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What does it take to facilitate a good classroom discussion? This paper does not set out to give a definitive answer to this question. Rather it presents several excerpts from student-led discussions as examples of how students are able to facilitate class-long discussion on a controversial topic. This paper begins with a brief overview of the prescriptive literature, focusing on a summary of the central concerns teachers have when leading a classroom discussion. This section is followed by a general description of the site in which the student-led discussions took place. Then, five moments from the actual discussions are analyzed to show the unfolding of these student-led discussions. These excerpts have been chosen to show how the students start the discussion, keep the discussion going, and end the discussion. Finally, some conclusions are drawn about the communicative actions that construct classroom discussions, and some comments are made about what this type of investigation has to add to the prescriptive literature on classroom discussions. (Author/RS)

This paper problematizes the bifurcation of technology and tradition and its implied unidirectional transformative authority of technology. It divides the multitude of responses to the relation between technology and culture into these three categories: technology as the messenger and the message, technology as a messenger without an inherent message, and technology as a messenger unaware of its message. A study is reported that used examples from 48 Islamic World Wide Web sites and suggests that Muslim identities are incessantly being reinvented and reconstructed via, rather than despite of, new technologies. The paper reports that the study demonstrates that a conscious appropriation and appreciation of technology not only does not undermine cultural distinctiveness, but it may also enhance the production of a more vibrant cultural environment. It sees technology as neither bad nor good, but both a blessing and a burden. It also argues that the proponents of the technology-tradition binary perceive tradition as a set of static practices, a social order incapable of generating and adapting to change. (Contains 16 references.) (YLB)

Maintaining that only by integrating communications into program planning and policy can Kids Count grantees and other child advocates achieve their goals, this document presents four studies examining the ways in which the media currently frame children's issues, the consequences of those frames, and possibilities for reframing media depictions to support particular policies. Chapter 1, "Public Opinion and the Challenge of Children's Issues" (Susan Bales), identifies the policy issues upon which the research was based, identifies communications challenges in translating children's issues for broad public support, describes the research, and presents suggestions for reframing children's issues. Chapter 2, "Children as a Political Issue--A Review of Current Public Opinion" (Margaret Bostrom), provides an overview of the current standing of children as a political issue, with additional emphasis on education, crime/juvenile justice, poverty, health care, and child care. Chapter 3, "How People Talk about Children's Issues: A Focus Group Report" (Margaret Bostrom), presents key lessons from seven focus groups regarding crafting communications related to children, adolescents, health care, poverty, welfare, crime, rebuilding communities, and taking action. Chapter 4, "The Influence of Local Television News Frames on Attitudes about Childcare" (Franklin D. Gilliam), explores the significance of framing as a news tool to influence viewers, and shows how various news frames influence child care attitudes. Chapter 5, "Language for Reducing Violence" (Axel Aubrun and Joseph E. Grady), recommends a variety of framings and metaphors for communicating messages about violence in American communities. Some chapters contain references. (KB)

This paper defines the "social turn" as a philosophy focused on interaction and social practice, and states that it was fostered in the New Literacy Studies movement as well as 13 other movements, which all argued the importance and definition of the social in their own ways. The paper then discusses the philosophical underpinnings of the social turn and argues against the new capitalism, asking the question, "Is the social turn politically progressive?" The paper proceeds to state that the New Literacy Studies are based on the idea that reading, writing and meaning are situated within specific social contexts and discourses. The paper concludes that, in order to engage in enactive and recognition work, communicators who engage in discourse analysis can view texts in terms of language recruitment methods. The paper provides three examples of such language analysis. (Contains 64 references.) (EF)

Applied communication research should be used by communication professors, communication departments, and colleges as an important tool for strengthening their relationships with their communities, students, and communication practitioners. Professors spend a great deal of time doing research and teaching people about research. Public misunderstanding of the research responsibilities of faculty members constitutes a serious public relations problem for universities, for the profession as a whole, and for communication scholars in particular. Public relations scholars need to begin cultivating mutually advantageous relationships with key publics. The academic discipline of communication should do more than accurately describe professional practice. It should also reflect on and critique existing communication practices, in order to improve practice. University, faculty, and students are a valuable yet often underused resource when it comes to aiding community problem solving and innovation. In particular, applied research might help local institutions become more effective and more responsive to their stakeholders. Engaging students in applied research may serve as one of the best tools for recruiting students to go on to graduate school and pursue academic careers. It also might help make better connections with communication professionals in public relations, journalism, and advertising. Turning toward more applied research holds the promise of invigorating teaching and research in public relations. (Contains 6 references.) (CR)

