Communication competence has been approached primarily from three perspectives in the communication literature: (1) as cognitive understanding of communication, (2) as a capability of performing certain communication skills, and (3) as achieving effective communication. Most scholars who write about communication competence view competence either…

Communication competency research and theory would benefit from a conceptualization that emphasizes competent communication rather than competent communicators. Such a conceptualization recognizes that competent communication is inherently both contextually bound and necessarily dependent upon the particular combination of people involved in an…

This study examines the conversational behaviors of subjects with differing verbal abilities within a three-person group setting. According to a score on the Verbal Reticence Scale (Lustig, 1974), 108 subjects were rated as highly verbal, moderately verbal, or verbally reticent. From these classifications, smaller groups were selected at random to…

This study investigated the effects of oral communication apprehension and writing communication apprehension on student contact with instructors outside the classroom and the effects of apprehension on academic achievement. Results indicated that apprehension negatively affects both student assistance outside the classroom and academic…

A path model was developed to assess the effects of early campaign cognitions and attitudes on media use and interpersonal communication, subsequent cognitions, attitudes, and vote. Two interpretations of possible outcomes were postulated: agenda setting, and uses and gratifications. It was argued that an agenda-setting interpretation would be…

A study investigated the perceptions workers had of labor unions. Affiliation behavior and gender differences were employed as independent variables with respect to workers' attributions of trustworthiness in labor unions and their messages, as measured by the three dimensions of character, expertise, and dynamism of the Giffin Trust Differential…

A study investigated differences between older adult male and female voice patterns. In addition, the study examined whether certain differences between male and female speech characteristics were lifelong and not associated with the aging process. Subjects were 10 young (average age 30) and 10 old (average age 75) males and 10 young (average age…

Defining coorientational accuracy as how closely one person estimates another's orientation to something cooriented, this paper examines the reasons why the concept has been favored as a criterion for communicating and how it has been measured. It notes problems in measuring accuracy with reference to various ways the orientation situation has…

Within the past decade, attention in the Commonwealth Caribbean has focused on the implications of broadcasting for development policies. The relationship between Caribbean governments and the broadcast industry has generally been close and cordial as a result of the small size of the countries and the reality of government ownership of a large…

A study was conducted to elicit the responses of five college students to their involvement with a single poem over a period of three weeks to determine if such involvement led to a greater appreciation and understanding of the poem. Each student began with a silent reading of the poem, moved to a study of it based only on silent readings, then…

Kenneth Burke's concepts of rhetoric, dramatism, terministic screens (perceptual filters), and identification are used in this paper to justify and direct intercultural communication research. Three intercultural methodologies--cultural variable analysis, componential analysis, and ethnomethodology--are examined in the paper using these concepts.…

Emphasizing the need for sound logic in the decision making and policy making process, this paper equates the concept of rationality with the universal audience as a means of analyzing argument, evaluating rhetoric, and persuading audiences. The paper argues that the policy systems paradigm most approximates this objective within the context of…

Mothers' imitation of their infants during the first 3 days of life is examined in this study. Twenty-four newborn infants (12 males, 12 females) and their mothers participated in the study. On each of the first 3 days following delivery, mother-infant pairs were videotaped in a non-feeding interaction for approximately 5 minutes while the infants…

Noting that language and politics both grow out of the underlying processes of social agreement and dispute, this paper analyzes the political language of the New Christian Right (NCR) movement as it is found in the national print media. Various sections of the paper discuss the following: (1) the background of the NCR, the characteristics of the…

A review of the published and unpublished literature on alternative perspectives for viewing organizations provides the basis for this monograph, which includes the contributions of five authors. The papers are intended to serve as a primer for educators interested in newer organizational perspectives and to stimulate them to learn more about, and…