This study attempts to determine if general principles of effective communication may be defined, if certain principles may be seen as central to the judgment of an individual's effectiveness, and if such principles of effective communication can affect perceptions of effective and ineffective communicators. Respondents to a 60-item questionnaire…

This study compares the concept of nonviolence with traditional rhetoric because both endeavor to establish civil discourse as a standard for social and political interaction. The five chapters in the study uncover suggestions by contemporary rhetorical theorists for establishing civil discourse, trace the development of classical rhetoric and the…

This paper outlines a theory of communicative competence and argues for a view of communicative competence as a postulated set of abstract cognitive operations that serve to generate mental representations of the social world. In addition to this function, the discussion serves as a review of literature bearing on the subject of communicative…

A three-step process of description, reduction, and interpretation is employed in this paper in disentangling the complex of relationships involved in oral interpretation. In the description, contributions from various disciplines are synthesized; among the topics discussed are the communication process model usually employed in descriptions of…

The rapidity with which mothers respond to their infants' vocalizations by either vocalizing or verbalizing was compared for five male and five female later-born, (i.e., not first-born) children and their mothers. Videotapes were made from behind a one-way mirror when infants were 2, 26, 52, and 78 weeks of age; each tape represented a five-minute…

Noting that speech communication educators have developed a unique interpretation of the nature and role of self-disclosure in interpersonal communication--that it is essential in enhancing interpersonal relations and in bringing about improved mental adjustment--this paper contends that such an approach to communication overemphasizes the…

The resignation speeches of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt and United States President Richard Nixon are compared and the rhetorical efficacy of each figure is assessed in this paper. Analog criticism is employed to support the argument that in the particular subgenre of "scandignation" addresses, Brandt came much closer than Nixon…

This journal issue concerns women's perspectives in several areas of communication. Cynthia J. Huyink, in "A Dramatistic Analysis of 'Sexual Politics' by Kate Millett," examines Millett's motivations and analyzes the rhetorical strategies she used to accomplish her attempt to explicate the system of patriarchy, to reveal its injustices to its…

This book seeks to acquaint communication researchers with the process of procuring research funding. Following an introduction, two chapters discuss the identification of potential funding sources and the process of developing proposals. Other chapters provide information about government grant and contract programs, private foundation grant…

A PROJECT WHOSE AIM WAS TO DEVELOP BOOK-REPORTING PROCEDURES WHICH WOULD EFFECTIVELY STIMULATE AND ENCOURAGE WIDE INDEPENDENT READING AND THE MASTERY OF APPROPRIATE BOOK-REPORTING SKILLS IS SUMMARIZED AND EVALUATED. A SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF A SURVEY OF CURRENT BOOK-REPORTING PRACTICES IN GRADES 2-7, CONDUCTED THROUGH PERSONAL…

An experiment is described for determining the vocabulary and grammar of user retrieval requests in natural English as a guide in the design of a language for man-machine communication through a typewriter console. Results of ten question-answer dialogs are discussed. In oral communication, initial requests were most frequently declarative and…

In order to determine the oral and written communication skills most valued by people in a wide variety of jobs, job-related activities related to those skills, and consequences of poor communication, a two-page questionnaire was designed and distributed. Results from the 196 returned questionnaires (38 percent) were summarized for seven job…

This paper reviews the technological and social changes that have effected a new conception of feedback in mass communication called "access." Access to broadcast systems and programming has two components: "off-the-air," where groups representing public interests have developed mechanisms for influencing programming changes;…

In order to provide a critical test of a proposed procedure for explaining and validating a rules theory, this paper examines four items of communications research which make claims regarding the generality and practical necessity of the empirical relationships they investigate. The paper demonstrates the utility of the procedure for rigorously…

Since communication education in nonacademic settings has emerged as an alternative career opportunity for a number of communication graduates, it is important that there be an understanding of the differences between teaching in academic and nonacademic settings. The major philosophical differences center on three issues: the first involves the…