The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand upon the survey research by Erffmeyer and Mendel (1990) on the perceived relevance of graduate training in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology at the terminal master’s level. A review of the literature discussed core competencies, as well as the advantages of internship experiences and thesis requirements. Results indicated that graduates view their training as well targeted towards knowledge and skills they regard as useful at their internship, first job, and current position. Results also indicated that graduates viewed their internship experiences as highly beneficial and worthwhile experiences, regardless of their supervisor. Results additionally indicated that graduates value the thesis requirement significantly more than current students and view the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with completing a thesis as high in usefulness. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, and directions for future research on master’s level I-O training are discussed.

The rationale that effective internal communication plays a crucial role in aligning employees to organisational goals, and in so doing, inculcate employee engagement and help an organisation to succeed, is remodelling internal communication management within organisations. At the core of the preceding rationale lies the fundamental realisation and acknowledgement that effective internal communication is not the function of the communication department, but in effect a basic prerequisite that must be understood, embraced and practiced by all levels of management. Managers without effective internal communication and employee engagement cannot execute the responsibility of strategic alignment. The challenge is now to ensure that the internal communication process is approached as a properly structured and efficiently managed system, rather than a collection of fragmented messages that often cause confusion among employees and compel disengagement. This study explores to what extent the senior managers at the North-West University understand their fundamental role in facilitating effective internal communication and employee engagement. An extensive literature study revealed that there is a correlation between effective internal communication and understanding of organisational strategy and objectives among employees. In addition, a strong correlation between effective internal communication, employee engagement, employee performance and organisational profitability has been identified in literature. The empirical findings were obtained by means of a qualitative research method in the form of semi-structured interviews with senior and middle managers. The semi-structured interviews explored and described how the managers perceive the nature of their role in facilitating and sustaining effective internal communication and employee engagement. In comparing the actual role of senior managers at the University in internal communication and employee engagement with the ideal state related to D'Aprix's (1996) manager's communication model, as well as the principles of a convergence model of communication, information richness of communication channels, a leadership communication framework and the impact of highest scoring manager activities and attributes, it was concluded that this communication role is still misunderstood by senior managers and not properly structured and executed. Consequently, internal communication is not adequately fulfilling its strategic potential as a means to establish positive relationships, diffuse information, motivate, and align employees' actions and behaviour to the set goals of the University. It is suggested that future studies measure and determine whether the engagement levels of employees at the North-West University have increased as a result of managers fulfilling their internal communication role effectively. Another study could also assess and measure the effectiveness of internal communication channels, with the view to develop an internal communication channel guide or toolkit for managers at the North-West University. The key drivers of employee engagement and related effect on the North-West University's performance could also be explored and measured in future research studies. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The rationale that effective internal communication plays a crucial role in aligning employees to organisational goals, and in so doing, inculcate employee engagement and help an organisation to succeed, is remodelling internal communication management within organisations. At the core of the preceding rationale lies the fundamental realisation and acknowledgement that effective internal communication is not the function of the communication department, but in effect a basic prerequisite that must be understood, embraced and practiced by all levels of management. Managers without effective internal communication and employee engagement cannot execute the responsibility of strategic alignment. The challenge is now to ensure that the internal communication process is approached as a properly structured and efficiently managed system, rather than a collection of fragmented messages that often cause confusion among employees and compel disengagement. This study explores to what extent the senior managers at the North-West University understand their fundamental role in facilitating effective internal communication and employee engagement. An extensive literature study revealed that there is a correlation between effective internal communication and understanding of organisational strategy and objectives among employees. In addition, a strong correlation between effective internal communication, employee engagement, employee performance and organisational profitability has been identified in literature. The empirical findings were obtained by means of a qualitative research method in the form of semi-structured interviews with senior and middle managers. The semi-structured interviews explored and described how the managers perceive the nature of their role in facilitating and sustaining effective internal communication and employee engagement. In comparing the actual role of senior managers at the University in internal communication and employee engagement with the ideal state related to D'Aprix's (1996) manager's communication model, as well as the principles of a convergence model of communication, information richness of communication channels, a leadership communication framework and the impact of highest scoring manager activities and attributes, it was concluded that this communication role is still misunderstood by senior managers and not properly structured and executed. Consequently, internal communication is not adequately fulfilling its strategic potential as a means to establish positive relationships, diffuse information, motivate, and align employees' actions and behaviour to the set goals of the University. It is suggested that future studies measure and determine whether the engagement levels of employees at the North-West University have increased as a result of managers fulfilling their internal communication role effectively. Another study could also assess and measure the effectiveness of internal communication channels, with the view to develop an internal communication channel guide or toolkit for managers at the North-West University. The key drivers of employee engagement and related effect on the North-West University's performance could also be explored and measured in future research studies. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

