Argues that the assumption of semantic realism is necessary to any intellectual or disciplinary concept of communication. Distinguishes between meaning and significance. Outlines a coherentist epistemology for meaning by addressing issues in intelligibility, order, and verification. Explains how a theory of communication can use various…

A primary difference between spontaneous speech and read speech concerns the use of false starts, where a speaker interrupts the flow of speech to restart his or her utterance. A study examined the acoustic aspects of such restarts in a widely-used speech database, examining approximately 1000 utterances, about 10% of which contained a restart.…

Explores several assumptions in the evolution of speech communication as an academic discipline. Examines the series of choices to elevate the discussion of speech communication subject matters over and above the experience and pleasure of the speaking subject. Argues the position of speech within human science as "communicology" or a…

Offers empathic criticism (based on eavesdropping at three conferences) as an academic practice that might help return the life to critical self-reflection and social practice. Contrasts it with reigning critical approaches. (SR)

Investigates the perseverance of preinteraction expectancies in the face of actual communication behavior, the separate effects of personal attribute and communication expectancies, and the role of expectancy confirmation or disconfirmation on postinteraction evaluations. Confirms the validity of expectancy violations theory. (SR)

Provides a personal, historical reflection on speech communication, centering on convention activities. (PD)

Finds that performance visualization is more effective in reducing communication anxiety, state communication anxiety, negative thoughts, and rigidity for people who can create vivid mental images than for those whose images are less vivid. (SR)

Argues for reframing and reforging the relationship between text and context. Argues that the silences that modernity's tribute to text invites are grotesque, untenable, and fundamentally anti-intellectual. (SR)

Explores the way the doctrines of would-be academic humanists intersect with the political world of struggle and scarcity. Argues that the academy has become consumed by a debilitating doctrine: the textualizing of politics, where attitude is all, where everything is preliminary and little ever gets done. (SR)

Traces the evolution of the enduring rhetorical genre of apologia from the Greek period to the present. Argues that apologia has undergone significant changes in form because its function has changed throughout history, producing five "subgenres." Examines implications for the continued feasibility of apologia, as well as the critical…

A study examined whether a person's ability to accurately identify a voice is influenced by factors similar to those proposed by the Supreme Court for eyewitness identification accuracy. In particular, the Supreme Court has suggested that a person's prior description accuracy of a suspect, degree of attention to a suspect, and confidence in…

Analyzes the publication patterns of prolific authors in speech communication between 1915 and 1985, using the journals listed in the most recent "Index to Journals in Communication Studies." Reports that publication early in a scholar's career is very important, as is flexibility in selecting journals in which to publish. (MM)

Examines managing floor time and topical focus as manifestations of interpersonal dominance in conversations. Finds that the longer a conversational partner talks, and the less related are his or her remarks, the more that partner is perceived to be in control. (SR)

Advances a complexity account that suggests that there are increased processing-capacity and temporal demands associated with formulating and maintaining more complex message representations. Reports on four studies of this complexity account. Suggests that results of these studies provide considerable support for the complexity hypothesis. (RS)

Shows that processing demand is an incomplete explanation of receiver apprehension because motivation (the desire to process a message) and the expectation that the receiver will have to reproduce some aspect of the message for inspection by others (evaluation) are also important factors in receiver apprehension. (SR)