This paper contends that domestic response to John F. Kennedy's assassination took two basic forms in the United States: active crisis management and retreat. According to the paper, while government, churches, and the media engaged in active crisis management, businesses and schools closed, and the public retreated to mourn rather than to contribute to the public dialogue over the assassination, becoming instead receivers of guidance. The paper discusses the American shutdown after the assassination and the mindset it created. It then examines the reaction of the sports world in relation to this pattern of retreat and withdrawal, focusing on the Illinois-Michigan State football game, a game which was finally postponed at the very last minute. Through this example, it is argued that while the schools sought to avoid controversy by following the national trend, they created other problems by their actions and justifications and contributed little to the healing of the nation. The paper concludes that had the game gone ahead as originally scheduled, rationalized with arguments based on tribute and emotions, the Illinois-Michigan State contest may have been played without the excessive controversy that accompanied it. Contains 48 references. (NKA)

The boundary metaphor has been used successfully over the past two decades to explain and predict how individuals manage the tensions between the need to self-disclose and the need for privacy within interpersonal relationships. This paper explores the history of Communication Boundary Management Theories and presents suggestions for modifying the theories as well as avenues for future research. The paper suggests that research needs to more fully investigate the transactional nature of negotiated boundaries and to examine nonverbal behaviors. It also suggests that a more strategic approach for studying boundary management would be to identify key contexts where privacy and the need to disclose come into conflict. (Contains 10 references.) (Author/CR)

Communications media have long been acknowledged as the site of intense political struggle over issues of access to, control over, and representations in these media. That communications research is likewise the site of struggle between the various paradigms of the discipline is, however, troubling to the neophyte communication scholar. For well over 10 years, communication scholarship has been engaged in internal struggles over the preeminence of one paradigm over the others. Accompanying this paradigmatic division is the dynamic convergence of traditional and new communications media. Information Technology (IT), an umbrella term for the new communications media, offers communication research a unique opportunity to reinvent itself in the service of understanding the complex relations and social/political dynamics of the information revolution. IT represents a potentially radical shift in the ways in which knowledge is created, reproduced, and disseminated and, as such, it subjects to revolutionary changes the underlying epistemologies of the various communications paradigms. The geodesic network provides the means and the model by which the social scientific, critical/cultural, and law and policy paradigms of communication research can network. The successful integration of the three paradigms of communication research is essential for investigating the increasingly complex questions of media literacy, uses and effects, media access and ownership, public versus private interests, participatory politics, civil society, and the character of discourse within society. (Contains 35 references and 4 notes.) (CR)

S. Jackson and S. Jacobs' article entitled "Generalizing about Messages" represents an important methodological innovation in communication research. The article urges procedural change by recommending the use of multiple-message designs because of a weakness in single-message designs; it recommends analyzing message-replication data with a random-effects analysis because such a procedure provides the appropriate basis for the generalizations that are wanted. That is, "Generalizing about Messages" proposes both a certain sort of data-gathering procedural change (i.e., message replications) and a data-analytic procedural change (i.e., random-effects analysis). Indeed, "Generalizing about Messages" has significantly changed customary research procedures in communication. It is much more common now to see multiple message designs. "Generalizing about Messages" is unique in its exploration of the interconnection of procedure and substance--it does not separate issues of methodology from issues of substance. Its implications are far-reaching. For instance, the same arguments underwriting the use of random-effects analyses in primary research designs with multiple messages also underwrite the use of random-effects analyses in meta-analysis. Broadly put, the relevant general principle is that replications should be treated as random whenever the underlying interest is in generalization. The article also invites consideration of the variability of effect on a phenomenon. (Contains eight references.) (TB)

This paper gives a brief overview of Jurgen Habermas's concept of communicative action, followed by an overview of an empirical study of patterns of communication between teachers and students in English post-compulsory education. The paper sketches the ideas of Habermas about the possibility of human interaction that is free from domination. It argues that communication free from domination is both possible and desirable. The paper then draws some implications for the training of teachers. (Contains 20 references.) (NKA)

Writing centers are one place where expert-novice interactions are likely to occur. Students often assume that tutors possess expertise by virtue of their appointment as tutors. The tutor, for his/her part, often assumes that the student's knowledge is deficient in the area in which the student is seeking advice. The complex interactional and linguistic demands on the participants of tutoring sessions are interesting in that usually both parties agree to coordinate their talk, but frequently, this coordination fails. The tutor-student interaction can be focused on the effect of questions. Questions play an important role in interactions where an asymmetry of knowledge exists and the conversants agree, at least initially, to try to reduce this asymmetry. Questions are one such speech choice that reveals power relationships. The teaching sequences present in most tutoring sessions replace the normal egalitarian style of dialogue with a hierarchical one. Using J. J. Gumperz and N. Berenz's (1993) method of conversational transcription, the role questions play in indexing expert and novice roles was analyzed. The student (a female graduate student) had expertise in an area she was discussing with the tutor (also a female graduate student). The women, however, assumed positions that conventions expect of them, and as a result, the student did not get what she wanted out of the meeting and the tutor become frustrated. It is recommended that future research should focus on describing and categorizing the ways novice students subvert the expert-novice frame of tutor-student interactions. (Contains 12 references.) (TB)

