This paper examines the many assertions made in the health communication literature about the importance of communication as an essential process in promoting effective health care. If these assertions are true then researchers should be able to demonstrate the ways that communication influences the accomplishment of health care goals--how…

Suggesting that, as a field of research, reading-writing relationship is still in its infancy, this paper examines how the field has developed over time and where it is currently heading. Using different decades (beginning with the 1960s) as a guiding time frame, the paper (1) delineates major shifts in the conception of reading and writing, and…

Despite over 30 years of review and analysis, researchers still are unclear as to what W.H. Crockett's Role Category Questionnaire (RCQ) of interpersonal differentiation actually measures. Among the constructivists, at least four different explanations have been advanced. The "orthodox" interpretation holds that the RCQ constitutes a…

As part of an attempt to precisely clarify the role of social context in early literacy development, this paper presents a working theoretical model for the ways in which one form of close social relationship, friendship, relates to early school-based literacy. The paper defines friendship as a dyadic, mutual relationship. The paper suggests that…

In the mid-1980s, when early electronic newspapers failed to live up to their promise, industry analysts declared them dead as a mass medium. But just 10 years later, "E-papers" are once again receiving much media hype, although little academic research has been done on them. Academic literature, trade articles, online discussions, and…

A study investigated the representation of females in journalism and mass communication programs at universities in the former West Germany. Surveys were sent to 207 men and women, and were returned by 153 people (for a response rate of 71% among the men and 84% among the women). Results indicated that: (1) 21% of the persons teaching at German…

This paper presents an in-depth look at semantics and how it has been and continues to be studied in mass communication. The paper notes that modern communication scholars have largely ignored the importance of semantics to mass media research. The paper examines the historical roots of semantics, noting that the 1930s saw the intellectual…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) workshop on Optical Science and Engineering was organized to examine approaches NSF could use to identify opportunities in optical science, engineering, and education that meet both the mission of NSF and its broader national goals. The workshop participants identified opportunities where optical science and…

The integration of micro-macro variables is critical to the development of organizational communication as an academic field. Mixed-level analysis is inherent in organizational phenomena, and its neglect perpetuates the gap in and fragmentation of organizational communication theories. Three of the many ways to design mixed-level analyses are…

This study shows to what extent Gloria Escamilla's "Lista de Encabezamientos de Materia," the only published Mexican subject heading list, is equivalent to the Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH). A LCSH heading sample is obtained from OCLC's Online Union Catalog. Using the EPIC search from OCLC, 1947 bibliographic records were…

Viewing the school principal as the most important component in reform is reasonable, but it raises the question of why empirical research on the superintendent's role in education reform is relatively thin. An overview of why this gap in research exists and ways in which the school superintendent influences school reform are discussed in this…

These hearing transcripts present testimony to the Senate Committee on Agriculture regarding the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. Statements were made by several senators, the president of the American School Food Service Association (Connecticut); a school food service program director (Florida); the director of nutrition and education for…

This handbook attempts to answer questions about informal caregiving and caregivers, focusing on the rural elderly. The first section presents a national perspective on caregiving. Recipients of caregiving, providers of caregiving, the caregiving dilemma, and psychological, physical, family, and financial issues are discussed. The second section…

For research to be considered "valid," the research must be originally based upon a known theory. The result of research should be the expansion of known theory or the development of new theory. An examination was made of marketing (distributive) education research to determine if that research is based upon a theoretical framework and results in…

A number of organizational communication analysts have argued that the field is in the midst of a paradigm shift, away from a strictly rational to a more transactional view of organization, but their arguments are not situated in a well-explicated communication theory. This paper argues for the existence of two, mutually exclusive worldviews of…