An exploratory study focused on identifying editing values of a new mass medium, computer discussion groups known as Usenet newsgroups. A Usenet newsgroup is defined as a collection of articles grouped loosely by subject and accessible by nearly anyone with a computer and a modem. At present, most newsgroup users are affiliated with universities,…

This paper considers discourse models of knowledge and use and social problem solving that revive the tradition of dialectical reasoning (the broader term) or rhetoric, i.e., the art of using language, in speaking or writing, to convince others that something is true, right, or better. Discourse models of knowledge use allow taking the…

Three studies investigated the effects of concrete versus abstract wording and negative versus positive premises on the difficulty subjects had in solving several kinds of reasoning tasks. Subjects for all three studies were college undergraduates who received booklets containing either hypothetical, disjunctive, or linear syllogisms. Each booklet…

Based on J. E. Grunig's four models of public relations practice (press agent/publicity, public information, and two-way asymmetric and two-way symmetric practice), this paper examines the potential applicability of these models to internal communication systems in organizations. Following an introduction, in which Grunig's models are briefly…

This paper proposes the use of a rule-based computer programming language as a standard for the expression of rules, arguing that the adoption of a standard would enable researchers to communicate about rules in a consistent and significant way. Focusing on the formal equivalence of artificial intelligence (AI) programming to different types of…

Noting that considerable research has been conducted in the area of political communication, this paper points out that little attention has been given to direct legislation techniques--means by which citizens participate in the legislative decision making process. To establish a rationale for the study of direct legislation efforts, the paper…

Demonstrates a training technique for improving the referential performance of young children and for obtaining generalization of this training. Findings on generalization suggest that further investigation should reveal practical applications of the method for the classroom and clinic. (RH)

Sex differences in language use have been examined for many years, but no clear-cut conclusions exist. A meta-analysis of the existing literature was conducted regarding powerful/powerless language use, including 30 studies, with a total combined sample size of 3,012. The overall correlation indicated that men use more powerful language than…

Advocates of social marketing in the 1970s rarely went beyond discussion of the marketing 4Ps (product, place, promotion, and price) and their application to case studies. After two decades of research on social marketing, some misunderstanding of the approach persists, and a substantial theoretical base for social marketing has not been…

To explore communication patterns within organizations, a network analysis was conducted of a large New York financial institution with 98 departments and 66 branches. Functional analysis revealed that departments had more and stronger communication linkages than did branches. Departments were also closer in communication distances than branches.…

Although there have been frequent calls for over-time research in mass communication, there are still many reasons that researchers use simpler designs. Each approach: two-time point, panel/repeated measures, and time-series experimental designs, offers its own advantages and disadvantages. By examining the benefits and disadvantages of each…

Research has demonstrated the occurrence of two structurally distinct modes of vocalization in the infant/mother pair--coaction and alternation--that change developmentally over the first year of the infant's life. The present study investigated the vocalization latencies of three infant/mother pairs at three stages of infant development: at 10…

Vocalizations of infants were classified and analyzed in a longitudinal sample of infants ranging in age from 2 to 14 weeks. Results suggest that infants performed different types of vocalizations that can be interpreted as affective states from 2 weeks of age on. Parents responded with a highly diversified pattern of reactions to different infant…

Preschoolers did use certain aspects of the "child-directed speech" register: they addressed their infant siblings with a high pitch, with relatively short utterances, and with many directives and self-repetitions. However, linguistic interactions of preschool-age siblings and infants were different from those of mothers and infants in several…

This paper argues that while organizational research includes a diverse array of naturalistic approaches, a gap exists in the organizational literature that can only be filled by the ethnography of communication (EC). The paper proposes that, instead of using speech to do qualitative research, speech itself should be studied as the topic of…