Presents a critical review of the published accounts of the "Genie Case," involving psycholinguistic research conducted by Susan Curtiss and others in the 1970s with an adolescent with extremely limited language ability. The review maintains that serious discrepancies still remain in the accounts of the subject's language abilities. (21…

Describes how professional writers from Bell Northern Research, enrolled in a professional writing program, designed a quick reference guide for in-house use, and then provided a theoretical framework to ground and explain their visual design choices. Offers the instructor's theoretical reflections on how visual design can motivate readers to read…

This article responds to MacIntyre's (1995) critique of the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH), which posits that language aptitude is the primary source of individual differences in foreign language (FL) achievement. It defends the LCDH and suggests that difficulties exist with theories that attribute affective and social context…

This article responds to Sparks and Ganschow's (1995) defense of their Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH), arguing that the LCDH ignores the context in which language learning occurs. It asserts that LCDH is so focused on the learning of the sound system of language that it ignores affective variables. (22 references) (MDM)

Reevaluates the significance of John Dewey's influence on Chinese education from American and Chinese historical and contemporary perspectives. Dewey's singular success supposedly rests in his establishing communication of mind between American and Chinese educators, encouraging the Chinese people to break away from the harmful elements in the old…

Investigated whether eating healthy or unhealthy foods gives rise to moral judgments about the consumer. Subjects were presented one of four bogus profiles of a person, differing only in gender and foods consumed, and rated the target on morality. Results confirmed that food choices influenced the raters' moral judgments. (RJM)

Identifies and discusses divergent synecdochal representations of the handgun as vital to both the construction and maintenance of competing social realities (handgun as threatened liberty and handgun as threatened life) in the debate over the Brady Bill. Demonstrates how such representations serve as divergent rhetorical constructs for competing…

Examines Margaret Fuller's "Woman in the Nineteenth Century." Notes Fuller's use of transcendentalist philosophy as she demonstrated how women lacked a sense of "self," and constructed women as individuals capable of articulating their own needs and interests through a complex four-part argument. (SR)

Uses Kenneth Burke's comic frame to analyze how the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching (a coalition of white Southern women), 1930-1942, used four rhetorical strategies available to the comic rhetor to halt and eventually bring an end to lynching in the South. (SR)

Critiques some of the ways it has been argued that women have a special insight into environmental issues. Focuses on three broad concerns: (1) the privileging of the woman/nature connection, (2) the positing of a unified category "woman," and (3) the failure to engage in cross-cultural analyses. (LZ)

Defines the term "cultural model" as the set of assumptions a particular group has, or the kinds of goals a group strives for, or the attitudes that shape how one cultural group reacts to another group. Shows how cultural models shape student responses to Richard Pick's short story "I Go Along." Suggests writing assignments that reflect on…

This essay examines the idea of intellectual authority as reflected in legal and literary theory and reviews empirical studies of effects of institutional authority on acceptance/rejection of papers by juried journals. It refutes ideas of Stanley Fish that an author's background (his/her "institutional authority") are relevant in evaluating the…

Discusses the assignment of a research critique assignment to sociology students at Rhode Island College. Explains that students in methodology courses develop research skills by critiquing research articles and writing research proposals. Identifies the structure of the course and its connection with the other parts of the curriculum. Describes…

Demonstrates several of the pitfalls inherent in traditional textbook definitions of the "formal essay" and academic discourse in the teaching of literary criticism. Suggests alternative approaches and assignments that make students aware of other ways to read and write about literature. (HB)

Discusses the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas. Criticizes contemporary condemnation of Columbus as unproductive. Acknowledges the deaths of countless Native Americans through disease and warfare. Recognizes that the pre-Columbian Americas did not comprise a paradise. Concludes that commemorating the…