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1 – 10 of 526Philip Kwaku Kankam and Samuel Osarfo Boateng
The anxiety that usually comes with a speaking performance is said to be both personal and situational. Researchers have over the years sought to understand how the combined…
Abstract
Purpose
The anxiety that usually comes with a speaking performance is said to be both personal and situational. Researchers have over the years sought to understand how the combined effects of personal traits of an individual and situational conditions such as the nature of the speaking environment, the size of the audience and negative perception over the outcome of a speech, affects a person’s ability to effectively communicate. While studies on speech-related anxiety in the academic environment is not new (Basic, 2011; Behnke et al., 2006), the attention of many of these studies has focused on students rather than lectures/instructors. While this study is not the first to focus on the role of lecturers in reducing the incidence of speech anxiety, the purpose of this paper is to stress the role of lecturers in reducing speech-related anxieties and its attendant effects on the academic and professional performances of students. It was found out that most speech-related anxiety is largely situational, rather than personal. The study found that out of fear of being negatively evaluated, students became highly apprehensive when asked to perform a speech-related task in the classroom. This, the study found, can potentially have adverse effects on the academic and professional performance of students. Most importantly, the study established the significant role of lecturers in managing a friendly and pleasant environment that facilitate speaking and positive learning outcomes. As Varron (2011) asserts: “the teacher is the one that facilitates the whole process of leaning and create favorable environment, where there is a smooth flow of communication.”
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 40 respondents from the School of Communications of the African University College of Communications were sampled for the study. The selection of only communication students was premised on the study’s quest to unravel the irony inherent in the fact that those communication students that are by their training required to be voluble, tend to be apprehensive, especially under the classroom situation. Doing this was to inevitably help to find out whether or not there is a relationship between an individual’s career choice and the behavioral tendencies such a person is likely to exhibit. Again, the fact that communication students are more competent to speak on issues regarding any subject on communication makes them an ideal choice for this study. A stratified probability sampling method was used to group the sample into various layers (levels). The study using stratified sampling grouped the various respondents into their various levels (strata) and sampled ten respondents from each level. This was to help the study ascertain whether or not any relationship existed between a student’s level and the level of their speaking apprehension. A questionnaire, close and open ended, was employed as the study’s principal instrument for data. Each respondent was given a questionnaire each to respond to. A “descriptive statistical measure was used to describe the characteristics of the sample, whereupon conclusions were generalized for the entire study population.” In addition, graphs, charts, and frequency tabulation made from the coded data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, after which the corresponding interpretation was assigned. To ensure accuracy, data were coded, entered, and cleaned. Tables and figures from the SPSS helped in making the results of the study easier to interpret and understandable.
Findings
The outcome of the administered questionnaire indicated that negative evaluation was caused by lack of adequate preparation, inferiority complex, fear of derision and needless comparisons among students. In respect of how fear of derision causes anxiety, it was found that fear of derision stifles students’ desire to be heard, makes students timid and prevents class participation. On the issue of why some student were deficient in the use of English language, it was found that poor reading habits, overuse of vernacular, obsession with the use of pidgin and apprehension following from the fear of making mistakes were the major causes.
Originality/value
The authors consider the proposed study original both in conceptualisation and design. The main question being interrogated stems from identified gaps in the literature and the study intends to fill these knowledge gaps. The study’s originality stems from the fact that there is paucity of information on the subject of study in the context of Ghana.
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A recent High Court case involving restrictions on eligibility criteria has highlighted the importance of public bodies' general equality duty under section 49A of the Disability…
Abstract
A recent High Court case involving restrictions on eligibility criteria has highlighted the importance of public bodies' general equality duty under section 49A of the Disability Discrimination Act 1996.
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Adaptors and innovators exhibit distinct approaches to problem solving and derision making: a finding which has far‐reaching implications for managerial psychologists who…
Abstract
Adaptors and innovators exhibit distinct approaches to problem solving and derision making: a finding which has far‐reaching implications for managerial psychologists who intervene in business and other organisations.
While Correa's chosen successor, President Lenin Moreno, won April's presidential election, he did so narrowly, and his efforts since taking office to reach out to other parties…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB222070
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Geographic
Topical
– This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
The day before the fall of Baghdad in the second Gulf War, one of the strangest, most surreal images involved the then External Affairs Minister of Iraq proclaiming that, in the distance, the explosions and smoke that could be clearly be seen from the city were not the attacks of Western allied troops, but the successful attacks of Iran’s own army on allied positions. Despite the howls of derision from the Western press who knew full well that what he was saying was flatly wrong, he maintained his line until the last moment before “shock and awe” had its full effect.
