Examines the impact of mood on the production of persuasive arguments by college students. Shows that happy subjects rated their own essays as more persuasive than sad subjects did but that external ratings judged happy subjects' essays more persuasive when they were counterattiudinal but not when proattitudinal. Finds no mood effects on various…

Steps aside from conventional ideas about diagrams to examine how they work. Brings to bear ideas from a perceptual psychologist, a communication theorist, and a philosopher. Introduces the papers in this special issue as diagrams for worldmaking. (SR)

Presents an initial formulation of a dysfunctional group dynamic in which one focal individual creates a dysfunctional group. Identifies habits of individuals and properties of systems that result in the emergence of such an individual. Presents the interactional dynamics which constitute and sustain this group dynamic and discusses three types of…

Draws from the literature on organizational and managerial effectiveness to construct a three-dimensional "competing values model." Illustrates the dynamic interplay between the highly contrasting characteristics of four types of presentational communication. Discusses the benefits of the model and suggests its usefulness as an evaluative tool for…

Examines the claim that "scaffold speeches" (speeches by individuals awaiting execution) form a discrete genre. Argues that they constitute a subgenre within the larger genre of apologia. Illustrates the subgenre through analysis of John Brown's final speech at his trial following the Harper's Ferry raid. (SR)

Examines systematically 11 years (1979-89) of organizational communication research. Finds that research has focused primarily on three topics: (1) climate and culture; (2) superior-subordinate relations and communications; and (3) power, conflict, and politics. Finds also that the majority of the studies were framed within a modernistic-empirical…

Advocates incorporating "people first" language (focusing on ability rather than disability and distinguishing the person from the condition) in business communication courses. Investigates whether the conventions of "people first" language affects the attitudes or perceptions of readers. Finds that language did not make a significant difference…

Asserts that Leo Lowenthal's contributions to a social theory of popular culture speak to contemporary concerns by legitimizing the role of historical explanations and expanding the humanistic concerns to include popular literature in a critique of the social, political, and technological conditions of society. (PRA)

Examines the process of "spin control" (in which partisans provide commentary on campaign events) and presents a taxonomy of it. Illustrates how both campaigns used the process in relation to the first 1988 presidential debate. Concludes that the Bush commentary was coordinated with the overall Republican campaign strategy, whereas the…

Conjoins Q methodology with the interviewing techniques of the oral historian in a study of eight surviving contributors to "The Anvil," a midwestern proletarian magazine of the 1920s and 1930s. Finds four factors, labeled as the patron, the revolutionary artist, the Jack Conroy factor, and the humanist. Discusses the limitations and advantages of…

Reviews the early stages of the cold fusion controversy. Shows how ideas in the sociology of scientific knowledge such as "symmetry,""interpretative flexibility," and "experimenter's regress" are applicable to the controversy. Argues that there is nothing exceptional about the dynamics of the debate, apart from the…

Explicates Michel Foucault's perspective on "discipline," and demonstrates its usefulness for organizational analysis in a case study of the corporate specification of an employee value system. Articulates four aspects of discipline in contemporary organizational life. (SR)

Investigates the impression management strategies embedded in the external discourse of an organization in crisis. Shows ingratiation to be the primary strategy. Finds that intimidation was used with special interest groups and that denouncement strategies were embedded in messages to competitors, special interest groups, and suppliers. (SR)

Tests three models of the door-in-the-face (DITF) compliance strategy--reciprocal concessions, perceptual contrast, and self-presentation. Finds that concession labeling led to stronger feelings of obligation to donate but did not affect compliance; and facilitated charity when interaction with the solicitor was anticipated but backfired when…

Finds that, when a censorship disclaimer on a television news story is assessed for its narrative meaning, capacity is increased, and more thought elaboration about the news story takes place. Suggests that disclaimers may be an effective device in messages that are not complex or cognitively demanding but that their effects may be neutralized by…