Communication Apprehension in Hybrid and Public Speaking Basic Communication Course Textbooks

For students enrolled in the basic communication course, their primary source for information about communication apprehension comes from the course textbook. Previous researchers have content analyzed textbooks for their coverage of communication apprehension in public speaking textbooks, but none have compared hybrid textbooks and public speaking textbooks. Twenty basic communication course textbooks, ten hybrid and ten public speaking, were analyzed for how they address communication apprehension. Results were consistent with previous research regarding communication apprehension in public speaking textbooks, noting few changes over the past 30 years. Implications for the basic communication course, along with suggestions for future research regarding communication apprehension are discussed

An Exploratory Investigation of Teacher Perceptions of Education and Communication at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In March 2020, teachers in the K–12 school system were forced to transition from in-person instruction to a variety of virtual teaching models due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented change required extensive communication between teachers, students, parents, and administrators. This study explored communication during the March–May 2020 transition period, utilizing Uncertainty Management Theory as an overarching framework to investigate how teacher comfort with online learning, communication overload, administrative clarity, and student–teacher interaction influenced the effectiveness and happiness of teachers. Across these four variables, communication overload was shown to be a strong negative predictor of teacher well-being; student–teacher interaction predicted positive teaching outcomes

Exploring the Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Family Farm Member Conflict Experiences

Family farm sustainability traditionally focuses on economic and environmental issues. However, sustaining family farms also relies on understanding how to sustain the relationships contained therein. Emotional intelligence (EI) is an important means through which family farm members can sustain relationships, especially when handing conflict between members. This paper focused on how four EI dimensions (awareness of own emotion, management of own emotion, awareness of others’ emotions, management of others’ emotions) could prevent four types of conflict within family farms (task, relational, process, and status). Family farm participants (N = 204) were recruited through social media posts and emails to specialty agricultural groups and agencies, and students at a university. Hierarchical regression results showed that awareness of own emotions, management of own emotions, and management of others’ emotions negatively predicted task, relational, process, and status conflict. Awareness of others’ emotions did not predict any conflict types. Theoretically, this article points to the importance of considering all four EI dimensions, since they impact conflict types differently. For the family farm members, being aware of their own emotions and being able to manage emotional responses in themselves and others can help prevent conflict from occurring, thereby sustaining both family and business relationships for the future

Tennessee Consumer Perceptions of Milk: Purchase Considerations, Safety and Price

The Tennessee dairy industry is facing many challenges with aging farmer populations, low milk prices and dairy farms struggling to maintain profitability. Many dairy producers have retired, sold out or lost contracts with milk handlers leading to a steady decline of dairy farms. Tennessee has declined to 179 licensed Grade ‘A’ dairy farms in January 2020 from 276 Grade ‘A’ dairy farms in January 2018 – a decrease of 97 dairies in two years (Strasser, 2021). With the loss of dairy farms, we can expect economic difficulties for businesses that provide goods and services to the dairy industry across Tennessee. Along with declining milk prices, consumer demand for fluid milk has also been decreasing (Figure 1; USDA-ERS, 2020). The trend to consume local goods and services could potentially help Tennessee producers. In 2018, a Tennessee Milk logo was created to promote milk produced and bottled in Tennessee. Theoretically, this milk could be considered premium and demand a higher price. The consumer demand for locally branded fluid milk is unknown. The goal of this publication is to provide results of a consumer survey of perceptions, preferences and purchasing considerations for local, organic and store-brand milk to dairy producers, retailers and policy makers. As part of this study, we present: • Study participants’ willingness to pay for local, organic or store-branded milk • Purchasing trends for milk • Attributes associated with local, organic or store-branded milk • Participants’ various definitions of “local” according to geographic regions and miles travele