Offers thoughts about some of the problems facing mass communication as a cultural practice by mapping briefly its historical constitutiveness (and the problems therein). Discusses the dimensions of communication research as site. Offers a diagnosis of how to view the avowed "fragmentation" of the field. (SR)

Discusses the trend toward the redefinition of the role of the professoriate as outlined in Ernest L. Boyer's book, "Scholarship Reconsidered." Critiques Boyer's description of American higher education. Shows how Boyer's argument applies only to a minority of elite institutions. (HB)

Finds that a mix of mediated and interpersonal communication can motivate behavior in a public information campaign, particularly when targeted to predisposed audience segments. Shows that mediated messages are most powerful when they are used in conjunction with interpersonal communication. (SR)

Finds that key issues recurring in articles regarding public relations firm-client relations were concerns over knowing each other's businesses, contributing to a consistent communication flow, finances, and "chemistry." Finds that conflict issues for public relations firms parallel those for advertising firms as reported in the advertising agency…

Demonstrates how story evaluations (various ways of highlighting the point of a story) can reveal a story's significance within an organizational setting by examining two narratives from research interviews that form part of the data in a study of readers' responses to writing in a marketing organization. (SR)

Argues that managers write within a unique context, and, thus, much of what is known about writing in general or professional writing may not apply. Reviews the literature on managerial writing, finding a paucity of research and a heavy emphasis on survey methodology. Offers six general research questions for future research. (SR)

Responds to essays in a special issue on criteria for admissibility of evidence in communication research. Finds (compared to special issue in 1977) more openness to a variety of perspectives, a focus on messages, concern with messages in contexts, and the willingness to explicitly state epistemological assumptions, connect them to research…

Investigates whether the intensity and scope of media system dependency (MSD) relations are positively related to perceptions of threats in the environment. Finds that higher perceptions of threat are associated with more intense MSD relations; threat perceptions are strong predictors of the intensity of MSD relations when demographic variables…

Finds that base-rate information (general statements about the range or importance of a problem) had little impact whereas exemplars (less valid but more vivid individual cases) had a strong effect on the perceived distribution of public opinion about news story problems, and also had a moderate impact on undergraduate students' personal opinions…

Discusses commercial bilingualism in Quebec. Deals with Canada's two official languages and classifies their contact with each other in the world of corporate or brand identity. Discusses what these languages must accomplish in the business world and the new perceptions resulting from their contact. Submits a theory of contact between three…

Describes the nature and assessment of the first interactive videotape instruction (IVI) program for coping with speech fright. Finds that students in the IVI condition achieved significantly higher immediate and delayed cognitive test scores and significantly greater reduction in speech fright over a four-week period than did students in the…

Assesses organizational images, and indexes the degree of similarity between members' images. Finds positive relationships between image similarity, organizational commitment, and communication and shows that the strength of these relationships varies with type of organizational membership, type of image, and type of communication. (SR)

Emphasizes the importance of orality, a dimension of textual authenticity, that can influence the content, the form of a speech transcript, and the act of criticism. Demonstrates, with Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, that incorporation of orality does not necessarily provide answers to all of the critic's questions. (SR)

Presents an attempt to cross-validate a widely used set of standard credibility scales. Finds that the Meyer modification of the Gaziano-McGrath scales appears to validly and reliably measure credibility per se but that a second set of scales posited to measure community affiliation is not sufficiently reliable in its current form for use without…

Advocates an increase in contextually based business communication research that integrates knowledge and practice to better connect research with practitioners' needs. (SR)