Introduction to Listening,Ethics, and Dialogue: Between the Ear and the Eye: A Synaesthetic Introduction to Listening Ethics

Listening is the one language activity which is used most during the day. The empirical basis for this statement has some problems, as some of it dates back a long time or is based on self-report data which may not be accurate as far as the objective proportion of time, in which listening is expected, is concerned. The current study uses classroom observation to collect data on how much listening is required in primary education and in the transition to secondary education. A sample of 48 class periods from grades 1–4 and of 18 class periods from grade 5 was taken to specify listening tasks. Results confirm earlier studies that reported listening is required in about two-thirds of instructional time. As to the source of oral information, it is still true today that the teacher out-talks the students at a considerable rate. Results are discussed with reference to listening education, and it is assumed that much needs to be done to raise awareness for the teaching of listening skills and the arrangement of an appropriate learning environment which provides for a sufficient and challenging variety of listening situations.     

Listening to Voices and Judging People

The impact of vocal cues on personality judgments is investigated in an experimental study that used technically manipulated levels of pitch (low and high frequency), sex of the speaker, and content area (e.g., fixing a bike, baking, reading directory information) as independent and the entailing personality judgments as dependent variables. Subjects (48 male and 48 female) were presented with voice probes and ratings of physical (age, sex, height, stature), and psychological characteristics (bipolar adjectives representing the “Big Five” dimensions of personality) were collected. Results confirm that voice characteristics have an impact on interpersonal perception and that vocal cues are processed separately by the listener. Results are discussed with reference to processing demands and cognitive load on the working memory of a listener.     

Does Sexual Orientation Have an Impact on Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Communication?

This study explores the impact of sexual orientation on the nonverbal behavior of individuals in dyadic communication situations. It is hypothesized that the patterns of nonverbal behavior displayed in dyads with and without an individual with an open homosexual orientation are different from those in dyads with heterosexual participants only. An observational study was conducted with a total of 24 participants, 12 with a heterosexual orientation and 12 with a homosexual orientation (6 males and 6 females in each group). Participants were videotaped during a 20-min conversation which took place in dyads that were composed of individuals of the same biological sex with either the same sexual orientation (homosexual or heterosexual) or differing sexual orientations. Results show that in dyads which include a homosexual person nonverbal behavior is different from that displayed in dyads consisting of heterosexual participants only in terms of self-touch, body posture, body orientation, and gaze. Results are interpreted in terms of stereotyping and presentation rules.     

Comparisons of the ETS National Teacher Examination Listening Model with Models Used in Two Standardized Listening Tests

Using the Barker & Watson Listening Styles Profile (2000), this study investigates the adaptability of individual listening profiles to varying listening contexts (study, family, friends, work) and listening goals. A sample of 50 students completed the Listening Styles Profile for three different situations of their choice. Stability and variability of the profiles were explored. Results suggest considerable intraindividual variability in listening orientation. This may have ramifications both for further research and for listening training, since aspects of the situation and the setting need to be taken into account more systematically.     

Heuristic approach to some laws for Brownian motion

Csàki and Vincze have shown that for an elementary tied-down random walk, the pair (maximum, instant of maximum) has the same law as (time spent in (0, 1/2), time spent above 1/2). Formal passage to the limit indicates that the former pair has for a Brownian bridge the same law as (local time at 0, duration of positivity). A quadrivariate density of Karatzas and Shreve and an equivalence for Brownian motion with drift follow.     

The Impact of (In)effective Listening on Interpersonal Interactions

Most reviews of “listening research” are narrow in scope, focusing only on research published by listening and communication scholars. Given that unique contributions to listening have been provided by scholars from disciplines as varied as psychology, anthropology, management, and linguistics, this review explores connections and divergences that span the academic landscape. After briefly introducing and reviewing listening related research from three primary areas—information processing, competent behavior, and individual differences—we offer a heuristic framework that ties these lines of study together and provides a structure for assessing and generating new listening research. A concluding section suggests lines of future investigation.     

The Role of Task Adhesion in Limiting Specialization along the Medical Care Continuum

Increasing specialization has become a dominant feature of modern medicine. We develop a model of specialization when vertical restraints prevent transfers between physicians but task adhesion makes payment for one task contingent on carrying out another. We show how the probability of transitioning between tasks and relative payments for adjacent tasks determine the division of labor in the presence of task adhesion, and why skill complementarities may not be necessary to inhibit specialization. These results imply that a regulator who sets prices without considering the disincentives to specialize inherent in the demand complementarities described here may fail to maximize welfare.