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COMMISSION ON FAMILY COMMUNICATION NEWSLETTER
Volume 4	Spring-Summer 1994	Number 1

The Commission on Family Communication will sponsor 13 panels at the 1994 SCA convention in New Orleans, covering a variety of topics and issues, such as marital ease, "dis-ease," and conflict, custodial parenting, intergenerational and young families, and teaching and theory concerns. Of particular interest to CFC and SCA members are two panels, one honoring Gerald Handel, who -- will speak on the historical roots of his classic work, Family Worlds, and the qualitative tradition in family research, and the other panel spotlighting keynote addresses from Stephanie Coontz and John Gillis, two social historians in family sociology. Note also that the Commission on Family Communication business meeting is scheduled for Sunday, November 20, from 2:30-3:45 p.m. It Along with discussing plans for next year's SCA , convention, we will be selecting a new Vice-Chair Elect, Liaison Committee Chair, Curriculum Development Committee Chair, and Research Committee (cf. descriptions inside). We look forward to seeing you there! Many thanks to Kathleen Galvin, Vice-Chair, for planning and organizing this year's convention! Thanks also to our eight paper readers, Bernard Brommel, Fran Dickson, Robert Harrison, Doug Kelley, John Monsma, Jill Rudd, Teresa Sabourin, and Anita Vangelisti for their time and effort in assuring an excellent program for SCA in 1994!

The Journal of Applied Communication Research will publish a special symposium on applied research on family communication in the 1995 volume. The symposium organizers, Gail G. Whitchurch (Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis) and Lynne M. Webb (Memphis State University), invite submissions of article-length essays on the topic of applied family communication.

We are open to receiving several kinds of manuscripts, including research reports on data collected using any viable empirical research methodology and demonstrating a clear applied communication focus on concrete, practical issues pertaining to communication in family units or various family subsystems. Other sorts of submissions, such as papers that demonstrate how particular theories illuminate patterns and processes of family communication, also would be appropriate. While we are interested in manuscripts on any topic related to applied family communication research, examples of topics include communication in various family dyads (e.g., parent-dependent child, elderly parent-adult child, or marital interaction), and communication in family sub-systems or family units larger than dyads (e.g. interaction in sibling subsystems, family decision-making, family conflict). If you have any concerns about the suitability of a manuscript for submission to the symposium, the organizers welcome your questions.

Each manuscript will be peer-reviewed by two reviewers from a panel of distinguished researchers in family communication. The panel will include family communication experts from the JACR editorial board, as well as reviewers appointed specifically for this symposium.

Submissions must be postmarked on or before October 10, 1994, and sent to: Julia T. Wood, Editor, JACR, Dept. of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. WHERE POSSIBLE, PLEASE INCLUDE E-MAIL ADDRESSES FOR EACH AUTHOR.

For additional information, contact either of the symposium organizers:

Gail G. Whitchurch, Ph.D.
Dept. of Communication & Theatre
Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
(IKFW100@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU)
(317) 278-1155 (campus office)
(317) 924-4954 (home office)
(317) 274-2347 (FAX)

Lynne M. Webb, Ph.D.
Communication Studies Division
143 Theatre & Comm. Bldg.
Memphis, Tennessee 38152
(WEBBLM@MEMSTVX1.BITNET)
(901) 678-2577 (campus office)
(901) 678-2565 (department)
(901) 678-4331 (FAX)

Kudos: Honors, Awards, and Publications

Dan Canary and Laura Stafford edited a book entitled Communication and relational maintenance (1994; Academic Press).

William Cupach and Sandra Metts wrote a book entitled Facework (1994; SAGE Publications).

Steve Duck wrote a book entitled Meaningful relationships: Talking, sense, and relating (1994; SAGE Publications). He also edited a book entitled Dynamics of relationships, with several SCA members contributing, such as Sally Planalp, Kathy Garvin-Doxas, Kathryn Dindia, Ted Spencer, and Maureen Keeley.

Mary Anne Fitzpatrick and L. David Ritchie wrote an article entitled "Communication schemata within the family: Multiple perspectives on family interaction" in Human Communication Research, 20(3), pp. 275-301 (1994). Mary Anne also co-authored an updated chapter in the Handbook of Interpersonal Communication (2nd ed., 1994) with Diane Badzinski; the chapter is entitled "All in the family: Interpersonal communication in kin relationships."

Kathleen Galvin has been appointed to a two-year term on the Faculty Advisory Committee of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Kathryn Greene received an SCA "Outstanding Dissertation Award" this year for her dissertation entitled "Egocentrism, message explicitness, and AIDS messages directed toward adolescents: A test of the theory of reasoned action" (Univ. of Georgia, 1992).

