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Noether's Theorem: The

Science of Symmetry and the
Law of Conservation
Bey-Ling Sha
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To cite this article: Bey-Ling Sha (2004): Noether's Theorem: The Science of
Symmetry and the Law of Conservation, Journal of Public Relations Research, 16:4,
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JOURNAL OF PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH, 16(4), 391416

Copyright 2004, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Noethers Theorem: The Science of

Symmetry and the Law of Conservation
Bey-Ling Sha
Department of Communication
University of Maryland, College Park

Noethers Theorem shows that symmetryor changecan only exist simultaneously with conservation or invariance. For public relations, the implication is that
an organization can behave symmetrically while maintaining certain beliefs, principles, or purposes that will never be relinquished. A case study of the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) on Taiwan using participant observation (13 months), qualitative interviews (n = 22), and a quantitative survey (n = 166; response rate = 28.77%)
showed that the organization exhibited symmetry by reaching out to external publics,
engaging in dialogue with them, and expressing openness regarding Taiwan independence. Simultaneously, the party conserved its interests in gaining power and establishing an independent Taiwan. Recent electoral victories of the DPP suggest the
effectiveness of symmetryconservation for public relations practice.

The concept of symmetry has generated much scholarship and debate in public relations, much of which was reviewed by J. Grunig (2001). Yet, the dimension of
symmetricalasymmetrical communication remains one that continues to generate
confusion and criticism among public relations scholars, possibly because of misconceptions associated with the term symmetry (J. Grunig, 2001). In hopes of providing scholars with elucidating terminology, in this article, I offer a new articulation of the concept of symmetry in public relations by integrating concepts from
mathematical physics. Specifically, I applied Noethers Theorem to public relations theory and investigated the public relations behaviors of a political party on
Taiwan. The findings show that symmetry and conservation are related concepts
that must exist simultaneously, not only in mathematical physics, but also in public
relations.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Bey-Ling Sha, San Diego State University, School of
Communication, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 921824561. E-mail: profsha@hotmail.com

392

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THE EVOLUTION OF SYMMETRY IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

Originally, researchers believed that the two-way asymmetrical model of public relations involved seeking information so as to better persuade organizational publics
to change (J. Grunig & Hunt, 1984). In this view, organizations practicing the
two-way asymmetrical model tried to shape the attitudes and behaviors of their
publics using persuasion and manipulation (Dozier, J. Grunig, & L. Grunig, 1995).
On the other hand, the symmetrical model involved a genuine dialogue between the
organization and its publics. Furthermore, this genuine dialogue signaled a willingness to change the organization and not merely its publics (J. Grunig & L. Grunig,
1996; J. Grunig & Hunt, 1984). Thus, organizations using the symmetrical model
tried to understand their publics and to reach mutually satisfactory results, whereas
the asymmetrical model focused on satisfying only organizational concerns (Dozier
et al., 1995).
In their original conception, these two-way models seemed to hold worldviews
that opposed each other (J. Grunig & White, 1992). In other words, it appeared that
use of the asymmetrical model meant seeking organizational benefits to the detriment of organizational publics, whereas the use of the symmetrical model implied
seeking the benefits of the publics to the detriment of organizational interests. Perhaps for this reason, scholars such as Leichty (1997) asserted that symmetrical
public relations, which he also termed collaborative public relations, is unfeasible in certain situations.
Before Leichty (1997), Murphy (1991) pointed out that the symmetrical model
seemed to imply relinquishing organizational interests to satisfy the interests of organizational publics. Murphy considered this unrealistic and developed a mixedmotive model of public relations, in which organizations and publics try to satisfy
both their own interests and each others interests. The mixed-motive model was
an improved conceptualization of what J. Grunig had in mind when he described
the two-way symmetrical model (J. Grunig & L. Grunig, 1996, p. 5). Specifically,
Murphys (1991) articulation of the mixed-motive model underscored the reality
that in the symmetrical model of public relations, organizations do not completely
relinquish their own interests.
The authors of the Excellence study (see J. Grunig, 1992) themselves suggested
that the asymmetrical model is a practical one for organizations to use in certain
circumstances. Findings from the Excellence study suggested that knowing how to
use both the asymmetrical and symmetrical models of public relations formed the
core of communication excellence (Dozier et al., 1995, p. 50). As Dozier et al. explained, [k]nowledge of symmetrical and asymmetrical practices, it seems, goes
hand in hand to help communication departments and organizations achieve communication excellence (p. 47).
As a result, they articulated a contingency model of excellent two-way public relations (J. Grunig, L. Grunig, & Dozier, 1996) that resolves the previous tensions be-

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tween symmetry and asymmetry. In the contingency model, the concepts of symmetry and asymmetry no longer occupy polarized ends of a continuum. Rather, one end
of the continuum represents asymmetrical public relations that benefits only the organization (called pure asymmetry). The other end represents asymmetrical public
relations that benefits only the publics (called pure cooperation).
In the middle of this continuum lies a symmetrical, winwin zone, where organizations and publics can engage in mixed-motive communication (J. Grunig et
al., 1996, p. 221). In this way, the contingency model acknowledges that symmetrical public relations occurs in ways that accommodate the interests of both organizations and their publics while recognizing that neither side completely relinquishes its fundamental interests.
Despite the development of the contingency model, many researchers in public
relations continue to have difficulty seeing past the (mis)implication that symmetry and asymmetry occupy each end of a polarized continuum characterizing public relations practice. Perhaps, this is because these terms appear to place the concepts in opposition to each other and thus confuse public relations scholars.

