Presents a history of the American Forensic Association regarding its splintering within the forensic community. Discusses the incorporation of the National Individual Events Tournament (NIET). Considers how the NIET Committee has encouraged research projects related to forensic pedagogy as well as other issues related to forensics. (NH)

Explores three alternative approaches (conciliatory approach, integrative approach, and deliberative approach) that writers with a broad repertoire of argumentative styles should be able to adopt when they are addressing controversial issues and disputed topics. Focuses on finding differences among the alternative approaches and looking at…

Argues that the function of medicine as an art and as a social institution is impeded when the rhetorical nature of its practice is ignored. Offers a case study of two texts widely cited as landmarks in the physician-assisted suicide debate of the 1990s, examining their rhetorical organization and its impact on their reception. (SR)

Analyses 42 national final round rhetorical criticism speeches from the years 1993-2000, with results indicating that almost half of the speeches were analyses of rhetorical and organizational campaigns, with criticism of texts, orations, art, technology and legislation rarely being selected as artifacts. Considers how less than two minutes per…

Offers fund-raising tips from those who have successfully secured donors to make endowments to postsecondary education institutions. Provides advise on the effective use of public relations and personal relations when asking for and following the receipt of monetary donations. (GR)

Highlights an important mediating process in rhetoric: the situational reconstruction of collective self-boundaries of speaker and audience. Using a psychorhetorical analysis of a missionary speech that was given by a Jewish ultra-orthodox preacher to a Jewish Israeli nonorthodox audience, points to rhetorical context markers the orator used to…

Analyzes John Randolph's use of "ad hominem" arguments, in an excerpt from the Yazoo Claims debate in 1805, in light of Douglas Walton's research into the "ad hominem." Claims the arguments employed by Randolph confirm Walton's contention that the "ad hominem" is not inherently fallacious, but is a defensible form of…

Traces aspects of the evolution of interest in ethical issues by the National Communication Association (NCA), the effort to develop a Professional Code, and the development of the Credo for Ethical Communication adopted by the NCA Legislative Council November 6, 1999. Includes a copy of the Credo. (NH)

Argues that university courses in argumentation often fail to prepare students for the demands they face outside the classroom. Examines current trends in communication scholarship which suggest that cooperative or collaborative modes of argumentation should be more explicitly included in argument pedagogy. (NH)

The author replies to John Wilson's comments on his paper "Political Doctrine, Philosophy, and the Value of Education: The Legacy of Isocrates and the Socratic Alternative." The author argues that he does not attempt to identify philosophy with the concept of education, and that Wilson has misrepresented the author's view of the content of…

This paper explores the formation of a political order, a constituency, during the 1938-1940 senatorial campaign of the "Partido Popular Democratico" in Puerto Rico. In particular it examines the constitutive force of the "Catecismo del Pueblo," a small booklet in the form of questions and answers regarding the party's basic assumptions and…

The MDGs provide a strategic entry point for raising issues that are important to women with people who pay no attention otherwise. In this article, the author gives her opinion about MDGs. She has three reasons for taking interest: (1) to talk about issues she wants to raise; (2) to advance women's interest and agendas; and (3) to get resources…

In this article, the authors explore how technology has helped erode society's conceptions of justice. Law, via juridification, has replaced the concept of justice with one of efficiency. The authors argue that this has been largely a result of the destruction of society's common story or vision and the introduction of the computer and the…

Providing an effective defense for individuals charged with capital crimes requires a diligent, thorough investigation by a mitigation specialist. However, research suggests that mitigation often plays a small role in the decision for life. Jurors often make sentencing decisions prematurely, basing those decisions on their personal reactions to…

Objective: To engage in the process of formulating compelling persuasive arguments. Type of speech: Persuasive. Point value: Incorporated into participation points. Requirements: (a) References: 0; (b) Length: 1-2 minutes; (c) Visual aid: No; (d) Outline: No; (e) Prerequisite reading: Chapter 19 (DeVito, 2003); (f) Additional requirements: None.…