A short history of the use of the metric system is given. The role of education in metrication is discussed. The metric activities of three groups of metrics advocates, the business community, private groups, and government agencies, are described. Arguments advanced by metric opponents are also included. The author compares the metric debate with…

An emphasis on logic is the basis of argumentation theory and practice, both past and present; the policy systems model of debate--which is based on the assumption that argumentation is a means for injecting rationality into choice--sharpens and clarifies traditional ideas and suggests significant new approaches, while retaining existing…

Intended for use by high school debaters and their teachers, this book provides guidelines for research on the debate topic for the 1978-1979 school year: "What should be the energy policy of the United States?" The first section is designed to broaden the student's comprehension of the debating process by focusing on the meaning of the…

Poor delivery, artificial analysis, and unrealistic organization are all pointed to by critics of competitive tournament debate. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative ability of students with debate and nondebate training with regard to analysis, organization, and speaking skills. Ninety-four participants in the Bicentennial…

At the third annual Cal-State Hayward Conference in Rhetorical Criticism, 22 upper division and graduate students from 16 colleges and universities of the western states presented papers on rhetorical theory, history, and criticism. Panels of faculty members from the same colleges and universities, acting as editor-critics, rated four of these…

Current practices in intercollegiate debate encourage inadequate reasoning and the use of short cuts in debate presentations. Poor debate strategies have emerged. For example, the inclusion, by negative teams, of excessively detailed arguments in constructive speeches has caused affirmative rebuttals to be acutely simplistic or has forced…

At the fifth annual Cal-State Hayward Conference in Rhetorical Criticism, upper division and graduate students from 14 western colleges and universities presented papers on the theory, history, and criticism of rhetoric. Panels of faculty members from the same colleges and universities selected the three best papers for commendation and…

The purpose of this project was to survey the status of forensics in the United States. A mailing list was developed to include every school that might have forensic activities. Established mailing lists prepared for tournaments, publications of tournament results, and lists set up for sale were consulted; schools were asked to list other schools…

Improving the economic condition of the Negro was a fundamental concern of both W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. It was Washington's view that the Negro should be willing to perform menial tasks as a means for gaining a foothold in the economic structure. He counseled the Negro to start at the bottom. Washington's philosophy centered on…

In light of current cutbacks in funds for college Speech Departments, intercollegiate forensic competition activities should be ended, a move which would result in savings that can be applied to retaining current faculty, salary levels, and other necessities. Intraumural and community-related speaking opportunities can be provided to replace…

Developed as part of a quinmester unit for high school on advanced performance in argumentation, this guide provides the teacher with suggested teaching strategies for a course of continued development of the concepts learned in "Performance in Argumentation and Debate" and provides training for varsity debaters. Range of subject matter…

Since 1922, interrupted only by World War II, American college debators have exchanged visits and demonstration tours with their foreign counterparts, primarily from Great Britain but gradually expanded to include other areas of the world. This report, prepared by the Committee on International Discussion and Debate of the Speech Communication…

Outlines a model United Nations simulation which is applicable for high school or college use. It is played under the rules of an organization called the Model United Nations of the Far West, an association of 100 colleges in the western U.S. The simulation involves weekly mock sessions. (AV)

Looks at a group of politically knowledgeable college students and assesses changes in perceptions to the messages of Ford and Carter during the course of the 1976 Presidential pre-election debates. Notes statistically significant differences between pre-debate, post-debate, and delayed post-debate ratings on sets of semantic differential-like…

Notes that whether or not the goal of achieving a clearer understanding of the relationships between science and policy is reached, a clearer understanding of the complexities of the relationship is emerging in the process. (Author/AM)