Communication Faculty Books and Monographs

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Communication Is... Perspectives on Theory

Adam W. Tyma (ed.) and Autumn Edwards (ed.)

Featuring diverse chapters written by thirty principal scholars in the discipline, Communication Is…Perspectives on Theory is an innovative and evocative collection that examines what communication theory is and how it functions. Throughout the text, each scholar offers unique and insightful perspective, exposing readers to the myriad ways in which to analyze, understand, and think about communication.

The book helps readers envision communication in alternative ways and better understand how various ideas and viewpoints within the discipline can work together to expand the overarching definition of communication. Nineteen different completions of “communication is” give voice to contemplative and exceptional constructions of what communication is and what it accomplishes. The chapters are organized around four broad methods of defining communication: locating, processing, appreciating, and actualizing. Holistically, the text invites readers to discuss, interrogate, and work through various ideas, interpretations, and definitions of communication.

Designed to stimulate lively discussion, deep introspection, and critical thought, Communication Is… serves as an ideal textbook for senior and graduate-level courses in the discipline. It is also an excellent resource for communication scholars who are inspired to challenge, develop, or revisit their own definitions and understanding of communication.
Digital Media in Teaching and its Added Value

David F. Conway, Stephanie A. Hillen, Melodie Landis, Mary T. Schlegelmilch, Peter Wolcott, Deepak Khazanchi, Bjørn Erik Munkvold, Aleksandra Lazareva, Jeanne L. Surface, Mary T. Schlegelmilch, Phyllis K. Adcock, Victor L. Winter, Paul J.A. van Vliet, and Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Editors: David F. Conway (UNO faculty member), Stefanie Hillen, Melodee Landis, Mary T. Schlegelmilch, Peter Wolcott (UNO faculty member)

Chapter, The Value of Investigating Information Technology Applications for Teaching and Learning Purposes, co-authored by David F. Conway and Peter Wolcott, UNO faculty members.

Chapter, Towards a Contingency Theory of eLearning, co-authored by Deepak Khazanchi, UNO faculty member.

Chapter, Collaborative Technologies and Digital Media in Teaching and Learning: Starting Small and Learning Along the Way, co-authored by Jeanne Surface and Phyllis Adcock, UNO faculty members.

Chapter, Information Technology for Development: Service Learning from Classroom to Community and Back Again, co-authored by Peter Wolcott, UNO faculty member.

Chapter, The World Needs More Computer Science! What to do?, authored by Victor Winter, UNO faculty member.

Chapter, Building an Online Systems Development Course – Experiences with Content and Interaction Design, authored by Paul J. A. van Vliet UNO faculty member.

Chapter, Social Media Communication in the Classroom: A Pedagogical Case Study of Social Network Analysis, authored by Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, UNO faculty member.

This book project was initiated in fall 2013 at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), Nebraska during a Global Engagement Research and Teaching Workshop between faculty from UNO and the University of Agder (UiA), Norway.

The anthology presents articles that center on the application of digital technologies that add value to the teaching and learning process in a globalized context. The unique focus of the book is the intersection between pedagogy and technology, specifically the innovative use of technology to improve higher education teaching and learning. With the increased mobility of faculty and students, more diversity among our students and faculty, increased cross-disciplinary designs, alternative environments enabled by technology, and greater demand from the millennial generation for increased access and flexibility, it is important to share accounts where technology has made a positive impact on the instructional process.

Topics that are discussed are local studies with implications for the global environment and the innovative use of technology to improve higher education teaching and learning.

The target audiences for the book are researchers, teachers and stakeholders in learning organizations interested in using IT for teaching and learning.
Beyond New Media: Discourse and Critique in a Polymediated Age

Art Herbig, Andrew F. Herrmann, and Adam W. Tyma

Beyond New Media: Discourse and Critique in a Polymediated Age examines a host of differing positions on media in order to explore how those positions can inform one another and build a basis for future engagements with media theory, research, and practice. Herbig, Herrmann, and Tyma have brought together a number of media scholars with differing paradigmatic backgrounds to debate the relative applicability of existing theories and in doing so develop a new approach: polymediation. Each contributor’s disciplinary background is diverse, spanning interpersonal communication, media studies, organizational communication, instructional design, rhetoric, mass communication, gender studies, popular culture studies, informatics, and persuasion. Although each of these scholars brings with them a unique perspective on media’s role in people’s lives, what binds them together is the belief that meaningful discourse about media must be an ongoing conversation that is open to critique and revision in a rapidly changing mediated culture. By studying media in a polymediated way, Beyond New Mediaaddresses more completely our complex relationship to media(tion) in our everyday lives.
Communication and the Law