This qualitative and interpretive study explores how young children experience humour and playfulness in their communication. Data were gathered in three early childhood education centres. The ethnographic method used was primarily participant observation, with the aid of a video camera and tape-recorder. Socio-cultural historical activity theory informs both the methodological paradigm of the research and the framework for data analysis. The research focuses on systems of interactions rather than individuals. The diversity and complexity in children's playful and humorous communication is illuminated by presenting 24 narrative-like "events" involving such communication. This presentation makes clear the dynamic qualities and artifact-mediated dialectical nature of playful and humorous communication activity. "Artifacts" include material and non-material tools, symbols, and semiotic signs (Wartofsky, 1979). Relationships between the roles, rules, and the community of children and teachers engaged in each event are discussed. Tensions and contradictions in these relationships (including children's playful subversion of adult rules) are explored. This thesis argues that humour, playfulness, and imagination are shared and distributed across groups of children. Thus children's imaginations, including their individual experiences, are dynamically shared with and connect the group. Playful and humorous communication involves words, sounds, gestures, posture, rhythm, and movement. At times the synchronous movements and speech of children having fun together are like a spontaneously improvised dance. Boundaries between children are blurred by the activity. The children become united by shared and distributed imagination in playful and humorous diversity. This study suggests that individual children in early childhood centres should be viewed as fundamentally connected to each other. Individuals exist in relation to others. Children's relationships with others, their environment, and artifacts are central to understanding children's experience of playful and humorous communication.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Linguistics & Psychology, Department of Linguistics, 2007. / Bibliography: 269-288. / Introduction -- Literature review -- Methodology/theoretical considerations -- Negotiation as a choice -- Initiating negotiation sequences -- The response and final turns in negotiation sequences -- Repetition in negotiation of understanding -- Management of talk through pauses -- Observations and conclusion. / The role of negotiation has been investigated in the field of second language acquisition for over twenty years, however, limited attention has been given to negotiated peer interaction with younger learners. Moreover, related studies sometimes include baseline data of the English native speaker in native and nonnative dyads, but negotiation and its relevance to the nonnative speaker's first language is usually not examined. This study investigates how children negotiate partial or non-understanding in their first as well as in a second language (LI and L2), allowing an identification of similarities and differences in intra- and inter-language negotiation. -- Drawing on a mainly qualitative analysis of task-based interaction by 24 Australian-English and 24 Japanese school children (11-12 year olds), this cross-sectional study looks in a comprehensive way at functions and forms of negotiated interaction in their LI and between LI and L2 speakers of English. It establishes a framework, which permits understanding of the negotiation process and its contribution to language learning. In addition, the study teases out the role of Same-speaker and Other-speaker repetition, showing that all repetition can facilitate the learner's language development. Another innovative contribution of the research is that it addresses pragmatic features such as silent and voiced pauses and their impact on negotiation. -- This investigation advances our understanding in regard to analyses of specific negotiation features that have received little consideration so far. Furthermore, comparisons of LI patterns and norms allow for a grounded and informed approach when addressing L1/L2 interactions. The findings reveal that LI interactions can vary quite considerably from L1/L2 interactions, which raises issues relevant to language learners, teachers and linguists. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / xii, 316 leaves ill

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, School of Education, 1994. / Includes bibliography. / Introduction ; The research question and the professional context of the inquiry -- Literature review: substantive survey -- Literature review: methodological survey -- Research method -- The prgamatics of feedback -- An ethnographic portrait of supervision -- Perceptions of mitigation -- Conclusion. / This research project investigates the language of supervisory conferences. A grounded theory approach is taken to the analysis of data drawn from teacher educators in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) in their feedback discussions with teachers following observed lessons.--Supervisory talk is investigated within a linguistic framework of politeness theory: while the supervisory role includes the obligation of criticism, the act of criticism is constrained by the face-to-face encounter of the supervisory conference. A central construct is the notion of fragility: the supervisory conference-an event which is equated with the talk that achieves it - is considered to be inherently fragile. The aim of the project is to investigate the language so as to uncover the source of the fragility.--Findings suggest that the perceived tension derives from a tug-of-war of essential elements: while the supervisory position affords discoursal power (the right to raise and pursue topics, take long turns, drive the discourse etc), the fa-threatening nature of the event obliges supervisors to resort to social/strategic skills to protect the teacher's face, as well as their own. The textualisation of this restraint takes the form of linguistic mitigation - devices rooted in syntax and semantics that allow supervisors to undercut the force of their own assertions. Mitigation is posited as the means by which supervisors resolve the clash-of-goals that is central to their role. However, mitigation is risky because it may interfere with message clarity.-- The product of the grounded study is a typology of utterance-level mitigation. The typology has three macro-categories (syntactic, semantic and indirectness) and fourteen sub-categories.-- The study was triangulated through an ethnographic investigation of supervisory concerns about feedback; and through an experiment designed to gauge teachers' perceptions of variously mitigated supervisory language. Findings from both studies corroborate the central tenet by contributing images of supervision that support the clash-of-goals thesis.--The projected applied outcome is in supervisor training where, it is suggested, strategic training delivered in a framework of politeness theory would reduce the unwitting dependence on mitigation and hence the risk of message distortion.--Suggestions for further research conclude the study. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / 413 leaves