A benchmark for conceptualizing the relationship between teaching, research, and service was provided 6 years ago by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The foundation maintained that the relationship between teaching, research and service was at present of benefit to no one, least of all the student. Therefore it put forth a model for the way in which scholarship should function--in short, as means of discovering, integrating, applying, and transmitting knowledge--but that model was, frankly, unimaginative and unpersuasive. A new model must be considered because, in truth, the survival of communication as a discipline depends on improved relationships between teaching, research, and service. To begin with, the influence of a number of external contexts must be considered: (1) the state legislatures' devaluation of research; (2) the new business-like approaches to university administration; and (3) the new attitudes regarding the student as customer or client. In the discipline of communication, service has been slighted; dichotomous thinking about teaching and research is pervasive. To transcend this thinking what the discipline needs to do is define itself in a way that intimately links teaching, research, and service as essential, mutually defining, and simultaneous dimensions of its scholarly enterprise. It needs to find a long-term learning orientation that brings together K-12 communication and college communication. Finally, the discipline needs to think of ways to transcend the research/teaching dichotomy. (TB)

A study examined and tested the knowledge sources individuals tap in the planning process and the process of plan modification. It is expected that contrary to plan-based theories, individuals will fail to remediate flaws in their plans if given the chance to develop a plan to pursue the same goal. It is also expected that differences exist between individuals' planned and actual performances as measured by the knowledge sources used in the respective planning procedures. Finally, it is expected that providing participants with arguments for a persuasion goal will validate the assumption that role model knowledge is a primary source of knowledge in planning to reach persuasive goals. Subjects, 15 communication students at a midwestern university took part in 2 sessions spaced 2 weeks apart from each other. At the first session they were asked to participate in two scenarios. In the first, they were to ingratiate themselves with a new roommate. In the second, they were to persuade another person to accept their view as to whether or not alcohol should be allowed in the dormitories. At the second session, they were given the same two problems and asked to talk through them aloud into a tape recorder. As expected, the results showed no consistent relationship between success and failure of a plan and plan modification. Findings raise questions about the adequacy of humans as planners and basic assumptions of the plan modification model. (Contains 5 tables of data and 15 references.) (TB)

A study on basic speech assessment replicated an earlier one except that in place of the CCAI and the Competent Speaker form, the Self-Perceived Public Speaking Competency Scale (SPPSC) was used. Also, 2 randomly selected control groups of students were added to the research design: one consisting of 62 students who had not taken speech and were not taking it, and the other consisting of 71 students who had already taken speech but were not presently enrolled in a speech class. The experimental group consisted of 56 students. All three groups were administered the PRCA-24, the RSE, and the SPPSC at the beginning and end of the semester. Scores were examined in terms of the following hypotheses: (1) that all three instruments, pretest and posttest, would not register significant differences for the control groups; and (2) that all three instruments would indicate better posttest and pretest scores for the experimental group. Results showed both hypotheses to be wrong. All 3 groups scored lower on the PRCA posttest than the pretest; all three groups improved slightly on the other two tests. In other words, most students improved in their speech skills over time whether enrolled in basic speech or not. The results appear disappointing. One explanation would look to the long-proven confusion produced by time itself. Another would note that public speaking skills were not reinforced in classes other than speech, even though speech or presentations were required. (Contains 7 tables of scores and 15 references.) (TB)

Discussion abounds about the quality of rhetoric on computer bulletin boards, chat lines and e-mail. Within the past year the CEDA-L, a bulletin board dedicated to the communication of the Cross Examination Debate Association community, has become one of the most popular avenues for information dissemination. A study examined 1000 messages posted to the bulletin board during the period beginning November 2, 1994 and ending January 19, 1995, and also examined responses to a survey distributed on the system. Of the 107 surveys returned, 78 identified themselves as male, 29 as female. Results showed a similarity between the genders when dictating the number of times that an individual read the bulletin board. A discrepancy arose, however, when comparing those who read only (i.e., non-intrusive observers), and those who read and posted. While men tended to reply openly to the board, women chose to read only or read and post directly to individuals. Also, the utilization of the information found on the bulletin board shows an even greater gender discrepancy. While females use the service for information gathering, to inquire about situations or tournaments, males chose to discuss theory and the outcomes of rounds. Perhaps the most intriguing information was derived from the last portion of the survey dealing with reasons for use or nonuse. Of the 29 female respondents, 6 asked that their name not be used; of the 78 males, none made that request. Additionally, feelings of inadequacy plagued both genders. (TB)

This paper examines insights offered by communication research that may be valuable to researchers looking for evidence of gender bias affecting student ratings of their college professors' teaching effectiveness. The paper offers an overview of the teaching evaluation processes, and conceptualizations of the validity of their measures. It then discusses evidence that students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness may be subject to a number of biases, including gender bias. It then reviews research indicating that classroom communication processes are influenced both by professor and student gender. It is suggested that findings from two lines of communication research, instructional communication and gender and communication, may provide insights into the processes through which communication contributes to gender biases in student ratings. The paper concludes with specific and general suggestions for using these insights in future research. (Contains 71 references.) (Author)