Laura Guerrero wrote an article entitled "'I'm so mad I could scream': The effects of anger expression on relational satisfaction and communication competence" in The Southern Communication Journal, 59(2), pp. 125-141 (1994).

Rebecca Rubin, Philip Palmgreen and Howard Sypher edited a book entitled Communication research measures: A sourcebook (1994; Guilford Press).

Glen Stamp, Anita Vangelisti, and Mark Knapp wrote a chapter, "Criteria for developing and assessing theories of interpersonal communication," in a book entitled Building communication theories: A socio/cultural approach (1994; Fred Casmir, editor; Lawrence Erlbaum).

Anita Vangelistl wrote an article entitled "Family secrets: Forms, functions and correlates" in Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11(1), pp. 113-136 (1994).

NOTE: If you have any items you would like to have included in the next Commission on Family Communication newsletter, please contact the CFC Secretary by December 1, 1994.

The CFC Nominating Committee is soliciting nominations prior to the 1994 SCA Convention for the offices of (a) Vice-Chair Elect, (b) Curriculum Development Committee Chair (responsible for coordinating the development and dissemination of materials/ideas for teaching Family Communication), (c) Liaison Committee Chair (in charge of establishing and maintaining ties with other relevant organizations, e.g., inviting persons from outside our discipline to speak at SCA conventions), and (d) Research Committee (serving as paper readers for the 1995 Convention). The Vice-Chair Elect is in "training" the first year to plan the convention program for the 1996 SCA Convention; s/he will become Vice-Chair at the 1995 Convention and serve as Chair for the year following the 1996 Convention. The Chairs of both the Curriculum Development and Liaison Committees would serve for two years, with terms beginning after their selection at this year's convention.

If you are interested in any of the above offices/positions, please contact April Chatham-Carpenter by October l, 1994 (cf. address below). Send an updated vita and a one-page position statement, indicating in which position(s) you would like to serve and why.

The Commission on Family Communication encourages innovative approaches to the study of communication in marriages and families, soliciting submission of completed papers or program proposals from members of all SCA sections and divisions. Theoretical, empirical, methodological, and pedagogical approaches are all welcome. Papers and proposals will be submitted to blind review. Papers must include a separate cover page containing authors' names and affiliations; student or debut papers should be so labeled in the upper right corner. Proposals must include: (1) title, (2) rationale, (3) names and affiliations of each participant, & (4) an abstract for each paper. Five copies of the paper or proposal must be postmarked by February 15, 1995 and sent to Douglas Kelley at address below. When possible, please include the bitnet address for each presenter.

CHAIR: Teresa C. Sabourin, Dept. of Communication, Univ. of Cincinnati, ML 184, Cincinnati, OH 45221, O:(513)556-4440.

PREVIOUS CHAIR: Gail Whitchurch, Dept. of Communication & Theatre, Indiana Univ.-Purdue University, Indianapolis; IN 46202. O:(317)278-1155. IKFW100@INDYCMS

VICE-CHAIR: Kathleen M. Galvin, School of Speech, Northwestern University, 206 A.M. Swift Hall, Evanston, IL 60208-2260. O:(708)491-5992.

VICE-CHAIR ELECT: Douglas L. Kelley, Dept of Communication Studies, 4701 W. Thunderbird Ad., P.O. Box 37100, Arizona State University West, Phoenix, AZ 85069-7100. O:(602)543-6641.

SECRETARY: April Chatham-Carpenter, Dept. of Communication Studies, Univ. of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0357, O:(319)273-2217. CHATHAM@UNI.EDU

LIAISON COMMITTEE CHAIR: Robert D. Harrison, Dept. of Communication Arts, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC 20002, O:(202)651-5420.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR: Fran C. Dickson, Dept. of Human Communication Studies, Univ. of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, O:(303)871-4331, FDICKSON@DUCAIR

ARCHIVIST: John W. Monsma, Dept. of Communication Arts, Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ 86011, O:(602)523-2512.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Chuck Grant, Dept. of Communication, Univ. of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., CIS 1040, Tampa, FL 33620-7800, O:(813)974-3294. CGRANT@CIS01.CIS.USF.EDU

Effective July 1, 1991, SCA has gone to a checkoff system on its membership forms. When your renewal notice comes due, you will be asked to specify the unit(s) with which you want to affiliate. All SCA commissions must have at least 100 members to retain commission status. In short, we need your continued support to remain a commission. Please be sure to check us off on your membership form, and ask colleagues and students interested in family communication to do the same.