NOETHERS THEOREM
In seeking a term for the idea that symmetry involves also the organizations
self-interest, I turned to mathematical physics and the work of pure mathematician Emmy Noether (cf. Brewer & Smith, 1981; Dick, 1981). Noether
(18821935) today is considered one of the most brilliant mathematicians of the
20th century (cf. Teicher, 1999), although she faced gender and religious discrimination during her lifetime. After German universities finally began to admit
women, Noether matriculated at the University of Erlangen in 1904the only
woman in a class of 47 students of mathematics. She earned her PhD, summa
cum laude, in 1907, but was unable to find a formal university appointment because of her gender. Thus, she worked informally for several years, often without pay, and permitted to lecture only because the class was listed officially
under a male colleagues name. In 1933, the Nazi regime dismissed Noether
from her informal position at the University of Gottingen because she was Jewish. That fall, she accepted a guest professorship at Bryn Mawr College in the
United States where she taught until her sudden death in 1935 following a tumor-removal operation (Noether, 1987).
Despite the discrimination she faced, Noether developed several theories that
gradually gained recognition among both mathematicians and physicists. In 1921,
she published her Theory of Ideals in Rings, considered by mathematicians today as her most important work (Flenner, 1999; Noether, 1987). In addition, physicists recognize Noethers first theorem, published in 1918 and today called simply
Noethers Theorem (NeEman, 1999; Noether, 1987). Ironically, Noether herself

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could not even present the now-famous paper, Invariante Variationsproblem, that
contained her important discovery because as a woman, she was barred from membership in the Royal Society of Gottingen. Only members could make presentations, and Noethers theorem thus was presented by her male colleague Felix Klein
(Byers, 1999).
The specific equations associated with Noethers Theorem prove a mathematical law of conservation associated with symmetry (Alekseevskii, 1988; Byers,
1999). In other words, for every symmetry, there is a corresponding law of conservation. Before applying Noethers Theorem to public relations, one must understand the scientific principles at the heart of the theorem.

THE SCIENCE OF SYMMETRY

The concept of symmetry is one that has fascinated scholars long before public
relations researchers incorporated the term into our field. Perhaps the first scientist to attempt a popular explanation of symmetry to a lay audience was
Shubnikov, who published a book titled Symmetry in his native Russian in the
early 1940s (Shubnikov & Koptsik, 1974). This work inspired the now classic
and widely cited volume Symmetry by German mathematician Hermann Weyl,
which was published in English in 1952. More recently, an excellent basic textbook on symmetry is A Symmetry Primer for Scientists (Rosen, 1983), which
was updated more than a decade later (Rosen, 1995).
Many types of symmetry exist, from ones that are intuitive even for nonscientists
to ones that involve complex differential equations.1 One of the most intuitive forms
of symmetry is bilateral or reflective symmetry. In lay terms, reflective symmetry
means that parts of a figure on either side of a dividing line AB mirror each other (see
Figure 1). Thus, a two-dimensional figure is symmetrical when at least one line divides it into two (or more) mirror images (Daintith & Clark, 1999; Kornegay, 1999).
Because in this figure there are three possible locations for line AB to produce a symmetrical figureAB1, AB2, and AB3a triangle has three degrees of symmetry.
Even in cases where the two parts do not literally mirror each other, bilateral symmetry still may be found if the two parts balance each other in some way. For this reason,
symmetry has been of interest not only to scientists but also to artists and musicians.
The concept of symmetry thus is intricately related to aesthetics (cf. Hargittai,
1992; Heilbronner & Dunitz, 1993; Shubnikov & Koptsik, 1974; Stewart &
Golubitsky, 1992; Weyl, 1952). Weyl (1952) wrote that [b]eauty is bound up with
symmetry (p. 3), at least insofar as that term denotes good proportions, good balance, and that sort of concordance of several parts by which they integrate into a
1For

specific explanations of various types of symmetry, see Rosen (1975).

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FIGURE 1 Reflective symmetry.

whole (p. 3). Shubnikov and Koptsik also noted that when the ancient Greeks
studied symmetry or proportionality, this undertaking was part of their effort to
study harmony. In art, symmetry signifies rest [and] order (Frey, 1949, p. 276).
Yet, in science, symmetry is not so much about rest and order as it is about transformations that give the appearance of rest and order.
By definition, symmetry exists when an object can be converted into itself in
what is called a symmetry operation or a transformation that leaves an object apparently unchanged (cf. Boardman, OConnor, & Young, 1973; Heilbronner &
Dunitz, 1993; Rosen, 1975, 1992; Stewart & Golubitsky, 1992). Looking again at
our two-dimensional triangle, rotational symmetry occurs when a triangle is rotated by 30. After a single rotation, the triangle appears just as it did prior to the
rotation, yet it is changed because it rests on a different side (see Figure 2). In sum,
the triangle has three symmetry operations; after the third rotation, it is back to
resting on the same side it began resting on when the example began.
By this definition that of symmetries being possible transformations, figures
become more symmetrical when they are more complex. In other words, the more
symmetries something has, the more symmetrical it is; for example, a pentagon is
more symmetrical than a triangle because the pentagon has five symmetry operations, whereas the triangle has only three.

THE LAW OF CONSERVATION

Given the various types of symmetry, the power of Noethers Theorem lay in its
ability to provemathematicallythat each type of symmetry had a corresponding law of conservation. In English, the theorem states that:

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FIGURE 2

Rotational symmetry.

