Explores the implications of critical legal studies (CLS)--a new current in contemporary legal theory--for general discussions of freedom of speech and public interest. Applies CLS concepts to the conflict between broadcasters' and citizens' free speech rights as expressed in the contemporary Fairness Doctrine. Explores CLS's relevance to several…

Tests three rival measurement models of a common measure of trait communication apprehension, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24). Finds that the second-order factor model better fits the data in terms of conceptual implications, psychometric properties, and empirical evidence than the linear, unidimensional model or the…

Discusses the impact of possible sex-based differences in communication styles on the technical writer's job. Argues that technical writers can choose to use both male and female communication styles to acknowledge multiple audiences and to improve the quality of their documents. (KEH)

Reports the 1987 survey results of 70 Canadian colleges and universities regarding technical writing programs. Finds that half of the 35 responding institutions offer professional writing courses and that faculty attitudes range from enthusiastic to disapproving. Reveals that faculties at nonoffering institutions do not view technical writing as a…

Examines the effect of the (perceived) interactional role in information transfer that exists when individuals from different international backgrounds encounter conflicts in their worlds of reference. The results of a task-related pairing study between outer and expanding circle English-using students are used to address the subject. (GLR)

Focuses on diagrams giving overviews of complex technical information as facilitators for adult subjects using computers to learn about the business activities of a fictitious family. Finds that features of the author's control over the reader's encounter with the diagram influences whether readers will interrupt their reading to study the…

Reports findings of a nationwide survey of public relations professionals to investigate the full extent of recent public relations research activities. Finds a growing recognition that research is an integral part of public relations planning, program development, and evaluation process. Reveals that most public relations research is currently…

Examines ethical dilemmas associated with using entertainment television for prosocial development. Discusses the ethics of distinguishing prosocial from antisocial television content; depicting socio-cultural equality through television programs; limiting the unintended effects of television programs; and using television as a persuasive tool to…

Reports on meta-analysis of 183 experiments comparing the effect sizes (average amount of change observed) of measurement techniques for assessing the effectiveness of public speaking anxiety treatments. Shows differences between self-report, observer, and physiological measurement techniques. Finds no interaction between type of therapy and type…

Reports three studies examining the relationship between people's public speaking anxiety and their construals of the public speaking experience. Finds that anxiety is related to both beliefs and concerns that play a major role in the preparation of speeches. (SR)

Examines differences among teleconferences with no graphics, conferences with graphics not directly complementing the audio message, and conferences with graphics directly complementing audio messages. Notes that the perceived quality of the graphics was significantly related to the perceived effectiveness of the teleconference. (MS)

Refutes the dominant interpretation of the British Parliamentary debates on slave trade abolition, examining the argumentative strategies employed. Finds that slavers claimed that abolition would destroy the nation's prosperity, while abolitionists depicted the slave trade as irrational and economically inefficient, thus undermining its economic…

Examines vilification (a rhetorical strategy which discredits adversaries as ungenuine and malevolent advocates) in the rhetoric of pro-life and pro-choice movements in Minnesota between 1973 and 1980. (SR)

Surveys regional communication association members to assess perceptions of the Southern States Communication Association, and three other regional communication associations. Finds a consistent stereotype both within and outside the associations' membership, a view of the associations as rhetoric-research oriented, dominated by a few individuals,…

Conducts an experiment on teacher expectancy effects to investigate the simultaneous effects of student gender, communication channel, and type of material taught (vocabulary and reasoning). Finds that the magnitude of teacher expectation effects was greater when students had access to visual cues, especially when the students were female. (MS)