Civility as a Central Student Learning Outcome in the Basic and Introductory Communication Courses

The basic argument being advanced is that civility ought to be a fundamental or central concern and guiding principle in our basic and introductory courses. Like the more common standards of effectiveness and appropriateness, civility ought to become one of the key standards by which we judge the quality of communication, and consequently ought to become a central learning outcome and a more significant focus in our teaching and research. Specifically, students should leave our basic interpersonal, public speaking, and business and professional speaking courses with an understanding of and appreciation for how an attitude of civility can positively influence their communication effectiveness, and gain context-specific experience in translating civil attitudes into communication behaviors. Examples of more specific learning outcomes will be describe for interpersonal, business and professional, and public speaking contexts. Therefore the first part of this essay will briefly outline the “case” for civility as a central learning outcome, while the second part will provide a very selective look at the available literature that can inform the inclusion and infusion of civility into our courses followed by sample student learning outcomes for each course

A Communication Based Model of Friendship for the Interpersonal Communication Course

This paper presents a model of friendship drawn from the friendship research of S.W. Duck and the management approach to interpersonal communication of S.A. Deetz and S.L. Stevenson. Duck\u27s research is briefly summarized and offered as a theoretical and conceptual foundation for understanding the psychological or cognitive dimensions of friendship. The Management Approach to interpersonal communication, researched by Deetz and Stevenson, is developed as a means for understanding the behavior dimensions associated with the conduct of friendship. These complementing approaches are integrated using the general systems notions of structure, function and evolution. The approaches and model are discussed as they relate to the development of interpersonal communication competence

Fundamentals or financialisation of commodity markets: What determines recent wheat prices?

Food price developments have various impacts at the country and household level, in particular in developing countries with severe implications on food security, poverty and economic stability. The focus of this paper is on wheat as it is, together with rice, the most important food crop. The analysis focuses on the determinants of recent wheat price developments, in particular on the role of fundamental supply and demand factors and the financialisation of commodity markets, i.e. the increasing presence of financial investors. The paper gives an overview of the relevance of wheat in the global food production system, recent wheat price developments, and different determinants of wheat prices stated in the literature, in particular the controversial debate on the influence of financial investors. It adds to this debate by employing a basic supply and demand model for global wheat prices based on the main fundamental demand and supply factors stated in the literature. The model can replicate actual wheat prices up to 2006/07 but a significant divergence appears thereafter. This gap may be explained by non-fundamental factors, most importantly financialisation

Monitoring residual 36 h post-match neuromuscular fatigue in rugby union; a role for postural control?

© 2019, © 2019 European College of Sport Science. The present study investigated single-leg balance and landing measures, respectively, at the beginning of a weekly micro-cycle 36 h after a match compared to 48 h rest without any match load. Twenty-seven professional rugby union players performed balance and landing tests on a 1000 Hz force plate across three in-season micro-cycles either with or without match loads in the prior 36 h. Participants were further sub-divided into higher and lower match load groups to investigate changes in balance and landing variables. Differences between rested and 36 h post-match single-leg balance sway velocity were trivial in all cases, except for the higher-load group on the dominant leg, which were possibly impaired 36 h post-match (ES ± 90% CL = 0.68 ± 0.66). Differences between rested and 36 h post-match single-leg landing measures of relative impulse on the non-dominant leg were possibly lower (0.36 ± 0.34), with possible impairment observed on both legs in the higher load group 36 h post-match (0.39 ± 0.33; 0.49 ± 0.42). Differences in landing measures of peak force and time to stabilisation were mainly trivial (ES < 0.20). Postural control measures at 36 h post-match are comparable to a rested state; though impairment of sway velocity on the dominant leg and landing impulse may indicate residual neuromuscular fatigue resulting from increased match exposure

The Blending of the Traditional and Professional Approaches to Communication: Department Chairs Share Administrative Challenges, Opportunities, and Best Practices

The genesis of this article was a 2013 Eastern Communication Association panel that gathered department chairs of blended communication programs (those combining a traditional communication studies perspective with a mass media perspective) to exchange challenges, opportunities, and best practices of administering such programs. The article reviews the available literature and synthesizes and summarizes the experience of participating department chairs tasked with administering blended departments

Postural Control Responses to Different Acute and Chronic Training Load Profiles in Professional Rugby Union.

Troester, JC and Duffield, R. Postural control responses to different acute and chronic training load profiles in professional rugby union. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2019-The current investigation identified the response of postural control (PC) measures of single-leg balance and landing to different accumulated training load profiles representing normal, higher, and spiked loads. Twenty-two professional rugby union players performed single-leg balance and landing tests on a 1,000-Hz force plate on the first training day of 24 weeks across the season after 36 hours of recovery. Internal (session rating of perceived exertion training load) and external (total and high-speed running distance) load measures were monitored during all training sessions and matches. Calculations of acute (7-day rolling average), chronic (28-day rolling average), and acute-to-chronic workload ratio were determined. Three-week load profiles were identified that represented normal, spike, and higher load profiles to determine the effect on PC, which were analyzed using 2-way repeated-measures analysis of variance. A significant effect of load profile on landing impulse on the dominant (p = 0.005) and nondominant legs (p = 0.001) was identified, with significantly greater impulse measures in the spike and higher load profiles (p = 0.001-0.041) compared with the normal load profile. Significant load profile × week interactions (p 0.05) were identified for load profile changes in single-leg balance sway velocity or single-leg landing time to stabilization. The respective landing responses may indicate altered movement strategies under spike and higher load profiles resulting from neuromuscular fatigue in response to the accumulated load