No group (within an organization) can be entirely harmonious, but conflict is not an altogether disruptive factor. A delicate balance is required to obtain the advantages and restrict the disadvantages of organizational conflict. The causes and forms of organizational conflict are examined. (JMD)

Contemporary usage treats the terms "melting pot" and "pluralism" as mutually exclusive and associates pluralism with everything good and melting pot with everything bad. The consequence of this dualism is to keep people from recognizing what their agreements and disagreements actually are. (Author)

Caste and language in the Jaffna Hindu Tamil society were correlated based on data collected from sample villages in the Jaffna peninsula, where the political and economic ascendancy of the landlords was very dominant in the recent past. (SW)

Tests the hypothesis that the effect of intergroup cooperation on intergroup attraction would depend on both the outcome of the cooperation and the nature of the past interaction between groups. (Author/RK)

Offers a person X situation approach to the study of intergroup anxiety in which anxiety in intergroup encounters is viewed as a transaction between the individual and the environment. An individual difference measure of intergroup anxiety toward African Americans is developed. Presents studies assessing the scale's reliability and validity.…

Highlights the bilingual aspects of social interaction in a group of four Danish-Turkish students engaged in creating a cartoon strip. In-depth analysis of a 45-minute session reveals some organizational features of the group's work. (Author/VWL)

Describes the cooperative learning programs most extensively studied in grades 6-12, including Student Team Learning methods and other cooperative learning methods. Summarizes the outcomes of studies at this level, finding that these methods improve student achievement, intergroup relations, and self-esteem. (SR)

Discussion of small-group interaction and communication focuses on a study of professional librarians that tested Hirokawa's Vigilant Interaction Theory which maintains that group interaction affects decision-making performance by directly shaping the quality of vigilance that leads to a final choice. (Author/LRW)

A sociocultural approach takes into account how literacy is acquired and used in social contexts. Socially determined meanings of literacy practices and the different ways cultures are valued reflect tensions between practical consciousness and official or dominant consciousness. Literacy education should recognize literacy as a cultural practice…

Native American environmental activists face barriers to funding because of complex documentation requirements and false assistance by urban environmental groups. Offers suggestions that allow Native peoples to generate their own solutions and build relationships with other communities of Native activists. (KS)

Reports on a study which examined communication patterns of three related professional groups--editors, book reviewers, and scholars of children's literature. Findings are presented on the boundary-spanning communication structure and its formal and informal components, differences between the professions, differences between central and…

This article offers a linguistic and paralinguistic explication of the oral practice of chismeando (gossiping) as engaged in by a group of women from the Dominican Republic. A culture-specific study of the structuring resources by which the participants construct, maintain, and/or modify their in-group identities in everyday oral practice is…

Evaluated use of linguistic-intergroup bias (LIB) approach (A. Maass, D. Salvi, L. Arcuri, and G. Semin, 1989) to measure prejudice in 65 European-American college students. Term "modern racism" used to describe certain European Americans' conflict between egalitarian beliefs and residual negative affect toward African Americans. As…

Argues that being respected, having respect for others, and having self-respect are central components of equality in society, and that the group that becomes disenfranchised first becomes disrespected. Schools are agencies for disrespect by labeling groups as having low educability or educational deficits, by holding examinations that are cited…

Examined whether the presence of implicit links between social groups and high versus low status attributes affected formation of intergroup attitudes among 7- to 12-year-olds. Found that children's intergroup attitudes were affected by a status manipulation when teachers made functional use of the novel groups. Children who were members of…