Fundamentals of Human Communication: Social Science in Everday Life

Melvin L. DeFleur is currently Professor of Mass Communication in the College of Communication at Boston University, where in 1994, he assumed the duties of Director of the School of Mass Communication and Public Relations, a post he occupied for three years. Previously, he held the John Ben Snow Endowed Chair in mass communication at Syracuse University. He has served on the faculties of six universities, three times a departmental chairman and once as a graduate dean for research. Twice, he was a Fulbright Professor to Argentina. He has been responsible for the development and administration of several Ph.D. programs. His scholarly interests focus on human communication. His research interests and publications include theories of the fundamental nature and consequences of mass communication in contemporary society. He has received grants from the National Science Foundation and other federal and private agencies, plus numerous honors and awards. His publications include a long list of articles and more than a dozen books, a number of which have been translated into various languages. He has received numerous awards and recognition for his scholarly work. He holds a BA from St. Louis University, plus an MS and PhD from the University of Washington.

Patricia Kearney (Ed.D. West Virginia University) is Professor of Communication Studies and recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award at California State University, Long Beach. She regularly teaches communication theory and social science research methods. Her research, both theoretical and applied, focuses on communication in the instructional process. A current member of seven journal editorial boards, Pat has written four books and published more than 70 research articles, chapters, and commissioned research reports.

Timothy G. Plax ( Ph.D., University of Southern California) is Professor of Communication Studies at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). He has been on the faculty at the University of New Mexico and West Virginia University and spent several years as a member of the Executive Staff at the Satellite and Space Divisions of the Rockwell International Corporation. His programs of research focus on social influence and communication in instruction and training. He has received a variety of awards for his writing, research, teaching and consulting activities. A member of several editorial boards, he has written three introductory textbooks and more than 100 research articles, chapters, and commissioned research reports. He is a recipient of the 1998-99 CSULB Distinguished Faculty Research and Creative Activity Award, the 1997-98 CSULB Associated Students Presidential Award, and both the "Triad of Excellence" Engineering Award and the Distinguished Research Award from the Space Division of the Rockwell International Corporation.

Margaret H. DeFleur, Associate Professor in the College of Communication at Boston University, teaches courses in quantitative research methods and mass communication theory. She also taught at Syracuse University. She held the position of Visiting Scholar at Harvard University's School of Public Health, and has served on scientific review committees for the National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health. Currently, she is the Director of Boston University's graduate degree program in Health Communication. Her research interests include the analysis of government data for use in computer-assisted reporting, and the recall and comprehension of news information by various audiences. She is the author of a number of articles and three books. She received a BS degree and an MBA from the University of Miami. Her PhD is from Syracuse University.