Thesis (M.A.I.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-80). Also available on the World Wide Web.

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Silence in the communicative process is often viewed as the background to speech patterns, or it is not viewed at all. Yet cultural and ethnic teachings concerning the importance of silence, as well as appropriate uses of silence in communication, aftect communicative processes in classroom contexts, and can thus affect teaching and learning processes as well. In this study, silence in intercultural communication is the main focus. This is a study about the meanings of silence in multi-ethnic classrooms of older adults, as well as a study of signs and signals for breaking silence which are used by participants in classroom contexts when they wish to speak. A search of the literature revealed minimal information concerning meanings of silences in classroom contexts and no information concerning meanings of silence, nor about signs and signals for breaking silence in multi-ethnic classrooms of older adults. Therefore, this qualitative research project was designed to answer some questions about these intercultural communicative issues, which are vital aspects of teaching and learning processes. The two main research questions were: 1) what are the meanings of silence in multi-ethnic classrooms of older adults? 2) what are the signs and signals for breaking silence in multi-ethnic classrooms of older adults? A multiple case study approach was used with seven adults (four women and three men) whose ages ranged from 65 to 82 years and who were from the countries of Nigeria, Cuba, Greece, China, India, England, and Canada. These case studies were supported by a triangulated methodological approach which used three qualitative research methodologies in order to enhance the depth of understanding concerning the research questions of the study. These three methodologies were: ethnographies of communication; ethnomethodology; and interactional analysis of discourse. Saville-Troike’s (1985) categories of silences were used as an initial conceptual framework for analyzing and organizing the data which were gathered from five different sources. This conceptual framework was then adjusted in order to accommodate the various sub-categories and themes which emerged from the data of this study. The five sources of data were: transcription of a video of the participants in their classroom; transcriptions of audio tapes of stimulated recall interviews with individual participants; researcher observations; first focus group discussion; and second focus group discussion (where participants made additions and corrections to tentative findings that were presented to them by the researcher). In order to avoid stereotyping or unwarranted generalizations concerning various ethnic or cultural groups, and in order to respect the communicative differences within cultural and ethnic groups, meanings of silence were not categorized according to culture, but rather, were categorized into communicative themes across cultures. As well, a metaphor of a “patchwork quilt” was used throughout this inquiry as a vehicle for the creative enhancement of insights, organization, connections, and descriptions of the research process. The findings of this study revealed a large variety of meanings of silence as well as a number of signs and signals for breaking silence. These were organized into the following categories: 1) institutionally-determined silences which included locations, rituals, hierarchical / structural, and silence taboos; 2) group-determined silences which included normative and symbolic silences; 3) individually-determined / negotiated silences which included, interactive, socio-contextual, psycholinguistic, sociocultural, psychological, sociophysical, noninteractive, contemplative and reflective silences; and 4) signs and signals for breaking silence which included verbal, nonverbal, and combined verbal and nonverbal signs and signals. Various recommendations, which were inspired by the participants’ contributions concerning silences, were made in order to promote possibilities of improved, and refined intercultural communication in classroom contexts. These communicative approaches, in turn, may enhance improved teaching and learning processes. / Graduate

This study was concerned with (i) experiential factors which affect the development of trust and suspicion, and (ii) the effects of trust and suspicion upon bargaining and, negotiations. Essentially, the experiment consisted of an orthogonal 2x2x3 factorial design with one control group. Altogether, 112 male undergraduates comprised the final sample. Particular emphasis was placed upon developing an approach that could overcome some of the methodological problems that have been inherent in previous attempts to study trust and suspicion. To this end, the experiment was designed to allow (on the basis of the observation of the subjects' responses) valid inferences, about trust and suspicion. For example, subjective trust and suspicion were distinguished from manifest trust and suspicion, and were measured on the basis of responses related to a one-trial sequentially-played game. Moreover, the game involved a payoff matrix that was meaningful to the subjects insofar as it was possible for the subjects to incur real losses of their own money apparently as a result of the untrustworthy behavior of one of the other subjects. With respect to the development of trust and suspicion as a function of previous experience, it was found that: (1) previous trustworthiness engendered trust whereas previous untrustworthiness generated suspicion; (2) suspicion was established more easily than trust; however, (3) where previously the incentive to betray had been high, trust was greater especially if the other person (0) had resisted the lucrative temptation to betray. Of methodological interest was a related finding that the tendency to manifest trust or suspicion was closely related to the underlying (subjective) state of trust or suspicion. The nature of this relationship in terms of certainty and uncertainty was, however, more clear-cut for those who manifested suspicion than for those who manifested trust. While the former were certain that 0 would be untrustworthy, the latter manifested trust toward 0 even though they were uncertain as to whether 0 would be trustworthy or not. In the second part of the study, both trust and suspicion were found to be important in influencing bargaining and negotiations in a number of respects. With regard to the duration of bargaining, the trust group required less time to reach agreements than did the suspicion group. Several reasons for this finding were evident. First, subjects in the suspicion group made initial offers that were more extreme than the initial offers made by the subjects in the trust group. Secondly, subjects in the suspicion group appeared to be more concerned with the objective of modifying each other's utilities. This was reflected in the finding that the communications of the suspicion group (compared with the trust group) were characterized more by lies, threats, and ultimatums, and less by genuine and sincere attempts to exchange information; also, subjects in the suspicion group made more checks on each other and made more refusals to bargain that did the subjects in the trust group. In relation to the nature (location) of the solution, trust and suspicion appeared to have no overall effect upon whether settlements were made at equality or equity. There was, however, a prevalence of settlements at equality (regardless of whether trust or suspicion was operating). The interesting feature about this result was that the equality that was obtained in a context of suspicion was hard-earned over a prolonged period of time, whereas the equality that was agreed upon in the context of trust was relatively easily achieved. It was therefore concluded that even if the nature of the solution were not affected by suspicion, bargaining under a certain amount of trust would be preferable to bargaining under a high degree of suspicion; for under extreme suspicion, task-oriented behavior becomes easily disrupted and reduced to time-consuming conflict. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Two contradictory social psychological models of human sociability exist in the social science literature: a steady state model, and a homeostatic model. In this thesis a model of possible environmental effects on individual solitary behavior is developed to test these underlying social psychological models. These models are tested in a secondary analysis of activity log data of a sample of industrial workers. The results indicate that two causal processes interact in producing differences in the amounts of time people spend alone. In one process, temporal constraints on the number of persons and the amount of time available for non-work social interactions facilitate solitary behavior on workdays. These direct effects carry over into the weekend when the constraints of work hours are not directly present. In the other process people compensate for extremes in their social experience at work by participating more in discretionary solitary activities. When combined, these two isolating processes produce an even stronger interaction effect. These observations support the homeostatic model of human sociability. Suggestions are then made for a more sophisticated future testing of these models. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

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The purpose of this study was to create a detailed description of the ecological context of friendship development in an inclusive classroom. Of specific interest, was the friendship development of a target child with a diagnosed special need. This topic was investigated from multiple perspectives: the researcher/observer, the target student and her peers, the teacher, and the principal. The goal of the investigation was to identify the perceptions of these individuals in relation to the following issues: supports and resources, the ecological context of the classroom, and activities which support the development of peer friendships. Information from this study can be used by teachers as they prepare to meet the social needs of students in inclusive classrooms. Today's teachers are not dealing solely with academic challenges. Rather, they are expected to provide children with social and emotional support in addition to cognitive stimulation and assessment. The results of this study provide insights that stimulate practitioners to reflect upon their roles in providing support for social development of children in an inclusive primary grade classroom. / Master of Science

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