Crisis negotiations: A Preliminary investigation of facework in naturalistic conflict discourse

This article views crisis negotiations from an interaction goal perspective, with facework constituting a significant and heretofore unexplored dimension of interaction. We present a three‐dimensional model of facework used in coding perpetrator and negotiator discourse for face behaviors within three authentic negotiation interactions. Results indicate that Restore Other's Face and Restore Self's Face were the two predominant facework behaviors. While negotiators were the primary users of Restore Other's Face acts, perpetrators used mostly Restore Self's Face behaviors. No Attack Other's Face acts were observed. However, of five Attack Self's Face behaviors enacted, four occurred in a negotiation which ended in the suicide of the perpetrator. Lag sequential analysis revealed a general cycle of perpetrator use of Restore Self's Face and negotiator use of Restore Other's Face. Implications of these findings for future research and for training crisis negotiators are discussed.     

Development and test of a cognitive rules model of interaction goals

Although scholars frequently describe communication as goal oriented, they offer limited detail about how people form interaction goals in situations. This paper presents a “Cognitive Rules” model which specifies assumptions about the structures and processes underlying goal formation. According to the model, people represent their knowledge about goals within an associative network model of memory, which contains cognitive rules linking situational features and desired outcomes. People's likelihood of forming a goal depends on the accessibility of relevant cognitive rules as well as the fit between perceived situational features and rules. An experiment testing these assumptions is reported. As predicted, a priming manipulation influenced interaction goals in attributionally ambiguous but not in attributionally clear compliance‐gaining situations. Unexpectedly, the effect of priming on goals occurred only for people high in construct differentiation. Implications of these findings for accounts of goal formation and message production are discussed.     

The impact of ownership rules and the telecommunications act of 1996 on a small radio market

The change in radio ownership rules in 1992 had the greatest effect in markets ranked above 100. The Telecommunications Act could have similar effects. One such market was investigated for this study. A proposed station purchase in this market would give an ownership group four of seven stations in the market, depending on how a market is defined. Petitions to deny were filed. These statements and replies by station owners were analyzed and related to radio in a small market. The ultimate impact was found on the negotiation of advertising rates. Other effects could emerge over time.     

Ranganathan's Third Law and Collection Access at Norcia: An Assessment

ABSTRACT

S. R. Ranganathan's Third Law of library science implies that books need help finding their way to each reader. From this law flows twelve corollaries which, when adapted to present day conditions, suggest evaluative criteria for assessing access to traditional book collections. In this essay, the author evaluates progress made over the last seven years in establishing a new library in Italy, employing the Third Law as a guide.     

Communicative signaling of occupational fitness: How innovative ability is expressed and assessed

ABSTRACT

This study investigates how individuals working in the innovation field communicatively define the nature of their work and make assessments of others’ innovative ability. Drawing on signaling theory, this work explores what communicative signals are valued within an ambiguous professional context. Interviews with 36 innovation workers revealed that individuals perceive this emerging occupational role as comprised of skills and traits that vary in how easily they are communicatively expressed, and in turn what forms of communication allow these dimensions to be evaluated. These findings inform the development of a grounded model for communicatively assessing innovative ability. This work extends our theoretical understanding of how signals of professionalism are actively, and communicatively expressed and assessed in new occupational settings.     

The Community Collaboration Stakeholder Project

Courses: Small Group Communication, or courses on social justice, collaboration, dialogue, and/or leadership

Objectives: In this semester-long project, students apply the communication skills of dialogue, appreciative inquiry, consensus decision-making, brainstorming, and principled negotiation in an authentic simulation of interorganizational collaboration     

Enhancing negotiation skills using foreign service simulations

Courses: Conflict communication, negotiation, small group

Objective: This activity will enhance students’ awareness and critique of their own negotiation behaviors.     

Word changes introduced Ad Libitum in five speeches by Franklin Delano Roosevelt∗

The purpose of this research is to clarify and extend the meaning of interaction involvement. Three related studies are reported in this endeavor. The first study examines the factor structure of the interaction involvement scale and provides a reinterpretation of previously published results. The second study reports a correlational analysis of the newly interpreted involvement factors and several related concepts, including extraversion, neuroticism, self‐consciousness, communication apprehension, and five dimensions of interpersonal communication competence. The third study reports initial findings of the possible nonverbal manifestations of interaction involvement and provides directions for future research.     

