Presents a dialog between two communication scholars on communication as an academic discipline. Discusses whether communication is a discipline, the legacy of Wilbur Schramm, and specialization and diversity within the field. (SR)

The purposes of the present study are: (1) to examine the nature of the modernization process among peasants in one less developed country, Colombia, and (2) to determine the cross-cultural validity of these findings in other of the less developed nations. Peasants are important subjects of study by social scientists because they constitute a…

Describes the dominant model of development, the factors that have led to its decline, and the emerging alternatives. Implications of this shift in thinking on the role of communication in development are discussed and suggestions for using field experiments and network analysis are proposed. (MH)

In terms of its attention to research utilization, vocational rehabilitation today may be where agriculture was in 1913. One reason for this is an inadequate understanding of the process of research utilization. Scattered studies of research utilization have occurred, but suffer from a lack of integration. Among propositions that may be postulated…

Focuses on the applicability of U.S.-originated communication models to research and practice in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and other countries. (MH)

...synthesizeYsI a special type of communication research, in which source-receiver relationships are the units of analysis, in terms of a propositional inventory about homophily-heterophily in communication behavior." (Author)

Supplementing an earlier work, this bibliography lists all new publications on diffusion of innovations (75 new nonempirical and 184 coded empirical studies) added to the Diffusion Documents Center, Michigan State University, from July 1967 to September 1968. Psychology, anthropology, agricultural economics, general economics, communication,…

Presents an exchange of views on the past, present, and future of the communication discipline. Suggests that interactive technologies will encourage new models and methods for both mass and interpersonal communication study. (PD)

The role of mass media and interpersonal communication in development in Latin America, Africa, and Asia is reviewed. Then, research and development program experience is synthesized to show (1) that the mass media at present play a major role in creating a "climate for modernization" among villagers, but are less important in diffusing…

In spring 1977, just as California was emerging from one of the worst droughts in its history, 215 Palo Alto homeowners were interviewed about their views on energy and water conservation, and about the extent to which they had adopted 11 energy-conserving practices (ECP) in the home. The objective was to discover variables both important to…

How do innovations (defined as idea, products, and practices perceived as new by an individual) diffuse to members of a social system? The authors answer this and other questions about the character of innovators, the rate of adoption of ideas, and the decision-making process in 103 generalizations about diffusion of innovation. These propositions…