Selected
Abstracts of Corman's Published and Co-Published Works
Scholars increasingly theorize about the power of
communication to organize and structure social collectives. However, two factors threaten to impede
research on these theories: Limitations in the scope and range of existing
methods for studying complex systems of communication, and the large volume of
communication produced by even small collectives. Centering Resonance Analysis (CRA) is a new text analysis method
that has broad scope and range, and can be applied to large quantities of
written text and transcribed conversation.
It identifies discursively important words and represents these as a
network, then uses structural properties of the network to index word
importance. CRA networks can be
directly visualized, and can be scored for resonance with other networks to
support a number of spatial analysis methods.
Following a critique of existing methodologies, this paper describes the
theoretical basis and operational details of CRA, describes its advantages relative
to other techniques, demonstrates its face validity and representational
validity, and demonstrates its utility in modeling organizational
knowledge. The conclusion argues for
its applicability in several organizational research contexts before describing
its potential for use in a broader range of applications, including media
content analysis, conversation analysis, computer simulations, and models of
communication systems.
Dooley, K., Corman, S., McPhee, R., and
T. Kuhn, (in press). Modeling
High-Resolution Broadband Discourse in Complex Adaptive Systems. Nonlinear
Dynamics, Psychology, & Life Sciences.
Numerous researchers and practitioners have turned
to complexity science to better understand human systems. Simulation can be used to observe how the
micro-level actions of many human agents create emergent structures and novel
behavior in complex adaptive systems.
In such simulations, communication between human agents is often modeled
simply as message passing, where a message or text may transfer data, trigger
action or inform context. Human
communication involves more than the transmission of texts and messages,
however. Such a perspective is likely to limit the effectiveness and insight
that we can gain from simulations, and complexity science itself. In this paper, we propose a model of how
close analysis of discursive processes between individuals (high-resolution),
which occur simultaneously across a human system (broadband), dynamically
evolve. We propose six different
processes that describe how evolutionary variation can occur in
texts—recontextualization, pruning, chunking, merging, appropriation, and
mutation. These process models can
facilitate the simulation of high-resolution, broadband discourse processes,
and can aid in the analysis of data from such processes. Examples are used to illustrate each
process. We make the tentative
suggestion that discourse may evolve to the “edge of chaos”. We conclude with a discussion concerning how
high-resolution, broadband discourse data could actually be collected.
Trethewey, A., and Corman, S. R. (2001). Anticipating K-Commerce: E-Commerce, knowledge management, and
organizational communication. Management
Communication Quarterly, 14(4),
619-628.
The growing importance of
knowledge as a commercial resource portends corresponding efforts by
organizations to commodify and control it in a system of knowledge commerce. In this essay we argue that K-commerce efforts
should be evaluated on two ethical dimensions, inclusive-exclusive and
transparent-opaque. A
cross-classification of these yields four possible models. We order the models from most to least
ethically worrisome, and suggest ways K-commerce systems can be structured to avoid
the less ethical models. [Note: This abstract does not appear in the original]
Corman, S. R., & Poole, M. S. (Eds.)
(2000).
Perspectives on Organizational Communication:
Finding Common Ground. New
York: Guilford Publications.
Marketing
blurb from Guilford: “This unique volume promotes constructive dialogue among
the basic methodological positions in organizational communication today. The
goal is to identify theoretical moves and scholarly practices that can help
people with divergent views compare or integrate their ideas rather than waging
war. Essays from three distinguished scholars first discuss the concept of
common ground from interpretive, post-positivist, and critical vantage points.
Brief commentaries from a diverse array of colleagues then expand on key points
raised in the essays, explore creative tensions among the different
perspectives, and reexamine the role of paradigms in organizational
communication scholarship and scholarly discourse.”
Scott, C. R., Corman, S. R., & Cheney, G. E.
(1998). Development of a structurational model of identification in the
organization. Communication Theory,
8(3), 298-336.
In response to the growing interest in issues related to attachment
in organizations, this paper develops a theory of identification in
the workplace based on three key aspects of structuration theory. In
this model, the identification process is treated as a duality
involving identities that create and are created by identifications,
which are themselves observed in social interactions with others.
The structural component of this model is composed of several
possible identities conceptualized primarily in terms of regions
varying in size or position and tenure, possessing front and back
regions, and displaying both unique and overlapping regions with one
another. The existence of multiple identifies implicates multiple
corresponding 'targets' of attachment and expressions of connection.
Activity and activity foci are included in the model to help define
the situation and thus account for identification with one target as
opposed to or along with others at various times. In this
situation-sensitive view, activity is presumed to 'link' to a
certain identity region (or set of overlapping regions) more so than
to others. The essay closes by discussing some of the advantages of
a structurational view of identification.
Corman, S. R. (1996).
Cellular automata as models of unintended consequences of organizational
communication. In J. Watt and A. Van Lear (Eds.), Cycles and dynamic
patterns in communication. Newbury Park, CA:Sage.
Cellular
automation (CA) describes a general class of models of complex,
self-reproducing systems. An automaton consists of a domain of discrete areas
of space called cells. Cells can assume some finite number of states. The
states of cells are determined in discrete time steps according to transition
rules, which operate on the basis of the states of neighboring cells. This
chapter argues that automata represent a promising technique for modeling
organizational communication phenomena. After briefly reviewing the history of
CA models, I argue that they are especially good models for unintended
consequences of organizational communication, and offer a reductionist baseline
for building explanations of communicative emergence or "assembly."
Illustrations of both uses are given before I discuss two approaches to the
validation of CA models. [Note: This abstract does not appear in the original]
Corman, S. R. (1994).