Who are you? Teaching symbolic interaction and perceptions of the self in the classroom

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Fundamentals of Human Communication, Communication Theory, Public Speaking, and Intercultural Communication

Objectives: After completing this single-class activity, students will be able to (1) describe how meaning is created through symbolic interaction, (2) explain how the self is created through symbolic interaction, and (3) give examples of their own self-concept that was co-created, reflected upon, and revised through interaction with others in the classroom.     

Welfare economics and media performance

The author focuses on criteria for assessing the economic performance of media markets using three concepts from the field of welfare economics: efficiency, equity, and externalities. He argues that the ultimate purposes of media economics research are to identify market structure and conduct elements that harm or help these three criteria, and to suggest policy changes that would improve media market performance.     

Academic Libraries in Saudi Arabia

Summary

The lack of information availability in literature about academic libraries in Saudi Arabia makes it impossible to review their systems, operations, and services. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a questionnaire survey conducted in the summer of 1994 that was administered to the seven Deans of Library Affairs to determine the present state-of-affairs of academic libraries in Saudi Arabia. Also, this paper discusses the various constraints faced by the academic libraries in Saudi Arabia and suggests how to overcome them.     

Health sciences librarian competency perceptions: a survey of national community college librarians

Objective:The primary objective of this study was to determine how community college health sciences librarians perceive their proficiencies in the essential skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary for the practice of a health information professional as defined by the Medical Library Association (MLA) Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success. A secondary objective was to determine their current level of engagement with the professional community and identify barriers to further professional development.Methods:A survey was posted to various email discussion lists, and volunteer follow-up interviews were conducted.Results:The survey was completed by seventy-five community college health sciences librarians, and seven follow-up interviews were performed. Survey results indicated that community college health sciences librarians perceived themselves as having intermediate or advanced intermediate proficiency in the six MLA competencies. Survey and interview results indicated that community college health sciences librarians were engaged with the profession and faced the same barriers to continued professional development and continued education as other academic librarians.Conclusion:The results affirm that community college librarians who are responsible for collections and services in the health sciences meet the MLA competencies, which fills a gap in the literature regarding how these librarians develop professional competencies and are involved in professional associations. The results suggest that community college librarians can improve their skill levels by continuing their education and following trends in the literature.     

Irreplaceable: Exploring identity and relationships through the discussion of invaluable personal objects

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Relational Communication.

Objectives: Students reflect on and discuss how personal objects are connected to their identity and relationships with others. This activity illustrates the ways course concepts such as relational metaphors, stories, rules, rituals, and other patterns of communication influence the meaning we ascribe to an object and how that object helps to construct beliefs about ourselves and important others. This exercise can also help students connect with each other in a supportive environment.     

Elucidating influences on superior‐subordinate communication: Attributional confidence and organizational control expectancies

The purpose of this study was to examine how differences in organizational control expectancies affect superior‐subordinate interaction and relational certainty. Employees (N = 280) from several organizations completed measures of perceived control, attributional confidence, and superior‐subordinate interaction. Results indicated significant relationships between subordinates ‘ work locus of control orientation with relational certainty and superior‐subordinate relationship quality. A large effect was observed between subordinates ‘ report of relational certainty with supervisor and supervisor leadership style.     

Time pressure: An unexamined issue in organizational newcomers' role development

Although the impact of time pressure on integrative problem solving has been widely explored in traditional negotiation research, little attention has been paid to its effect as organizational newcomers negotiate and coordinate work role expectations with supervisors. This study examines the effect of time pressure on three integrative communication dimensions of supervisory role negotiations: directness, elaboration, and mutual concessions. One hundred seventy employed college undergraduates completed survey items pertaining to recalled supervisory discussions of role expectations. Consistent with the hypotheses, time pressure had a significant positive effect on each of the communicative dimensions of the recalled negotiation.     

The relationship of communication apprehension and interaction involvement to perceptions of computer‐mediated communication

This study investigated how the interpersonal traits of communication apprehension (CA) and interaction involvement (II) are related to one's attitudes toward and use of computer‐mediated communication (CMC). Data were collected by administering a self‐report survey to a sample of 133 participants, and results were analyzed with multiple regression. Findings revealed that CA and II failed to predict CMC attitudes. However, each trait predicted communication style during online interaction. Findings are interpreted within the context of current theories of CMC.     

Adventures in Licensing! How Librarians are Embracing and Affecting Change in Electronic Resources Licensing

ABSTRACT

This article describes a program session about licensing electronic resources. The speakers discussed a range of licenses in the current electronic resources landscape and described current trends in the negotiation and management of licenses. They also explored the impact of workflow design on the accessibility of electronic resources at any institution.