Gender,culture, and geography: A comparison of seating arrangements in the United States and Taiwan

The present study describes and compares seating preferences among Taiwanese and American respondents. Using a questionnaire method, seating preferences were obtained for 75 male and 100 female college students from the United Slates, and for 29 male and 54 female teachers of English in Taiwan. Responses were obtained for all possible combinations of sex of interaction partner, location (task or social), and six interpersonal activities. Results were summarized in the form of proportions of respondents choosing each of four possible angles of interaction: corner, opposite, diagonal, and side seating. Comparisons were made using Chisquare tests for independence.In general, results showed that Taiwanese respondents, when compared to Americans, are more likely to prefer side seating and less likely to prefer corner seating. Culture, sex of respondents, and sex of interaction partner interact in influencing preferences. In the United States, seating preferences function to unite males with females and to separate same-sex partners, while the opposite is true in Taiwan. Results are interpreted in terms of implications for intercultural communication.     

Emblematic gestures among Hebrew speakers in Israel

A field study was conducted in Israel to identify emblematic gestures recognized and used by Hebrew speakers. Studies which have identified the emblematic gestures of particular ethnic or national groups are reviewed and criticized. This study seeks to contribute increased rigor and systematology to the identification of particular groups' emblematic gestures.Twenty-six gestures commonly used in classroom interaction were selected for testing. The instrument used was Schneller's form, “Investigations of Interpersonal Communication in Israel.” Subjects included college students, members of YMCA classes for pensioners, and others. On the instrument, subjects noted their recognition and interpretations of the investigator's encoding intentions, their certainty or interpretation and where they learned each gesture.Whereas previous studies of this nature accepted around 70% interpretive agreement among subjects, this study indicates that at least 90% is a more reliable measure by which to label gestures “emblems.” In addition, correlations were tabulated for the effects of subjects' age, ethnicity, years in Israel, certainty about interpretation, and accuracy of interpretation.The findings of this study were: (a) eight gestures were identified as emblems, and three more gestures identified as possible emblems, (b) slightly negative although insignificant correlations were found between increased age, years in Israel, expressed certainty of interpretation and accuracy of interpretation, and (c) natives and subjects from 20–24 years of age tended to have the highest rates of expressed certainty of interpretation as well as accuracy of interpretation.The findings are compared with those of three other studies of Jews' gesturing and differences between the studies are considered. Recommendations include continuing such studies and comparing the results of related projects in order to form a comprehensive picture of particular groups of people.Limitations are discussed. These include: (a) a less than representative sample, (b) lack of a consistent conversational context, (c) potential for distortion in the decoding process, (d) the lack of a unified gesture labeling system, and (e) the possibility of cultural or researcher bias.     

Bookselling research: An overview of the past and priorities for the future

In 1988, the American Booksellers Association mandated the creation of an in-house research department. This article reviews the ABA’s research agenda, its progress to date, its relationship to research conducted by other publishing organizations, and its future priorities. Carol Miles became director of research for the American Booksellers Association in 1988, after twenty years of research in the academic, nonprofit, not-for-profit, and private sectors.