Millennials in the Workplace: A Communication Perspective on Millennials’ Organizational Relationships and Performance

Stereotypes about Millennials, born between 1979 and 1994, depict them as self-centered, unmotivated, disrespectful, and disloyal, contributing to widespread concern about how communication with Millennials will affect organizations and how they will develop relationships with other organizational members. We review these purported characteristics, as well as Millennials’ more positive qualities—they work well in teams, are motivated to have an impact on their organizations, favor open and frequent communication with their supervisors, and are at ease with communication technologies. We discuss Millennials’ communicated values and expectations and their potential effect on coworkers, as well as how workplace interaction may change Millennials

Analogical cognition: an insight into word meaning

Analogical cognition, extensively researched by Dedre Gentner and her colleagues over the past thirty five years, has been described as the core of human cognition, and it characterizes our use of many words. This research provides significant insight into the nature of word meaning, but it has been ignored by linguists and philosophers of language. I discuss some of the implications of the research for our account of word meaning. In particular, I argue that the research points to, and helps account for, a key explanatory role that linguistic meaning must play. The research also shows how words contribute to thought as opposed to merely being a means of conveying thought

Planned development and evaluation of AIDS/STD education for secondary school students in The Netherlands: short-term effects

This study evaluated the effects of an AIDS/STD curriculum for 9th- and 10th-grade students in the Netherlands. Curriculum development was based on (1) theory-based need assessments among students and teachers, (2) pilot testing of data-based and theory-based methods and materials, and (3) cooperation between researchers and students, teachers, and gatekeepers within the school system. Using a quasi-experimental design, program effects on students' attitudes, beliefs, and sexual behavior were compared with those of current AIDS/STD education practice. The results indicated that the experimental curriculum had a stronger favorable impact on students' attitudes and beliefs regarding using condoms consistently. Regarding sexual risk behavior, a differential curriculum effect could be demonstrated. These findings support the contention that current AIDS/STD education can be improved by (1) using empirical data, (2) applying multiple theories from the social sciences, and (3) involving representatives within the school system in the development process