The Buffer Effect

The mediating nature of communication technologies (e.g., telephone, voice message, or chat) can buffer the experience of conversations by establishing a figurative shield between sender and receiver. From a psychological perspective, this buffer effect may affect senders’ communication channel choices depending on their respective communication goals. Building on the impression management model of strategic channel use ( O’Sullivan, 2000 ), we examine how valence and locus of a message and the interlocutors’ relationship lead to differences in the buffer effect people establish through their channel choices. In two vignette-based, mixed-design studies, participants indicated which channel they would choose to communicate with a receiver in different situations, depending on the valence of the episode (positive vs. negative; Studies 1 and 2), who is at the center of the issue (self vs. other; Studies 1 and 2), and their interpersonal closeness (friend vs. acquaintance; Study 2). In Study 1, people chose channels with a higher buffer effect for negative (vs. positive) issues and episodes that focused on themselves (vs. the receiver). Study 2 supported a moderating effect of relationship. While people still chose channels with higher buffer effects for negative (vs. positive) issues in the acquaintance condition, the opposite was true when people were to communicate with friends. We attribute this to the higher salience of relational compared to self-presentational communication goals under increasing interpersonal closeness. The present studies expand the impression management model by focusing on the subjective buffer effect of communication channels and introducing the decisive role of relationship in its application.

Formation of Speech Competence of Students in the Process of Mastering the Methodology of Ukrainian Language

The purpose of this article is to point out the need to consider a number of criteria and skills required for the formation of speaking competence of students-philologists and pupils of secondary schools. The article emphasizes the need of mastering speech competence. There are shown basic communication skills to be in shape for training students in higher education teaching areas. The author interprets different points of view concerning the problem; considers scientific principles of creating situational tasks and the role of the latter in simulating pupils’ coherent speech; analyses the experience gained in solving the problem and substantiates some ways of its employment at language lessons with good prospects. There is highlighted the importance of systematic work on enriching speech reserve of students, the basic criteria for the formation of high-quality speech utterance are determined (thematic, informative content, linguistic and structural, situational, heuristic, activity oriented, etc.). In terms of mastering specific language activities, particularly at the methodology lessons in Ukrainian language, it is important to pay attention of students and teachers to the list of necessary communicative skills and skills to take into account a number of criteria that will facilitate the ability to correctly build own statement, realize the communication process, achieving this desired communication goals. Prospects for further development of this problem lies in the detailed examination of each of these criteria, expanding their range, identifying and analyzing the factors, activities that contribute to the formation of speaking competence of students-philologists.

How do Hematologists Communicate with Patients Suffering from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia?

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a chronic hematologic malignancy with great heterogeneity and unpredictable clinical course. The European Research Initiative on CLL (ERIC), in the context of its CLL Patient Empowerment Program, conducted a study exploring hematologists’ experience of communication. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with hematologists caring for CLL patients in Greece. Inductive thematic qualitative analysis was employed revealing 3 major themes: (i) disclosure of information encompassing ‘negotiating the level of disclosure’, ‘the power of cultural perceptions’, ‘fear of being held culpable’, ‘fear of patients’ and own emotions’; (ii) medical-decision making which described ‘balancing autonomy and beneficence’, ‘considering patients’ preferences’ and ‘adhering to practice guidelines’; (iii) emotional support which included ‘assessment of emotional distress’, ‘identifying and regulating patients’ emotions’ and ‘maintaining a supportive relationship’. In conclusion, physicians are aware of the importance of communication and its potential impact on CLL patients. They use a wide range of communication strategies which serve the diversity of communication goals they must achieve. However, the majority have not received formal education on patient interactions. Present findings highlight the need for specific communication protocols, guidance and training that will empower physicians to overcome challenges, inherent to the nature of CLL.

The effectiveness of modern technologies in achieving the communicative goals of higher education institutions

The study addressed the issue of the effectiveness of modern means in achieving the communicative goals of higher education institutions, Omdurman Islamic University as a model during period from 2018-2020.The problem of the study presented on the lack of employment of modern means to achieve the goals of the establishment properly in higher education. The study depend on the hypothesis which says modern means have achieved positive developments in the educational process, The study followed the descriptive method, and the study aimed at the modern means used in Omdurman Islamic University and presented the desired goals of using modern means in the educational process. The study concluded, in its practical and theoretical part, to a number of results, namely: The study confirmed that the benefits of using modern means in the educational process is the exchange of research and experiences internally and externally, and the study proved that one of the most important communication goals that have been achieved from the use of modern means are the events of continuous changes in teaching means. The study concluded with the following recommendations: The necessity of activating continuous training for teachers, and modern advanced means must be used in the educational process.

