A study was undertaken to analyze the group processes in academic committee meetings, focusing on committee member perceptions of the processes and their effectiveness. Such committees are traditional in higher education, and have long been considered the most efficient and democratic decision-making method. However, they have been criticized as…

This literature review examines Kurt Lewin's influence in leadership psychology. Characteristics of field theory are described in detail and utilized in analyzing leadership research, including the trait approach, leader behavior studies, contingency theory, path-goal theory, and leader decision theory. Important trends in leadership research are…

The concept of rhetorical community is employed in this paper as a starting point for the study of community. Since the clarity of the concept "rhetorical community" is insufficient for purposes of building theories, the paper offers a more precise conceptual definition: a rhetorical community is a group of people who identify themselves with a…

This is the first of four reports of the Interactive Group Modeling project--an undertaking designed to extend group communication through computers to support the more task-focused communication required by those building computer models. This report discusses the design and philosophy of the HUB system--a system that facilitates communication in…

This is the second of four reports of the Interactive Group Modeling project--an undertaking designed to extend group communication through computers to support the more task-focused communication required by those building computer models. The report focuses on the HUB system--a system that facilitates communication in four modes: computer…

This is the third of four reports of the Interactive Group Modeling project--an undertaking designed to extend group communication through computers to support the more task-focused communication required by those building computer models. The report focuses on the HUB system--a system that facilitates communication in four modes: computer…

Communications for Social Development, a regional training program designed by UNICEF to teach field extension agents in developing countries about interpersonal and group communications, is described in the lead article in this issue of Development Communication Report. The strategy employed in the development of this program involves a simple…

Research indicates that sex role orientation may be a better predictor of leadership behavior than biological sex. To provide support for the integration of sex role and leadership theories, two studies were conducted using college students as research subjects. In the first study, female and male students completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory…

This manual is designed to be used by individuals being trained to deliver courses developed within the National Training System of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The guide provides resources essential to understanding course content, and provides materials to enable participants to be actively involved in the learning exercises. The…

Recent decree laws in Chile, if implemented, will eliminate all professional "colegios" (governing bodies), including those for medicine, law, and journalism, and allow them the alternative of forming free trade unions. The twenty "colegios" of Chile require university education for membership and serve as monitors of the…

To investigate interpersonal communications networks within school staffs, researchers studied three aspects of teachers' relations with their colleagues in one urban elementary school. The three aspects included relaxing and chatting, consulting on student motivation, and consulting on student discipline. Through a sociometric questionnaire…

A strategy for use in drug education programs is described. Some elements of good communication and ideas for involving teachers and students in communication and trust-building experiences are provided, including Warm-Up Activities, Sharing and Interview experiences, Reaction and Surfacing exercises. The experiences and activities are intended…

This booklet describes some of the conflicts new programs are likely to face. It then presents techniques and processes that can help managers and staff resolve conflicts and build broad support for their project. As a special focus, the booklet describes five "principles of interdependence" that help the project managers and staff and…

This booklet is for people who want to improve the effectiveness of groups: group leaders, facilitators, and group members. Some of the basic factors that influence how effectively a group works together are briefly described. Factors that affect group effectiveness fall into two categories: those that affect the way group members accomplish…

A two-tiered model of group influences on individual choice behavior is developed and evidence relevant to the model is reviewed in this paper. The model consists of two parts: a model of individual choice, and models of group influence on components of the individual choice model. The model of individual choice is based on the…