Legislative intent as a debate tactic is drawn from the judicial system as a fundamental concept in the interpretation of statutes. Two paradigms for the application of legislative intent have emerged: (1) the courts will examine the affirmative proposal after enactment to bring it into line with the intent of the affirmative team, and (2) the…

Outlines the need to develop specific decision rules for the various judging paradigms in academic debate. Uses the policy-making metaphor as an example. (PD)

The recent innovation of adapting the debate to the judge's preferred philosophy appears to have been supplanted by a converse trend: advocates now attempt to force the judge to adopt the paradigm dictated by the strategies of the debate round. The existence of such a widespread dispute over the appropriate decision making system in debate…

Compares respondents who watched the first 1996 presidential debate with respondents who did not. Finds (1) those who watched the debate could more accurately recognize issue positions of Clinton and Dole than nonwatchers; (2) differences in the groups' assessment of character traits of the leading candidates; and (3) more respondents gave policy…