W. Wat Hopkins and Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Editor: W. Wat Hopkins

Chapter, New Communication Technologies, authored by Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, UNO faculty member.
Mediating Cultures: Parenting in Intercultural Contexts

Alberto González, Tina Maria Harris, and Chin-Chung Chao

Editors: Alberto Gonzales and Tina Maria Harris

Chapter 8: Link Tiger Mother, Like Tiger Daughter, co-authored by Chin-Chung Chao, UNO faculty member.

This book explores the communication challenges faced by parents as they raise children who are bi-cultural, multi-cultural, or are adopted from a heritage other than the parents. Each contributor views the family as a site of intercultural dialogue and mediation, and uses compelling studies throughout to examine the parents who creatively balance cultural influences within their families. Using television depictions of parents on Modern Family and All-American Muslim to the everyday activities of mixed-ethnicity and international families, Mediating Cultures reports the communication strategies employed by the parents as they strive to create affirming relationships between children and their heritages. This collection brings together two largely separate literatures of family communication and intercultural communication studies with accessible yet context-driven studies to explain how families integrate multiple cultural heritages and perspectives.
The State of Citizen Participation in America

Hindy Lauer Schachter, Kaifeng Yang, and Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Editors: Hindy Lauer Schachter, Kaifeng Yang

Chapter 10: Voluntary Associations, Nonprofit Organizations, and Civic Engagement, co-authored by Angela Eikenberry, UNO faculty member.

Chapter 13, Deliberative Polling: Theoretical and Methodological Issues of Civic Engagement, authored by Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, UNO faculty member.

This book provides a state-of-the-art assessment of citizen participation practice and research in the United States. With contributions from a stellar group of scholars, it provides readers an overview of a field at the heart of democratic governance. Individual chapters trace shifts in participation philosophy and policy, examine trends at different government levels, analyze technology/participation interactions, identify the participation experiences of minority populations, and explore the impact of voluntary organizations on this topic. A five-chapter section illustrates innovative cases. Another section explores the role of various methodologies in advancing participation research. The scope, depth, and timeliness of the coverage fills two voids in the public administration literature. First, the book provides a unique collection of articles for graduate courses in citizen participation and democratic governance. The volume also offers an excellent compendium for researchers who are at the frontline of participation research and practice.
Casing Interpersonal Communication: Case Studies in Personal and Social Relationships

Dawn O. Braithwaite, Julia T. Wood, and Paige W. Toller

Chapter 26: "I'm Sorry for Your Loss": Communicating with Those Who Are Bereaved, authored by Paige Toller, UNO faculty member.

Casing Interpersonal Communication encourages students to learn about interpersonal communication by exploring real life situations. The engaging cases invite students to use abstract and conceptual knowledge drawn from theory and research to analyze and address concrete circumstances that will help them to then apply this knowledge to their own lives.
Cultural Values and Anticipations of Female Leadership Styles A Study of Rotary Clubs in Taiwan and the United States

Chin-Chung Chao

Although the status of women in general has gradually improved in education, employment and leadership over the years, the big picture for women is still disheartening, and female leadership in higher positions is disproportionately represented. To address this issue for more satisfactory gender equality, this study undertakes a comparative quantitative and qualitative study of female leadership in non-profit organizations in the East and the West by exploring the relationships between the Rotary Club members¿ cultural values and their anticipated female leadership styles in Taiwan and the United States. Specifically, this study will provide more academic perspectives on female leadership in cross-cultural studies, strive to overcome conceptual and methodological biases in current leadership research, contribute to research on leadership behaviors in non-profit organizations, apply academic knowledge to female leadership practices, and raise individual consciousness of the benefit of female leadership.
Encyclopedia of Journalism

Christopher H. Sterling and Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Editor: Christopher H. Sterling

Entry, Censorship/Prior Restraint, authored by Jeremy H. Lipschultz, UNO faculty member.