To every continuous transformation of coordinates and consequent transformation of

field functions which make the variation of the action integral vanish, there corresponds a certain invariant, i.e., a certain combination of field functions and their derivatives which is conserved. (Shubnikov & Koptsik, 1974, pp. 341342)

Today, scholars agree that the concept of symmetry involves simultaneously the
laws of conservation (Rosen, 1975, 1983, 1995). Shubnikov and Koptsik (1974)
noted two opposing aspects [of symmetry]: transformation (change) and conservation (invariance) (p. ix). Similarly, Dixon (1992) wrote that:
Classical symmetry is defined as invariance of form under one or more congruent
transformations (isometry). The concept of symmetry may be generalised in a number of ways, by maintaining the central idea of invariance while extending the scope
for permissible transformations [italics added]. (p. 149)

Rosen (1995) offered the more accessible explanation that what symmetry
boils down to in the final analysis is that the situation possesses the possibility of a
change that leaves some aspect of the situation unchanged (p. 157).
Even without getting into the mathematical details of the theorem,2 its implications are intuitively understandable. For example, Figure 3 is symmetrical with respect to the line AB, which may also be called the axis of symmetry (cf. James &
James, 1992). For symmetry to continue to exist, the location of line AB must be conserved; that is, the line cannot move. If it did move, say, from AB to AC, then the fig2My thanks to Dieter Brill, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, for clarifying that
Noethers Theorem applies only to continuous symmetries rather than to discrete symmetries. He did
note, however, that in quantum mechanics, the operator for a discrete symmetry will typically commute with the Hamiltonian, which is the characteristic of a conserved quantity [italics added] in that
realm (D. R. Brill, personal communication, January 22, 2003).

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FIGURE 3: Conservation of the axis

of symmetry.

ure is no longer symmetrical with respect to the axis. Hence, the existence of symmetry in this figure implies the simultaneous conservation of the axis of symmetry.
When the concept of symmetry is taken to a higher level, the laws of conservation remain in place. Specific mathematical proofs that have been given by Rosen
(1983, 1995) demonstrate the conservation of energy in temporal-displacement
symmetry, the conservation of linear momentum in spatial-displacement symmetry, and the conservation of angular momentum in rotational symmetry (for details,
see Rosen, 1995, p. 151).

APPLICATIONS OF NOETHERS THEOREM

Noethers Theorem continues to be used and refined today in various scientific areas,3 including nonlinear mechanics (e.g., Djondjorov & Vassilev, 1996; Kara,
2001), theoretical and applied physics (e.g., Fu, Liu, & Mei, 1998; Govinder, Heil,
& Uzer 1998; Ibragimov, Kara, & Mahomed, 1998; Kaushal, 1998), and fluid mechanics (Benjamin & Olver, 1982).
Extensive library research indicated that although symmetry is a subject of various disciplines, Noethers Theorem had yet to be applied outside the traditional
hard sciences, thus making this article the first (in all likelihood) to incorporate

3In January 2002, a word search using Noethers Theorem in MathSciNet, a search engine maintained by the American Mathematical Society, yielded more than 900 articles. Even when Boolean construction narrowed the search to include the terms symmetry, conservation, and application, about 70
articles appeared.

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this useful theorem into a social scientific discipline, even though the application
offered here is conceptual rather than technical or mathematical.
Noethers Theorem extrapolated to public relations theory can move forward
our understanding of symmetrical public relations behaviors because the articulation of a symmetryconservation duality helps us understand that public relations
still may be symmetrical even if both parties conserve their fundamental interests.
Thus, using the term conservation helps to resolve misunderstandings related to
the term asymmetry and enables scholars to accept symmetrical public relations
without fearing that symmetry means relinquishing the organizations interests in
favor of those of the publics. After all, the law of conservation means that despite
whatever transformations an organization may undergo in communicating with its
stakeholders, some aspect of the organization will always remain invariant.
Furthermore, I believe that the law of conservation implies that every organization, even as it engages in symmetrical communication, conserves some fundamental belief, principle, or purpose that will never be relinquished. Symmetrical communication means seeking mutual understanding between an organization and its
publics (J. Grunig, 2001). However, for mutual understanding to be possible, both
the organization and the public must maintain the fundamental goals or intents that
comprise their core identities, even though they may negotiate on other goals less
central to their existence. If the intents of the organization and the public were to keep
changing, the one party would never come to an understanding of the other party.
The next section offers the findings of an empirical investigation of whether a
political party used symmetrical-conserving public relations behaviors. In this research, I sought to answer the following questions:
RQ1: In what ways, if at all, did the organization exhibit symmetry in its communication with external publics?
RQ2: In what ways, if at all, did the organization exhibit conservation in its
communication with external publics?

METHOD
This research was based on a case study of the Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP), which at the time of data collection was the major political opposition
party4 on Taiwan. Yin (1989) defined a case study as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context and in which
multiple sources of evidence are used (p. 23). Thus, within this case study meth4After these data were collected, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate won the presidency in 2000. Subsequently, in 2001, the party gained legislative majority in the Legislative Yuan or
Assembly, thus making the DPP the ruling party on Taiwan.

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odology, I used a triangulation of methods: participation observation, survey, and

qualitative interviews.
All data were collected in Mandarin Chinese, and translated by the author with
some assistance from individuals fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and English.
Although I investigated symmetry and conservation in the organizations communication with both internal and external publics, only data regarding the latter are
presented here.
Participant Observation
First, I conducted participant observation in the sociopolitical contexts of the DPP
from June 1997 to July 1998. (See Appendix A for portion of the observation guide
relevant to this discussion.) This technique included informal interviews with
nearly 100 informants on Taiwan who were members of the party or members of
its publics.
Informants were friends and acquaintances who supplied information through
casual discussions of Taiwans political and social environments without my using a tape recorder or interview protocol. Some informants were party members
who wanted to share their insights but who refused to be tape recorded for various reasons. Furthermore, I listened to and observed strangers going about the
mundane tasks of their daily lives, for example, in buses, in classes, at movie
theaters, at the market, on trains, at bars, and in restaurants. To facilitate the recording of observations, I kept with me at all times notepaper and a pen so that I
could write down observations before I forgot them. Nuggets of information
were retained in memory until I could make notes unobtrusively, either at home
or simply away from the informants.
Survey
In addition, I administered a survey to 577 party members (n = 166; response rate
28.77%5). Because the organizations director of the Department of Organizational Development explained that the partys central headquarters did not have accurate lists of all organizational members across the islandthus making random
sampling of all party members impossiblethe sampling frame was comprised of
organizational leaders elected from and by the party membership.
The survey instrument was developed initially by J. Grunig (J. Grunig & L.
Grunig, 1992) and included four items that have been used extensively around
5According to a professor from National Chengchi Universitys Election Study Center, a 20% response rate would be considered average on Taiwan for a mail survey dealing with political issues; a 35%
response rate would be considered extremely good (I. C. Liu, personal communication, January 9, 1998).

