To List Members:  Larry Frey asked if he could submit this to the list.  Given
that I thought that it would of interest to a pretty good proportion of
list members, I agreed.
 
Paul
 
                   Larry Frey's Message Follows
 
 ======================================================================= 102
Kevin Barge and I have recently edited an introductory small group
communication textbook, called "Managing Group Life: Communicating in
Decision-Making Groups," that will be published by Houghton Mifflin
this summer.  In the text, we adopt a developmental, lifespan
approach to look at the importance of small groups over a person's
life span as well communication and decision making within the life
span of a single group.  Accordingly, the chapters in the text are
arranged into four parts to reflect four stages that we see as
characterizing life in a decision-making group:
 
PART ONE: ENTERING THE GROUP
Chapter 1: Group Communication Across the Life Span (Thomas J.
           Socha)
Chapter 2: Life in a Task Group (J. Kevin Barge & Lawrence R. Frey)
Chapter 3: Individuals in Groups (Lawrence R. Frey)
 
PART TWO: ENCOUNTERING OTHERS
Chapter 4: Social Dynamics in Groups (Dirk Scheerhorn & Patricia
           Geist)
Chapter 5: Managing Conflict Communication in Groups (Anne Maydan
           Nicotera)
 
PART THREE: ENGAGING THE TASK
Section A: An Overview of Communication and Group Decision Making
Chapter 6: Effective Versus Ineffective Group Decision Making (Dennis
           S. Gouran)
Chapter 7: An Integrated Approach to Communication and Group Decision
           Making (Randy Y. Hirokawa & Abran J. Salazar)
 
Section B: Task-Group Communication
Chapter 8: Social Influence and Group Argumentation (Renee A. Meyers)
Chapter 9: Communication and Group Leadership (J. Kevin Barge)
 
Section C: Facilitating Group Communication and Decision Making
Chapter 10: Coding Group Communication and Decision Making (Joann
            Keyton)
Chapter 11: Planning and Facilitating Group Meetings (David R.
            Seibold & Dean Krikorian)
 
PART FOUR: ENDING THE GROUP
Chapter 12: Group Endings and New Beginnings (Lucinda Sinclair-James
            & Cynthia Stohl)
Chapter 13: Epilogue (J. Kevin Barge & Lawrence R. Frey)
 
Throughout the text, we embrace, rather than try to reduce the
complexity of the lived group experience by adopting a dialectical
approach to explore the many tensions (which are viewed as healthy)
that confront groups and their members.  The text explores ways to
manage those tensions through individual and collective communication
practices.  We also recognize the importance of the context in which
a group finds itself, adopting a bona fide group perspective that
views groups and their contexts as interrelated and mutually shaping
one another.
 
All of this is written in a user-friendly, accessible level for the
introductory small group communication class by scholars in the field
who offer an appropriate balance between theory, research, and
practice.  Finally, this is an edited textbook that offers a coherent
and integrated view of group communication and decision making, not
an edited text with individual readings.  There is much consistency
between chapters, and each chapter begins with similar pedagogical
features (e.g., basic message, outline, key concepts, goals, and
introduction) and ends that way as well (conclusion, discussion
questions, projects and activities, and suggested readings).  There
is also an instructor manual.
 
I am putting together for the publisher a list of faculty with
interest in small group communication who would like to receive a
copy of this text.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ON THAT LIST, please send
an e-mail message directly to me ([log in to unmask]) with your name and
mailing address, and I will make sure that you receive a copy when it
is published.  Thank you for your interest.
 
Larry Frey
Department of Communication
Loyola University Chicago
6525 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL  60626
(312) 508-3733
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