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Training in interpersonal communication helps in enhancing customer service experience. The Functional Fluency model of transactional analysis provides training inputs by which employees can monitor their response with the customers and thereby improve this customer experience. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The integration of the Functional Fluency model with “Gap 3” of the SERVAQUAL model.

The “Gap 3” in the SERVAQUAL model is about service delivery affected due to poor interpersonal communication by employees. Here the Functional Fluency model helps in identifying the dominant response style and the variables emergent for a group of frontline staff. This can help in designing training programs that will assist in employees enhancing their interpersonal communication from positive functioning and being cautious or exercise restraint on the negative functioning of Functional Fluency model.

The research limitation is that since the model provides a pen-picture on the communication response style of a large group of employees on the 54 descriptors of the Functional Fluency model, a broad training program may be designed for the group. Second, a large group is sought for implication to take shape.

General communication response style may be identified for different groups and based on this a training module or program based on Functional Fluency may be designed specific to each group.

The importance of the Functional Fluency model in providing an evaluation and resolve on the nature of communication responses, during customer-employee interactions, to enhance service delivery in bridging the Gap 3 of the SERVAQUAL model.

The purpose of this study was to bridge the gap between customer’s assessment of service quality dimensions (SERVQUAL model) and the descriptors of training. A model of service quality is SERVQUAL, which measures the discrepancy between customer’s perceptions and expectation on the customer service. The dimensions of service quality here are evaluated from the customer’s point of view. Functional fluency as a model of transactional analysis identifies descriptors of interpersonal communication that helps employees improve their responses. Hence, to provide a clear training need assessment, the dimensions of service quality and descriptors of functional fluency must be mapped accordingly.

The semantic mapping of the dimensions of the service quality with descriptors of the functional fluency model.

Of the five dimensions of the SERVAQUAL model, four are behavioral and are mapped with four descriptors belonging to four different modes of the functional fluency model. The four modes are positive manner in which people can respond to improve service quality.

The implication is the training needs that emerge by bridging the gap between SERVQUAL dimensions and functional fluency model for self-development.

This will provide an organization the training needs analysis for their employees for improving their interpersonal communication on service quality dimensions.

Bridging of the gap between customer’s assessment of service quality dimensions (SERVQUAL model) and the descriptors of training (functional fluency model).

The paper aims to provide a coaching framework for the millennial workforce using the Functional Fluency model. The coach empowers the millennials by asking powerful questions on each of the nine modes of the model. This will support them in “being in-charge”, “being self”, and “being with-it” to improve their personal effectiveness in workplace and personal life.

The framework offers the coach indicative powerful question based on nine modes of Functional Fluency model for coaching the millennials to improve their personal effectiveness in workplace and personal life.

Coaching the millennials is about making them aware on the way they expend their energies. Based on a millennial’s need for coaching, a coach asks powerful questions from one or more modes and explores their story to elicit realistic options for the next best step.

The coach must possess the appropriate credentials to be a coach and have the knowledge of Functional Fluency. The questions in the framework are indicative of the modes.

The framework provides the coach using the Functional Fluency model to ask powerful “what-how” questions on each of the nine modes to elicit realistic options for way forward with a millennial “coachee”.

The organizations are devising innovative methods on training & development for the millennials. Coaching them with powerful questions on Functional Fluency Model provides the value on improving their interpersonal effectiveness at workplace and in personal life as well.

This paper aims to provide leaders with language that can support them during crisis communication using the functional fluency model with positive 30 word descriptors or adjectives to improve their effectiveness with the right words.

The functional fluency model has nine modes of communication. Five of them aid in effective communication, while four bring about ineffective communication. Each of the modes have six word descriptors or adjectives to best describe a specific mode. Hence, out of total 54 adjectives, 30 are associated with positive ways of communication. Based on these 30 word descriptors, indicative sentences are framed for positive communication.

Leaders can effectively use word descriptors from the “fabulous five” modes of structuring, nurturing, accounting, cooperative and spontaneous to word their responses. Moreover, they can be mindful of the word descriptors related to the negative modes.

The sentences framed against the word descriptors/adjectives are indicative. However, versions can be framed suited to a particular situation.

The word descriptors of the functional fluency model supports practitioners of crisis communication and leaders to be functionally fluent in a crisis.

Effective communication can be a struggle during a crisis. It is here that the functional fluency model with its 30 adjectives associated with positive modes can help leaders with appropriate expressions.