Journalism permeates our lives and shapes our thoughts in ways we’ve long taken for granted. Whether we listen to National Public Radio in the morning, view the lead story on the Today show, read the morning newspaper headlines, stay up-to-the-minute with Internet news, browse grocery store tabloids, receive Time magazine in our mailbox, or watch the nightly news on television, journalism pervades our daily activities. The six-volume Encyclopedia of Journalism covers all significant dimensions of journalism, including print, broadcast, and Internet journalism; U.S. and international perspectives; history; technology; legal issues and court cases; ownership; and economics. The set contains more than 350 signed entries under the direction of leading journalism scholar Christopher H. Sterling of The George Washington University. In the A-to-Z volumes 1 through 4, both scholars and journalists contribute articles that span the field’s wide spectrum of topics, from design, editing, advertising, and marketing to libel, censorship, First Amendment rights, and bias to digital manipulation, media hoaxes, political cartoonists, and secrecy and leaks. Also covered are recently emerging media such as podcasting, blogs, and chat rooms. The last two volumes contain a thorough listing of journalism awards and prizes, a lengthy section on journalism freedom around the world, an annotated bibliography, and key documents. The latter, edited by Glenn Lewis of CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and York College/CUNY, comprises dozens of primary documents involving codes of ethics, media and the law, and future changes in store for journalism education.
International Encyclopedia of Communication

Wolfgang Donsbach and Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Editor: Wolfgang Donsbach

Entry, "Pornography, Media Law of," authored by Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, UNO faculty member.

The International Encyclopedia of Communication represents the definitive reference work in this interdisciplinary and dynamic field. This authoritative twelve-volume set is jointly published by Wiley-Blackwell and the International Communication Association (ICA), the leading academic association of the discipline in the world.
- DEFINITIVE: A ground-breaking collection of 1,339 original entries within a 12 volume set, spanning the scholarship, evidence, and methodology of communication research
- REPUTABLE: Jointly published by Blackwell Publishing and the prestigious International Communication Association (ICA)
- AUTHORITATIVE: Newly-commissioned entries divided into 29 editorial areas representing major fields of inquiry within communication, each of which is headed by a leading expert in their respective field
- INTERDISCIPLINARY: Editorial areas include: communication theory and philosophy, interpersonal communication, journalism, intercultural and intergroup communication, media effects, strategic communication/PR, communication and media law and policy, media systems in the world, and communication and technology
- WIDE-RANGING: Spans the breadth of communication studies, including coverage of theories, media and communication phenomena, research methods, problems, concepts, and geographical areas within this dynamic and interdisciplinary field
- INTERNATIONAL: Brings together new entries written and edited by an international team of the world's best scholars and teachers, representing the international character of the ICA
- ACCESSIBLE: Reader-friendly A-Z entries ranging from extended explorations of major topics to short descriptions of key concepts, with sophisticated cross-referencing and search facilities, lexicon by subject area, and a comprehensive index
- MULTI-FORMAT: The Encyclopedia will publish simultaneously in print and electronic formats, both of which will be fully accessible and searchable
This unique and inclusive work will strengthen the identity of the growing field of communication studies, support its institutions, and most of all, improve the study of communication problems and phenomena worldwide. For further information visit www.communicationencyclopedia.com
Broadcast and Internet Indecency: Defining Free Speech

Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Indecency--arguably among the most provocative and incendiary issues in today's media--is speech at the edge of social tolerance. This timely volume examines broadcast and Internet indecency from legal and social perspectives, utilizing current cases and well-publicized examples. In exploring the issues associated with this highly controversial area, author Jeremy Harris Lipschultz makes headway toward an understanding of how indecency, as communication on the fringes of social norms, functions in defining free expression through specific types of speech. He contrasts conceptualizations of indecency and obscenity, synthesizes case law and social research, and develops theoretical generalizations for future research and study. His work provides a comprehensive examination of broadcast and Internet indecency issues and cases that serve to test generalizations about freedom of expression and one's ability to define free speech.
Basic Communication Course Best Practices: A Training Manual for Instructors

Lawrence W. Hugenberg, Sherwyn Morreale, David W. Worley, Barbara Hugenberg, Debra A. Worley, Deanna D. Sellnow, and Adam W. Tyma

Chapter: Teaching new teachers to reflect: Training and assessment strategies, co-authored by Adam Tyma, UNO faculty member.
Communication Technology and Social Change: Theory and Implications

Carol A. Lin, David J. Atkin, and Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Editors: Carol A. Lin and David J. Atkin

Chapter 13, Digital Media Technology and Fair Use authored by Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, UNO faculty member.

