This research explores the relationship between fear of isolation and allied concepts derived from the communication apprehension (CA) literature-CA-trait and CAstate-on opinion expression. The study took place during the final run-up to the Fall 2002 U.S. Congressional elections, and the research topic focused on the debate surrounding the possibility of the United States invading Iraq. The results suggest that (a) CA-trait, CA-state, and fear of isolation are empirically distinct; (b) these constructs differentially predict opinion expression; and (c) customary ways of assessing opinion expression in past research likely have underestimated conformity effects.

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The study explores the relationship between heuristic and systematic processing and first-, second-, and third-person effects. Controversy surrounding a referendum over the Confederate battle emblem appearing on the Mississippi state flag served as a backdrop for a survey of residents (N = 520) concerning the perceptions of the media's influence on self and others. Results suggest that accuracy-motivated heuristic and systematic processing shows a limited relationship to third-and first-person effects while at the same time demonstrating a robust relationship with transpersonal (second-person) effects. The study revealed that inferred attention of others to the flag issue accounted for additional variance beyond inferred exposure. In addition, systematic processing and second-person effects emerged as significant predictors of indicators of civic participation, discussion and voting, and media censorship. Implications of using the heuristic-systematic model in areas such as political campaigns, social capital and trust, agenda-setting, framing, and the spiral of silence are discussed.Whether people believe that media portrayals have greater influence on themselves or others is a question that continues to garner attention from scholars studying the third-person effect (Davison, 1983). As findings accumulate, researchers (Neuwirth & Frederick, in press) have come to distinguish three types of person-effects: Others are more influenced than the self (third-person), the self is more influenced than others (first-person), and self and others are jointly influenced (second-person). The phenomenon of a third-person effect (3PE) is widely recognized as substantial and real (Paul, Salwen, & DuPagne, 2000), although considerable ambiguity remains 320 Downloaded from concerning the mechanisms that give rise to such an effect. Factors such as self-enhancement, education, issue importance, perceived knowledge, attributions, projection and in-group/out-group perceptions have been identified as mechanisms giving rise to self-other discrepancies (Perloff, 1999). The purpose of this study is (a) to explicate the role of the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) of information processing as a potential unifying framework in accounting for the field's many disparate findings, (b) to empirically examine on a more limited basis the role of HSM accuracy-based motives and processing on the "perceptual" and "behavioral" components of the third-person framework, and (c) to examine the influence of first-, second-, and third-person effects on indicators of civic participation and media censorship. The HSM Model and the Third-Person EffectAn extensive body of research in both communication studies and psychology has shown that individuals are affected by messages depending on their mode of information processing. Most prominent among these "dual-process" (Chaiken & Trope, 1999) approaches are Petty and Cacioppo's (1986) elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and, more recently, Eagly and Chaiken's (1993) heuristic-systematic model (HSM). Although ...

Managers from Western cultures tend to assume that efficiency and profitability will drive the adoption of new technologies by multinational conglomerates. The present study shows that for non-Western organizations, the sector that the organization operates in (public or private) and its decision-making style are also relevant factors. The research employs the diffusion of innovation model to explore Internet adoption by public relations professionals in Saudi Arabian organizations. A survey of 354 public relations professionals revealed that 93% of the professionals in the private sector had adopted the Internet, compared to 83% of their counterparts in the public sector. Professionals in the private sector ascribed relative advantage as critical for adoption. Regression analyses revealed that authoritarian decision making and organizational encouragement were predictors of adoption.

While some evidence-based vocational studies exist for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), most focus on social interaction. This mixed methods exploratory study investigated a multimedia approach to training ASD adults as a strategy for increasing self-efficacy and producing positive training outcomes during the anticipatory socialization and encounter phases of organizational assimilation. Ten ASD adults, seven men and three women, 19 to 42 years of age, participated in the study, which utilized video and virtual reality to instruct participants on how to wire an electrical socket. Significant increases in the participant's self-efficacy were found using a modified version of the New General Self-Efficacy (NGSE) scale. In addition, a thematic analysis of post-training comments showed that participants, overall, were engaged and had fun during the training. These findings suggest that a multimedia approach may be an effective strategy for achieving positive outcomes by increasing self-efficacy and engagement when training newly hired employees diagnosed with ASD to perform vocational tasks.