Discussions are commonly used in online teaching and have been shown to foster student learning and collaboration. This case study uses content analysis to explore the interaction patterns of student online discussions during a semester-long teacher preparation course using concepts from sociometry. Findings suggest that interaction patterns were…

Conversational analysis was used to evaluate conversation between an adult with autism and a researcher. Analysis identified differences in conversational style based on such features as topic movement, topic maintenance, repairs, interference from earlier structures, common collocations, overlaps, latching, and pauses. Findings suggest the…

Polite statements in conversations between men and women are analyzed as rational strategies designed to save face. Previous research has established that saving face is composed of two needs: the need to be unimpeded in conversation (negative politeness) and the need to be approved of (positive politeness). Face-threatening acts (interruptions,…

A study was conducted to describe the speech patterns of four adolescent girls. All four subjects were in the same eighth grade class and knew each other. Approximately 19 hours of observational data and 9 hours of interview data were collected. The descriptive framework of D. Hymes (1972), which focuses specifically on settings, participants,…

Relationships--categorized as no growth, low growth, or high growth--were monitored over a two-week period with structured diaries kept by one party to the relationship. Overall differences were found between males and females, primarily on the four variables of satisfaction, importance, effectiveness, and personalness. (PD)

Past research predicts that males will be more likely to withdraw in one-on-one interactions versus groups, whereas females will be more likely to withdraw in groups than in one-on-one interactions. Ninety-eight 10-year-old children engaged in a word generation task either in same-sex dyads or in groups. Boys completed significantly more words in…

Investigated the impact of sexual composition and competitive/cooperative orientation on interaction patterns in same-sex and mixed-sex dyads. Found that the competitive or cooperative orientation of the interactants exerts a far greater impact on the communication behavior of dyads than does their sexual composition. (PD)

Interpersonal communication competence has been conceptualized as a function of impressions of competence formed in the context of a dyadic relationship, and also in terms of individual behaviors. The Measure of Relational Competence, along with individual self-reports for empathy, role taking, and self-monitoring, were administered for 36…

This study used ethnographic techniques to observe and analyze the communication patterns of two Latina college students in order to better understand the poor performance of many Latino students in college-level composition classes. Both students experienced frustration, anger, suspicion, and mistrust. They felt that school was trying to change…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) comparison of receiver profiles in Clark County, Nevada, for various school-community relations communications channels; (2) effects of profit knowledge, size…