Sources in this annotated bibliography are compiled for investigators in speech communication and social sciences interested in the influence of the group on the individual member (conformity and deviation), and for those interested in group consensus formation and the consequences of pressure to uniformity (polarization). The 34 citations include…

Sources in this annotated bibliography are intended for persons who are called upon to moderate or participate in formal or large-group meetings, and for instructors who teach courses in parliamentary law or who must incorporate such a unit in a larger course. The 43 citations are organized by format: (1) manuals; (2) textbooks; (3) programmed…

Drawing on the author's long personal involvement in several interpersonal communication movements, this paper defines and defends sensitivity training and experiential learning. After examining some philosophical and ethical themes and theories of education, the paper recounts some difficulties of fitting alternative modes of education into the…

To assess whether communication behaviors differ between high and low consensus groups, a study considered the comparative interaction of the first meetings of high and low consensus groups, the first and final meetings of high consensus groups, and the first and final meetings of low consensus groups. Subjects, 84 students in a small group…

The purpose of this paper is to identify some critical dimensions in specifying a model of group performance. In the first section, the boundaries of the paper, e.g., work groups that produce some identifiable good or service, are discussed. In the second section some models of group performance are explored in order to illustrate theories of…

Some research in social psychology has examined the effect of social influence on group processes. To examine the conditions under which individuals cooperate to function as a group and the effects of this group formation on the cohesiveness, communication, and morale of group members, two experiments were conducted. A group of three male subjects…

Quality circles, small groups of employees working voluntarily toward performance improvement, have become a popular business strategy in the past decade. When effective, the quality circle may be linked directly to the increased productivity of the work group. The quality circle process may be divided into four components: identification and…

These five papers reflect a single project--discourse analysis in the curriculum. The first paper, "The Small Group Course as a Setting for Naturalistic Research" (Charles Petrie and Charles Laufersweiler), describes the teaching process of integrating both a graduate and an undergraduate class from which the other four papers describe resulting…

This article reports on the relationship between the informal behavior of teachers and the formal organization of the school. A field study was conducted over a six month period at one high school. Research questions focused on patterns of behavior which were created by teachers to sustain individuals on the job and to promote continuation of…

Since objective data on the effectiveness of self-help groups are not available, participants' views of a program's value are instructive. A study was undertaken to contrast participants' (N=232) evaluations of their self-help meetings with independent observers' (N=11) evaluations and to describe the components of their respective views in terms…

A collection of papers on the training of English teachers includes: an introduction (Gillian Marsh); "The Use of Video in EFL Teacher Training" (Michael J. Wallace); "Designing a Micro-Teaching Programme in the Third World" (Donard Britten, Falla Sow); "Teacher Training at the Colchester English Study Centre" (Jonathan Seath); "The Training of…

Besides the question of the maximal effectiveness of various degrees and varieties of participation, predicting the success of participative decision making (PDM) approaches also involves an understanding of sources of variance (individual employees' characteristics, the cultural milieu, and the job context and level) for planning and instituting…

A teacher helped her students learn how to assess a community and its health needs and how to work with community leaders to plan, carry through, and evaluate a health care program. (Author/MW)

Urges the use of the direct method for the teaching of English as a second language, incorporating community action as the model for language usage. (LG)

A concept of trust is presented which draws from game theory, credibility theories, and sensitivity training literatures. (CH)