Feasibility and acceptability of virtually coaching residents on communication skills: a pilot study

Background Developing communication skills is a key competency for residents. Coaching, broadly accepted as a training modality in medical education, has been proven a successful tool for teaching communication skills. Little research is available thus far to investigate virtual coaching on communication skills for telemedicine encounters. The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that virtually coaching residents on communication skills is feasible and acceptable. We surveyed 21 resident-faculty pairs participating in a “fully virtual” coaching session (patient, coach, and resident were virtual). Methods We asked 50 neurology resident-faculty coach pairs to complete one “fully virtual” coaching session between May 20 and August 31, 2020. After each session, the resident and coach completed a 15-item survey, including Likert-style scale and open-ended questions, assessing feasibility and acceptability. Descriptive statistics and qualitative content and thematic analyses were performed. Results Forty-two percent (21/50) of all eligible residents completed “fully virtual” coaching sessions. The overall survey response rate was 91 % (38/42). The majority of respondents agreed that the direct observation and debriefing conversation were easy to schedule and occurred without technical difficulties and that debriefing elements (self-reflection, feedback, takeaways) were useful for residents. Ninety-five percent of respondents rated the coach’s virtual presence to be not at all disruptive to the resident-patient interaction. Virtual coaching alleviated resident stress associated with observation and was perceived as an opportunity for immediate feedback and a unique approach for resident education that will persist into the future. Conclusions In this pilot study, residents and faculty coaches found virtual coaching on communication skills feasible and acceptable for telemedicine encounters. Many elements of our intervention may be adoptable by other residency programs. For example, residents may share their communication goals with clinic faculty supervisors and then invite them to directly observe virtual encounters what could facilitate targeted feedback related to the resident’s goals. Moreover, virtual coaching on communication skills in both the in-person and telemedicine settings may particularly benefit residents in challenging encounters such as those with cognitively impaired patients or with surrogate decision-makers.

Does social media influence consumer decision-making in times of the COVID 19 pandemic.

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of social and traditional media on customer decision-making and to find out which of these two in times of pandemics affect more on customer decision-making. A survey was conducted using 250 respondents from Ampara District, Sri Lanka, aged between 20-30. The questionnaires were divided equally into three sets, the first part containing social media-related questions, the other part containing conventional media related questions, and the third aspect of customer decision-making. Results from a survey of 250 young people in Ampara, Sri Lanka show that in times of pandemic where both social and traditional media affect consumer decision-making but social media influence is much greater than the traditional media. The findings show that advertisers need to carefully pick the media to communicate with target customers in order to achieve their marketing communication goals.

Exploring Animal-Assisted Therapy for Creating Rich Communicative Environments and Targeting Communication Goals in Subacute Rehabilitation

Purpose This study continues our research examining the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) for patients with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. AAT pairs an animal/handler team with a licensed therapist during sessions to target discipline-specific goals. Our original study focused on dog/handler teams paired with occupational and physical therapists during inpatient rehabilitation sessions. We documented multiple ways that AAT enriched the communicative environment, increasing the amount, complexity, and voluntariness of patient participation. This study focuses on speech-language pathology sessions, comparing communicative environments during AAT and traditional sessions. We also examined the speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') experiences in learning to plan for and target communication goals for patients during AAT sessions. Method This interpretive design combines ethnographic methods with participatory action research. We recruited 10 patients from an inpatient rehabilitation unit and two SLPs. We video-recorded 20 speech-language pathology sessions (one AAT and one traditional for each patient) and conducted 26 interviews. We consulted with SLPs on how to incorporate AAT into their treatment during their preparation time and used self-report measures to track changes in their planning time and confidence across the 6-week study. Findings Across participants, AAT sessions provided richer communicative environments than traditional speech-language pathology sessions as measured by participant talk time, mean length of turns, and use of interactional discourse resources such as narrative use and playful language. The SLPs were rapidly able to adapt their clinical practice to incorporate AAT and displayed rapid and marked decreases in their initial planning time and increases in confidence. Conclusion AAT sessions created meaningful, rich, and complex communicative environments in a clinical space for participants to align with others around a shared interest.

