Identifies variables from speech act theory and conversation analysis that might be applied to the study of business communication. Also examines several business letters to see how principles derived from linguistic studies of politeness apply to business communication research. (AEW)

Discusses Malcolm X's rhetoric use of animal imagery to modify Blacks' image of White America. In general, his rhetoric reflected societal conflict through word choice, sentence structure, and delivery style. The usefulness of his rhetoric in addressing other images that are in need of change is discussed. (BJV)

Author-supplied item labels for two common speech discrimination tests were compared with those given spontaneously by 40 children (median age 5:5). Agreement between subjects' and authors' labels was 76.3 percent on the Word Intelligibility by Picture Identification test and 75 percent on the Northwestern University Children's Perception of…

Presents the viewpoints of three educators who defend the national standards for teaching and assessing Oral Communication, one of which provides sample teaching techniques which increase students' expressive abilities while meeting the national standards. Offers a rejoinder by an opponent who views the national standards as self-defeating and…

Examines the relationship between topic and gender on the basis of observation of naturally occurring conversations among all-male, all-female, and mixed-gender groups. An analysis of the relative importance or triviality of these conversations as perceived by the conversants themselves is presented. (Author/CB)

Considers several applications of microcomputer technology to instructional feedback in communication training. Describes how this technology is advantageous in the delivery of immediate, simultaneous, and delayed instructional comments in traditional performance courses. Discusses the linking of video and computer technology to provide…

Discusses several advantages of communication education's relatively late response in the movement toward computer assisted instruction (CAI). Reviews CAI in general and with respect to speech communication CAI literature to point out four areas of closely related concerns. Claims that speech communication should pursue CAI with enthusiasm…

Outlines some strategies that students can follow when beginning a research assignment, especially useful when they are new to the process of research. Draws parallels between some characteristics of group conversations and research, such as originality of conversation and originality of writing/research. (NKA)

Examined the use of compliance-gaining strategies among a group of environmentalists. Results indicated that prosocial strategies were used more often than anti-social strategies across all situations. (SRT)

The current state of research into augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems is reviewed, and four dimensions of the study of communication handicap are described: structural, developmental, pragmatic (interaction), and technological. Recommendations regarding standardized research reporting procedures are offered in light of the…

The authors present the case for improvement in the teaching of oral communication skills to business students. They describe a successful model laboratory approach to teaching these skills. (CH)

Explored the effects of role and gender on hostile and anxious communications. Role was manipulated through the use of the Melian Dialogues. While role had a highly significant effect on the content of the communications, neither gender nor the order in which roles were assumed exerted a significant influence. (Author/ABB)

Discusses dislocation, a construction in which one element, usually a noun, is isolated either at the beginning or at the end of a sentence while being represented in the body of the sentence by a pronoun. Discusses the place of dislocation in linguistic studies and its pedagogical implications. (SED)

The author states that to be effective communicators, vocational educators must consider the context or environment in which the communication takes place, the content of the message, the means of delivery, and the audience. Also, educators must do this with an understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. (CT)

Reports on three experiments that investigated why young children's perceptions of bimodal speech are less influenced by the visual component of speech than adults' perceptions are. Results argue in favor of the explanation that children are poorer lipreaders than adults. (HOD)