Examines the experiences and rhetorical actions of key medical scientists and physicians who have treated, studied, and written about AIDS since the epidemic's beginning. Explains that those first to describe the disease report the rhetorical challenge was convincing their audience to accept the novel idea of AIDS and to see the cases as an…

Finds that more formal dress (business suits, dress shoes) was associated with increased ratings of teaching assistants' competence, particularly for female students rating female instructors. Shows, however, that contrary to common assumptions, the most positive influences of instructor dress were found in the highly casual condition (faded…

Details a functional and qualitative study of interactive oral and computer-mediated communication (CMC)-generated (Norton "Connect") peer response group talk and its influence on revision. Finds the interactive peer groups in both environments talked primarily about their writing; however, the talk had different qualities when students used…

Explores how "Fortune" (a popular media periodical that helps shape popular management discourse) articulates preferred interpretations of the new information-based economy and its relationship to globalization. Compares this with an alternative and dissenting point of view that directly contradicts "Fortune's" celebratory…

A study of 57 undergraduate/graduate students to determine the effects of headings and headlines in corporate annual reports on recall of textual information and attitudes of readers about the company. Study found no statistical differences in cognitive performance or attitudes. Results suggest a relationship might exist between headings and…

Studied the dinner table conversations of 22 families with young children. Analyzed utterances for language-focused terms. Reported that metalinguistic uses exceeded pragmatic uses. Found that during routine social interactions, parents provide children with potentially important information about the communicative functions of language.…

Reports the findings of a national survey of high school debaters regarding their perceptions of the efficacy of debate participation. Concludes that the high school debaters reported advantages similar to those cited by collegiate debaters and that high school debaters were more concerned about perceived negative stigma associated with debate…

Argues that evidence is accumulating that genetics plays a major role in human communication behavior. Looks at the importance of neurological systems in communication behavior, and at the role of cerebral functioning. Addresses implications of the "communibiological perspective" for communication instruction. Argues that, rather than…

Describes teacher communication activities that students in two graduate preprofessional classrooms identified as face-relevant, relying on an interdisciplinary link between identity management and student motivation research. Demonstrates the positive motivational consequences of instructor face-support during these face-relevant interactions.…

Focuses on adolescents constructing discourse about a book amongst themselves without the help or intrusion of a teacher/adult. Seeks to understand where that discourse may originate within the greater institutional and societal framework of the participants. Explores the limits personal engagement places on conversation which involves race,…

We addressed the hypothesis that word segmentation based on statistical regularities occurs without the need of attention. Participants were presented with a stream of artificial speech in which the only cue to extract the words was the presence of statistical regularities between syllables. Half of the participants were asked to passively listen…

This article interprets technical communication research about sex differences according to social role theory, which argues that sex differences are enculturated through experiences associated with social positions in the family and the workplace. It reevaluates technical communication research about sex differences in communicative and…

A quantitative study of a university chat reference service (online synchronous) addresses the following research questions: (1) What types of questions are being asked? (2) Who is asking the questions of the service? and (3) Did the customers get correct answers to their questions? All the transcripts (351) from January through August 2002 were…

A statewide effort to identify stressors in state-level social service institutions in Iowa led one state health agency to establish a stress management project. A pilot program singularly focused on communication as the key tool in reducing stress and managing stress. A longitudinal study surveyed agency employees at the Iowa Veteran's Home in…

Based on the literature describing the boundary spanning role, a study focused on boundary spanning activities related to the public relations professional. Two major models, the adaptive and the selective, were examined in terms of key assumptions--economic rewards and competition. These models were further examined in terms of the larger…