A new child has the potential for adding dimension and enrichment to the parents' and acquaintances' lives. Simulation development metaphorically mirrors pregnancy, birth, parental guidance, and maturation. An individual begins with a desire for enjoyment and future possibilities. Nurturers of simulation are aided by setting the following broad goals while prenatal feeding of the simulation occurs. The early goals include: (1) having child-like fun; (2) seeking to tap affective responses from participants; (3) encouraging behavioral involvement; (4) utilizing experiential methods and processes; and (5) flowing with the evolution of the inductive reasoning that occurs during the development and birth of the simulation. A set of pedagogical literature whose knowledge is most helpful when nurturing and birthing a simulation is that of the developmental theorists. Knowledge of developmental theory helps the facilitator focus on who is taking part in the simulation and what he or she is capable of. It is because these theories are so involved, however, that it is important to remember to give primary attention to the creative, the intuitive, and the inductive processes. It is helpful to have partners working on the simulation; each can help the other with brainstorming. Play, laugh, tell stories from personal experience, look at the incongruity between people and cultures. Just prior to labor is another playful process--shopping for the needs of the pending infant. It is very likely that the brainstormed interactions will require supplies for implementation. The last step is the delivery of the infant, i.e., the simulation, and a pre-test with select participants whose feedback help the developers adjust the simulation as it "matures." (Contains 24 references.) (TB)

The field of communication seems to ignore how religious commitment informs communication practices. According to the research of B. A. Kosmin and S. P. Lachman, religion "counts in American society." Still, a survey of publications showed that very few scholars consider religion an important topic for communication research. Over the entirety of its publication (17 years), the "Journal of Communication and Religion" has published only a handful of articles (12) concerning the relationship between communication and religion. Those researchers who have devoted their energies to issues concerning religion have demonstrated the richness of the field. They have found, for instance, that the higher an individual's religious commitment, the greater the likelihood of disclosing personal information; or that a view of God as benevolent is negatively correlated with loneliness, while a view of God as wrathful is positively correlated with loneliness. One of the difficulties facing the research of religion is how to define and measure it. Such a measure might take into account: (1) the subject's affiliation; (2) the subject's concept of God; and (3) the subject's understanding of behavioral injunctions. The researcher might look into the following areas for relationships between religion and communication: receptivity to public persuasive messages; patterns of self-disclosure; and the way a person creates a life story. (Contains 34 references.) (TB)

Virtually everyone involved with forensics has, at one time or another, seen or heard references to debate teams or squads as "groups." Many questions concerning the label "group," however, exist. A brief examination of definitions of the term group by scholars in the field of small group communication confirms that T. M. Newcomb's observation still holds true--the term group is difficult to define. Criteria that are given attention in analyses of groups are group size, amount of interaction, whether the group defines itself as a group and whether outsiders see it as a group, whether the members share common interests and norms, whether members participate in interrelated roles, whether they are interdependent, whether they share an identity with each other, and whether the members find the group rewarding. A review of the literature, in other words, suggests most definitely that debate teams are groups, which raises a number of research possibilities. For instance, an empirical investigation of the decision-making processes employed by debate groups might provide useful information for debaters, coaches and program directors. Also, research on debate groups might reveal efficient mechanisms for resolving disputes regarding case construction, argument development and so forth. Research, finally, might also look into how leaders lead in a debate group. (Contains 43 references.) (TB)

Much has been said and written about the "conflict" between professional research and teaching. The claim is often made that the two fields of endeavor should complement each other since research can enliven and update a professor's teaching. Little attention has been directed to the converse, the possibility that a professor's teaching can definitely enhance his/her research and consequent publication output. One veteran speech communication professor finds that his classroom experience has led directly to publication output. Student input or questions has led to research (on stage fright, humor, the content of a basic speech course, for example) motivated by real, immediate curiosity; later this research was used as the basis for journal articles or conference papers. A constant complaint among faculty is that heavy teaching loads take up time that could be used for research, but teaching can also enrich and diversify an instructor's list of publications. (TB)

Grounded in a communication theory that assumes that the form of communication affects the content of the knowledge that a teacher conveys to his or her students, a study attempted to determine how violence is treated in the classroom. The site for the study was Darbin Elementary School, in a suburb of San Francisco. The method was observation, though informal interviews were also conducted with the teacher and the students. During the course of the observation, the researcher witnessed the teacher deal once with physical violence by helping a particularly dangerous student to "take time out" instead of throwing a tantrum. Most violence, however, surfaced only in a symbolic form, specifically in three activities or occurrences. First, a small, mischievous student shaped a paper clip into a gun and then proceeded to shoot people using sound effects; the teacher did not seem to take the incident seriously. Second, students who were asked to design a banner to represent their "tribe" or small group, devised sometimes violent insignia; again the teacher did not pursue extended discussion about these violent symbols. Third, when students read compositions containing violent implications to the class, the student audience laughed and the teacher commended the authors' creativity. The teacher's only response to these compositions was to underscore the difference between fantasy and reality. The specific meanings of symbolic violence are unclear and warrant further discussion. (Contains 22 references; designs from the banner are appended.) (TB)

