Information use, attitude formation, and opinion expression concerning the U.S. military buildup on Guam The effects of colonial debt, pro-local stances, and conflict avoidance

This dissertation examines information use, attitude formation, and opinion expression concerning the U.S. military buildup on the island of Guam. This buildup involves the relocation of an estimated 8,500 U.S. Marine Corps personnel and 18,000 of their dependents and civilian support from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam. This dissertation investigates whether attention to information sources (local media, U.S. military officials, and U.S. politicians), perceived trustworthiness of information sources, colonial debt, and pro-local stances toward military presence influence attitudes toward the buildup; whether the perception that others' opinions regarding the buildup are congruent with one's own will be associated with willingness to express opinions on the buildup; whether conflict avoidance will negatively predict willingness to express opinions. Data from a pilot study were collected from a convenience sample ( N= 242) of Guam residents in August 2008. Final data for this dissertation was collected through a probability-based mail survey of registered voters on Guam (N= 319), administered during the summer of 2009. Results of the final 2009 mail survey showed that attention to information sources did not predict attitudes; trustworthiness of local media, trustworthiness of U.S. military officials/U.S. mainland politicians, and colonial debt were positively associated with pro-buildup attitudes; trustworthiness of U.S. military officials/U.S. mainland politicians and colonial debt were negatively associated with anti-buildup attitudes; pro-local stances toward military presence on Guam was positively associated with anti-buildup attitudes and negatively associated with pro-buildup attitudes and trustworthiness of U.S. military officials/U.S. mainland politicians; perceived congruence of opinions was positively associated with willingness to express opinions; conflict avoidance was negatively associated with willingness to express opinions. Conflict avoidance interacted with perceived congruence of opinions to predict willingness to express opinions. This dissertation ended by identifying conclusions, implications, and directions for future research

Ensuring a More Evidence-based Policy for Basic Education

Can the Philippines achieve its goal on two key international commitments--the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on Education and the Education for All (EFA) Initiative--for the achievement of education for everyone? A closer look at the figures would show that the country may be at risk of not achieving its goal of attaining universal primary education by 2015. Given this scenario, the authors suggest that the government should intensify its efforts in improving basic education by having evidence-based policies and actions. In particular, they note that the Department of Education (DepEd) should be required to have a sound monitoring and evaluation system to regularly assess the conditions of basic education.basic education, millennium development goal (MDG), education indicators, monitoring and evaluation

Talk matters at work: The effects of leader member conversational quality and communication frequency on work role stressors

Although it is clear that leadership plays a significant role in followers’ psychological health, the specific mechanisms by which leadership effects may take place await further theorizing and investigation. We argue that communication practices may constitute such specific mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) and communication frequency are associated with members’ perception of work role stressors. Through an online survey, the study found that LMCQ has a significant predictive effect on work role ambiguity and role overload. However, LMCQ interacts with communication frequency in their effects on role conflict. These findings contribute to theories of leadership communication and the continuous development of role dynamics theory

Conversation at work: The effects of leader-member conversational quality

Although research has made significant gains in understanding the constitutive nature of conversation in the process of organizing, its predictive effects on organizational outcomes are still uncertain. To contribute in this direction, based on social exchange theory and leader-member exchange (LMX) research, this study examined the predictive effects of leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) on employee organizational commitment (OC), and the potential interaction effects of LMCQ with LMX quality. Using data from an online survey, this study found that above and beyond communication frequency and other control variables, LMCQ is significantly associated with employee OC. More interestingly, the effects of LMCQ vary based on the level of LMX quality. These findings have significant implications at both theoretical and practical levels

Conversation at work: The effects of leader-member conversational quality

Although research has made significant gains in understanding the constitutive nature of conversation in the process of organizing, its predictive effects on organizational outcomes are still uncertain. To contribute in this direction, based on social exchange theory and leader-member exchange (LMX) research, this study examined the predictive effects of leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) on employee organizational commitment (OC), and the potential interaction effects of LMCQ with LMX quality. Using data from an online survey, this study found that above and beyond communication frequency and other control variables, LMCQ is significantly associated with employee OC. More interestingly, the effects of LMCQ vary based on the level of LMX quality. These findings have significant implications at both theoretical and practical levels

Leader–Member Conversational Quality Scale Development and Validation Through Three Studies

The continuing development of leadership research calls for measurement instruments that can tap into the communication process between leaders and members. The purpose of this present research is to develop and validate a Leader–Member Conversational Quality (LMCQ) scale—an instrument that measures the quality of conversations between leaders and members in the workplace. A series of three studies were conducted. Study I involved item generation and content validity assessment. Study II undertook the task of scale construction and reliability assessment. Study III tested the convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity of the scale. These studies resulted in a nine-item instrument with sufficient psychometric properties. The ability of the instrument to assess conversational practices quantitatively will help generate greater insights into leader–member communication dynamics and their consequences

Cyberchondria among Filipino teacher education students

The internet-dense ecosystem has dramatically influenced the health-seeking behaviors of various population groups, including education students. Exposure to massive and readily accessible online health information increases health anxiety resulting in cyberchondria, a phenomenon characterized by excessive health search on the internet. This cross-sectional research study examined the level of cyberchondria among 179 teacher education students. The findings revealed that excessiveness, distress, reassurance, and compulsion subscales of cyberchondria were at moderate levels. However, higher correlations existed between excessiveness and compulsion subscales and between distress and compulsion subscales. Gender and programs enrolled have very weak relationships with cyberchondria subscales. The weakest association was between the programs enrolled by the students and all cyberchondria subscales. Meanwhile, students' age and year level have slightly higher but weak associations to the cyberchondria subscales, especially the excessiveness and distress subscales. As an intervention, an interdisciplinary collaboration between teacher education programs and the health-related institutes is recommended to promote awareness about cyberchondria, its prevention, and management