Augusto Boal\u27s Theatre of the Oppressed in the Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication classrooms

In this study, I document and analyze how I applied Boal\u27s Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) techniques in introductory Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication (IPC) courses. In the first chapter, Boal\u27s democratic praxis is discussed in terms of critical performance pedagogy and Brecht\u27s social aesthetics. I identify the qualitative social scientific method of data collection and analysis I used and base the significance of the study in my testing of TO in non-performance educational contexts and in the integrated communication studies curricula that resulted. In Chapter Two, I summarize Boal\u27s career as an interactive theatre practitioner. My review includes synopses of his practices and the books he wrote. In Chapter Three, I document and discuss the two Boal based assignments I developed for the Public Speaking course. In the first, Boal\u27s newspaper theatre exercises and Gregory Ulmer\u27s mystory method are applied to a self-introductory speech assignment. In the second, Boal\u27s cop in the head exercises and Joker System are adapted to a group project titled The Persuasive Speech Forum. In Chapter Four, I document and analyze my application of TO to three IPC course assignments. In the first, Boal\u27s concept of Image Theatre informs an assignment in which students show their understanding of IPC concepts of selfhood in a shadow box they create and present. Boal\u27s Invisible Theatre practices are used to test nonverbal norms in the second assignment. In the third, a fusion of Boal\u27s Forum Theatre and Joker System techniques are used by students to investigate interpersonal conflicts and management strategies. In Chapter Five, I summarize the study and my findings, applying myself to the merits, drawbacks and possibilities of the assignments I developed. Lastly, I discuss the role and function of the educator as a Joker figure. The Appendices offer course handouts and representative examples of the students\u27 work which I draw on throughout the study to discuss and evaluate the merits and limitations of the assignments

Anticipated vs Experienced Work-Family Conflict: Newcomer Expectations and Early Socialization Outcomes

Applying met expectations and newcomer socialization theory, congruence and discrepancy between anticipated work-family conflict (AWFC) and experienced WFC were examined in relation to job satisfaction, affective commitment, and turnover intent. It was hypothesized that when AWFC and WFC are in agreement outcomes are more favorable. Further, it was hypothesized that when the discrepancy is such that WFC is higher than AWFC outcomes are more favorable than vice versa. Data were collected from 205 adults, first as graduating seniors in college and again three months after starting their post-graduation jobs. Polynomial regression revealed that congruence between work interference with family (WIF) and anticipated work interference with family (AWIF) was related to increased job satisfaction and affective commitment but not decreased turnover. When WIF was higher than AWIF, job satisfaction and affective commitment are higher than when WIF was lower than AWIF, but this was not the case for turnover intent. Hypotheses regarding family interference with work (AFIW) were not supported. Unexpectedly, men reported higher levels of AWIF and AFIW than women. Findings expand understanding of the nature of relationships between WIF and work-related outcomes by applying the concept of met expectations. Future research should examine interventions to provide realistic previews regarding expected levels of WIF for individuals prior to entering the organization to determine if job satisfaction and affective commitment can be improved indirectly through the formation of realistic expectations regarding WIF

What is the Meaning in This? Teachers\u27 Propensity to Search for Meaning in Life During COVID-19 and the Role of Meaningful Work

The global COVID-19 pandemic has presented notable challenges in teachers’ career paths. In the present study, Super’s life-span, life-space theory was applied to examine the interplay between K-12 teachers’ propensity to search for meaning in life and meaningfulness attributed to their work role (i.e., meaningful work) in predicting career-relevant outcomes in the face of challenging circumstances over the course of a semester. A model was proposed in which propensity to search for meaning in life led to better work and career outcomes, an effect moderated by meaningful work. Longitudinal data from a sample of 617 teachers over eight outcome measurement timepoints across the fall 2020 semester was leveraged to test the model using a latent growth curve modeling approach. Meaningful work was positively related to self rated job performance and intrinsic work motivation, an effect that was stable over time. Interactive effects between propensity to search for meaning in life and meaningful work were found for intrinsic work motivation and occupational turnover intentions. At low meaningful work, those with higher propensity to search for meaning in life had higher intrinsic work motivation at the start of the semester and over time than those with low propensity to search for meaning. At high meaningful work, those with higher propensity to search for meaning in life had higher occupational turnover intentions than those with low propensity to search for meaning. Important implications for our understanding of meaning-making regarding roles in the life-space during challenging circumstances in the life-span and the practical applications of these findings for professions, organizations, and leaders are discussed

Reflections on Creating and Maintaining Supportive Graduate Program Culture Online: Lessons Learned from a Top-Ranked Doctoral Program

We agree with Kraiger et al. (2022) that creating and maintaining a strong and positive culture (p. X) is a primary challenge for developing and maintaining high-quality online industrial-organizational (I-O) graduate programs, especially doctoral programs. To elaborate on this topic and provide initial insights into best practices, we offer an analysis of our experience in translating our program culture, which ranked at the top for culture in a recent survey of I-O graduate programs (Roman et al., 2018), to an online setting in response to the global pandemic. The coauthor reflections represent multiple perspectives, including that of the doctoral program coordinator who has a 30-year span of experience and knowledge regarding the evolution of the program’s culture, a senior doctoral student who experienced the program entirely in-person for 4 years prior to online conditions, and a graduate student who entered the program under strictly online conditions. Our analysis is also informed by discussions with I-O faculty members and interviews with students who joined the program online in 2020 and 2021

