Editor\u27s Page

Now 16 years old, the Basic Communication Course Annual continues to hold a unique and instrumental status among peer communication journals. Notably, the Annual is the only national communication journal devoted to research and scholarship pertaining to the basic communication course. What started as an infant in 1988 has grown into a bright young-adult with an admirable sense of self. The success of the Annual is entirely attributable to the community of scholars who have supported the journal over the years. All of us should be thankful for the leadership provided by the previous editors: Deanna Sellnow, Craig Newburger, and especially Larry Hugenberg. One hallmark of the Annual has always been the professionalism and generosity of the editorial board, and that tradition certainly continues with the most recent iteration. Most importantly, the continued vitality of this journal is indebted to the long list of scholars who have used the Annual as the outlet for their scholarly efforts

Editor\u27s Page

As my tenure as editor of the Basic Communication Course Annual comes to an end, I have a great deal of excitement about the future of communication education and basic course scholarship. Looking back on the three most recent volumes, the diversity of scholars and ideas is remarkable. Moreover, careful readings of articles found in these volumes will show that these scholars are using rigorous methods to ask and answer theoretically provocative and practically potent questions. Indeed, these volumes will add to the rich history of this journal and will also serve as a foundation from which to build as Dr. Paul Turman takes over as editor for Volumes 19-21

Editor\u27s Page

Volume 17 of the Basic Communication Course Annual offers a great deal of insight on the varied dimensions of basic course pedagogy which, at the end of the day, allows the basic course to embody the ideals of our discipline. The complexity of communication is best illustrated in Turman’s article exploring the use of technology in the basic course. As Paul explains, students’ perceptions of teacher immediacy and affect are influenced not only by gender, but also by the use of technology. Paul’s findings show us that the classroom communication environment must not be characterized with a “one approach fits all” mentality. Communication richness could be defined in a number of ways. As Marshall and Violanti show us, the use of online individual conferences dramatically improve students’ perceptions of the class while at the same time causing students to feel better prepared. Last, the humanity present in all human communication is revealed through three separate studies. Javette Hayes reminds us of the very human behavior of using symbols to resolve classroom conflict and other problematic behaviors; Rattenborg, Simonds, and Hunt provide all teachers with a shot v of humanity by taking us inside the minds of students as they prepare for classroom dialogue; and, Amy Rachelle Wolfsen helps us understand how students with varying levels of communication apprehension react to different forms of pedagogy. Of course, this division of articles between complexity, richness, and humanity is arbitrary, for each article illustrates, in some way, these fundamental characteristics of human communication. For that we should all admire and attempt to emulate these scholars

The Effects of Praise on Student Motivation in the Basic Communication Course

This exploratory study tested the effects of praise on student motivation and affect toward a class and instructor. Participants (N=64) listened to a teacher-student interaction containing either praise or neutral feedback from the teacher. Students hearing praise reported higher levels of hypothetical affect and motivation than students hearing neutral feedback. Qualitative data were examined to help explain these results. Results are discussed in terms of future research possibilities in the basic course

A possible role for sPLA2 in oligodendrocyte death and spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be divided into two distinct stages, an initial mechanical impact and a later secondary injury resulting from a cascade of cytokines triggering a spreading demyelination and apoptosis of neurons and glia within the spinal cord. It is believed that blockade of this secondary injury could improve functional and histological recovery following SCI. Here we propose that sPLA2 might be one of the crucial mediators of the secondary injury. To test this possibility we first elucidated that the mRNA and protein of several isozymes of sPLA2 are present in the rodent spinal cord and that the group II enzymes are upregulated following SCI with a peak expression at 4 hours. Next, we showed that injuring differentiated cultures of oligodendrocyte precursor cells with H2O2 or TNFa and IL-1ß induces sPLA2 expression and pharmacological inhibition with a sPLA2 inhibitor, S3319, creates partial reversal of this injury. We further showed that a nanogram injection of sPLA2 into the naÏve dorsolateral funiculus of the cervical spinal cord is sufficient to produce demyelination, axonopathy, and glial death as well as a dose dependent loss of function as measured by pellet retrieval. Finally we showed that inhibition of sPLA2 by either i.p. injections of S3319 or a frame shift mutation in the sPLA2-IIA gene creates functional improvements in overground locomotion and bladder function. The functional recovery correlates well with increased white matter sparing and oligodendrocyte numbers within in the spinal cord, increased axon numbers at the lesion epicenter, and decreased inflammation and lesion cavity volume. These findings suggest that sPLA2 may play an important role in secondary SCI and that its blockade could facilitate recovery following SCI

Carol Titsworth and Clay Doss in a Joint Senior Recital

This is the program for the joint senior recital of pianist Carol Titsworth and bass-baritone Clay Doss. Pianist Retha Kilmer assisted Doss. The recital took place on November 18, 1982, in the Mabee Fine Arts Center Recital Hall

Kenneth Burke, the Basic Communication Course, and Applied Scholarship

The Journal of Applied Communication Research published a forum of position papers in 2000 (Volume 28, Issue 2) that sought to define “applied communication research.” Collectively, the authors called for scholarship that embodies a reflexive relationship between theory and practice (O’Hair, 2000; Keyton, 2000, Cissna, 2000; Eadie, 2000; Frey, 2000; Seibold, 2000; Wood, 2000). In this essay, we call for applied scholarship that focuses on how we talk, perform, and theorize the basic communication course. Drawing from the works of Kenneth Burke (e.g., 1931/1968; 1935; 1937/1984; 1941/ 1967; 1945/1969; 1954/1984), we focus specifically on the salience of discourses of and about the basic communication course and communication enriched courses across general education and liberal studies curricula

Vocational Education Plans and Related Data from Selected Vocational Agriculture Students Who are Eligible Enrollees in the Northeastern Oklahoma Area Vocational-Technical School

Agricultural Educatio

Multivariate Prediction of Executive Success

The principal purpose of this study was the assessment of the relationships of five personality traits, achievement motive, decisiveness, need for power, initiative, and selfassurance, to a criterion of executive success in business. A second purpose of the present study was the construction of a regression equation for the prediction of executive success

Analysis and Regional Comparison of Salaries and Working Conditions of Vocational Agriculture Teachers in the United States

Agricultural Educatio