Conversational Tactics Research Articles

Epistemic Exhaustion and the Retention of Power

Abstract Epistemic exhaustion is cognitive fatigue generated by efforts to determine, retain, or communicate what one believes under conditions that make doing so especially taxing. I argue that the creation and maintenance of epistemic exhaustion is a tool that the socially and politically powerful can and do use in order to retain power. I consider a variety of conversational tactics and three circumstances—partisan polarization, epistemic chaos, and epistemic oppression—that can leave people prone to epistemic exhaustion. I survey several common responses to epistemic exhaustion and offer some suggestions for how we ought to respond to epistemically exhausting circumstances.

Agree to Disagree? Allowing for Ideological Difference during Interfaith Dialogue Following Scriptural Reasoning

Interfaith dialogue is a promising conflict resolution method and encourages participants to learn about and appreciate religious diversity. Yet, participants often need a facilitator’s help to learn how to converse successfully across areas of ideological differences, such as religion. A valuable resource for facilitators and scholars of interfaith dialogue would be intricate knowledge of how successful dialogue happens, particularly when participants disagree with one another. In this study, applied conversation analysis was used to examine moments of disagreement in interfaith dialogue. Beginning with abdicated other-initiated repair, participants expressed differences in opinion through assertion and counter-assertion sequences where they followed both other- and self-selected turn-taking patterns and used membership categories to bolster their claims. This analysis offers insight into how specific conversational tactics might lead to successful interfaith dialogue during critical moments of disagreement.

Exploring caregiver influence on child creativity and innovation in an out-of-school engineering program

Creativity is of increasing importance to the field of engineering. Thus, furthering our understanding of the development of (or barriers to) creativity during childhood and adolescence, and in environments alternative to traditional classroom settings, may hold particular significance and implications for generating creative and cognitive shifts amongst children, and their ultimate interest in the discipline. Constraints on child creative thinking and innovation that may occur by educators and within schools highlight the need to explore alternative environments and individuals, such as caregivers and/or out-of-school contexts. To expand our understanding of the influence caregivers may have on child creativity and innovation, particularly during the critical engineering design phases of problem identification and solution ideation, this study sought to investigate how caregiver involvement shapes the creativity and innovation of children in an out-of-school engineering program. Using conversation analysis to examine caregiver-child dialogue, results demonstrate ways that child ideas, creative thinking, and innovative engagement with various solutions were shaped by caregivers’ involvement through four predominant dialogic methods, including (a) directive questioning, (b) restating/reframing, (c) idea blending, and (d) using shared experiences. Insights into specific dialogic methods caregivers employed while engaging with children in out-of-school environments through the engineering design cycle are discussed, further illuminating how such engagement and specific conversational tactics impact children's creative thinking and use of innovation. In so doing, we support the argument that the nature of caregiver engagement and the fostering or hindering of creativity and innovation through conversation ultimately influences children's own engagement and application of engineering concepts

MIA

Since online discussion platforms can limit the perception of social cues, effective collaboration over videochat requires additional attention to conversational skills. However, self-affirmation and defensive bias theories indicate that feedback may appear confrontational, especially when users are not motivated to incorporate them. We develop a feedback chatbot that employs Motivational Interviewing (MI), a directive counseling method that encourages commitment to behavior change, with the end goal of improving the user's conversational skills. We conduct a within-subject study with 21 participants in 8 teams to evaluate our MI-agent 'MIA' and a non-MI-agent 'Roboto'. After interacting with an agent, participants are tasked with conversing over videochat to evaluate candidate résumés for a job circular. Our quantitative evaluation shows that the MI-agent effectively motivates users, improves their conversational skills, and is likable. Through a qualitative lens, we present the strategies and the cautions needed to fulfill individual and team goals during group discussions. Our findings reveal the potential of the MI technique to improve collaboration and provide examples of conversational tactics important for optimal discussion outcomes.