Practical implications
The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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I SUSPECT that we praisers of past times, we who walk in spirit with the mighty bookmen of bygone days, are now somewhat in the minority. That being so, it was a heightened…
Abstract
I SUSPECT that we praisers of past times, we who walk in spirit with the mighty bookmen of bygone days, are now somewhat in the minority. That being so, it was a heightened pleasure to hit upon Mr. Phipps Hemming's delightful gossip on Richard Heber in a recent number of the Review. We admire Richard, I make bold to say, far more than we admire the probably more worthy Reginald. Decidedly the former's labours—whether or not pointless and mistaken—deserve not to be forgotten. Father of all the “second copy” and “duplicate” men he undoubtedly was: yet he somehow contrived to leave a healthy tradition behind him. For Richard Heber was no mere accumulator, but an appreciative scholar and a cultured gentleman beside. Long may his name be remembered, even in times when his “three copy” rule has fallen into derision.
Space planning is an American term dating back to the fifties and sixties which was introduced into the United Kingdom in the early seventies—and which still arouses derision…
Abstract
Space planning is an American term dating back to the fifties and sixties which was introduced into the United Kingdom in the early seventies—and which still arouses derision. What is special about space planning? How does it differ from interior design or architecture? And what has it to offer the British facilities manager?
Focuses on the successful leadership techniques of three unexpected leaders: Steve Jobs, Robert Polet and Tim Gunn.
Abstract
Purpose
Focuses on the successful leadership techniques of three unexpected leaders: Steve Jobs, Robert Polet and Tim Gunn.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments.
Findings
In 1976, at the age of 21, a then unknown young innovator co‐started a company in his parent's garage. Four years later he was worth $200 million, but when he was thirty his own company threw him out. Twelve years later they begged for him back, and Steve Jobs returned to Apple. In the fashion sector, France's Pinault family paid $8 billion for Gucci, sacked the company's CEO and most famous designer and hired the so called “ice‐cream” man Robert Polet to come and direct the show. Equally unpredictable, young CEO of Liz Claibourne Inc. William McComb decided to hire Tim Gunn, a man with a background in education and, more recently, TV, to change the fortunes of his company. In all three cases, hiring and firing decisions have been the subject of outrage, derision and very nervous stock brokers. But in all three cases the decisions have proved good. What is it about these three leaders that have them succeeding against the odds?
Practical implications
Offers advice to aspiring leaders in the business world.
Originality/value
Presents three successful but different leadership personalities, pointing out what three diverse men actually have in common.
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Adam Murphree and Deirdre A. Royster
This chapter uses critical race theories to interpret Obama-related content and changing discourse patterns on discussion boards maintained by a pro-gun, overwhelmingly white…
Abstract
This chapter uses critical race theories to interpret Obama-related content and changing discourse patterns on discussion boards maintained by a pro-gun, overwhelmingly white, male, and conservative virtual community. Beginning during the 2008 presidential primary season and continuing through Barack Obama's election as president, our analysis focused on the proliferation of negative “nicknames” (“Obamathets”) that were posted in race-oriented discussion threads over 16 months. We identified three types of frequently voiced Obamathets: those indicating general dislike, political disdain, or racial derision, and we analyzed usage patterns – which types of Obamathets appeared and at which times. Our results revealed a changing state of mind – annoyance to extreme anger – among posters whose sense of racial threat seemed increasingly palpable as Obama approached, and eventually won, the presidency. Over time, posts increasingly included racially derisive terms whose incidence intensified after the election and remained high; racially derisive terms overtook terms of general dislike (that had been more popular) as well as terms of political disdain several months into our analysis. Because posters tended to be more openly libertarian in orientation, we doubt our findings would generalize to the majority of conservative whites; however, our findings probably shed considerable light on activist elements among conservatives, including the “Tea Party” movement. Moreover, capturing sentiments expressed in a semiprivate venue – virtual community discussion boards – probably allowed us to uncover less censored racial sentiment (or racetalk) than is typical when social scientists solicit racial opinions from whites in face-to-face interviews, when many may omit racially hostile thoughts to appear more racially sensitive to researchers.
Bureaucratic hierarchy, as the hallmark of the modern organization, has been remarkably resilient in the face of increasingly pervasive attacks on its fundamental value and…
Abstract
Bureaucratic hierarchy, as the hallmark of the modern organization, has been remarkably resilient in the face of increasingly pervasive attacks on its fundamental value and usefulness. We investigate the reasons for this from a cultural, particularly psychoanalytic, perspective – one that sees hierarchy's perpetuation not in terms of the efficacy of its instrumental potential, but rather in the values that are culturally sedimented within it. We argue that hierarchy reflects longings for a pure heavenly order that can never be attained yet remains appealing as a cultural fantasy psychologically gripping individuals in its beatific vision. To tease out this cultural logic we examine two representations of it in popular culture – the U.S. television comedy The Office (2005–) and comedian Will Farrell's impersonation of George W. Bush (2009). These examples illustrate the strength of bureaucratic hierarchy as an affective cultural ideal that retains its appeal even whilst being continually the subject of derision. We suggest that this cultural ideal is structured through a ‘fantasmatic narrative’ revolving around the desire for a spiritualized sense of sovereignty; a desire that is always undermined yet reinforced by its failures to manifest itself concretely in practice. Our central contribution is in relating hierarchy to sovereignty, suggesting that hierarchy persists because of an unquenched and unquenchable desire for spiritual perfection not only amongst leaders, but also amongst those they lead.
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