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the world by scholars studying the models of public relations (e.g., Korea: Kim
& Hon, 1998; Greece: Lyra, 1991; Brazil: Penteado, 1996). A fifth item was
added because later research (cf. Huang, 1997) indicated that conflict management was part of symmetrical communication. The Chinese language version of
these items, developed and validated by Huang (1990, 1997), was pretested on
11 individuals and adjusted in minor ways and then back translated to verify accuracy of meaning. Questionnaire items were scored based on a scale ranging
from 4 (often), 3 (sometimes), 2 (rarely), to 1 (never). Negatively worded items
were reverse scored.
Demographic information on survey respondents is shown in Tables 1
through 3. In general, the questionnaire respondents reflected the partys membership, which at the time of this study was predominantly male, married, and
middle aged. Furthermore, all geographic regions of the island were represented
by the respondents, with nearly even representation of each of the four major
residential areas: Taipei city (18.7%); Taichung, Changhwa, and Nantou
(18.7%); Tainan, Yunglin, and Chiayi (19.3%); and Kaoshiung, Pingtung, and
Penghu (18.7%).
Qualitative Interviews
Finally, the study included formal, semistructured, qualitative interviews with 22
party members. Wolcott (1995) distinguished participant observation as passive
TABLE 1
Respondent Sex
Sex

Frequency

Male
Female
No Response
Total

% of Total Respondents

137
27
2
166

82.5
16.3
1.2
100.0

TABLE 2
Respondent Marital Status
Marital Status

Frequency

Never married
Married
Previously married, presently single
Total
aPercentages

17
142
7
166

do not equal 100 due to rounding.

% of Total Respondentsa
10.2
85.5
4.2
99.9

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TABLE 3
Respondent Age

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Age
Under 20
2029
3039
4049
5059
6069
7079
80 and over
No Response
Total

Frequency

% of Total Respondents

0
8
38
66
40
12
1
0
1
166

0.0
4.8
22.9
39.8
24.1
7.2
0.6
0.0
0.6
100.0

acceptance of whatever information comes along, whereas interviewing leans

more toward aggressively seeking information (p. 102). Interviews were conducted at the participants choice of location, usually an office. A few interviews
were conducted in other locales, such as a caf. Each interview lasted about 1 hr.
(See Appendix B for portion of interview protocol relevant to this discussion.)
Before undertaking the interview process itself, I pretested my interview questions, style, and technique with several individuals on Taiwan unaffiliated with the
case organization. Then, because Ostrander (1995) suggested starting at the top
to be the most expedient way to begin interviewing elites, I began the 6-monthlong interview process by interviewing a very high-ranking individual in the
partys central headquarters who helped establish my credibility among party
elites when he personally gave me a tour of the headquarters offices and introduced
me to various people. Likewise, the second person to be interviewed directed one
of the most powerful departments at central headquarters.
Access to other interview participants was gained in various ways. In the beginning, cold-calls were made to department heads working at the partys central
headquarters requesting interview sessions with them. Later, many participants
were questionnaire respondents who had indicated their willingness to participate
in the qualitative portion of the study. Other interviewees were people contacted
for interviews after the author met them at party activities. Finally, access to participants also was gained via personal introductions by acquaintances or by individuals who already had been interviewed.
The 22 interview participants covered a wide range of backgrounds. Men and
women were interviewed, as were individuals in urban and rural areas and in the
northern and southern parts of the island. Participants came from a variety of professional fields from which it was deduced that most participants had completed
their college degrees. Many of the interview participants in this study had been
party members since the organizations founding.

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CONTEXTS
Because a case study is linked inextricably to its contexts (Yin, 1989), I offer in this
section historical and political information on Taiwan that facilitates comprehension of this studys findings. Because this section recounts either general information belonging in the public domain or common historical knowledge, no sources
are cited.6
In 1895, Taiwan was ceded by China to Japan, which governed the island for the
next 50 years. When WWII ended in 1945 with an Allied defeat of Japan, Taiwan was
returned to China, which then was governed by the Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang
or KMT). At that time, however, the Nationalist government on China was engaged
in a civil war with the communists. The communists won the war in 1949 and established the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland. The government of the
Nationalist Republic of China (ROC) retreated to Taiwan.
Once on the island, the ROC government established martial law, arguing that it
was still engaged in a war to retake the mainland from the communists. Under martial law, the government restricted the formation of political associations, repressed political dissent, and monitored citizens vigilantly for signs of what the
ROC government called treason. Treason included voicing support for communism or suggesting that Taiwan become a sovereign state apart from mainland
China. This period of political repression is known today as the White Terror. At
the time, however, most people did not dare to speak of politics or against political
repression; it was common practice for the KMT to tap phones and for the local
security patrols to serve as government eavesdroppers on the people.
Nevertheless, some individuals continued to work for political resistance even
during the White Terror. In 1977, a movement emerged called the dang wailiterally meaning outside the [Nationalist] partythat was essentially a loosely organized coalition of opposition politicians. In the 1977 elections, dang wai politicians won an impressive 21 of 77 seats in the Taiwan Provincial Assembly.
However, a mass demonstration over vote counting irregularities in the town of
Chungli resulted in a burnt police station and several civilian casualties.
The Chungli Incident thus marked the beginning of a revived opposition movement that organized numerous street demonstrations and public protests. On December 10, 1979, dang wai leaders organized a human rights rally that resulted in
large-scale rioting after a mass confrontation with police. Known today as the

6For additional information regarding Taiwan, I recommend the following sources: for a solid overview on Taiwan, Copper (1996); for Taiwan culture and customs, Bates and Bates (1995); for Taiwan
identity and democratization, Wachman (1994); for Taiwan nationalism, Mendel (1970); for Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang or KMT) and Taiwan history up to 1987, Tien (1989); for KMT evolution after
the lifting of martial law, McBeath (1997); for an entrepreneurial analysis of political opposition movements, Hwang (1995); and for politics on Taiwan up to the mid-1970s, Clough (1978).

