Like Antarctica, the fields of cross- and intercultural communication are claimed by many, explored by not so many, and understood by perhaps rather few. The most popular references in this area reflect a "maximalist" perspective, generally cross-cultural, which advocates the view that culture is a monolithic and static entity and that…

A study of 178 secondary school teachers in the California was motivated by the passage of the Ryan Act of 1970, which eliminated the high school speech credential and subsumed it under the English umbrella. The result has been that the speech communication subject matter is expected to be integrated into the English courses in the state. The 1987…

The "countercommencement" address (sometimes composed in reaction to the traditional commencement address) may be usefully criticized as an example of the rhetorical genre known as the "secular jeremiad." This provides a conceptual framework for interpreting the motives and meanings of such an address, which is typically…

Within the framework of motivational theory, a study investigated how teachers' use of immediacy behaviors impacted students' learning. Two competing explanations for the immediacy-learning relationship (the motivation model and the attention model) were tested using path analyses with panel data collected over the period of one semester. A total…

Students are exposed to group interaction long before they reach the college classroom through their living, social, and educational groups. As a result, they bring preconceived notions about group interaction effectiveness. Students also receive a great deal of exposure to group interaction from television. Situation comedies, students' favorite…

Motion media refers to film, television, and other forms of kinesthetic media including computerized multimedia technologies and virtual reality. Imagery reproduced by motion media carries a multisensory amalgamation of mental experiences. The blending of these experiences phenomenologically intersects with the reality and perception of words,…

While many strategies have been suggested to treat communication apprehension (CA), no research has accounted for potential gender differences in the treatment of CA. Further, no research has documented the effect on CA of self-modeling. A study identified differences in CA remediation across gender among the following treatment conditions: video…

An ethnographic study examined the practice of rituals as the pervasive form of communication at St. Mary's (a pseudonym) Catholic elementary school. Four specific rituals illustrate this communication process: morning assembly, "Pass the Pen,""Sparkles," and "Yes please/No thank-you." Morning assembly begins each…

A study examined whether students in synchronous distance education settings experience anxiety, reluctance, and frustration (i.e., communication apprehension) when using technologies to interact and, if so, what factors (e.g., prior experience with technology) might function to attenuate such negative reactions. Measures of traitlike- and…

The use of humor in the classroom has been investigated using a variety of humor operationalizations and methodologies with mixed results. The present study examined the role of teacher humor orientation (HO) rather than specific humorous behaviors. The relationship between teacher humor orientation and learning was the focus of this study.…

Presumably, during persuasion, a violation of a subject's expected distance would act as a distraction, increase the likelihood of message acceptance, create fewer counterarguments, and shift the listener's focus from message content to speaker characteristics. Forty-nine undergraduate speech students participated in a study at a major…

The development of public relations follows when economic development and democracy thrive. EC 1992, with its plans for the European Common Market Community, is a public relations opportunity for U.S. public relations firms. In a survey of 31 firms, 6 owned or were owned by networks, 17 had membership in a network, 8 had no public relations…

A study used the seven elements of B. D. Ruben's Intercultural Behavioral Assessment Indices (IBAI) to investigate the concept of intercultural communication competence. Subjects, 149 foreign students enrolled in a large midwestern university in the United States, completed five questionnaires designed to measure the seven elements of the IBAI…

A study investigated the relationships between social desirability (the tendency to seek socially and culturally approved behaviors) and argumentativeness, communication apprehension, and communication competence. Using R. Strahan and K. C. Gerbasi's Social Desirability Scales, from a pool of 259 undergraduate students, 70 students were identified…

A study examined the message features that influence an innovation's acceptance by a mass audience. The study looked at three strategies of innovational rhetoric (denial of controversy, subtle criticism of existing institutions, and projection of a rhetorical vision) used by a commercial broadcasting company, called Whittle Communications in 1989,…