Describes the experiences of two teachers as they examined transcripts of children's conversations in book sharing sessions. Finds that the common ordinary exchanges which initially worried the teachers frequently served definite and significant purposes. (SR)

Uses participant observation, historical literature review, and open-ended interviewing to investigate the customs and ethical rules of Canadian Shuswap communication and to discuss what modern non-Shuswap observers can learn from them. Finds four primary values: freedom, responsibility, truthfulness, and respect. (SR)

Reviews college and university catalogs for public relations courses. Finds 578 departments offering such courses. Notes that the majority of such courses are offered in communication departments. Takes issue with the findings of an earlier study. (SR)

Develops a communication perspective on sexual harassment in asynchronous relationships. Presents a six-step process model to predict private harassing behavior among faculty members in higher education. Makes suggestions for prevention of sexual harassment. (SR)

Studies sexual morality in one year of programing of the soap opera "All My Children." Reconceptualizes definitions of inappropriate sexual behavior to deemphasize marital status. Examines use of force in sexual contact. Finds that men, often heroes, engage in and are rewarded for aggressive sexual behavior in spite of women's protests.…

Traces the clarity of noun/pronoun referents and the use of cohesive ties in personal experience narratives told by children aged two, four, six, and nine years as well as by adults. Shows that children interrelated their sentences in similar ways as adults. Discusses implications of the study for educators. (HB)

Critiques how the Kennedy assassination is interpreted by visitors to the assassination site in Dallas, Texas. Reveals how participants at the twenty-fifth anniversary, including members of the media, used reproductions of the site to structure their experience, how they reproduced new realities of the site and the assassination, and how they…

Describes and compares the research that has utilized and specifically tested the measurement instrument known as the MECA (Measurement of Elementary Communication Apprehension). Offers cautions, develops problems, and provides recommendations for future research. (SR)

Proposes an interactive model of political development that predicts that socialization effects of communication will be moderated by age, such that younger children will be influenced less than older children by the same communication source. Test the model on 290 children in grades 5 through 12. Finds strong support for the model. Discusses…

Discusses characteristics of European business-writing research. Describes examples of recent research published in English, including explorations of cross-cultural and methodological issues as well as technical writing. Notes that they tend toward discourse-based analysis and treat business writing as a complex, inherently cultural activity. (SR)

Compares responses to a timed writing assignment by students from South Korea and from the United States. Finds that South Korean texts showed more similarities to than differences from the American texts, and suggests a more complex context situation than the commonly accepted high context/low context model of cultural differences can…

Examines how various cultural communication practices and perceptions affected the way in which individuals from different cultures perceived the same negotiation process. Demonstrates that culture affected how Dutch and Chinese observers perceived and interpreted the same videotaped Chinese-Dutch negotiation. (SR)

Finds that students' reported levels of apprehension about meetings decreased significantly in class sections with videotape feedback; they reported significant increases in competency and decreases in apprehension across work and social settings; but reported the largest improvements in the classroom setting. Notes a limited differential impact…

Considers aspects of teachers' communication and their effect on clarity. Finds that clarity was positively correlated with the instructor's perceived nonverbal immediacy and sociocommunicative style, and with enhanced student affect toward the instructor and course. Argues that teachers need to be clear in their oral and written communication to…

Investigates what specific teacher nonverbal immediacy behaviors are most associated with students' evaluations of their teachers. Uses data from Australia, Finland, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Compares the relationship between nonverbal immediacy and teacher evaluation across diverse cultural and linguistic communities as well as…