Use and users of a congressman's network information services. Internet
Research, 4(4), 36-51.
A
growing movement toward public access to the federal government via the
Internet has created increased interest in establishing network communication
and information services, especially among national officeholders. However,
little empirical study of the use and users of such services exists to guide
their efforts. The paper reports the results of a two-part study of the use and
users of U. S. Representative Sam Coppersmith's (D -- Arizona 1) Gopher and
distribution list services during the first quarter of 1994. The first part
analyzes Gopher usage data gathered during the study period. The second part
deals with a user survey distributed to fifty-seven Gopher server guest
registrants and eight listserv subscribers just after the end of the study
period. The research shows that (1) use of the Gopher subdirectory dwarfs that
of the listserv, (2) services like Coppersmith's should provide basic
information as well as unique and timely information and issue position
statements, (3) assessment of such services is methodologically challenging,
and (4) Coppersmith's services are effective information media that promote
observability of distant officeholders, a function that helps promote increased
participation in government.
Corman, S. R., & Scott C. R. (1994). Perceived
networks, activity foci, and observable communication in social collectives. Communication
Theory, 4, 171-190.
Research
identifying important differences between perceived and observed communication
networks has created the need for an integrative model to link the two
phenomena. The theory described here proposes that observable communication is
the result of a latent network of perceived communication relationships that is
instantiated when activity foci are triggered. Giddens' (1984) structuration
theory, Homans' (1950) theory of the human group, Feld's (1981) model of
activity foci, and the concept of triggering events are incorporated to define
activity, make it conceptually distinct from interaction, and explain how it
acts to instantiate perceived communication relationships. Three modalities of
enactment, activation, and reticulation are advanced as explanations for the
production of observable communication. The falsifiability of the theory is
established via a comparison of algebraic models, and three key research issues
stemming from the theory are addressed.
Corman, S. R., & Scott C. R. (1994). A synchronous
digital signal processing method for detecting face-to-face organizational
communication behavior. Social Networks, 16, 163-179.
During
the past decade, progress in research on human communication networks has been
impeded by the discovery that self-reports of communication are not valid
measures of independently observable behavior. Research on observable
communication behavior has since languished because direct measurements of
communication behavior by human observers is impractical. This report describes
a method for using digital signal analysis of synchronous, independent-channel
audio recordings to detect instances of message exchange behavior. The system
achieved 95.1% agreement with a human observer in a laboratory test.
Consideration for extension to the field are discussed.
Corman, S. R., & Krizek, R. L. (1993). Accounting
resources for organizational communication and individual differences in their
use. Management Communication Quarterly, 7, 5-35.
Findings
in the network literature suggest self-reports are poor indicators of
observable communication behavior. As researchers have traditionally studied
organizational communication behavior through self-reports, a rather large body
of findings is rendered equivocal because we do not know what self-reports
actually measure. Self-reports of communication were conceptualized as a type
of account, and interviews based on Simon's protocol analysis technique were
conducted with participants in an organizational simulation. Descriptive
content analysis of the responses showed that participants used a wide variety of
resources to account for their communication with others. Quantitative analysis
showed further that individual differences were partially related to
personality and cognitive style traits of the participants, but were in large
part idiosyncratic. Implications for the use of self-report data for future
organizational communication research are discussed.
Corman, S. R., & Bradford, L. (1993). Situational
effects on the accuracy of self-reported organizational communication behavior.
Communication Research, 20, 822-840.
Debate
about the appropriateness of using self-reported communication as a proxy for
observable communication in studies of organizational communication networks
has created a paradox for network researchers that diverges along classic lines
of individualism and collectivism. The inability of either to resolve
fundamental theoretical challenges of the other suggests need for an alternative
approach. Working from a situationalist perspective, this laboratory study
looked to two important characteristics of the collective context to explain
divergences of self-reported from observed communication behavior. Results show
that network members' perceived relationship to the group explains 59% of the
variance in the average size of their commission errors, and the collective
communication load placed on a members explains 61% of the variance in their
number of omission errors. Results suggest the need for a revised model of the
relationship between the perceived network and observable communication. Such a
model is proposed that includes both social-cognitive processes that govern the
perception of links and social activation processes that link those perceptions
to concrete situations where messages are exchanged.
Corman, S. R. (1990). Computerized vs pencil and paper
collection of network data. Social Networks, 12, 375-384.
Computerized
data collection is gaining favor among social scientists because it facilitates
easy data management. Computerization is especially attractive to network
researchers because of the large amount of data their studies require. This
study sought to validate a computerized data collection technique by comparing
it with a traditional pencil and paper survey. Results showed that the two
procedures produce comparable data, and that the computerized data shows
somewhat higher criterion validity and test-retest reliability.
Corman, S. R. (1990). A model of perceived communication
in collective networks. Human Communication Research, 16, 582-602.
Often,
past research in communication networks has assumed that perceptions of
communication are isomorphic with observable communication behaviors. If this
assumption is invalid, as recent evidence suggests, then a description of the
structure of participants' perceptions is vital to attempts to link perceptions
to observable communication. This study tests a descriptive model of
perceptions of communication relationships between members of collectives.
These perceptions are hypothesized to be the result of formal structure,
collective interests, and individual interests. Linear models based on these
ideas were tested in high- and low-uncertainty collectives, in which they
accounted for 38% and 45% of the variance in perceived frequency of
communication, respectively. Lack of predicted differences between the two
organizations suggests that the structure of perceived communication
relationships maybe similar across organizations, whereas structure in observable
communication may be the result of the way those relationships are activated.
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