Considers the way in which recent apocalyptic religious discourse motivates actions and attitudes toward secular issues by appealing to sacred texts. Traces one such strategy, termed "transfer." (SR)

Explores the dimensions of expectancy theory in human communicative behavior. Examines human expectancies from a communicative perspective. Proposes an expectancy model of human symbolic activity centering on communicative expectancies within supervisor and subordinate relationships. (SR)

Argues against John Durham Peters' account that describes communications as an "intellectually stagnant" field of study. Claims that communication research as a field has been evolving with some success toward becoming a discipline. (MS)

Argues that selection procedures (subjects rate a list of preformulated message strategies) are much less sensitive than construction procedures (subjects construct their own message strategies) in compliance-gaining research, due to a type of social desirability bias known as the item desirability effect. (JAD)

Replies to responses (same issue) to the author's "Relocating the Site of the Audience." (MS)

Investigates differences between networks, based on importance, response satisfaction, and frequency within the same functional communication network. Finds few differences in networks generated by these different methods for determining strengths of linkages, and a number of difficulties associated with current methodologies for examining more…

Reports on two studies, retrodictive correspondence and predictive correspondence, conducted to examine three approaches to data analysis generally adopted by compliance-gaining message-selection researchers. Indicates that only one shows a correspondence with actual compliance-gaining message behavior. (JK)

Examines the role of importance, novelty, and plausibility of message information in producing belief change. Demonstrates that significant belief changes only occurred when message information was high in importance, novelty, and plausibility. (NKA)

Reviews research concerning the role played by variations in the timing of communicator identification as one aspect of the effect that communicator credibility has on persuasive communication. Claims that variations in the timing of the identification of the source of a persuasive communication can produce substantial differences in persuasive…

Reports results of a survey of 40 communicative research centers affiliated with universities. Includes information on years in operation, staffing, facilities and equipment, funding, publications/activities, research methodologies, etc. (PD)

Examined whether beliefs about competence differ among conceptions of prototypic communicators of different levels of competence and among communicators in different competence-relevant situations. Results indicated that large differences in beliefs about competence only exist when evaluating behaviors of the average communicatively competent…

Argues for the priority of a "praxical" hermeneutics over both an ontological and a methodological one. Proposes a praxical dimension to the hermeneutic tradition within communication studies by focusing on and expanding Hans-Georg Gadamer's notion of practice. Suggests some new possibilities for the study of communication and mass…

Examines the impact of communication apprehension on avoidance, withdrawal, and anxiety in communication contexts in two separate studies. Concludes that those who are communication apprehensive avoid public speaking and that apprehensive responses to public speaking can be predicted from participant's communication apprehension level. (SRT)

Organized action need not depend on group consensus. Karl Weick's theory argues that only minimal shared understanding is needed and that common ends and shared meanings may be outcomes of organized action, not prerequisites. This paper reveals four communication mechanisms that generate and sustain equifinal meaning (multiple routes to a single…

Presents the results of a study which investigated the content quality of classroom discussions in three tenth-grade social studies classes categorized as cooperative, competitive, or neutral (control). Findings did not support previous research regarding the content of group discussions and their structure. (JDH)