Discusses the role of a "basic course director" who oversees the consistency among multiple sections of the same course. Surveys communications departments at representative midwestern universities concerning the methods and functions of such a director of introductory courses. (HB)

Compiles some of the theories and research on collaboration from disciplines such as small group management, composition, scientific and technical communication, computer science, speech communication, and rhetoric. Presents annotations of 32 books and journal articles published between 1985 and 1993. (RS)

Examines how relations of power are privileged or marginalized by ethnographers. Discusses how ethnography is judged by and subsumed within the ideological practices of academia. (SR)

Argues that both the increased theoretical productivity in the field of communication as well as the increased confusion about theory are best explained by the influence of a third variable: a general transformation of the human sciences characterized by blurred genres. (SR)

Considers how the troubles affecting the field of communication are linked to the decline of modernism. Argues that the future of the field lies in exploring both microscopic and macroscopic social changes in a postmodern world. Proposes an agenda for this research. (SR)

Identifies five overarching values central to disciplinary disputes in communication, and how their relative importance changes depending on prevailing social, economic, and intellectual conditions. Explores discipline-level values in the 1980s, and how value structures are likely to shift in the 1990s. Proposes a value hierarchy for the future.…

Argues that, because of its heavy technological emphasis, telecommunications will tend toward instrumental, applied forms of research. Notes alternative research traditions that see telecommunications as part of the social history of communications technology. Discusses implications for the contemporary study of telecommunications. (SR)

Discusses five key assumptions of critical scholarship on development communication: development communication must liberate; women's perspective as a basis for development communication; context defines women's perspective; context is understood in dialogue; and dialog must engage many levels and types of power. (SR)

This article presents initial guidelines for combining current conventions for analyzing sign language and spoken language, to represent signs accompanied by speech. Rules are outlined for transcribing utterance groupings in terms of their context, inflection, sign gloss, spoken component, and phonetic transcription. (JDD)

Presents a meta-analysis of 25 primary research studies of managerial gender communication issues. Addresses issues of behavioral differences and research methodologies. Concludes that communication differences between male and female managers are minimal and of little social importance. Suggests the use of an interactionist perspective in future…

Stuttered sentences pronounced by 12 4- to 6-year-old children in spontaneous conversation were analyzed for length and grammatical complexity. Results indicated that sentences in which stuttering occurred within the first three words were significantly longer and more complex than sentences where no fluency failure was found. Implications for…

Addresses issues for faculty development in the 1990s by considering the importance of equipping faculty with reasonable knowledge and at least minimal competency in multiple methods of inquiry which are centered within the discipline of communication. (SR)

Compares United States and Japanese cultures in terms of incidence and management of face-threatening predicaments perpetuated by others. Finds United States citizens more likely than Japanese citizens to employ humor, accounts, and aggression and Japanese more likely to employ apology and remediation. (NH)

Explores heritage museums as sites of cultural production in terms of the distinction drawn by historians between "memory" and "history," denoting fundamentally opposed orientations toward the past. Examines the discursive practices of museum guides in Israeli settlement museums, and suggests a more nuanced view of the…

Examines graffiti created by students in "film school" as an organizational document. Finds themes related to alienation and the discourse that counters the sources of that alienation. Shows how the humorous communicative style of graffiti creates tension among cultural meanings that mediates between alienation and liberation. (SR)