The main purpose of this article is to generate a functional model of evaluation that EMSs can be able to empower online communications characterized by imperative decision making task. The evaluation process of EMSs must merge the multicultural strategies of the theory of Media Richness, and the ethical concerns of the critical approach. Media…

Past research on the development of referential communication abilities in children does not provide a basis for explaining precisely why communicative effectiveness increases. The common assumption is that developments in role-taking facilitate the child's ability to adapt to hearers. A reasonable alternative explanation is that a child's…

A study involving 26 children, aged five to eight years, employed a clinical interview method to examine the children's recognition and knowledge of rule violations in communication. The rules, derived from H. P. Grice's "be cooperative" principle, referred mainly to the maxim "be perspicuous, unequivocal, clear, and…

This study of negotiation processes between users and librarians in typical reference situations describes association patterns and search procedures in the information transfer process in terms of theoretical approaches, design, analysis, and findings. The thinking-aloud technique of cognitive psychology was adopted to the project, which involved…

These two related papers provide information on teacher attitudes toward black dialect use in the classroom and the measurement of such attitudes. The first paper reports on data from 176 administrators, counselors, teachers, and student teachers, revealing significant relationships between a teacher's definition of black dialect, attitudes toward…

A bibliography on organizational communication and higher education is presented, and conclusions from previous studies in the areas of information, organizational climate, and decision-making are reviewed. Additionally, suggestions for future research directions are offered. Three important communication issues pertaining to the administration of…

During the last 30 years, direct mail campaigning has become an integral part of the political process, and more recently has also become an influential fund raising tool for other political and religious groups. Analysis of over 70 examples of direct mail campaigns reveals at least 4 major content norms featured in most direct mail. First, the…

The first phase of this study focused on the effects of message redundancy on communication accuracy of listeners in kindergarten, second, and fifth grades under memory and stimulus-visible conditions. Three nearly identical line drawings, each containing a large number of items in common and at least one distinctive feature, were presented on…

Using the split-span technique in which auditory stimuli are presented in various combinations to the right and left ears, two studies were designed to examine the preferences of subjects as to their mode of recall, to assess the accuracy of such recall, and to look at possible sex differences in both the preferences and the accuracy. A total of…

This annual volume of organizational communication abstracts presents over 1,100 abstracts of the literature on organizational communication occurring in 1979. An introductory chapter explains the classification systems, provides operational definitions of terms, and concedes the shortcomings of the research effort. An overview chapter comments…

A study examined data from 1,828 adults in 17 cities in the United States to test a model of how community integration (sense of community) and use of media affected voting and other political participation. The portion of the model dealing with mass media included the new concept "quasi-mass media," which involves more personalized…

A study examined the relationship between self-reported communication apprehension and psychological sex type as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). The BSRI identifies people as masculine (high in masculinity, low in feminity), feminine (high in femininity, low in masculinity), androgynous (high in both femininity and masculinity), and…

Three group processes--regular face-to-face interacting groups, the nominal group technique (NGT), and Delphi procedures--were compared in terms of their ability to facilitate the quantitative and qualitative productivity of a decision making group. The results unequivocally supported the superiority of the Delphi procedures. Findings also tended…

The role of news media as gatekeepers controlling the flow of information that the public receives was explored during the 1978 Asbestos Awareness campaign conducted by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). In an effort to inform high risk workers and the general public about the health hazards associated with asbestos exposure,…

Examination of the social development of Iran reveals that quantitative leaps in the growth of traditional communication indicators, such as the mass media, did not necessarily mean growth in the social communication system as a whole. The intrinsic communication needs of modern Iranians for identity, legitimacy, and community have remained…