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This study tested two theoretical models of instructor credibility as a potential mediator between instructors' classroom communication behaviors (nonverbal immediacy, enthusiasm, and homophily) and students' intentions to persist in college. Participants included 570 undergraduate students from three institutions in the South-Central United States. Results of structural equation modeling provided greater support for the partial mediation model, in which nonverbal immediacy had both direct and indirect effects on students' intent to persist, though instructor enthusiasm and homophily were fully mediated by credibility. Overall, students' perceptions of these three instructor behaviors accounted for 56% of the variance in credibility and 43% of the variance in intent to persist. Furthermore, this model proved to be invariant across ethnic groups (Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic), suggesting that these instructor communication behaviors may contribute to positive outcomes for virtually all students, regardless of ethnicity. (Contains 3 tables and 6 figures.)

The article describes an activity aimed at exploring issues related to gender and communication in the realm of popular media. Popular media has a significant relationship with an individual's perception of gender and identity. Themes that are present in the media and help form that perception include the underrepresentation of women and minorities, stereotypical portrayals of women and men, and stereotypical images of relationships between men and women.

The article presents an exploration into crisis communication strategies and public relations response policies and activities within the petroleum industry. The high-profile nature of the oil industry within 21st century news media is cited and discussed as it poses a challenge to the public relations management of risks and industrial accidents. The case study of the refinery explosion of Phillips Petroleum in Pasadena, Texas in 2000 is presented wherein the company's flexible use of rhetoric and communication is analyzed regarding the multiple interested parties involved.