Examines reasons for discourse communities becoming a subject of writing research. Provides a brief example of the kind of analysis possible, focusing on the composing environments of two similar organizations. (AEW)

Found that teachers perceive that their students (1) have developed many behavioral conversational skills prior to contact with school and (2) reveal very little development in their emotional expression abilities. (PD)

Discusses the importance of patient recall of health information and factors influencing and that are influenced by it. Concludes that highly expressive or effective speakers of the same sex are more helpful in promoting recall. (VLC)

This study, the fifth in a series focusing on the communication of power in the classroom and its role in student learning, investigated the relationship between teachers' use of behavior alteration techniques and student learning, and the impact of teachers' communication training and student quality on the use of these techniques. (PD)

Examines two major procedures in getting jobs: resume preparation and interviewing. Concludes that (1) students and recruiters agree that written and oral communication are the most important job-related skills and (2) traditional resume formats are favored over attempts to be more visually creative. (PD)

Although communication research in China is in an early stage of development, an increasing number of training/research activities exist in universities and institutes. The 1982 Beijing Audience Survey, the first large-scale communication field study in China, reports how mass media audiences (newspaper, radio, and television) are rapidly…

Results of three studies provide considerable support for the importance, existence, and the normative adequacy of the cognitive process of "second guessing." Preliminary data suggest that people are quite good at detaching sources of bias and make reasonable adjustments in their judgments to correct for those biases. (PD)

Describes the use of the Communication Anxiety Graph (CAG) to help students trace the pattern of their anxiety when making a speech. Also reports the results of a study using the CAG. Provides advice for student speakers based on when their anxiety peak may occur. (PD)

Examines the impact of teacher immediacy (teacher behavior that communicates positive attitudes toward students and subject matter) on students' attitudes toward learning in different types of classes: people-oriented-courses (communication skills) vs. task-oriented-courses (accounting).

This survey, fourth in a series initiated in 1968, reports on the nature of and trends and changes in the basic course in speech. Categories covered include demographic data, orientations, instructional methods, and administrative concerns. (PD)

Reports two studies that explored the uses of videotape in helping students identify desired interview behaviors and gain feedback about their personal competence in employment and problem-solving interviews. (PD)

Reports on the development of a valid and reliable instrument to measure verbal aggressiveness. (PD)

Investigates whether natural code switching talk takes an observable amount of time (in comparison with unilingual speech); discusses some major studies of the topic and compares their results with switching times determined for a Spanish-English bilingual in spontaneous code switching; discusses implications in relation to issues in bilingualism…

Noting that college students have a higher incidence of loneliness than any other group, this study explores the relationships between loneliness and personality/interactional constructs such as assertiveness, Machiavellianism, self-monitoring, etc. Results suggest that lonely people find communication difficult, supporting the value of a…

Examined the skill and gender of individual group discussants and the sex composition of the group as factors potentially influencing perceptions of emergent leadership. Confirmed that task competence, more than gender, was crucially related to an individual's emergence as the group's leader. (PD)