Good public relations begins with a good communication plan. Eight steps for getting started are (1) have a written plan; (2) begin internally; (3) communicate; (4) target your audience; (5) market; (6) meet the press; (7) know thyself; and (8) be happy on days you break even. (JOW)

Information management is a key concern in determining organizational effectiveness. The need for effective business communication at the personal level is increasingly important. Individuals must be prepared to analyze and synthesize information, make decisions, and create clear and appropriate messages. (JOW)

The ability of debate coaches and instructors to define the goals of their activity is essential to any meaningful evaluation of success in achieving those goals. Much of the criticism of debate rests on the faulty assumption that coaches and instructors agree as to what they are trying to teach students. Numerous writers have addressed the…

This article defines high technology, identifies some of the reasons it should be studied, and suggests some ways that it can be studied in industrial arts/technology laboratories. These suggestions include identifying topics for study, gathering information, organizing information, performing laboratory activities, and presenting the study. (CT)

Suggests guidelines for curriculum and program development in technical communication based on reviews of relevant survey literature, academic literature, and relevant demographic data on technical communicators. Discusses implications for designing technical communication curricula and programs. (RS)

To formulate, justify, and establish priorities for high school debate goals, one must consider only those things that debate can uniquely offer to participating students. The most important goal that debate offers is the development of critical thinking. Educators must continue to develop critical thinkers who can anticipate, discover, and…

Debate educators have been concerned about the disadvantages of tournament debating. While student debaters have learned critical thinking, research, writing, public speaking, and other skills, some former participants feel the experience left them too argumentative generally. Some scholars favor moving away from formal debating contests. A…

While institutional fund-raising is a cooperative effort of the president, trustees, campaign director, chief development officer, and staff, the president's role is crucial as the main solicitor, particularly of large gifts, and often the only cultivator of major prospects. (MSE)

Educators are successfully incorporating electronic mail into elementary and secondary classrooms. This paper refers to an article by Hugh Barr which describes a variety of instructional programs that use electronic mail as part of the social studies curriculum. Barr notes that essential components of interschool e-mail are purpose, structure, and…

Tells English teachers how to develop a speech program using skills that are similar to those used in essay writing. Shows how the following steps in the speech-making process can be divisions in the course: purpose, audience, content, delivery, and evaluation. (EL)

Educators responsible for preparing the business leaders society needs are challenged to provide more than technically competent workers. They need to nurture growth of persons who can lead creatively. As business educators plan their teaching, they need to use tools like performance objectives effectively, yet keep clearly in mind their inherent…

Provides background information on the McGaw report, which addresses literacy assessment in secondary education. Presents the Western Australian Education Department's view of literacy. Describes the guidelines and assessment procedures in the Department's investigation of the McGaw report's implications. Discusses the 1986 school trials that…

Although illegal, sexual harassment is frequent in the American workplace and extremely disruptive and costly to employees and employers alike. Most organizational responses to the problem have been hard line, short term, after-the-fact measures that inform, threaten, or discipline employees. What is needed, however, is a training program with an…

Prepared by representatives of industry and the educational community, the papers in this collection address issues of interest in the field of technical communication. Specific topics discussed are as follows: (1) the Resource Materials Project of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC), (2) the relationship…

Issues in the development of assessments of higher order thinking skills for college graduates are discussed in the order in which they were presented when this series of papers was commissioned. With regard to Issue 1, it is generally agreed that the development of these skills is a desirable goal, but there is little consensus on how they should…