Examines ethical controversies around actions taken by the public relations firm Hill & Knowlton in relation to its acceptance of the Citizens for a Free Kuwait as a client. Presents answers to three questions in terms of entrepreneurship, professionalism, ethical codes, and guidelines. (SR)

Examines argumentative flexibility as a variable influencing responses to three argumentative situations. Compares trait argumentativeness to argumentative flexibility as a predictor of argumentative behavior. Concludes by discussing the validity of the argumentative flexibility construct. (SR)

Extends previous research by examining empirically the relationship of message delivery and content to perceptions of leader charisma. Indicates that, although both delivery and content play a role in the development of perceptions of charisma, the impact of delivery is stronger. Reveals that the attentive, relaxed, friendly, and dominant style…

Suggests that Garrison Keillor's radio monologues create a preferred spectator position that relies on traditionally feminine competencies. Shows that the monologues refuse to privilege vision, dismantle the male gaze, create Lake Wobegon as a feminine setting, and use feminine speaking style. Argues that Keillor provides an opportunity for…

Offers a critique (incorporating several tenets of Afro-centric criticism with traditional rhetorical theories) of the lyrics of the activist rapper KRS-One, which address the issue of violence and presents a message to both African-American and white audiences. Finds that KRS-One's work sets the foundation for empowering African-American youth by…

Discusses the way that mass communication education, and in particular the study of journalism, is often disregarded as a legitimate field of scholarly study. Considers the charge that journalism education and media studies exhibit the "crass vocationalism" of a university. (HB)

Examines the most important constructions of public opinion as they manifest themselves in contemporary opinion research. Discusses public opinion as the aggregate of response to nationally representative polls, the "measurement-error" counterattack, the question-answering model of public opinion, enlightened opinion, and public opinion…

Discusses a survey of 505 respondents from business organizations. Reports that self-described good decoders of nonverbal communication consider nonverbal communication more important than do other decoders. Notes that both men and women perceive women as both better decoders and encoders of nonverbal cues. Recommends paying more attention to…

Two experiments are described that confirmed previous contentions that there is an imperfect correspondence between subjects' pause reports and actual pauses in oral reading and that auditory cues represent only part of the picture. Semantic and linguistic cues also appear to have substantial effect on the accuracy of pause reports. (13…

Discusses issues attendant to meta-analytic reviews of the research literature concerning factors influencing persuasive effectiveness. Discusses issues connected with (1) the literature search (such as identification of relevant studies); and (2) the analysis of the collected studies (including extraction of effect sizes from studies, analyses of…

Examines current practices in mass communication research with respect to message experiment design, analysis, and interference. Provides a logically consistent framework for mass communication researchers to make experimental design and data analysis decisions. (PRA)

Analyzes skills involved in children's (twins and singletons) performance on communicative referential tasks and developmental changes in type and quality of messages. Finds no differences in number and type of information elements, but different interactive styles and strategies between twins and singletons, with twins showing a partner-dependent…

A study of scientific communication in the United Kingdom indicates that informal communication, which has significantly changed from a decade ago, appears to have had an idiosyncratic impact. Two emerging themes were the effects of information technology and scientists' sense of information overload. Information staff observed increasing emphasis…

Examines how conductors and orchestras communicate. Communication is essentially nonverbal. Conductors use gestures, gaze, facial expression, nods and posture to deliver their message. Norbert Weiner's Cybernetic Theory of human communication is seen as a means of analyzing precisely how this musical communication takes place. (16 references) (LET)

Describes in broad terms the state of research in agenda setting, defines the key problems, and suggests a variety of alternative perspectives that, if given the chance, will enrich the study of this topic domain. (SR)