Presents a critical-interpretive case study of an organization that illustrates the communicative accomplishment of organizational power. Details how the managing ownership espoused a rhetoric of self-directive management which obscured conflicting political interests and relations of power. Demonstrates the difficulties organizational members…

Discusses defining value added as return on investment. Addresses finding ways to measure value added and working with measures of value added. Looks at literature from other professions. Discusses a case study illustrating problems. (RS)

Compares support calls and related costs for customers who received quality documentation for a messaging system with calls from users who received condensed, inadequate documentation. Estimates that using quality documentation saves the company $1 million annually. (RS)

States that talk in interaction is the prevailing form of instructional activity. Claims that an understanding of the interactional practices of reading and writing is necessary. Examines the practice of speaker turn design. Concludes by showing how this form of organization can be used in diagnosing problems that students encounter in solving…

Finds that the elderly, as compared to the young, engaged in greater communicative contact with their families, and that the level of contact with nonfamily network members is less; also, their level of solidarity with nonfamily members is lower than that for the young, but the levels of family solidarity do not differ between these groups. (SR)

Examines the relationship between computer-user interface (character-based or graphical) and the quality of documents written by college students. Finds that, after six weeks of business communication instruction, IBM users excelled on the criteria of mechanics and format, but that after five more weeks the two groups demonstrated no significant…

Finds that root organizational metaphors significantly influence writers' rhetorical choices and perception of their communication role. Shows that 23 staff writers described their communication activities in mechanistic terms, which complements their organization's view of itself as a smoothly operated machine, and explains why writers were not…

Proposes a schemata model for how intercultural communicators structure meaning concerning another culture. Applies the model to a historical case study--the first official trade encounter between members of a trade mission from Great Britain and Emperor Qian Long's court in China. Proposes seven hypotheses for future research. (SR)

Finds that differential treatment from a supervisor to his or her subordinates influences coworker communication by leading coworkers to talk about the differential treatment itself, and influencing the nature of communication relationships among the coworkers. Indicates that fairness perceptions are often socially constructed by work group…

Surveys the historical development and current status of public relations in western Europe, particularly in Austria and Germany. Illustrates the similarities, differences, and mutual influences of theoretical and practical public relations on both sides of the Atlantic. Considers cultural differences within Europe, and shows that current research…

Finds, contrary to previous research on teacher nonverbal immediacy, that the variable has an inverted-U curvilinear relationship with cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning--in other words, moderately high teacher immediacy is more effective in helping students learn than either excessively high or low immediacy. (SR)

Tests two models (the Motivation Model and the Learning Model) of the immediacy-learning relationship using path analysis. Uses Keller's Model of Motivation to explain the results, finding that teacher nonverbal and verbal immediacy enhances student motivation, presumably by impacting attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. (SR)

Examines communication competence behavior in four contexts for Hispanic Americans and non-Hispanic white Americans. Finds that both groups reported that language adaptability and cultural topics were more important in intercultural than intracultural contexts, but that there were contrasting patterns in nonverbal behaviors. (SR)

Examines four interrelated organizational models of charisma and the debate that has accompanied them. Uses the models to analyze the rhetoric of leadership of George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential campaign. (SR)

Analyzes the rhetorical strategies employed by Leonora O'Reilly, a Progressive Era labor reformer. Argues that O'Reilly's use of enactment and empowerment are representative of a "feminine style," and that her rhetoric provides an opportunity to examine the public voice of a working-class female reformer. (SR)