific population before distribution. A questionnaire that is highly immediate and salient to a given population was estimated to achieve a response rate of 80% or higher. The immediacy and salience of several manipulable variables of a questionnaire were rated by a sample characteristically similar to the target population. Three treatments of the questionnaire were sent to three randomly assigned groups of the population. These treatments varied from low, moderate, to high immediacy and salience based on the ratings. An analysis of the ratings revealed a very strong direct relationship between salience and immediacy. Variables of the questionnaire were rated very similarly between the two constructs. Contrary to Christensen's theory, different levels of immediacy and salience were not found to interact. However, a direct relationship was found between immediacy and salience levels, and final response rates, which was consistent with the theory. The order of response rate percentages for each treatment group reflected the degree of immediacy and salience as measured by the raters.

A STUDY OF VERBAL IMMEDIACY IN ARMY SIMULATOR MAINTENANCE TRAINING Robin Leigh Fulkerson August 2004 48 pages Directed by: Sally Hastings, Judith Hoover, and George Musambira Department of Communication Western Kentucky University Rapid development of computer technology has encouraged the use of computers in education; however, understanding the impact this technology has on classroom communication is just beginning. At present, no studies explore the impact computer systems (e.g., virtual reality simulation) have on verbal immediacy. This study examines the influence simulator training has on verbal immediacy and quality of instruction between students and instructors in Army maintenance training. Thirty-nine Army maintenance students in simulator and instructor-based training responded to the verbal immediacy survey designed to measure the significance of instructors’ verbal immediacy behaviors as perceived by students. Overall verbal immediacy ratings were high, but no significant differences were found between instructors’ verbal immediacy behaviors in the two training types. Possible reasons for the simulator ratings are explored. A second study was performed on instructors to determine the perceived effectiveness of simulator training versus instructor-based methods. Nineteen instructors completed a questionnaire comparing the two training methods, including their communication differences. The first half of the questionnaire yielded significant results on four variables of effective simulator training: replication, adequate instruction for students, full interaction with students, and effective instruction of maintenance and repair. Simulator training was not perceived as an vii overall effective method of instruction. Thematic analysis of the second half of the questionnaires provided comparisons of simulator and instructor-based training, focusing on reasons for effectiveness, problems with simulator training, and communication and other differences in the two methods.

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This study investigates a possible link between a students’ willingness to engage in out of class communication (OCC) with an instructor and the level of mediated immediacy that the instructor presents through his/her online presence. The hypotheses were that students viewing a Facebook page would be more willing to engage in OCC than those viewing an institutional web page with low levels of mediated immediacy and that students viewing a Facebook page would also be more willing to engage in OCC with their instructor for relationship focused reasons than those who viewed an institutional web page. While both hypotheses were found to be false, this study uncovered a correlation which suggests that the institutional web page creates a higher willingness to engage in OCC for task-focused reasons than a Facebook page and invites further research into the topic.

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