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Kaohsiung Incident, the riot was the excuse KMT officials needed to arrest and
sentence eight major figures in the opposition.
Despite the Chungli and Kaohsiung Incidents, the dang wai movement continued to gain strength and become more organized, even officially sponsoring candidates for electoral office. On September 28, 1986, dang wai delegates from across
the island gathered in Taipei to nominate candidates for the year-end parliamentary
elections. At the convention, the 132 delegates voted unanimously to form the
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) even though such political associations were
still illegal under martial law.
The KMT chose not to punish the DPP, thus signaling the start of a more democratic era. Martial law was lifted in 1987, although the ROC government continued
to assert its claim to mainland China. In the next decade, the KMT gradually
opened local-level, provincial-level, and then national-level offices to popular
elections. This democratization culminated in the 1996 elections in which the
ROC president was elected directly by the people for the first time in history. Taiwan today is a thriving democracy (Taiwan: World of Information Business Intelligence Report, 2000).
Important to this case study is the fact that both the communist party on mainland China and the Nationalist party on Taiwan continue to define China as the
countrys boundaries stood after WWII, which includes Taiwan. Thus, at the time
of this study, the PRC government viewed Taiwan as a rebel province occupied
by Nationalist forces; whereas the ROC government viewed Taiwan as its temporary haven, as it planned to retake the mainland and reunify China. A third
party to this situation, however, was the DPP.
Even before its official founding as the DPP, the dang wai supported Taiwan independence. By this term, dang wai activists meant the establishment of a sovereign
Taiwan to which neither the PRC nor the ROC could lay claim. When the DPP was
founded, Taiwan independence was a plank in the partys official platform. As the
data from this study show, the organization remains committed to this goal today.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Data showed that the DPP exhibited both symmetry and conservation in its communication efforts with external publics. Furthermore, the partys more recent
electoral success suggests the effectiveness of using symmetrical-conserving public relations.
Symmetrical Behaviors
RQ1: In what ways, if at all, did the organization exhibit symmetry in its communication with external publics?

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Table 4 offers information on the reliability analysis and item means for the
construct of symmetry. The items for symmetrical communication had an alpha of
.6880. This reliability score surpassed those of .50 to .65 reported and accepted by
most communication researchers (cf. J. Grunig & L. Grunig, 1992), although it did
not meet the .80 standard of Carmines and Zeller (1979).
As shown in Table 4, the DPP exhibited moderate levels of symmetrical communication (M = 3.03), engaging in such behaviors sometimes and suggesting
that the organization used other types of communication at other times. Thus, I
present the qualitative data, which offer clearer insight into the symmetricalconserving communication efforts of the DPP.
The DPP exhibited symmetrical communication as it (a) engaged in the mediation of conflicts among its publics, (b) actively sought input from its external
publics, (c) engaged in dialogue with the then-ruling KMT, and (d) showed an
openness to the opinions of its publics regarding the issue of Taiwan independence.
Mediation efforts constituted a large part of local party leaders work. One interviewee gave an example of mediating between the China Petroleum Company,
which had leaked oil into the ocean, and local fishermen who wanted to claim reparations because the leaks had damaged their livelihood. On another occasion, I had
to delay an interview by nearly an hour because the participant was mediating between two parties involved in a car accident. That interview participant later explained that such mediation efforts were a regular part of the work carried out by
his office.
TABLE 4
Reliability Analysis for External Symmetrical Communication

Itema
1. They not only try to change the attitudes and behaviors of
members of the public, but also try to change the service
centers attitudes and behaviors.
2. They consider the opinions of members of the public and
try to change the service centers behaviors and policies.
3. Before making final decisions or adopting policies, they
seek the opinions of those groups or individuals to be
affected by the decision or policy.
4. Their main goal consists of getting the general public to do
things their way (item reverse scored).
5. They play an important role in mediating conflicts between
the service center and members of the public.

SD

Corrected
Item-Total
Correlation

3.07

0.81

.4925

.6166

3.17

0.78

.6891

.5313

3.17

0.82

.4899

.6174

2.59

0.90

.1300

.7738

3.14

0.82

.4978

.6138

if Item
Deleted

Note. Overall M = 3.03; N = 138; = .6880. Figures for the means and standard deviations were rounded to
the nearest 10th decimal place.
aReliability coefficients: five items.

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Furthermore, the party representatives were not merely passively helping people who came along. Interviewees indicated that elected representatives and their
assistants sometimes would seek out constituents, thus exhibiting the symmetrical
behavior of seeking input from organizational publics. For instance, one participant said the following:
If we have time, we find a few assistants and go out to visit people, visit people on our
own initiative. Sometimes, we go and ask them if theres anything they need us to do
for them, if they need help with anything. You have to pro-actively be concerned
about people. You cant wait to let them come find you.