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Population Health, Department of Public Health Sciences. Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on November 8, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Communication is a central feature of human life. The ability to talk is the very feature that distinguishes us from our primate ancestors. Knowing how to use language effectively gives the bearers of this knowledge power over their environment and an upper hand in their dealings with others. Thus, understanding the importance of communication in management is an essential tool for managers who wish to build and develop their organisations and their staff within these organisations. This thesis takes a case study view of manager-staff communication at a South African university. In this study managers and staff members contribute their feelings on current communication practices at this organisation through an online questionnaire and in-depth interviews. In an interpretive paradigm this thesis answers three central questions: 1) what role do managers and staff think communication plays in their working relationships, 2) what do they perceive to be effective and ineffective communication strategies and 3) What strategies can they suggest to enhance effective communication? Through in-depth qualitative research and numerical data analysis this thesis discovers central themes that pertain to the effective flow of communication in this organisation. These themes include: motivation and praise, the role of listening, building relationships, respect, acknowledging others’ languages and cultures, building teams, communicating frequently and using email and technology effectively, as well as keeping notes of meetings and discussions. Challenges to effective communication include not having enough time, suffering from stress, and the challenges of physical space and distance. By paying attention to basic human principles, such as the fact that acknowledging people for a job well done encourages them to perform well in future, this thesis relates the general concepts of communication and management theory to the specific realities and individual, personal experiences of manager-staff communication. In this way it sheds a beam of light on management communication practices and points the way towards an ideal where managers and staff members use communication as a tool of empowerment and understanding.

[pt] Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar como os usuários da Internet vêm lidando com o crescente aumento de possibilidades de interação proporcionado pelos novos dispositivos comunicacionais virtuais e, em especial, pelo correio eletrônico. Para tanto, foram realizadas quinze entrevistas de perguntas abertas com homens e mulheres que tivessem no mínimo 25 anos de idade e que já estivessem utilizando a Internet e o correio eletrônico há pelo menos um ano. Após transcrito, o material coletado nessas entrevistas foi analisado através da técnica de análise do discurso. Foi possível concluir que três novos excessos relativos à esfera da comunicação interpessoal já estão fazendo parte do cotidiano desses internautas: o excesso de interação, o excesso de demanda de interação e o excesso de mensagens recebidas diariamente. Foi possível verificar, ainda, que estes usuários vêm buscando diferentes formas de lidar com estes excessos e deles se defender. Entre estas novas formas de defesa encontram-se: a priorização de mensagens urgentes, a abertura de diferentes contas de e- mail com a finalidade de separar diferentes níveis de intimidade, a utilização de uma conta de e-mail extra para evitar informar os endereços pessoais a sites ou pessoas não confiáveis, o rápido apagamento de mensagens não desejadas, a utilização de um momento especial para ler e responder mensagens e, finalmente, o controle - bem como eventual redução - da quantidade de contatos via e-mail. / [en] This study aimed at investigating how Internet users are dealing with the increase of interaction possibilities brought about by new communication devices and, specially, by the e-mail. An investigation was carried out with fifteen men and women who were at least twenty-five years old and had been using the Internet and e-mail programs for at least a year. An open-ended-question interview was conducted with each of them. After transcribed, the material collected in these interviews was analyzed through discourse analysis techniques. The results of this analysis made it possible to identify the emergence of three types of excess concerning the new forms of interaction: the excess of interaction, the excess of demand for interaction and the excess of incoming messages. These results also made it possible to conclude that these users are using different forms to deal with these excesses and to defend themselves from them. They give priority to urgent messages, open different e-mail accounts in order to separate different levels of intimacy, use at least one extra account so that they do not have to inform their personal address to sites or people they do not trust, quickly delete undesirable messages, use a special moment of the day to read and reply messages, and, finally, control - as well as reduce - the amount of e-mail contacts.

Diploma thesis mainly deals with the phenomenon of the Internet in mening of its communication paradigm. It tries to describe and explain the function of Internet communication, to differentiate and describe the basic principles of communication on the Internet, defining the concept of virtuality and finally find a relationship between interpersonal and mediated communication. The larger section will be devoted to pedagogical communication and conclusion of the work will draw the consequences of online communication on communication in education.