Since students learn conceptually, the basic speech course should be more than a skills course. Skills are the mechanics of speaking; teaching only skills tends to produce mechanical speakers. Basic course instructions need to continue to address skills, but must also address concepts. Concepts come from research, and the emphasis of the basic course should be that speech communications is a discipline steeped in research. Research should be brought into the basic speech course in three ways: (1) as preparation for the course--the basic course instructor as a consumer and implementer of research; (2) as course content--research as part of the content of the course (content and procedural knowledge); and (3) as a teaching strategy--instructor implements what has been learned about communication and explicitly talks about the implementation such that students "see" it as well as talk about it. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/AA)

The current trends of today's workplace indicate that effective communication in business is very important. If academics are in sync theoretically and conceptually with the business world, they are not effectively communicating those theories and concepts to students; academics must be stronger in the area of application. A survey was conducted of 1,000 managers/recruiters as well as academicians who teach business and professional communication at colleges and universities; 346 questionnaires were returned. Academics and recruiters generally agreed on the top five characteristics necessary for new hires in getting and keeping a professional job: ability to communicate; ability to get along with people; listening effectively; and teamwork capabilities. Academics included"writing effectively" on their list; recruiters included "time management skills." An examination of texts used in business communication courses shows strong similarities on the level of content. However, professors should go beyond instruction in communication techniques to engage students more deeply in the nature and function of business communication. Five options are suggested: (1) use communication technology in the classroom; (2) use multimedia presentations in the classroom; (3) bring the real business world into the classroom; (4) do exercises using a hypothetical company; (5) perform realistic role-play simulations. (Contains 20 references.) (TB)

A study questioned 12 human resource personnel, corporation managers, and diversity trainers about their perceptions of diversity training needs in Pacific Northwest high tech organizations. The overarching research questions for the study were as follows: (1) What are the most frequently reported diversity training needs among human resource personnel and company managers currently working in Pacific Northwest high tech corporations? (2) What are the diversity training needs in high tech corporations reported by professional diversity trainers? All responses were analyzed using an analytical inductive approach. Emergent themes were identified and categorized. Results indicated that all participants expressed a need for common understanding of the concept "diversity" and"diversity training." Also, most participants felt a need to develop more extensive cultural diversity programs, though human resource personnel and managers expressed the need to obtain upper management support if diversity training was to become company policy. Finally, trainers voiced the belief that organizations look for more "quick-fix" approaches to diversity training rather than long term changes in organizational culture. These results are not necessarily generalizable. A study gathering data from a wider and more inclusive sample from other than Pacific Northwest high tech companies is in order. Also, findings from other studies comparing perceptions of other employees (e.g., top executives, line staff) could provide diversity trainers and high tech corporations with more complete information about employee needs and diversity trainer assessment of their clients' needs. (Contains 25 references and 4 tables of data.) (TB)

A study of 178 secondary school teachers in the California was motivated by the passage of the Ryan Act of 1970, which eliminated the high school speech credential and subsumed it under the English umbrella. The result has been that the speech communication subject matter is expected to be integrated into the English courses in the state. The 1987 state curriculum standards requiring integration of the language arts specifically state that oral communication and listening are to be taught in a number of ways in English courses. Two research questions were posed: (1) Would post-Ryan Act English teachers be more likely to integrate oral communication into their English courses? and (2) Are there any demographic predictors of the extent to which an English teacher would integrate oral communication in his or her classroom? Results showed that only 20% of the respondents could give a specific technique or example of how they taught speech or listening in the classroom. Generally, there is no difference between pre- and post-Ryan Act English teachers' handling of speech in their curriculums, which gives further support to Post-Ryan English teachers' not being prepared adequately to teacher speech communication in "process/theory" areas. Regarding demographics, results showed that female teachers were more likely to teach communication skills than male teachers. Speech communication educators must get the national and state offices of education to accept the importance of their discipline in secondary schools. (Contains 17 references and a table of data.) (TB)

Because of the vast nature of the work of Ernest Boyer and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, it is appropriate to highlight specific ideas related to the basic course in communication and offer a response. First, further research must be done to determine the extent to which the basic communications course enhances student skills. Second, communication scholars have allowed the importance of their discipline to decrease in the perceptions of their colleagues and students; scholars must emphasize the importance of speech in all disciplines. Third, communication scholars have not required students to develop critical insights into contemporary problems. Fourth, there is little research done to support the teaching of basic communication courses. Fifth, communications scholars have been negligent in taking their ideas to other disciplines. Sixth, communication scholars should do more to teach with advancement of knowledge as a goal in the basic communications course. Seventh, communication scholars must rely less on graduate student assistants in the teaching of the basic course. Eighth, communication scholars must do more to reward innovative approaches to teaching speech. Ninth, applying what scholars know about communication practice and theory should be the goal of all communication educators, especially those involved in the basic course. (TB)

The American Indian, whether as a racial group or tribal group, is presumably the most researched group in the United States. Every aspect of Indian culture has been studied from topics such as "uses of time" to "forms of public speaking." Although the Indian has been thoroughly studied, there is a lack of current research that identifies and delineates Indian verbal and non-verbal behavior. Moreover, those who would conduct research among the indigenous people seldom take into account the notion of cultural competency or the knowledge and day-to-day enactment of cultural ways. Almost all researchers consider any person who identifies him- or herself as an Indian as being culturally competent. However, many tribal members have been socialized in an urban or non-Indian environment and possess scant knowledge of their tribal background. The problem then is this: when conducting research among American Indians should the researcher be concerned with the cultural expertise of his or her subjects? How does he or she determine contemporary Indian communicative behavior? L. Wieder and S. Pratt (1990) found that being an Indian or culturally competent tribal member "is not something one can simply be, but is something one becomes and/or is." The problem of identity is not merely a problem for scholarly investigation; it is also a problem that Indian people face in both inter-cultural, inter-tribal and intra-tribal settings. (Osage Tribal Competency Exam is appended.) (TB)

D. P. Thompson (1987) pointed out that the e-mail network can help students work collaboratively, solve problems, and experience writing as communication in the real situation. This study examined the impact of e-mail debate on intercultural sensitivity, writing apprehension, and computer anxiety. Fifty-four students in two sections of a junior-level intercultural communication class participated in the 12-week project. Divided into groups, they were required to participate in debates (following the rules of debate) that included the following assertions: (1) intercultural marriage is acceptable; (2) intercultural communication should be part of any college curriculum; (3) people from different cultures cause problems in the United States. Several measurement tests were given. The 22-item Intercultural Communication Attitudes Scale (1993) was used to test participants' intercultural sensitivity. The 26-item Daly-Miller Test (1975) was used for the measurement of writing apprehension. The 20-item Computer Anxiety Scale (1990) was used to measure the degree of participants' computer anxiety. Results showed significant changes between pretest and posttest in intercultural sensitivity and computer anxiety, but no significant changes in writing apprehension. (Contains 14 references and one figure.) (TB)

The development of skills for group evaluation and facilitation in today's team environment is an essential component of the learning process for the student of communication. Until recently there has been no integrated model for the consideration of small groups and teams that incorporated findings from psychology, social psychology, management and communication> SYMLOG (SYstem for the Multiple Level Observation of Groups), developed by Robert F. Bales and his colleagues, provides this multidisciplinary approach and has the potential to become the dominant methodology for working with groups and teams. SYMLOG is a theory of personality and group dynamics, integrated with some practical means for measuring and changing behavior and values in a democratic way. It is designed to assess both individual and group functioning and to assist groups in understanding themselves and how they relate to one another. While not designed as a small group communication tool, SYMLOG has much to offer the communication researcher and practitioner, and has begun to be integrated into the communication classrooms and texts. Among its advantages in the classroom are its strong theoretical underpinnings in social-psychological theory, its ease of use, its capability to provide insight into both individual and group perceptions of functioning simultaneously, as well as the graphic visual representation of group dynamics. (Contains 48 references and 5 figures.) (TB)

University forensic programs offer original opportunities for small group communication research. Scholars have been calling for research in a naturalistic setting. A prime place for these studies exists in academic departments, within forensic programs. Forensic programs meet the standards set forth by prominent scholars for effective small group research. A longitudinal study could indicate how group goals, norms, standards, and roles of leadership change through a group's history. Research could also consider the impact of assigned leadership on a group, and additional role research could focus on how members interact depending on the environment. Not only can forensics be an effective skill- and character-building activity, but it can also be the site for cutting-edge research. (Contains 11 references.) (RS)

If the discussions of communication can be divided into those concerned with a description or theory and those concerned with prescription, then it must be understood that the former can never by itself improve communication. As a field, communication studies does not yet know enough about prescriptive language theory; that is, theory concerned with the practical application of language in real life situations, such as in law enforcement or air traffic control. Typically, textbooks are both descriptive and prescriptive, but the connections between these two areas are usually vague at best. In Malcolm Davies'"The Business of Communicating," for instance, the first four chapters explain what communication is and when and why it works or does not work; the last two chapters prescribe which forms of communication should be used. No clear connection between the two sections, however, is made. Had the descriptive section been left out, the prescriptive section would have been just as effective. In developing a prescriptive theory of communication, the scholar should consider at least four questions: (1) what constitutes "good" communication; (2) why it is so difficult to influence how people communicate; (3) which aspects of communication can and should be controlled; and (4) what types of communication failure occur and why. Much work remains to be done in all of these areas. (Includes 11 footnotes.) (TB)

Recurring claims of the poor relationship of computer adoption and organizational productivity may be of interest to communication scientists who study computer mediated communication (CMC). Cognitive science researchers advocate the same solution to this problem as many communication scientists, i.e., formative research. Iterating design and user input into a feedback loop will lead to continual testing and locating of bugs until skills with computers increase. Perhaps it will be useful for CMC researchers to look more at how productivity in the workplace is related to new communication technologies, such as electronic mail, computer conferencing, and decision support systems. More research about CMC and productivity which can specify how CMC is different from the general pattern of computers and productivity is needed. (RS)

Noting that studies of media, culture, and consciousness assert wide-ranging connections among the three, this paper proposes a research program for investigating the media-consciousness-cultural link. Sections I and II provide a brief review of orality-literacy theories and communication theories. Section III proposes five areas of media interaction with the social self: cultural structures; social discourse; images of the self; autonomy, and models of social behavior. Accompanying examples in the paper are drawn primarily from the United States. Section IV presents conclusions which suggest that the proposed exploration would demand a great deal of careful historical work and suggests looking at narrative themes and narrative styles in addition to the five previously discussed areas. (Contains 38 references.) (NH)

This paper explores and attempts to answer some of the fundamental questions and challenges brought against organizational communication scholars who follow the critical tradition. Specifically addressed in the paper are the following issues: (1) the vocabulary of critical theory; (2) assumptions and goals of critical theory; (3) critical theory and the politics of academe; and (4) critical theory and application. The paper concludes by highlighting the potential of critical theory for exploring and bringing new understanding to the field of organizational communication. A table describing differences among basic, applied, and participative research is included. Contains 34 references. (Author/RS)

This paper proposes a view of the communication/cognitive psychology relationship which attempts to reclaim the concept of "communication" as being fundamental to the understanding of communication phenomena and thus to the discipline of communication studies. This view is presented in the paper as an alternative to a view which conceptualizes communication as an extension of psychology. The paper offers an account of the relationship between the two disciplines in which an understanding of human cognition must presuppose the ability of people to communicate. In view of the current ferment with respect to the identity of the communication discipline, the paper argues that the concept of communication can, and must, be reclaimed by the communication discipline as its central mode of explanation. (Contains 52 references.) (Author/SR)

The most prevalent variable manifesting itself in schools is communication or, at least, it seems to be a most pervasive variable. What is communication? In what ways do humans communicate in schools? And how might the concept "school communication" be defined? To investigate possible ways to respond to these and other such questions, this paper presents five road maps in order to describe and better understand the concept "school communication." Each road map introduces an important perspective illuminating the discipline of communication. It is the combination of these five road maps, a "communication atlas," which provides an introduction to this discipline and how it facilitates understanding the important educational variable, school communication. The names of the five road maps are: (1) the cause-effect cluster; (2) the psychological cluster; (3) the interactive cluster; (4) the pragmatic cluster; and (5) the semiotic cluster. (Contains 2 figures and 33 references.) (Author/CR)

Satire is a genre long extant if not especially beloved in human history. Practitioners of the art claim the intent to persuade and educate through their works. Many quantitative studies have tested the persuasive effects of satire. In research on persuasion, A.D. Annis (1939) compared the effects of editorials and editorial cartoons and concluded that straight editorials were more persuasive than satirical ones. C. R. Gruner's dissertation study (1965) showed that satire's humor may be enjoyed without being fully understood. In 1977, L. Powell found that straight messages were more effective than satire but that satire, in the long run, did more to prevent counter argumentation. All of these studies, while divergent in approach and aims, seem to suggest, at least, that satire can be persuasive. In the research on the understanding and appreciation of satire, Gruner (1978) found that the higher the student's SAT score, the greater the chance that he/she will understand a satirical piece. A series of studies by Gruner and others tested a wide variety of variables that could influence the understanding of satire but none of them concluded that clearly identifiable factors were affecting understanding. Experimentation using multi-factorial studies and more field and survey research might prove useful to understanding how satire works "in the real world." (Contains 46 references.) (TB)

The social scientific research focus of major United States universities places the forensics programs at these institutions in a unique position. Three areas of tension between forensics and research based communication departments are as follows: research quality/utility, applicability of forensic training, and resource conflicts. Solutions to each tension area include more regularity and rigor in journals and conference paper selection procedures; an adoption of B. J. Logue's criteria, particularly focusing on more sophisticated methods and increasing generalizability through an expanded notion of forensic research; greater linking between communication research and forensics (both debate and individual events), which is viewed as an initial step to making forensics even more applicable to outside settings; and a recognition of the resource problem as more of a misperception than a substantive tension. A forensics program provides benefits for the communication department: it is an excellent recruiting tool, it serves as an outlet for community service and visibility, and it helps fund graduate study. (Twenty-nine references are attached.) (Author/SR)

In recent years, movement theorists have examined how rhetorical movements acquire legitimacy from established orders. The focus of past research has been the rhetorical dilemma of noninstitutional movements seeking recognition. David Zarefsky conceptualized establishment social movements as being rhetorically indistinguishable from noninstitutional movements. Zarefsky's conceptualization can be used to argue that establishment movements must also establish rhetorical legitimacy. Furthermore, a detailed case study is offered of the efforts of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish mandatory motorcycle safety legislation by interacting with the American Motorcyclist Association. This demonstrates that any establishment movement that targets counterculture groups faces the rhetorical dilemma of establishing institutional rhetorical legitimacy, and must develop a rhetorical strategy, such as the use of an out-group vehicle. The paper notes that the discussion of how legitimacy gaining strategies are employed by establishment movements targeting out-groups opens a new area of research for rhetorical scholars. One appendix, "The Pro-Rider Code of Ethics," is attached. (PRA)

Although psychologists, sociologists, family scientists and communication experts are making important contributions to the study of personal relationships, discussion of the gender differences that often create barriers to intimacy, and how these differences are reflected in the communication process, is notably absent from much of this work. While these differences are alluded to repeatedly, nowhere is the connection directly made between intimacy and the listening behavior of women and men. Integrating the salient aspects of listening (knowledge through self-disclosure, interdependence, trust, reciprocated commitment, and communication) with factors that affect the quality of intimate relationships between men and women can help to fill this absence. Such factors include: gender identity in listening and speaking roles, and expression and interpretation of listening in intimate relationships. Hopefully, such understanding will contribute to the knowledge of the concept of intimacy in the culture and will facilitate razing the barriers to intimate relationships that are a product of cultural expectations. Three listening strategies which are connected to the concept of intimacy are (1) self-concept and listening to others; (2) learning the listening strategies of the other; and (3) serving as listening role models. (Fifty references are attached.) (Author/PRA)

One aspect of organizational work groups has been ignored by both group and organizational communication researchers. The concluding period or termination of an organizational work group is disregarded while research focuses on the assignment, development, and maintenance of groups. In the organizational context, how work groups process the conclusion of their task and the personal and professional relationships developed in the group are important to examine and understand. Given that an organization's members are continually assigned and recycled to various work groups, task forces, and production teams, lessons learned in one group can be passed on to the next. In addition, organizational members leaving a group context must operate within the closely defined sphere of the organization, and may have to work again with the other group members or with people who know them. Dissolving groups should have the opportunity to reflect both upon the work they have achieved and the relationships that may have developed within the group. Future research should examine how a work group communicates in the termination phase and how the group termination affects its members and the overall organization. (Thirty-nine references are attached.) (Author/SG)

This article is in response to Michael Burgoon's call in "Communication Education," October 1989, for the divorcing of speech education from the discipline of communication. It is argued that the lack of isomorphism between speech education and behavioral research in communication reflects a serious imbalance within the discipline, one that has already divided the discipline along media-specific contexts. But rather than concluding that a divorce between speech and communication is desirable, this paper calls for a greater effort by educators to correct an imbalance within the discipline by focusing less on the media of communication and more on the action of communicating. This focus on media has evolved through an increasing awareness of and concern for communication media primarily as a result of the proliferation of electronic communication media in the 20th century. This has resulted in a fragmented discipline, with the study of communication being conducted within numerous subdivisions based on media-specific modes of communication. While theoretical views of communication have largely rejected the tenets of logical empiricism, the discipline's structure continues to reflect reductionist thinking. The various media-specific subdisciplines within the field of communication should strive for a common central focus on communicating. (Thirty-six notes are included.) (Author/PRA)

This paper examines the problem of how to reconcile the practical realities of the nature of the mass audience with the demands of personal and social development, particularly in Africa and other Third World Countries, where the demands of modernization have confronted traditional norms and values. After defining and clarifying key concepts such as development, communication, mass communication, mass society, mass audience, and types of audience participation, the paper explores the relationship between the mass media and the mass audience, and discusses the effects of the media in terms of conflict theory, social criticism, and the theories of ideological effects. The paper asserts that the agenda setting power of the mass media results in a non-spontaneous mass culture which pacifies and stupefies the masses instead of educating them, and argues that under these conditions, modernization can be achieved only in terms of physical development, and not in human and socio-cultural dimensions. The paper suggests that participation is a key element in development, and supports this idea with the positive results of a pilot project in which the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation involved members of rural villages in its programming, production, and presentation. Finally, the paper advocates the Democratic-Participant Media theory which: (1) is based on the demassification of media messages and contents so that they become situation and community or group specific and directly relevant to individual communities or groups; and (2) assists in inducing critical thinking that helps ensure intelligent decisions and builds up the people's self-confidence. (Three tables are included; 23 references are attached.) (PRA)