Working from the premises that information campaigns and social marketing efforts represent attempts at planned social change and that it is insufficient to examine inherently social phenomena in a social vacuum, the contributors to this volume provide a social context for examining these domains.

This book provides an authoritative state-of-the-art review of comparative approaches to communication research in the context of time and location. Perspectives unique to mass, interpersonal, political, cultural and organizational communication are explored, while descriptions of well-known empirical projects reveal how collaborations worked and how problems were addressed across different periods and cultures. Comparatively Speaking serves both as a student text and as a stimulus to further research in comparative communication research.

What is the relationship between narrative, society and the forms of control that function in society? This critical analysis examines the role of narrative in the creation of various social realities. The central theme is that narrative is a pervasive form of human communication integral to the production and shaping of social order. Each chapter provides both a theoretical framework and an examination of narratives in a range of communication contexts - interpersonal, small group, organizational and mass media - illustrating the far-reaching impact of narrative on our lives and social...