As another interviewee put it, The elected representative of that area will be
keeping in touch with his friends and supporters in that area. In instances in which
elected officials themselves did not have time to communicate with their constituents, they would send their assistants to seek out the voters. One participant explained, There are some assistants who go out and query the people, or help the
community. Its not that they sit here and wait for the citizens or party members
to come [to them]. Party workers also would make follow-up phone calls or visits
to individuals who had sought assistance in the past just to make sure that problems
had been resolved or that situations had been taken care of appropriately.
The DPP also showed a willingness to cooperate with the KMT in some policy
arenas. For instance, in the summer of 1997, DPP legislators worked with their
KMT counterparts in proposing changes to the ROCs Constitution. This kind of
cooperation marked a change from the asymmetrical tactics the DPP had used in
the past. Many interview participants explained that the DPP no longer was the
street-demonstrating party of its past. During the martial law era, the organizations communication efforts had centered on asymmetrical tactics such as protests
and demonstrations. However, by the time of this case study, the DPP increasingly
had begun to engage in symmetrical public relations behaviors such as listening to
the voters and mediating conflicts among citizens.
This new spirit of symmetry was reflected in how the DPP handled the independence issue in 1998. Specifically, party leaders focused on the importance of a
public referendum to give citizens a voice in the issue. In other words, the party
was willing to listen to the opinions of its constituents rather than imposing independence on the population once the party came into power. As one interviewee
said, The DPP supports independence, but whether Taiwan becomes independent
is a question that must be left to the public to decide. Another participant, when
asked about the partys stance on Taiwan independence, said the following:
I think that our party platform requires [that] for Taiwan to become independent, it
has to be through a public referendum. This political party is a party that represents all the people, not a party based on a single interest. Its a peoples party, so for

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an issue so big and important as establishing a country, then of course, you have to go
through a public referendum. In fact, elections are a kind of public referendum.

This last statement suggests that besides the talk about a public referendum on independence, some organizational members considered DPP electoral victories as
signs of public support for the partys proindependence platform.
I asked one interviewee how the DPP would react if the majority of voters in a
public referendum refused to support Taiwan independence. She replied
[The] DPP is a political party that needs to pay attention to the electorate. But, the issue is
not decided in a single public referendum; you can have another referendum in 3 years or
in 5 years. So, before the referendum, [we] need to explain the situation. [We] should
not undertake the referendum without any propaganda. So, the DPP still supports Taiwan
independence, but the timetable can be decided through public referendum.

This interviewee thus illustrated the DPPs conserved goal of independence for
Taiwan. By 1998, the party sought genuine dialogue about this fundamental issue
rather than engaging in asymmetrical tactics of confrontation. Nevertheless, the organization conserved this plank in its political platform even as it engaged in symmetrical communication about the issue. Thus, I turn now to examine the conservation behaviors of the DPP in this case study.
Conservation Behaviors
RQ2: In what ways, if at all, did the organization exhibit conservation in its
communication with external publics?
As discussed, the law of conservation describes the persistent invariance of some
aspect of a particular situation or object that has undergone some kind of transformation. In its communication efforts, the DPP conserved its fundamental belief in Taiwans right to independence. In addition, the DPP at the time of this study conserved
its intent to become the ruling party on Taiwan by gaining electoral support.
In the late 1980s, as martial law was relaxed then lifted, Taiwan experienced many
street demonstrations in support of democratization. Many such protests were led by
dang wai activists who demonstrated vociferously in support of Taiwan independence. However, by the time of this study, the DPP had toned down its support for Taiwan independence, although it did not abandon the issue in principle.
Interviewees explained that, although the DPP may have changed the manner in
which it articulated the issue of Taiwan independence, the party still conserved this
fundamental goal. For example, one participant said, [The] DPPs goals havent
changed, only [its] methods. Just because [we] dont take to the streets to scream
for independence doesnt mean that the DPP has abandoned independence for Taiwan. By way of illustration, this interviewee noted that the party in the past ex-

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pressed its support for Taiwan independence by organizing mass street demonstrations. Today, however, the DPP chairman goes to the United States to meet with
political leaders there and solicit their support.
In addition, the party changed the manner in which it articulated its goal of Taiwan
independence. This shift in the articulation of independence as a political goal
demonstrated the partys use of both symmetry and conservation. In its early years,
the DPP had sought independence from China as articulated by both the PRC on the
mainland and by the ROC governed by the KMT. As one interviewee put it, I think
that the first group, those founding members, they really had only one ideal, that Taiwan needed to be independent, to build a nation. However, DPP leaders in 1998 had
retreated from this articulation of Taiwan independence. Rather, these leaders argued that Taiwan was a de facto independent state; consequently, a declaration of
independence was not necessary. In the words of one interview participant, There is
no need to declare or announce that we are an independent country.
Other interviewees emphasized that the issue of Taiwan independence formed
the foundation of the DPP and that the party had not changed in its support for independence. One interviewee explained, In the DPP, there is still [a fundamentally proindependence tendency]. But its just the way of doing things, the means
are different. Another participant said that the party, at its core, still supported Taiwan independence but that the packaging was different in that the DPP no longer
talked about independence every day.
In short, the organization conserved its fundamental interest in Taiwan independence. Supporting this suggestion, another interviewee said, The organization
is tied [ideologically and emotionally] to the requirements of our platform; there
havent been many changes. Nevertheless, interview participants recognized that
to attract electoral support, the DPP needed to change its rhetorical focus. One interviewee explained: As a political party, if you are always at the extreme, it will
be very hard for you to become the ruling party.
The latter statement illustrates the other conservation aspect of the DPPs public
relations behaviorits interest in achieving and maintaining political power. One
participant said, In the past, [the DPP] was a protest party. Now, [the DPP] considers
itself no longer a protest party, but an out-of-power party, preparing to become the
ruling party. This is a very big change for the DPP. Operating within the political
system it once tried to overthrow, the party during this study sought to gain more
elected positions. Perhaps for this reason, one interviewee said, The political party
has now become an election machine. Elections are the first priority.
The importance of attracting votes was reflected by interviewees discussing the
partys efforts to maintain relationships with local constituents. For example, one
participant said:
After the elections, [the assistants of public servants] might come to you, just to have
a conversation. Or if you contacted them on your own, they would come out and
maintain contact with you. After all, there will be elections in the future.

