Discusses reference service to international students, potential miscommunications, and problems with the three kinds of questions in the reference interview. Notes the attributes of the neutral question and describes how librarians can maximize its effectiveness by making a "statement of intent" that provides a comfortable framework for…

This article describes the current training and certification procedures in place for linguistic interpreters, the continuum of interpreter roles, and how interpreters' perspectives may influence the interpretive interaction. The specific skills needed for interpreting in either health care or educational settings are identified. A table compares…

An international educational exchange program involving nursing students was examined using Habermas' theory of communicative action. Politics and economics were found to inhibit active communication and the potential benefits of shared understanding through interaction. (Contains 20 references.) (SK)

The influx of minorities into the workplace requires attention to their participation in workplace training, to race relations and organizational culture, and to potential communication difficulties. Human resource professionals must address cultural diversity issues as they affect the attainment of organizational goals. (SK)

Although many talk about cultural diversity on campus, the reality of a multicultural environment in higher education is rarely recognized. Barriers include communication problems, differing cultural values, and nonverbal communication patterns. Realizing a multicultural environment requires risk taking, openness to ideas, patience, and respect.…

Suggests ways in which attribution theories can explain the interpretation processes involved in understanding nonverbal behavior. Examines attribution choices for nonverbal messages between romantic partners and finds that level of relational satisfaction correlates with perceptions of cause for nonverbal messages. (MG)

Compared the conversations of mothers and fathers with their children, focusing special attention on breakdown-repair sentences. It was found, overall, that children and secondary caregiver fathers experienced more communicative breakdowns than did children and primary caregiver mothers. (23 references) (Author/CB)

Examines the Japanese concept of "ma" (a gap or interval representing a collapse of time and space). Compares it to the Western perception of time and space. Discusses the implications it carries for the study of intercultural and intracultural communication. (SR)

Describes a study that measured students' comprehension of a selection of library terms. Protocol analyses were used to examine the reasoning processes employed by subjects. The results show that patrons misunderstand library terms approximately half of the time, and a continuum of solutions is offered. (16 references) (Author/CLB)

Examines strikingly parallel claims concerning Japanese communication strategies, and female communication strategies in the West. Miscommunication between Japan and the West resembles miscommunication between the sexes in the West, suggesting not that Japanese linguistic behavior is not feminine but that it is indicative of the problems inherent…

Follow Through, a Head Start transitional model serving low-SES children, requires active home-school collaboration. This study, which examines methods used by Follow Through teachers to contact families, shows that positive attitudes may not translate into innovative communication practices. Two-way methods were used primarily for high-ability…

Neither teachers nor supervisors benefit from poor evaluation methods. Effective evaluation ultimately depends on the presence of open trust and communication within an organization. "Drive-by" shooting evaluations are often poorly disguised attempts to weed out a faculty member by confronting that person with virtually nothing but negative…

Student perspectives on school and learning are remarkably similar to teachers' own views. Teachers want to be respected and to work with students who care and exhibit humor, openness, consideration, and active involvement in subject-area content. Students say they want these same things, including a safe, tension-free environment. (seven…

This editorial notes the differences between the language of science and the language of special education practice; stresses the need for communication between these groups; notes the need for publications in both areas; and urges continued dialog among researchers, practitioners, and parents. (DB)

Ten preschool subjects exhibiting more disfluencies than 50 other subjects with language disorders were found to be older and score higher on vocabulary. Findings suggest some children with language disorders are at risk for fluency breakdown because of dysynchronies in development of lexical and syntactic aspects of language or as a result of…