In Australia, an exploratory study was grounded in U. Bronfenbrenner's ecological perspective of human development and his principles of reciprocity, affective tone, and developmental opportunity and developmental risk. It used D. Baumrind's (1979) work on child rearing styles (authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive) to explore the effect of…

Since students learn conceptually, the basic speech course should be more than a skills course. Skills are the mechanics of speaking; teaching only skills tends to produce mechanical speakers. Basic course instructions need to continue to address skills, but must also address concepts. Concepts come from research, and the emphasis of the basic…

The boundary metaphor has been used successfully over the past two decades to explain and predict how individuals manage the tensions between the need to self-disclose and the need for privacy within interpersonal relationships. This paper explores the history of Communication Boundary Management Theories and presents suggestions for modifying the…

The present study investigates what children of various ages think about concealing or revealing the wrongdoing of a friend in a hypothetical conflict between honesty to parents and loyalty to a friend. The study also examines how children's reasoning was affected by the expectation of parental punishment. A total of 200 children (20 boys and 20…

A study examined the characteristics of the learning process when it is facilitated by computer-mediated communication in nonformal learning contexts. In this paper, learning is defined as the transformation of experience through reflection, conceptualization, and action. Such experiential learning often occurs in dialogue with others.…

This study uses Norton's Communicator Style as an instrument to determine communication styles of college students in relation to grade point average (GPA), education level, extracurricular activity involvement, and gender. The communication styles eliciting more positive communicator images are also examined. The communication discipline benefits…

This pilot study sought to extend K.L. Hutchinson and J.W. Neuliep's (1993) research regarding the relationship between parental modeling of communication apprehension (CA) and the development of children's CA. Furthermore, the study examined this relationship within the context of Latino families. Subjects were 82 fifth graders attending a…

This meta-analysis seeks to provide a better understanding of the relationship between racial orientation and a person's relationship with social institutions. It explores relationships between racial group orientation and four outcome variables: educational achievement, propensity toward criminal activities, indicators of psychological…

Examining both qualitative and quantitative approaches, this introductory text addresses media and communication research methods. Written for beginning research students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, the book is clear, concise, and accompanied by many detailed examples. Attention-grabbing dialogue begins each chapter and gives…

This study addressed issues of communication apprehension and adaptability by examining relationships between reticence and cognitive communication competence, including differences between gender and age groups. The methodology included participant self-ranking according to a six-dimensional reticence skill system, and ranking according to the…

The academic exit interview provides faculty members with an opportunity to express their reasons for leaving the university. The study was designed to discover if there were significant differences between academic gender groups, between rank groups, and among years of experience groups in rating exit interviewing variables: conduct exit…

A study explored the relational control patterns which exist in academic advising sessions. Fourteen advising sessions between advisors and undergraduate students during the registration process were audiotaped and analyzed using a relational control coding scheme. Results indicated that neutralized symmetry (one-across, one-across) was preferred…

Speech rate appears to be an important communicative dimension upon which people evaluate the speech of others. Findings of this study indicate that speech rates at moderate through fast levels generated more favorable impressions of competence and social attractiveness than did slow speech. (PD)

Results of this study suggest that knowing the sex and level of dominance of the potential liar should help in detecting deceptions and provide guidelines as to where observers should look for cues. (PD)

Relationships--categorized as no growth, low growth, or high growth--were monitored over a two-week period with structured diaries kept by one party to the relationship. Overall differences were found between males and females, primarily on the four variables of satisfaction, importance, effectiveness, and personalness. (PD)