Leading Difficult Conversations Series #1: Introduction

This publication series examines strategies and tactics for leaders to utilize when tasked with having a difficult conversation. Leadership can require leaders to have necessary conversations that are not always easy. Through providing leaders with specific tools to have difficult conversations, this series aims to promote dialogue and equip individuals to be more successful leaders. The series provides information regarding preparing for difficult conversations, creating a safe conversation environment, utilizing conversation tactics, and employing listening skills. This new 2-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication is part 1 of the series. Written by Christy Chiarelli.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wc374

CSR Communication Tactics and the Micro-Accumulation of Reputational Capital

There is growing evidence corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance should be understood as something that is not just reported but communicated. Particularly with the advent of social media, CSR is increasingly seen not just in one-way disclosure but in firms’ mobilizational efforts, two-way dialogue with stakeholders, public educational messages, and a variety of other discursive and conversational tactics. Moreover, some of these tactics are more likely to influence public perceptions of the firm. Examining the 18,722 original messages sent by Fortune 200 firms’ dedicated CSR feeds on Twitter in 2014, I thus identify nine communication tactics and test how they are linked to micro-level changes in two dimensions of corporate reputation. I find the aware- ness dimension of reputation is driven by the use of informational tactics such as disclosure, while reputational favorability is significantly influenced not by the provision of information but by the use of more interactive communicative tactics. This study provides evidence of a number of new, non-reporting-based CSR communication tactics and illustrates how firms acquire reputational capital on a micro-, message-by-message, day-to-day level.

SYNTHESIZING HINDU AND CHRISTIAN ETHICS IN A. MADHAVIAH'S INDIAN ENGLISH NOVELCLARINDA(1915)

The novels of Indian writerA. Madhaviah (1872–1925) are deeply ambivalent toward British Protestant missions in the Madras Presidency. The son of a Brahmin family from the Tirunelveli District in what is now the state of Tamil Nadu, Madhaviah had the opportunity to form close intellectual relationships with British missionaries and Indian Christian converts while studying for his B.A. at the Madras Christian College, completing his degree in 1892. Although he remained a Hindu throughout his life, Madhaviah's first English novel,Thillai Govindan(1903), praises some missionaries for their moral characters, naming in particular the Madras Christian College's principal, William Miller (1838–1923); however, the same novel also criticizes other unnamed Madras missionaries for extravagant lifestyles that squandered the money of unsuspecting supporters in Britain (64). Madhaviah's deep commitment to late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century Indian women's reform movements, including widow remarriage, the abolition of child marriage, and women's education, meant that he often agreed with British missionaries championing similar reforms in Indian society. However, his early novels also criticize the proselytizing activities of missionaries, particularly in educational settings. In his Tamil novelPadmavati Carittiram(1898, 1899) and English novelSatyananda(1909), Madhaviah exposes missionary attempts to take advantage of a young pupil's inexperience in an educational setting or to exploit a quarrel between pupil and family members to secure a conversion. Yet in contrast, Madhaviah's final English novel,Clarinda: A Historical Novel(1915), offers perhaps the most positive depiction of an Indian Christian conversion in his fiction. A historical novel that reimagines the life of a renowned eighteenth-century Marathi Brahmin woman convert living in Thanjavur, Madhaviah'sClarindaoffers Christian conversion as a liberating decision for the young Clarinda. Her conversion allows her as a widow to escape the patriarchal control of her abusive husband's family and to contribute to her community as a philanthropist and an early social reformer. While Madhaviah remained critical of certain conversion tactics, which could transgress ethical boundaries, Madhaviah also acknowledged that missionary goals for women's improved lot within society often intersected with his own convictions.

Making the Most of the First‐Offer Advantage: Pre‐Offer Conversation and Negotiation Outcomes

Why do some negotiators benefit from making the first offer during negotiations while others do not? This study explores the contents of conversations that take place before negotiators make their first offers in order to learn more about the differences between ultimately successful first offers that benefit from anchoring effects and ultimately unsuccessful ones in which negotiators apparently derive no benefit from making the first offer.In‐depth qualitative analyses of the conversations that role players engaged in prior to their first offers were conducted in simulated negotiation exercises. Their analysis identified five different conversational tactics that negotiators employed in one‐on‐one negotiations to gain power in the negotiation, or what they call here “power conversation tactics.” Their findings suggest that the negotiation outcome (i.e., net value) was related to how the negotiators employed and combined these tactics during the pre‐offer conversation.Based on these findings, they conceptualized four types of power‐gaining/power‐losing pre‐offer conversation scenarios and explored the link between negotiation outcomes and each of these types of pre‐offer conversations. This study further develops the literature on power dynamics and conversations in negotiations as well as the literature on the anchoring effect of a first offer.

A mowing strategy to convert red clover to annual crops in organic farming

AbstractOrganic producers are interested in no-till cropping systems. In this study, we found that perennial clover can be converted to corn without tillage. Conversion tactics involved fall mowing in the third year of red clover, followed by between-row mowing of weeds and volunteer red clover in corn grown during the fourth year. Corn yielded 85% of the weed-free control with mowing conversion. In contrast, weed interference in tillage-based conversion and between-row tillage reduced corn yield 53%. Weed emergence was sixfold greater in the tilled conversion. Weeds were present in the corn row with mowing, but recently developed implements could control these weeds and further support a no-till conversion method.

