Critiques three essays published in the July 1996 issue of this journal. Argues that the identity of the field of business communication should be determined by the conceptual problematic underlying its intellectual inquiry rather than by its vocabulary or instructional practices. Argues that business communication, management communication, and…

Responds to a critique in this issue of earlier articles in this journal. Explains that the project was not designed to conceptualize the study of business communication; that as researchers they cannot refrain from drawing conclusions and limiting those conclusions to the data observed; and they do not consider all research not based on…

Although gestural communication is largely visuo-spatial, the extent to which a visual model is necessary for the development of gesture is unclear. This article summarizes recent research on gesture production by congenitally blind speakers and discusses the implications of these results for the hypothesized link between gesture and thought.…

Contributes to scholarship on public relations decision making and public relations theory. Examines decision making by United States Air Force public affairs personnel. Finds that only 48% of the decisions fit the public relations excellence criteria of accommodation and long-term relationship building. Finds also a negative correlation between…

Examines and interprets the role of the government-controlled radio-television station in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Considers historical and political contexts of the genocide and analyzes excerpts from radio broadcasts and observational accounts. Interprets, via several strands of communication, scholarship related to collective reaction effects…

Compares the persuasiveness of using statistical versus narrative evidence (case studies or examples) across 15 investigations. Indicates that when comparing messages, statistical evidence is more persuasive than narrative evidence. (PA)

Considers maternal verbal aggression and its effects on the adult-children's romantic relationships later in life. Introduces solidarity, emotional support, and relationship quality as rational outcomes and uses them to evaluate the effects of maternal verbal aggression on relationships. Indicates undergraduate students who report receiving high…

Wageningen University's extension science program shifted from a positivist to a constructivist foundation. Participatory methodologies and interactive policies are being developed, and the program's name has been changed to Communication and Innovation Studies. (SK)

Analyzes questionnaires and dream reports of 241 undergraduate students for the presence of media figures in their dreams. Finds that media figures appear as friends, collaborators, or associates rather than as celebrities. Suggests that viewers do not enter television scripts in their dreams, but incorporate media figures into their own life…

Finds that most chronically ill older patients believed it was appropriate to be informed about their condition and options, but did not believe it appropriate to involve them in medical decision making; and that those who were older, less educated, and who had diminished cognitive capacity perceived involvement as particularly inappropriate. (SR)

Describes the differences in organization between print and electronic documents, methods of providing structure in hypertext, and their implications for technical communicators, designers, and instructors. Notes that web designers may need to consider rhetorical issues differently when creating hypertext documents than they would when composing…

Notes that while many technical communication instructors declare the benefits of client projects, too often instructors do not prepare students to interact with clients. Reviews a qualitative case study that demonstrates the difficulty students can have interacting with clients. Relates how students may not always be prepared to listen or respond…

Proposes and tests a model that deals with, from a cultural standpoint, undergraduate students' willingness to approach or avoid social interaction. Hypothesizes that culture-level individualism increases one's construal of self as independent which leads to a higher degree of argumentativeness and a lower level of communication apprehension.…

Examines the roles played by technology and the rhetorical practices surrounding that technology in the formation of work roles and the relationships at a small Internet start-up company. Investigates the technical/social split in the workplace, how it is created and enacted, and how it impacts workers and daily work as well as the perceived…

Discusses intergenerational negotiations about family problems in terms of multiparty problem formulations that raise basic questions about who is entitled to diagnose adolescents'"problems." Shows how adolescents' problems are formulated as "blame" allocations. Demonstrates (in three case studies) how the therapist acts as an…