This case study examined parent groups' involvement in school activities and their participation in decision making. Research questions included the following: (1) What is the nature of parent groups in schools? (2) What activities and issues gain parent groups' attention and participation? (3) How do parent groups communicate concerns about…

A test of distributional and sequential structure. (CH)

Examines the history of the "Blavatsky" phase of the London Theosophical movement. Focuses on the disparity between the public rhetoric of the Theosophical Society's leadership and the deeper motivations which inspired many Londoners to join the movement. (JMF)

For some time organizational theorists have been calling for increased attention to and appreciation of the role of specific contexts in organizational processes. One group of researchers has heeded this call by treating the organization as a cultural phenomenon. This approach has raised many questions, including (1) What is cultural in an…

The capability of 14 interpersonal dimensions to predict dyadic communication contexts was investigated in this study. Friend, acquaintance, co-worker, and family contexts were examined. The interpersonal valence construct, based on a coactive or mutual-causal paradigm, encompasses traditional source-valence components (credibility, power,…

One hundred eighty 4-man groups (90 of men and 90 of women) using 3 types of net (All-Channel, Wheel and Circle) under 3 conditions (Planning Period (PP), Rest Period (RP) and Control) were run in a single session with 5 complex problems to determine whether a single 2-minute planning period after solution of the first problem would result in…

Little research attention has been paid to the systematic validation of mathematical indices of social structure. The validation strategies in use remain largely implicit and generally fail to appreciate the multi-dimensionality of structure. The current paper proposes a new method designed to avoid these shortcomings and reports the results of…

A study of organizational communication identified two structure roles--liaison and nonliaison--in each of three content-functional areas of organization communication--getting a job done, exploring new behavioral alternatives, and keeping the system functioning--and hypothesized that "liaisons" would perceive themselves in similar ways. Each…

Results indicated that, with regard to opinions, a minority of one was less effective than either a minority of two or a minority of one who gained a convert. Evaluations of minorities differed as a function of both size and sex of minority group members. (Subjects were 200 males and females enrolled in an introductory psychology course.)…

This paper reviews a variety of analytic procedures that can be applied to network data, discussing the assumptions and usefulness of each procedure when applied to the complexity of human communication. Special attention is paid to the network properties measured or implied by each procedure. Factor analysis and multidimensional scaling are among…

This booklet is one in a series designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice by suggesting specific classroom activities based on current educational theory and research. Approximately half of the booklet is devoted to a review of current research and theory concerning small group discussion and interaction. The second half presents…

The thesis of this paper is that the group therapy process is enhanced by the use of two or more therapists in the group. The three main roles in a group are: (1) facilitator, (2) focal member, and (3) observer. The use of an additional therapist affords the opportunity for therapists to assume the focal member role without loss of group control,…

An experimental seminar in corporate communication at the University of Maryland was designed to (1) develop a set of theoretical concepts useful to the organizational communicator who functions as a mediator between management and labor, (2) utilize a practical methodology for these concepts, and (3) conduct a case study in cooperation with an…

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is a method of examing communication in an organization by focusing on: (1) the complex interrelationships in human systems, particularly in communication systems; (2) interactions across subsystems and system boundaries; and (3) the need to select and "prioritize" channels which will eliminate noise in the…