Fear of negative evaluation, avoidance and mental distress among hearing-impaired employees.

This study examined the relationship between hearing impairment and mental distress. We hypothesized that fear of negative evaluation by others and avoidant communication strategies are associated with increased symptoms of depression. Hearing-impaired adults (N = 105) who signed up for a stress management course completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD; Zigmond & Snaith, 1983), the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE; Watson & Friend, 1969), and the Conversation Tactics Checklist (CONV; Hallam et al., 2007). The participants' ratings of subjective hearing disability were assessed on a 5-point Likert scale and pure-tone audiometry obtained. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to assess associations between fear of negative evaluation, avoidance, and symptoms of depression. OBJECTIVE hearing impairment was moderate or less for 81% (n = 87) of participants, and the correlation between subjective hearing disability and objective hearing impairment was not significant. Multiple regression analysis showed that fear of negative evaluation and avoidant communication strategies contributed significantly to the variance in depression symptoms, and the total explained variance was 41.7%, F(5, 93) = 13.32, p = .000. Subjective and objective hearing disability did not make significant contributions. Symptoms of depression appear to be closely related to fear of negative evaluation by others and use of avoidant communication strategies. Future clinical studies should address whether targeting these problems in rehabilitation interventions decreases depressive symptoms among hearing-impaired individuals.

A cognitive therapy program for hearing-impaired employees suffering from mental distress

Objective: To develop a cognitive therapy program to reduce mental distress among hearing-impaired employees. Design: In a pilot study we measured the development of mental distress and avoidant coping among hearing-impaired employees. Levels of mental distress were assessed using the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HAD), and the extent of avoidance with conversation tactics checklist CONV(AVOID). The findings were compared with the development in a treatment as usual (TAU) sample. Study sample: Fifteen participants with an equal distribution of male and female participants (M = 49.2 years) took part. The majority had mild to moderate hearing impairment. Results: The program appeared to be feasible and the adherence was good. The mean depression score was identical at pre- and post-intervention in the intervention group, and increased from 2.9 (SD 2.1) to 3.1 (SD 2.0) in the TAU group. Symptoms of anxiety (p < 0.01, 95 % CI (.82, 3.98)) and avoidant communication (p < 0.05, 95% CI (.5, 4.61)) decreased significantly in the intervention group, while an opposite pattern was observed during the TAU program. Conclusions: The program showed promising results. However, the preliminary results should be further investigated in a randomized controlled trial using a larger sample.

Conversation tactics in persons with normal hearing and hearing-impairment

Objectives: To investigate the tactics people use when aural communication fails owing to environmental circumstances or impaired hearing. Design: Persons with different degrees of self-reported hearing impairment completed an online questionnaire constructed from items taken from the literature on communication strategies but reworded to be understood by people with normal hearing. Tactics were examined for frequency of use in two severities of impairment and between genders. All the data were then factor analysed and factor scores related to variables of relevance to communication. Study sample: A large convenience sample (n = 188) with a range of self-assessed hearing impairment from normal to profound. Results: Descriptive data revealed some differences in frequency of use in relation to severity and gender. Factor analysis yielded six clearly interpretable factors, the largest relating to disengagement (avoidance). Self-assessed impairment was chiefly associated with a speech reading tactic, negatively with environmental optimization strategies, and to a small extent with disengagement and conversation repair. Conclusions: Only the tactic of speech reading was closely associated with impaired hearing, with some evidence that females were more inclined to use it. Otherwise, all tactics were commonly employed, regardless of hearing status.

Notes on Teaching English Pronunciation to EFL Learners: A Case of Iranian High School Students

Some believe that a learner must acquire the ability to produce and recognize all speech sounds used by the speaker of the target language while others think that if the goal is communication it is not necessary to teach all phonemic aspects. In fact in teaching (especially the phonology of) a language, the learners' objectives are to be taken into account. If their goal in the long run is either to teach the language or to use it in radio news broadcasts, they should learn pronunciation accurately, correctly, and authentically; otherwise, when communication is possible, there is no obligation to strive for perfect pronunciation. One way to achieve this purpose is by sensitizing students to the conversational tactics they use naturally when talking in their native tongue: turn-taking, supporting, challenging, questioning, expanding on statements, and so on; they do not tend to use these when interacting in English (Counihan, 1998).

