Discusses how the concept of index can be used to provide an extensive yet coherent account of communicative context, which can be integrated into the more general characterization of social relations provided by the study of institutional ideologies. (MM)

Argues that the study of discourse and the larger context of social interaction requires explicit reference to a broader organizational setting and aspects of cultural beliefs often ignored by students of discourse, conversational analysis, and paralinguistic and nonverbal activities. (FL)