Communication Technology and Social Change is a distinctive collection that provides current theoretical, empirical, and legal analyses for a broader understanding of the dynamic influences of communication technology on social change. With a distinguished panel of contributors, the volume presents a systematic discussion of the role communication technology plays in shaping social, political, and economic influences in society within specific domains and settings. Its integrated focus expands and complements the scope of existing literature on this subject.
Sports-Talk Radio in America: Its Context and Culture

John M. Dempsey, Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, and Michael L. Hilt

Editor: John M. Dempsey

Chapter 5: KOZN, "The Zone," Omaha, Nebraska: Unsportsmanlike Conduct, co-authored by Jeremy Lipschultz and Michael Hilt, UNO faculty members.

An inside look at the hosts, hot spots, and history of sports-talk radio

Sports-Talk Radio in America looks at major-, medium-, and small-market stations across the United States that feature an all-sports format, with a focus on the unique personalities and programming strategies that make each station successful. Broadcasters, journalists, and academics provide insight on how and why this media phenomenon has become an important influence of American culture, examining the “guy talk” broadcasting approach, the traditional sports-emphasis approach, “HSOs” (hot sports opinions), localism in broadcasting, how sports talk radio builds “communities” of listeners, and how reckless, on-air comments can actually build ratings.

For better of worse, millions of (mostly) male listeners indulge their obsession with sports to the exclusion of virtually everything else available on the radio dial-music, news, and political talk. This unique book examines how this “niche of the niche” has formed a bond between its hosts and their rabid, passionate, and loyal audiences, spinning the dial from the largest, best-known stations in big-league markets to smaller stations in Collegetown, USA, including Philadelphia’s WIP, “The Ticket,” KTCK in Dallas, WEEI in Boston, “The Team,” WQTM in Orlando, KJR in Seattle, KOZN “The Zone” Omaha, Nebraska, WGR and WNSA in Buffalo, Kansas City’s WHB, and “The Fan,” WFAN in New York, the first all-sports radio station and the blueprint for the format. Sports-Talk Radio in America puts you in the studio with Mike and the Mad Dog, Angelo Cataldi, Howard Eskin, “The Musers” (“Junior” Miller and George Dunham), Norm Hitges, John Dennis and Gerry Callahan, Dan Sileo, Howard Simon, and Art Wander.

Sports-Talk Radio in America examines:

-how stations create an environment in which listeners become part of a social group (social-identity and self-categorization theories)
-personality-driven programming
-the station’s commitment to local teams and their fans
-how exploring controversial topics beyond sports broadens station’s appeal and attracts upscale, affluent audience
-how an abundance of live, play-by-play broadcasting, creating plenty of available content
-college sports in a town without a major professional sports team
-how local sports is framed by hosts and callers
-the conflicted relationship between sports-talk radio and the print media
-and much more!

Sports-Talk Radio in America is a must-read for academics and professionals working in radio-television and popular culture.
Mass Media, An Aging Population, and the Baby Boomers

Michael L. Hilt and Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

As the oldest members of the baby boomer generation head into their retirement years, this demographic shift is having a substantial influence on uses of mass media, as well as the images portrayed in these media. Mass Media, An Aging Population, and the Baby Boomers provides a comprehensive examination of the relationship between media and aging issues, addressing mass media theory and practice as it relates to older Americans.

Reviewing current research on communication and gerontology, authors Michael Hilt and Jeremy Lipschultz focus on aging baby boomers and their experiences with television, radio, print media, entertainment, advertising and public relations, along with the Internet and new media. They draw from studies about health and sexuality to understand views of aging, and present a view of older people as important players in the political process. Hilt and Lipschultz conclude the volume by addressing trends and making predictions related to baby boomers and mass media.

