Susan A. Hellweg

Perceived Supervisor Communication Competence and Supervisor Satisfaction as a Function of Quality Circle Participation

The present study investigated the relationship between perceptions of supervisor com municator competence and supervisor satisfaction as a result of quality circle involve ment. A total of 104 quality circle participants comprising 12 quality circles at a large defense contractor in a west coast city were employed in the study. Specifically, com parisons were made between perceptions among participants of newly formed circles and ones which had been in operation for six months. Data from the study were sub mitted to multiple regression and one-tailed t tests. The results of the study indicated that supervisors who participated in quality circles for six months were perceived as being more communicatively competent (particularly on an encoding dimension) than their counterparts who had just joined the program. In addition, subordinates were more satisfied with them. However, the old circle supervisors did not perceive themselves as more communicatively competent. Implications of the findings and directions for fu ture research were advanced.

An Integrative Verbal and Visual Analysis of the Carter-Reagan Debate.

An analysis of the 1980 Presidential Debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan reveals that the restrictions upon the event itself and the television medium through which it was transmitted contributed very little toward establishing any confrontational results.

A verbal and visual analysis of the 1980 Houston republican presidential primary debate

This article provides a verbal and visual content analysis of the 1980 Houston primary debate between Ronald Reagan and George Bush. A number of verbal factors are examined relating to message unequivocality, message ambiguity, and message reasoning strategies. In addition, various visual characteristics associated with the debate are reviewed, some presumably under the control of the candidates and others under the control of the broadcast crew. Results of the analysis are given, as well as recommendations for future research.

An Analysis of Compliance-Gaining Instrumentation in the Organizational Communication Literature

This article reviews five compliance-gaining instruments reported in the literature, specifically used in research conducted in the organizational context. As part of this analysis, the article examines studies from the literature using the compliance-gaining construct, assesses the reliability estimates for these instruments through a meta-analysis of psychometric data associated with them, discusses the implications of deductively and inductively derived compliance-gaining typologies, and offers directions for future research.

Comparative evaluation of political candidates: Implications for the voter decision‐making process

This study examines the nature of comparative political candidate evaluation. While the traditional view advocates a unitary voter decision‐making process, with one candidate compared to another using a general standard criterion for candidate acceptability, this research looked at the possibility of multiple criteria unique to each candidate as part of the evaluative process. The results of the study supported the idea of unique criteria being employed in the evaluation of each individual candidate, suggesting a more complex model of voting behavior than the traditional view heretofore has advanced

An Analysis of Source Valence Instrumentation in the Organizational Communication Literature

This article reviews five source valence instruments reported in the literature, specifically designed to measure credibility, attraction, and homophily in the organizational context. As part of this analysis, the article examines studies from the literature using the constructs singly or in conjunction with one another, assesses the relative reliability estimates for these instruments through a meta-analysis of psychometric data associated with them, explores reasons for the recent decline in this line of research, and offers directions for future research.

Comparative candidate evaluation as a function of election level and candidate incumbency

The purpose of this study was to examine comparative political candidate evaluation. Specifically, three research questions were addressed in the context of the data collected from the 1984 general election campaign: (1) do the criteria voters use in making candidate evaluations vary as a function of election level; (2) do the criteria voters use differ among candidates within the same election level; and (3) do the criteria voters use vary for incumbents and challengers within the same election level. The results of the study suggest that incumbent positioning does make a difference in perceptual criteria formation for candidates (such that the incumbent may set the agenda for the challenger), that such criteria are idiosyncratic to individual candidates and election contexts, but that accurate predictions can be made of voting behavior once these idiosyncratic criteria are known.

The sea gull: A communicative analysis of Chekhovian drama

This article examines the functions and dimensions of Chekhovian language. The authors make observations within this analysis which apply to the playwrights major works, and The Sea Gull in particular. The analysis is performed in relationship to Chekhovs creation of dialogue, characterization, and imagery. Dialogue is seen to measure the nature of a relationship more than provide an interchange of direct literal significance. Characterization appears to develop as a function of the dynamic interaction between a characters self‐preservation and his/her situation context and to be achieved within the linguistic structure of the play through the use of dissonances between what a character says and what is known about him/her, or harmonies evident when characters demonstrate complementary tendencies, and through the creation of characteristic modes of communication. Finally, imagery is seen to evolve as a function of the spiritual life of a character, acting as a communicative device depending upon its ab...