Workplace learning initiatives are influenced by perceptions, and negative perceptions hinder organizational innovation and productivity. This exploratory study presents an argument that messages shared among trainees regarding their training experiences shape such perceptions. The application of Symbolic Convergence Theory reveals two discursive…

In January 2015, President Obama captured headlines in the US by announcing America's College Promise (ACP), a policy that would reverse four decades of privatisation in higher education by making community colleges 'tuition-free'. This research explores the conversation that unfolded across the Facebook pages of various media sources. Key phrases…

If, as the linguistic turn has taught us, there is no representational knowledge, but more agreements and/or struggles over how to talk and learn about what we call reality, we need to address and analyse the consequences of different vocabularies of educational phenomena and schooling, in order to better understand and make use of both the…

The present study investigates the rhetorical structure of academic lecture closings, and the impact of class size on this part genre. A framework of "stages" and "strategies" is developed to analyze the rhetorical structure of lecture closings. Large and small classes are further compared to find how class size may influence the ways lecturers…

Relatively little attention has been paid to questions of how language acts in and through the interactions of language in situations where people are encouraged to learn to be active in contexts of work. This paper argues that detailed analysis is needed to understand how activation through language acts in the shaping and governing of workers.…

This authentic threat asserts impending fatal injury. Because of the dangerous nature of threats, investigators must immediately ask: Is the intent real? Is the threatener likely to act? With real lives at risk, using the linguistic information available to answer these questions quickly and accurately is of great importance. Yet, because most…

This mixed methods study examined the various aspects of multimodal use of non-verbal communication in virtual worlds during dyadic negotiations. Quantitative analysis uncovered a treatment effect whereby people with more rhetorical certainty used more neutral non-verbal communication; whereas people that were rhetorically less certain used more…

There is general agreement that discourse markers help dialogue partners to highlight or locate available goal- or coherence-related information. There is, however, less agreement with regard to how the nature of the relation between the marked stretch of discourse and the rest of the dialogue should be defined. Recent work (Louwerse &…

Web 2.0 applications such as YouTube have made it likely that students participate in online back-and-forth exchanges that influence their rhetorical literacy. Because of the back-and-forth nature of online communities, we turn to the procedural, critical, and progressive qualities of dialectic as a means of accounting for what makes public…

Reviews how temporality has figured in rhetorical studies of genre through the notions of kairos and temporal exigence. Presents two models of time, "clock time" and "process time," as a means for representing temporal dimensions of rhetorical contexts and genre activity. Examines interplay between these temporal models and…

This bibliography lists books, articles, and other related sources dealing with the area of the history of communications and rhetoric. The 50 citations cover both the history of western communications as well as studies focusing on American communications and rhetoric. (HB)

Demonstrates how rhetorical criticism can be utilized to clarify the rhetorical nature of interpersonal discourse. Synthesizes the following theories to explain the nature and form of selected portions of taped and transcribed interpersonal dialog: Lloyd Bitzer's situational theory, Ernest Bormann's fantasy theme analysis, and Carroll Arnold's…

An examination of letters left at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C. between November, 1984 and April, 1986 revealed that the memorial serves as a rhetorical situation that urges its visitors to eloquence. The memorial is an excellent proving ground for situational theory because the interaction of site and perception is vital to…

Analyzes Walter Fisher's work on the "narrative paradigm." Considers Fisher's definition of narrative too broad and advocates a more limited definition. Rejects Fisher's view that there is an independent standard of narrative rationality distinguishable from the "rational world paradigm," and his idea that the role of the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The nine titles deal with the following topics: (1) the role and relationship of discourse and context; (2) political autonomy and accommodation to political alternatives as two major dimensions of political socialization; (3)…