Providing a timely and insightful examination of the linkage between mass media and aging issues, this volume will prove a valuable resource for scholars and students in media and gerontology. It is intended for use in coursework addressing such topics as mass communication and society, media and aging, media and public opinion, sociology, and social gerontology.
Crisis Communications: Lessons from September 11

A. Michael Noll and Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Editor: A. Michael Noll

Chapter, Before 9/11: American Network Newscast Coverage of Terrorism, authored by Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, UNO faculty member.

On September 11, 2001, AT&T's traffic was 40 percent greater than its previous busiest day. Wireless calls were made from the besieged airplanes and buildings, with the human voice having a calming influence. E-mail was used to overcome distance and time zones. And storytelling played an important role both in conveying information and in coping with the disaster. Building on such events and lessons, Crisis Communications features an international cast of top contributors exploring emergency communications during crisis. Together, they evaluate the use, performance, and effects of traditional mass media (radio, TV, print), newer media (Internet, email), conventional telecommunications (telephones, cell phones), and interpersonal communication in emergency situations. Applying what has been learned from the behavior of the mass media in past crises, the authors clearly show the central role of communications on September 11. They establish how people learned of the tragedy and how they responded; examine the effects of media globalization on terrorism; and, in many cases, give specific advice for the future.
Crime and Local Television News: Dramatic, Breaking, and Live from the Scene

Jeremy Harris Lipschultz and Michael L. Hilt

This volume offers an analysis of crime coverage on local television, exploring the nature of local television news and the ongoing appeal of crime stories. Drawing on the perspectives of media studies, psychology, sociology, and criminology, authors Jeremy H. Lipschultz and Michael L. Hilt focus on live local television coverage of crime and examine its irresistibility to viewers and its impact on society's perceptions of itself. They place local television news in its theoretical and historical contexts, and consider it through the lens of legal, ethical, racial, aging, and technological concerns.

In its comprehensive examination of how local television newsrooms around the country address coverage of crime, this compelling work discusses such controversial issues as the use of crime coverage to build ratings, and considers new models for reform of local TV newscasts. The volume includes national survey data from news managers and content analyses from late night newscasts in a range of markets, and integrates the theory and practice of local television news into the discussion. Lipschultz and Hilt also project the future of local television news and predict the impact of social and technological changes on news.

As a provocative look at the factors and forces shaping local news and crime coverage, Crime and Local Television News makes an important contribution to the discussions taking place in broadcast journalism, mass communication, media and society, and theory and research courses. It will also interest all who consider the impact of local news content and coverage.
The Guide to United States Popular Culture

Ray B. Browne, Pat Browne, and Michael L. Hilt

"To understand the history and spirit of America, one must know its wars, its laws, and its presidents. To really understand it, however, one must also know its cheeseburgers, its love songs, and its lawn ornaments. The long-awaited Guide to the United States Popular Culture provides a single-volume guide to the landscape of everyday life in the United States. Scholars, students, and researchers will find in it a valuable tool with which to fill in the gaps left by traditional history. All American readers will find in it, one entry at a time, the story of their lives."—Robert Thompson, President, Popular Culture Association.
Classic American Semi Trucks

Jeremy Harris Lipschultz and Stan Holzman

Co-authored by Jeremy H. Lipschultz, UNO faculty member.

Climb in for an over-the-road journey through the variety of handsome semi trucks of yesterday and today. This colorful volume showcases the big rigs of Mack, Peterbilt, White, Western Star, Freightliner, and Volvo, plus many defunct manufacturers such as Hayes, Autocar, Sterling, and American Coleman. Brief profiles convey the history of each company's products, while nostalgic and contemporary photographs showcase their big rigs.
Free Expression in the Age of the Internet: Social and Legal Boundaries

Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

In Free Expression in the Age of the Internet, Jeremy Lipschultz investigates the Internet and its potential for profound change, analyzing the use of its technology from social, political, and economic perspectives. Lipschultz provides new insights on traditional legal concepts such as marketplace of ideas, social responsibility, and public interest, arguing that from a communication theory perspective, free expression is constrained by social norms and conformity.Lipschultz explores social limits on free expression by first examining history of print and electronic media law and regulation. He utilizes the gatekeeping metaphor, the spiral of silence, and diffusion theory to explore current data on the Internet. He uses Reno v. ACLU (1997) as a case study of current First Amendment thinking. This book includes recent evidence, including samples of content from Internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge, and the investigation of President Clinton as it unfolded on the World Wide Web.The analysis is related to broader issues about Internet content, including commercial and other communication. The new technologies raise new questions about legal and social definitions of concepts such as privacy. Free expression is explored in this book under the umbrella of a global, commercial economy that places importance on legal rights such as copyright, even where those rights limit free flow of ideas.The Internet places free expression on two tracks. On the one hand, corporate players are developing cyberspace as a new mass media. On the other hand, the Internet is virtual space where individuals have the power to connect and communicate with others in ways never before seen. This groundbreaking text advancing new media scholarship uses the most current case studies from the Internet to show free expression in practice today. Lipshultz presents a relevant and efficacious social communication theory of free expression which critically examines the necessary factors involved in comprehensive policy analysis and enactment.
Television News and the Elderly: Broadcast Managers' Attitudes Toward Older Adults

Michael L. Hilt

This concise survey investigates the television general managers’ and news directors’ attitudes towards the elderly in the United States. Originally published in 1997, it raises important issues of ageing in relation to the media with specific focus on the older viewer’s status as a viewing audience of the news and how they are presented in the news. This is still useful food for thought for gerontologists, mass communication researchers, social psychologists and media studies researchers.
Case Studies in Organizational Communication 2: Perspectives on Contemporary Work Life

Beverly Davenport Sypher and Shereen G. Bingham

Chapter 21, "Sexual harassment on the menu" by Shereen G. Bingham.

An up-to-date collection of new case studies spotlighting the integral role of communication in today's workplace, this volume will succeed its highly acclaimed predecessor as a valued reference and teaching text. Based on first-hand observation, in-depth interviews, and survey research, some of the studies highlight creative and positive uses of different communication practices; others demonstrate how communication can hinder organizational functioning.

Bringing complex situations to life, the book explores key questions about how and why people work as they do today in large manufacturing companies and in small businesses, in high-tech industries, government, education, and the human services. Timely topics addressed include new communication technologies; the dynamics of teamwork; cross-cultural communication; sexual harassment; stress and burnout; and more.
Broadcast Indecency: F.C.C. Regulation and the First Amendment

Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

This cutting-edge book treats broadcast indecency as a social phenomenon challenging the policy approach of government regulation. It is an exploration of the political and social processes involved in the government control of mass media content. The author, using F.C.C. documents and other sources, studies the complex issue of broadcast indecency and its impact on the mass media and the public. He also challenges assumptions and attempts to place content issues within an international context and to project the future of regulation while offering practical advice to broadcast managers on how to deal with today's broadcast indecency issues.
Conceptualizing Sexual Harassment as Discursive Practice

Shereen G. Bingham

This is an interdisciplinary approach to sexual harassment that examines the meaning of concepts such as discourse, power, ideology, sexuality, and abuse. The essays explore discursive practice as a way of understanding sexual harassment, how it is normalized and sustained, how it may be contested and challenged, and how it may be studied. In giving voice to discursive frameworks and encouraging debate among authors with differing ideas, Bingham provides readers with a rich array of viewpoints and readings to consider in their own thinking about sexual harassment, both as a social practice and as a topic of research. Rather than attempting to provide resolution or draw conclusions, this volume challenges scholars to begin the process of re-forming conceptual perspectives for sexual harassment research and activism. Although questioning our understandings of sexual harassment and discursiveness is unsettling and difficult, it is necessary in order to instigate change in both ourselves as social actors and in our research of human behavior.
Case Studies in Organizational Communication 1

Beverly Davenport Sypher and Shereen G. Bingham

Chapter 7, "Power and Sex Roles in the Workplace" by Shereen G. Bingham.

Using a descriptive approach to illuminate the topic, this volume presents accounts of how organizational life is accomplished communicatively in a variety of retail, manufacturing, public service, and newspaper organizations. The cases in this book focus on the ways in which communication creates and maintains organizational realities, with some demonstrating how communication can hinder organizational functioning and others highlighting creative and positive uses of different communication practices. Providing a view of organizational life that reflects the experiences of those who have not only observed, but taken part in its functioning, this volume is unique in the breadth of issues covered, the variety of methodological choices used in gathering data, and the focus itself.