Coping, conversation tactics and marital interaction in persons with acquired profound hearing loss (APHL): Correlates of distress

This study investigated coping strategies, conversation tactics, and marital interaction in acquired profound hearing loss (APHL) and compared emotionally stable (n = 15) and emotionally distressed (n = 7) participants. Nominated family members were assessed on most measures. Comparisons were also made in the subgroup of married participants. A combined distress criterion was derived from scores on standardized measures of anxiety, depression, hearing handicap, and post-traumatic stress. Groups were compared on the Ways-of-Coping Checklist, a newly devised measure of conversation tactics, and on the Couple Behaviour Report. It was found that distressed APHL participants were more likely to cope through avoidance, self-blame, and wishful thinking, and they used more avoidant tactics in conversation. The coping profile of family members did not differentiate distress groups. However, there was some indication of greater employment of coercive tactics by family members of distressed participants. The results...

Conversion Tactics in Terrence McNally's and Paul Rudnick's Gay Gospels

Conversion Tactics in Terrence McNally's and Paul Rudnick's Gay Gospels

Italians and the Euro: The Impact of Time on Consumer Adjustment Strategies

SUMMARY The launch of the euro has caused significant consternation among consumers in the twelve participating countries. The transition has been particularly difficult for consumers from countries with traditionally high-denomination currencies such as Italy and Spain, since they are less accustomed to the lower numerical values of prices in euros (Labbe-Pinlon, 2003). This paper examines whether Italian consumers have successfully adapted to the new currency by substituting their old internal price references with a new set of prices that reflects a low-denomination currency. We propose that consumers facing an unfamiliar currency can either use currency conversion tactics that keep their existing internal price references intact, or they can adjust these internal price references by substituting old pricing information with new prices. We propose that, over time, Italian consumers will adjust their internal price references to the low-denomination currency, since this is the most effective method for ...

Gender and Conversational Tactics in the Contendings of Horus and Seth

This article analyses the correlation of conversational tactics and gender in The Contendings of Horus and Seth, focusing on the linguistic behaviour of the goddesses Isis and Neith, and the gods Pre-Harakhte, Seth, and Osiris. During the litigation over the kingship of Egypt, certain male deities, such as Seth and Pre-Harakhte, attempt to achieve their aims by threats and outbursts of rage, tactics seldom adopted by the goddesses in this particular text. Isis, by contrast, tends to assume a vulnerable position in relation to her interlocutors and to persuade them to cooperate with her by offering them attractive rewards. However, the issues of speech and power are subtle and complex, and a simple binary division based on gender cannot do justice to them. This text also represents goddesses acting assertively and forthrightly, such as Neith in her correspondence with the Ennead. Similarly, few male gods are shown emulating Seth's boorish behaviour, from which the whole divine assembly suffers.

Gender and Conversational Tactics in "The Contendings of Horus and Seth"

Gender and Conversational Tactics in "The Contendings of Horus and Seth"

Pimps for paradise: missionaries, monetary funds, and marketers

Missionaries, monetary funds, and marketers make strange bedfellows. The paradisal visions that they promote appear quite distinct. It seems to slander some more than others to label all three as pimps. And despite the phenomenon of serial addictions, the religious zealots, impoverished wretches, and compulsive consumers of the world seem to form mutually exclusive, if not mutually hostile, groups. Nevertheless, missionaries, international monetary funds, and other marketers all strive to incite passionate longing toward something far better, for which those seduced must pay a price. All three seek to fan the fires of fanaticism with promises of a future paradise, immediate or distant. And all three threaten hellish punishments for those who reject these promises. There are, I contend, more similarities than differences among the conversion tactics and promises of these three panderers to human fears and longings. By examining the overlapping manner in which each purveys promises of paradise, we may better understand the tap roots of human emotion that each seeks to incite.

Structuring collaborative information-seeking dialogues

Conversational approaches to human—computer collaboration have so far mostly been employed for the design of natural language interfaces. It is claimed, however, that the conversational interaction model described in the paper can also feasibly be applied to graphical and multimodal interactions. The model comprises two interrelated parts: first, the description of local discourse structures and functional interrelations between dialogue acts to capture (local) conversational tactics, and second, the description of global structures by so-called dialogue scripts which are related to (global) information-seeking strategies. The application of the model in a multi-media information retrieval system is described in the conclusions to the paper.