Adolescent students with disabilities often struggle with completing writing tasks efficiently. Until recently, most research regarding writing efficiency or fluency has examined production skills such as handwriting with young writers or examined how to use measures of fluency to assess student performance. In this chapter, 10 studies that directly address the impact of instruction on adolescents' writing fluency will be reviewed. Findings indicated that when teacher modeling and structured practice was provided for writing within a time limit, students' writing improved in the number of ideas or text parts written and in holistic quality. When measured, improvement generalized to a standardized writing fluency test. Implications for future research are noted.

In the early 1900s, Alfred Whitehead argued that the goals of educational reform would be met if knowledge were made functional rather than simply rearranging or privileging different forms of “inert” conceptual knowledge. And for knowledge to become functional it must be “conditionalized.” Decision-based learning (DBL) is different because it explicitly conditionalizes learning and makes knowledge functional. Moreover, DBL fits within an overall developmental progression of expertise and fills a gap often overlooked by formal education. Considerations for designing and implementing DBL are outlined.

The purpose of this paper is to to understand Burmese refugees’ resilience in the USA, as well as to explore the potential contributions of arts- or movement-based interviews (movement elicitation (ME)) to the exploration of the immigration experience.

A qualitative case study was used for this pilot study (n=3), with verbal interviews combined with a ME procedure. ME is guided expressive movement that is engaged within verbal interviews. Utilizing ME involved probing interview responses to clarify and deepen the themes related to the resilience of Burmese refugees. Further, thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes within the interviews as related to the resilience of Burmese refugees.

Eight themes emerged from analysis of verbal interviews. Four themes pertained to adversities faced during the resettlement experience: financial and employment-based problems; racial issues and discrimination; challenges in adjustment and acculturation; and rough, unsafe neighborhoods. Four themes described the elements promoting Burmese refugees’ resilience: acquiring functional skills; drawing upon personal qualities; finding a sense of identity in family and beliefs; and accepting social support.

This study describes the resilience of refugees from Burma in the USA, with additional focus on how body and movement may serve as resources for coping, and thus provides information on the development of a framework for mental health assessment and intervention during refugees’ integration in their resettlement country.

In this chapter, the authors describe how instructors used decision-based learning (DBL) to teach master’s and doctoral students in qualitative research courses how to evaluate qualitative research articles and develop their own skills at communicating their own research design choices. The authors employed a unique approach to DBL by coupling it with a decision tree built on Ryan et al.’s (2007) qualitative evaluation framework and Arao and Clemens’ (2013) brave spaces model. The authors found that using the above approach helped students develop specific critiques of the articles they chose, which then aided them in developing their own research designs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential of readers' advisory (RA) in libraries to help immigrants with psychological and socio-cultural adaptation in a new country.

The data were empirically collected from a sample of Russian-speaking immigrant readers residing in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada, by means of background surveys and in-depth interviews.

The RA interaction is not merely a conversation about leisure books; it is a powerful intercultural encounter that has the potential to raise the levels of intimacy and attraction between host and immigrant populations, break negative stereotypes, help to build shared networks and create favorable contacts, change intergroup attitudes, and improve readers' mastery of the second language and knowledge of a new country.

This article makes a contribution to three areas related to RA. It provides insight into the views and perceptions of RA by a selected group of readers; it gives voice to immigrant readers whose experiences with RA are particularly under-represented in the Library and Information Science literature; and it conceptualizes the RA interaction as an intercultural encounter, using the uncertainty reduction based theory of intercultural adaptation to frame the discussion.

The paper aims to explore the overall state of information and digital illiteracy (IDL) in developing countries and how it hampers the growth of individuals and nations. The case of Pakistan is to be used as an example to illustrate the endemic state of poor information and digital literacy. It also aims to discuss the general drawbacks to effective IDL in developing Asian countries.

To achieve the objectives of the study, the literature review and result of Pakistan‐based surveys are used to indicate the state of IDL among university students and faculty in one country while integrating these findings with discussion.

It was found that in Pakistan, as elsewhere, IL/IDL practice and training are not the norm in libraries or in education; they are not operational priorities. The low level of IL/IDL among the educated classes contributes to the status quo of information illiterate citizens. It also establishes that becoming “critical consumers” of information is essential for personal and national empowerment.

The study explores the overall status of IDL in the developing countries using case of Pakistan as example. It suggests conducting local research on contextually relevant literacies and IL/IDL. The paper invokes the appreciation for making IL/IDL an integral part of learning programmes at all levels.