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Another interviewee pointed out that the party had achieved its original goal of
obtaining greater democracy for the people of Taiwan. Thus, the DPP now needed to
decide which special interests to support within the newly democratic system. As he
said, You need to decide whose interests you want to develop and also whose interests, in being developed, would help you become the ruling party.
EFFECTIVENESS OF SYMMETRY CONSERVATION
Today, the DPP has accomplished its goal of becoming the ruling party on Taiwan.
This achievement came in two steps, both of which occurred after the conclusion
of primary data collection for this study in July 1998.
First, in March 2000, Taiwan voters elected the DPP candidate Chen
Shui-bian to the presidency of the ROC (Pomfret, 2000b), effectively ending
more than 50 years of Nationalist rule on the island. This electoral victory came
even as the DPP conserved its party platform calling for a referendum on the issue of Taiwan independence; a fact not lost on authorities in Beijing, who repeatedly cautioned Taiwan voters against their support for Chen, whom the
mainland viewed as a separatist (cf. Pomfret, 2000b). Yet, when Chen took office in May of that year, his inaugural address expressed symmetrical behaviors
that acknowledged the concerns of the mainland. Specifically, he promised not
to declare independence unless China attacked the island and not to hold a referendum on independence (cf. Pomfret, 2000a). Chens inaugural statements illustrated the symmetryconservation duality articulated in this article using
Noethers Theorem: He gave the appearance of change (symmetrical in the two
promises) but with the conservation of the partys stance that Taiwan is separate
from China and not part of one China.
Then, in December 2001, the DPP gained a plurality of seats in the Legislative
Yuan (or Assembly) while conserving its commitment to Taiwan independence
throughout the campaign (Pan, 2001c). After his partys victory, President Chen reassured the mainland that he planned no major changes in his policies toward
China (Pan, 2001b, p. A22), meaning that his government would continue to refrain
from declaring independence, a position appreciated by the Chinese (Pan, 2001a).
These electoral victories of the DPP suggest the effectiveness of symmetry and
conservation in public relations. Throughout these latest electoral campaigns, the
DPP conserved its proindependence stance, yet it expressed symmetry in its willingness to engage in dialogue with mainland China.

CONCLUSIONS
Noethers Theorem offers mathematical proof that specific laws of conservation
accompany all symmetries. When applied to public relations, the theorem illus-

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trates the persistent invariance of some aspect of the organization even as it engages in transformative communication with its publics.7 In this study, I found that
the DPP engaged in symmetrical behaviors, such as mediation and a willingness to
respond to the concerns of its publics on certain issues. Nevertheless, the organization conserved its goals of achieving electoral office for itself and independence
for Taiwan.
The recent success of the party in achieving its electoral goals reflects the effectiveness of using symmetrical-conserving behaviors in public relations as
well as the law of conservation suggested by the conceptual application of
Noethers Theorem. The DPP conserved its political goals because doing so was
fundamental to its existence; after all, if a political party were to stop seeking
electoral gains, there would be little reason for it to maintain itself as a party.
Similarly, the DPP had been founded on the ideal of establishing an independent
Taiwan. At the time of this research, the organization showed that it would conserve its long-term position on this issue even as it changed the manner in which
it articulated the issue of independence.
Thus, evidence from this study supports the symmetryconservation duality articulated using Noethers Theorem that symmetrical communication involves the
conservation of certain fundamental interests. Furthermore, these findings show
the usefulness of Noethers Theorem in extending public relations theory. On one
hand, the symmetry dimension of this theorem describes whether an organization
uses symmetrical communication behaviors such as listening, mediation, and negotiation. On the other hand, the conservation dimension underscores the reality
first articulated by Murphys (1991) mixed-motive model that neither the organization nor its publics ever completely relinquishes its own goals to satisfy those of
the other party.

IMPLICATIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH

The concept of symmetry conservation, articulated using Noethers Theorem
and supported by the findings of this study, offers implications for public relations research in the areas of methodology, activism, organizational identity, and
systems theory. The application of concepts from theoretical mathematics to
public relations also offers interesting new directions for our scholarship on
symmetry.

7A stricter application of Noethers Theorem to public relations actually would entail finding specific elements that are consistently conserved in the face of specific symmetrical behaviors, rather than
the simple coexistence of something symmetrical and something conserved. Thus, the data presented
here only illustrate the latter situation, and much additional research would be required before the former could be established.

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Methodology
The findings of this study suggest that we need quantitative measures for the conservation dimension of symmetrical communication. Although qualitative data in
this study showed that the DPP in 1997 to 1998 engaged in conserving behaviors,
quantitative items to measure this phenomenon would enable scholars to compare
such behaviors across organizations, situations, and time frames. The ability to
generate quantitative comparisons might be especially useful in the ongoing discussion over whether activist and nonactivist organizations use similar public relations models of communication (cf. Dozier & Lauzen, 2000; J. Grunig & L.
Grunig, 1997; Kovacs, 1998; Rodino & DeLuca, 1999; Sha, 1999).

