11 research outputs found

    Service-Learning: An Experiment to Increase Interpersonal Communication Confidence and Competence

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    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether engaging in course service-learning projects can impact interpersonal oral communication confidence and skill development beyond that of traditional course research projects. Design/methodology/approach – Three sections of a university management course were randomly assigned to have a service-learning team project, while the other three retained the traditional research team project. All projects were student-generated. Survey data were collected at the beginning of the semester and at the end four months later. Findings – Results indicated that service-learning produces greater oral communication self-efficacy. For female students, service-learning projects also increased their interpersonal communication self-efficacy and interpersonal communication competence (but not for males). Research limitations/implications – The sample was limited to students in a management course, service-learning projects were only completed by groups and the study did not examine outcomes beyond four months. Future research could examine outcomes from projects by individuals, and examine what service-learning components create differing results between men and women. Practical implications – Oral communication confidence can be bolstered through service-learning. Benefits may depend upon participant characteristics (like gender). Inasmuch as different service-learning projects positively impacted oral communication, students can be given flexibility in the kinds of projects they undertake. Originality/value – This study answered the widespread calls for empirical data to support the claims of service-learning as a beneficial pedagogical tool. The experimental and measurement design overcame the limitations of some previous research. In addition, the study examined the crucial skill area of interpersonal oral communication

    Enhancing Public Speaking Confidence, Skills, and Performance: An Experiment of Service-Learning

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    Much of service-learning research has been characterized as anecdotal and testimonial with widespread calls for more empirical data to support the claimed benefits of this pedagogical tool. The present longitudinal experiment answered these calls by testing the effect of service-learning projects on several oral communication skills during a 4-month period, as well as some boundary conditions affecting this impact. The intervention consisted of involvement in 1 of 20 different team-developed service-learning projects compared to traditional research projects. This was hypothesized to boost management students\u27 public speaking self-efficacy, lower anxiety, and improve public speaking mechanics competence along with actual public speaking performance (evaluated by independent raters). Results indicated that a wide array of service-learning projects can positively impact students in each of these important areas of public speaking. It was also found that service-learning more strongly benefited those initially lower in public speaking self-efficacy. Thus, this experiment suggests that instructors can include a service-learning component in their courses that can aid students’ oral communication skill development

    The Great Academic-Practitioner Divide: A Tale of Two Paradigms

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    For decades, many academicians have expressed concern about the gap between themselves and practitioners. In those decades, much has been written about the probable causes of and methods for narrowing this gap. Despite the dialog and the efforts to narrow it, the gap remains. This paper explores four assumptions related to the gap. We use paradigm theory to examine the academic world and the practitioner world and to explain how the separate worlds perpetuate the gap. We then propose that academicians either accept the gap or legitimize the pracademic viewpoint. a paradigm that reconciles the differences between the academic and practitioner paradigms. Specific suggestions are provided regarding the establishment and development of the pracademic paradigm

    Negative Reputation and Biased Student Evaluations of Teaching: Longitudinal Results from a Naturally Occurring Experiment

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    This longitudinal, naturally occurring field experiment simultaneously tested several important limitations of previous research regarding a negative reputation biasing ratings of work performance (student evaluations of teaching). First-year MBA students were randomly assigned to intervention and control sections of the same course. Unfavorable information about the treatment-group professor created a negative reputation that persisted in the midst of very disconfirming actual positive performance. The naturally occurring intervention biased individuals\u27 decision-making process and resulted in inaccurate ratings of professor performance and negative halo error judgments of course materials, grading, and the amount learned. Additional data for the treatment-group professor but without a reputation corroborated these findings. Evidence also indicated that trait emotional intelligence and assertiveness mitigated the biasing effect of the reputation. Implications regarding the use of student evaluations of teaching are shared, and suggestions are offered to help mitigate and manage reputation biases

    The Biasing Impact of Positive Instructor Reputation on Student Evaluations of Teaching

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    A naturally-occurring intervention in a longitudinal field setting (4 months) was used to examine the presence and biasing impact of a positive reputation on subsequent ratings of work performance (student evaluations of teaching). During pre-semester interactions, first-year MBA students received information from second-year MBAs about their upcoming professors and classes. Favorable information about the two professors and course examined in the present study caused a positive reputation. Results indicated that despite four months of experiencing actual performance, the positive reputation hindered students’ decision-making process resulting in biasedly inflated ratings of instructor performance and halo error judgments of course materials, grading, and amount learned. The problematic implications of using biased student evaluations of teaching to measure faculty performance is discussed, along with suggestions of ways to mitigate against overreliance on this evaluation method and to possibly minimize reputational effects

    The antecedents and effects of national corruption: A meta-analysis

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    A meta-analysis of 42 empirical studies was conducted to quantitatively summarize the corruption literature within a holistic theoretical framework. In general, variables within the political/legal, economics, and socio-cultural categories were equally correlated with national corruption; however, there have been twice as many studies examining the causes of corruption than those that examine the effects of corruption. Furthermore, we found that some measures of corruption are more robust than others. Finally, we identified some insights which future researchers might want to explore further. Overall, this study summarizes previous research, and serves as a guide to future research on corruption.Meta-analysis Corruption Corporate governance Institutional choice perspective
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