Moving Beyond Automation: A Framework and Research Agenda Studying the Role of Information Systems in e-HR

Building on Zuboff’s (1985) concepts of the “automating” and “informating” effects of information technology, this study develops a framework that identifies the major areas in which information technology (IT) has the potential to transform the practice and delivery of human resource (HR) management. The framework briefly outlines how a human resource information system (HRIS) assists in the automation of HR processes and supports better information gathering and decision making by managers and HR professionals. Then, using the recruiting function of human resources, the manuscript illustrates how this framework can be used to inform HRIS research and identify gaps in the HRIS literature. This study concludes with a discussion of research questions, which, if examined, will help inform researchers as they study the use of IT to support the firms’ HR function

Thoughts about talk in romantic relationships: Similarity makes for attraction (and happiness, too)

Abstract OnlyThis current study assessed whether heterosexual dating partners are similar in their values about communication and how well such similarities predict partners’ attraction to one another and satisfaction with their relationship. Participants were 135 couples who described themselves as “seriously involved”; and had been dating for an average of 15 months. They completed a version of Burleson and Samter's (1990) Communication Functions Questionnaire, which assesses the value placed on several distinct communication skills and activities, and multiple measures of interpersonal attraction and relationship satisfaction. Correlational analyses indicated that partners’ evaluations of communication skills and activities were not significantly related. However, degree of similarity in couples’ communication values was moderately related to the assessments of attraction and satisfaction, demonstrating that partners with similar communication values were more attracted to one another and more satisfied with their relationship. In particular, similarities in the value placed on affectively oriented forms of communication such as ego support, comforting, and conflict management were significantly associated with indices of partner attraction and relationship satisfaction. Subsidiary analyses indicated that the similarities in couples’ communication values were not due to convergence (the tendency to become more similar over time). The results are discussed in terms of how cognitive similarities, especially those directly implicated in the conduct of a relationship, may contribute to the health and well being of that relationship

Board 141: Engineering Identity as a Predictor of Undergraduate Students\u27 Persistence in Engineering

Improving graduation rates of students who have selected and been admitted to engineering majors is a pivotal strategy in supporting national initiatives to increase the number of engineering graduates. Research suggests that the degree to which a student is attached to or belongs to engineering as a discipline better explains persistence-related outcomes than lack of interest and ability. As a result, identity frameworks have proven useful for furthering the understanding of engineering persistence. In this paper, we examine the relationship between undergraduate students’ engineering identity and persistence as an engineering major. As part of an ongoing NSF IUSE project, a concise five-item measure of engineering identity was developed and validated. That measure was administered to a large sample of engineering freshmen at a southwestern engineering school. Engineering identity was assessed twice, once prior to the beginning of fall semester when students had not yet taken an engineering course (Time 1) and once at the end of fall semester after completing introductory engineering courses (Time 2). Persistence as an engineering major was assessed prior to the beginning of the sophomore year (Time 3). Results showed that engineering identity measured at both Time 1 (r = .09) and Time 2 (r = .22) was significantly related to persistence as an engineering major at Time 3. The paper describes the implications of these longitudinal findings, future data analyses, and the importance of engineering identity. Having a concise, validated measure of identity will be valuable for quick assessment of student engineering identity and gaining further understanding of the relationship between identity and persistence in engineering

Similarity in cognitive complexity and attraction to friends and lovers: Experimental and correlational studies

Abstract OnlyTwo studies are reported examining whether similarities in cognitive complexity foster different forms of interpersonal attraction. Study 1 provided an experimental test of the hypothesis that perceivers would be more attracted to targets with similar levels of complexity than to targets with dissimilar levels of complexity. Participants read interpersonal impressions reflecting low and high levels of cognitive complexity and completed 3 assessments of attraction (social, task, and intellectual) to the source of the impressions. As predicted, there were significant interactions between perceiver complexity and target complexity such that high-complexity perceivers were more attracted to high-complexity targets than were low-complexity perceivers, whereas low-complexity perceivers were more attracted to low-complexity targets than were high-complexity perceivers. Unexpectedly, however, low-complexity perceivers were more attracted to a high-complexity target than a low-complexity target. Study 2 examined the effects of similarities in cognitive complexity on attraction among 126 pairs of dating partners. Partners having similar levels of cognitive complexity expressed significantly greater intellectual attraction to one another than partners having dissimilar levels of cognitive complexity

Inclusive pion double charge exchange on O-16 above the delta resonance

The forward inclusive pion double charge exchange reaction, ^{16}O(pi^-,pi^+)X, at T_0 = 0.50 and 0.75 GeV has been studied in the kinematical region where an additional pion production is forbidden by energy-momentum conservation. The experiment was performed with the SKS spectrometer at KEK PS. The measured ratio of double charge exchange cross-section for these energies dsigma(0.50 GeV)/dOmega / dsigma(0.75 GeV)/dOmega = 1.7 +/- 0.2, disagrees with the value of 7.2 predicted within the conventional sequential single charge exchange mechanism. Possible reasons for the disagreement are discussed in connection with the Glauber inelastic rescatterings.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure