Individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) are disproportionately affected by disparities in the United States (U.S.) healthcare system due to medical miscommunications, misdiagnoses, and treatment errors. The purpose of this commentary is to provide an overarching social-ecological perspective on how to enhance patient-centered…

Stuttering is a communication disorder which can include repetitions, prolongations, or having gaps in speech (blocks, with no sound). Stuttering is also known as stammering, although the correct term is actually dysphemia. In this article, the author shares her stuttering experience so that others will realize what it is like to live with a…

Advises how to improve sales success by defining selling as the management of buying. Suggests changing one's approach from selling to helping people buy, by understanding customers' point of view. (SK)

This article addresses the ambiguity of the child's "voice" in social research. Drawing on a recent research project on young children's communication difficulties, the author argues that the currently popular discourse on "listening to children" is beset with practical and ethical ambiguities that result from the "socialness" of human…

The policies of the United Nations with regard to the six official languages have left holes in the fabric of international cooperation. Maintaining language services in all six languages has proved to be an impossibility because of the scarcity of trained interpreters and translators between, for instance, Chinese and Arabic. English, French, and…

Identifies major communication problems that create malfunctions in business and presents classroom activities that demonstrate the problems and possible solutions. Discusses six malfunctions and related exercises to overcome them. (JOW)

Argues, in the context of child advocacy, that public policy can be changed only when a problem is acknowledged and defined and a feasible solution is agreed upon. Identifies factors inhibiting communication and consensus. Discusses content-related and process-related techniques needed to bring about change. (CMG)

Discusses ways to make the professional consulting experience successful and to understand an organization's communication problems. States that consultants should be aware of how the organization's culture may affect its members' communication practices, and should learn to read various signs of organizational culture. Emphasizes that effective…

Argues that today's blacks feel compelled to interact, share, and participate with European Americans on the latter's terms. The paper suggests that whites' desires to learn about the black condition are considered offensive, intrusive, and disingenuous. A study attempts to understand these interactions and why they fail. (GLR)

Discusses the paradoxes which become evident in the course of outpatient treatment of some adolescents. Describes the resistance to treatment, the nature of therapeutic communication, the handling of countertransference feelings, and the view of the adolescent as victim. Discusses the use of isolation by adolescents and its effect on therapy.…

Proposes a definition of uncertainty useful in organizational communication and demonstrates the applicability of the concept in managing communication problems in a selected manufacturing firm. (MS)

The core of geography consists of endeavors that touch base with five core elements: landscape, maps, hypotheses, processes, and models/generalizations. All geographers have common or shared interests whether they be geomorphologists or behavioralists; many of the divisions that characterize the discipline are dysfunctional and unnecessary.…

In this perspective, the concept of communication breakdown is abandoned. Instead, it is understood that miscommunication and noncommunication are also ways of transmitting messages. (SK)

Examines two classes of technical problems--communication and integration of applications--occurring in a national library network designed to facilitate information transfer directly among hosts (service providers) and, indirectly, among hosts and users. (CWM)

In a multilateral communication situation, when at least one participant is speaking a language not his own, sociocultural norms must be suspended. The foreign language spoken must here be regarded simply as a particular language variety. Various communication problems and possible solutions are given, with several examples. (IFS/WGA)