Activism and Public Relations

In recent years, our field has seen a flurry of scholarship on the use of public relations by activists, and other interest groups, after Karlberg (1996) argued that public relations scholars did not pay enough attention to the communicative needs,
constraints, [and] practices of citizen groups themselves (p. 271). The application
of Noethers Theorem to public relations, in the articulation of a symmetry-conservation duality, implies that activist groups can use symmetrical communication without compromising their fundamental goals (cf. Sha, 1999), thus addressing some scholars concern that symmetrical public relations is inappropriate
for activist groups (e.g., Rodino & DeLuca, 1999).
Although I believe that most activist and nonactivist organizations can benefit
from engaging in public relations in the winwin zone of symmetry conservation, I also agree with Dozier and Lauzen (2000) who pointed out that in some
cases, there may be irreconcilable differences between an organization and its activist publics. As Dozier and Lauzen pointed out, the winwin zone articulated by
J. Grunig et al. (1996) did not address situations in which the very existence of an
organization is objectionable to the activist public.
Taking a different angle on these kinds of activist publics, I argued (cf. Sha,
1999) that one reason for their hard-line attitudes is that these militant groups or organizations usually come into being for the express purpose of achieving particular
goals that are in opposition to the goals of the target organization (cf. Kovacs,
1998) or focal organization (cf. Dozier & Lauzen, 2000). By negotiating on their
interests even a little bit, these militant activists would betray the very reasons for
their existence. In other words, the unwillingness of these activists to engage in
symmetrical transformations and their insistence on the conservation of their militant views reflects a deep link between their goals and their identity.

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Group Theory and Organizational Identity

The integration of conservation into public relations scholarship also enables us to
investigate those activist groups or organizations whose goals must be conserved
in whole or in partbecause they are critical to the groups identity. Deeper study of
symmetry in science involves the use of group theory, which one scholar called the
mathematical language of symmetry (Rosen, 1975). In math, a group involves the
existence of identity (Rosen, 1983). Earlier, I explained that symmetry in science is
about transformations that give the appearance of invariance. Yet all symmetry operations also include the transformation of nontransformation in which nothing is
transformed; in the case of my triangle, this might be rotation by 0 or by 360. This
operation that converts the object into its original form is called an identity operation or identity transformation (cf. Heilbronner & Dunitz, 1993; Rosen, 1992).
In other words, it is the action (nonaction) that gives a particular subject its identity. In mathematical terms, where G refers to a group, the existence of identity is
proven thus:
G contains an element e, called an identity element, such that
ae = ea = a,
for every element a of G. The characteristic property of an identity element is, therefore, that its composition in either way with any element of G is just that element itself. (Rosen, 1983, p. 4)

The concept of symmetry as transformation, with its implicit conservation of

identity, can be extrapolated to public relations, in which symmetrical-conserving
communication is crucial to the maintenance of organizational identity.
In this way, borrowing the concepts behind Noethers Theorem also would inspire the linking of research on organizational identity and that on symmetrical-conserving public relations behaviors. For example, scholars may wish to investigate whether certain instances of symmetrical communication in fact serve to
conserve elements of an organizations identity. Also, for public relations scholarship on activism, this means that the law of symmetry conservation also can be
used to better understand militant groups for whom the nontransformation of their
goals is linked critically to the invariance of their identities.
Symmetry in Systems Theory
Just as Noethers Theorem offers insight into the study of organizational identity, the
symmetryconservation duality offers another way of looking at systems theory. In

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public relations, scholars have applied systems theory to view organizations as systems that must exchange inputs and outputs with the environment so as to maintain
system equilibrium (cf. Cutlip, Center, & Broom, 2000). The exchanging of inputs
and outputs brings to mind the transformative aspect of symmetry, whereas the systems theory emphasis on homeostasis reflects the law of conservation. Furthermore,
symmetries exist within specific systems (cf. Rosen, 1975, 1983), which are defined
as any object[s] of interest with regard to its symmetry properties (Rosen, 1975, p.
7). Thus, Noethers Theorem can be applied not only to scientific systems but
alsoconceptually at leastto organizational ones as well.
A New Age of Symmetries
In addition to the areas outlined previously, future public relations scholarship may
investigate such mathematical concepts as symmetry breaking (cf. Stewart &
Golubitsky, 1992), symmetrization, dissymmetry, and antisymmetry (cf. Shubnikov & Koptsik, 1974). The application of the science of symmetry and the law of
conservation to public relations theories might prove both fascinating and fruitful.
In conclusion, I can only echo the words of Rosen (1975):
Symmetry is like a disease. And now the disease has reached its contagious
stage. [A]n increased understanding or even a heightened awareness of symmetry
can not only be very useful, but can bring much enjoyment as well. I have attempted to open your eyes to the world of symmetry and hope you find it a good
world and make the most of it. (pp. ixx; pp. 124125)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Bey-Ling Sha is now at the School of Communication, San Diego State University.

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APPENDIX A
Observation Guide Portion Relevant
to Symmetrical Communication
1. Do organizational members try to listen to publics and understand their
points of view? If so, how? If not, what are members doing instead?
2. Are some members of publics treated differently than others? Which ones
and how?
3. How do organizational members believe they treat their publics?
4. Do organizational members use the language of otherizing in their communications?
5. Do organizational members try to bring any concerns of publics to organizational leaders? If so, when and how? If not, what is done with these concerns?

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APPENDIX B
Interview Protocol Portion Relevant
to Symmetrical Communication
1. If the organization and its audience have different opinions about [insert
concern], what should the organization do about this? (Question later
changed to:) Does anyone ever protest the DPP? If so, over what issues? If
so, how does the organization handle the protestors?
2. How (through what media) does the organization communicate with its
members? (Question later changed to:) How does the central headquarters
communicate with the local headquarters? With the local service centers?
3. If the organization and its members have different opinions about [insert
concern], what should the organization do about this? (Question later
changed to:) Do any members ever protest the DPP? If so, over what issues? If so, how does the organization handle the protestors?
4. Please explain the organizations structure. (Question dropped midway
through overall interview process, as little new information emerged.)
5. How are decisions made in this organization? Do you find that all members
have an equal opportunity to share in the organizations decision-making
process? (Question not always asked, depending on time factor and interests of participants.)