Effective uncertainty visualization for aftershock forecast maps

Earthquake models can produce aftershock forecasts, which have recently been released to lay audiences following large earthquakes. While visualization literature suggests that displaying forecast uncertainty can improve how forecast maps are used, research on uncertainty visualization is missing from earthquake science. We designed a pre-registered online experiment to test the effectiveness of three visualization techniques for displaying aftershock forecast maps and their uncertainty. These maps showed the forecasted number of aftershocks at each location for a week following a hypothetical mainshock, along with the uncertainty around each location’s forecast. Three different uncertainty visualizations were produced: (1) forecast and uncertainty maps adjacent to one another; (2) the forecast map depicted in a color scheme, with the uncertainty shown by the transparency of the color; and (3) two maps that showed the lower and upper bounds of the forecast distribution at each location. Unlike previous experiments, we compared the three uncertainty visualizations using tasks that are systematically designed to address broadly applicable and user-generated communication goals. We compared task responses between participants using uncertainty visualizations and using the forecast map shown without its uncertainty (the current practice). Participants completed two map-reading tasks that targeted several dimensions of the readability of uncertainty visualizations. Participants then performed a comparative judgment task, which demonstrated whether a visualization was successful in reaching two key communication goals: indicating where many aftershocks and no aftershocks are likely (sure bets) and where the forecast is low but the uncertainty is high enough to imply potential risk (surprises). All visualizations performed equally well in the goal of communicating sure bet situations. But the visualization with lower and upper bounds was substantially better than the other designs at communicating surprises. These results have implications for the communication of forecast uncertainty both within and beyond earthquake science.

PERUBAHAN TINGKAH LAKU SISWA MELALUI KOMUNIKASI ANTAR PRIBADI GURU PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM

This study describes systematically changes in student behavior through interpersonal communication of Islamic Education teachers at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Assalam Martapura. Focusing on changing behavior and helping teachers to implement good behavior to their students. This behavior change includes: a) Interactive involvement, this behavior change determines the level of one's participation and participation in communication with other people, including: responsiveness, perceptive attitude and attentiveness. b). Interaction management, this change in behavior helps a person be able to take useful actions for someone to achieve communication goals. c) Behavioral flexibility, this change in behavior helps a person to carry out various possible behaviors that can be taken to achieve communication goals. d) Listening, this behavior change helps someone to be able to listen to people who communicate with someone not only content, but also the feelings, concerns, and worries that accompany it. e) Social style, this behavior change helps someone to behave attractively, distinctively, and can be accepted by those who communicate with that person. f) Communication anxiety, this behavior change can overcome fear, confusion, and confusion of thought, body shaking, and stage fright that appears in communicating.

GRAMMAR AS COMMUNICATION: A DISCOURSE GRAMMAR OF DEIXIS

<p>This research article examines the micro-system THIS/THAT in contemporary English within the theoretical framework of Metaoperational Grammar. It proposes a new approach to bring into light how this pair functions, giving due account to the importance of the context and the communication goals that determine the selection of one of these operators in a given communication act. It aims, therefore, to bridge the gap between "grammar" and "communication" and to show that grammatical operators are at the heart of communication strategies and semantic interpretation. These insights into the functioning of THIS and THAT present, in fact, one of my main contributions to modern linguistics. Metaoperational Grammar has provided me with theoretical tools to (1) show the limitations of descriptive approaches which base their explanation of this pair on the proximal/non-proximal distinction; (2) bring into light the abstract mechanisms underlying the processing of these operators; and (3) show the role played by grammatical operators in building semantic interpretation and revealing the communication strategies of the speaker. Based on authentic examples, this article shows that the spatial-temporal parameters of proximity to the speaker (THIS) and distance from the speaker (THAT) are not endowed with explanatory power to account for the emergence of these operators in discourse, and hence the need for a discourse grammar of deixis.<strong></strong></p>