A case study examined the cooperative consultation between a writer for the television serial "All My Children" and a health educator. The consultation spanned six years. The story of the alcoholic "Arlene" began to air on the serial in January 1991. Scenes involving Arlene were recorded. Consultation between the health…

A study, based on a single sociolinguistic interview conducted in French in Canada, analyzed language patterns typical of daily interaction, particularly that found in argumentation. It is found that speakers show a natural ability to use reasoning and processes to construct an argument adapted to the particular communication situation. Such an…

This paper presents a description and brief history of the concept of "racial uplift" and describes its implications for a contemporary, Black college professor. The phrase "racial uplift," for 19th-century Black women, describes almost any type of political activity designed to improve conditions for Black people during the…

A study examined how much emphasis instructors of public speaking place on content and delivery when teaching and delivering oral and written critiques. The study sought to determine whether when teaching a hybrid introduction to communication course, or public speaking course, instructors are challenged with teaching their students about issues…

This paper discusses argumentation and how instruction may facilitate an individual's skill in argumentation. The paper contends that argumentation, defined as the generation and evaluation of arguments is a fundamental tool of reasoning and that skill in argumentation is therefore basic to a person's ability to reason. The paper is divided into…

Competitive intercollegiate debate programs have long been premised on the unique educational opportunity the activity affords its participants. The central problem with National Debate Tournament (NDT) rounds is that policy advocacy too frequently occurs, reducing questions asked to one of whether advantages outweigh disadvantages. While issues…

Volunteers are those who find that they have the ability to change at least one other person's life for the better. Public service programs can be established within the forensics medium. Such programs as "Kids on the Block," which uses puppetry to teach about individual differences, can benefit from forensics experience. Dramatic…

Philosophy statements have been used in the National Debate Tournament (NDT) since the mid-1970s and the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Tournament since its 1986 inception. The statements should help debaters adapt to critics' expressed preferences. Moreover, philosophy statements can guide the study of argumentation theory…

Four different principles of visual manipulation constitute a minimal list of what a visually "literate" viewer should know about, but certain problems exist which are inherent in measuring viewers' awareness of each of them. The four principles are: (1) paraproxemics, or camera work which derives its effectiveness from an analogy to the…

The persistent cultural conservatism in Western scholarship has led to the exclusion of Chinese rhetoric from the canon of rhetorical studies. However, the assumption that Chinese culture does not have a rhetorical tradition is misleading and inappropriate. It stems from any number of notions: that the Chinese language is not as logical as those…

To affirm Sojourner Truth as a powerful rhetor who advanced the equality and empowerment of women, a study examined several of her speeches on women's suffrage. Although the value of using such role models as Sojourner Truth has been demonstrated in various grade levels, and in the study of history and English, the approach is too seldom employed…

Noting that many instructors involved in teaching writing to students of differing cultural backgrounds seek to pinpoint the origin of the differences in communication between the form of written language conveyed to students and that which they use in their everyday language, this paper recommends ethnography to provide evidence as to what is…

Noting that little research has addressed the question of violence in commercials directed to children, a study examined commercials aired during the 21 top-rated children's cartoons during one broadcast week in late spring 1993. Commercials were analyzed for violent content, gender of primary actors and recipients of violent action, primary…

In 1972 Ernest Bormann and his students were in the process of developing and applying what was later called "fantasy theme analysis" to various kinds of communication including the political campaign communication of 1972. Fantasy theme methodology ultimately developed into "Symbolic Convergence Theory," which has generated a…

While a number of feature films can be used in group-process instruction, "Twelve Angry Men" and "The Breakfast Club" are particularly valuable for analyzing group communication patterns and strategies. "Twelve Angry Men" demonstrates that persuasion in groups can take place through a variety of methods. Exercises…