A number of studies have focused on how students and instructors feel about digital learning technologies. This research is focused on the substantive difference in learning outcomes between traditional classrooms and classrooms using clickers. A randomized block experimental design involving four sections of undergraduate Operations Management…

The film "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a timeless story about the heroic quest for a sacred object and the conflict between good and evil, employs cross-cultural, durable symbols to establish quickly a locus of motives with a large, differentiated movie audience. The archetypes of the quest and of shadow are at the core of this film; they…

Considers the way in which recent apocalyptic religious discourse motivates actions and attitudes toward secular issues by appealing to sacred texts. Traces one such strategy, termed "transfer." (SR)

Examines Mario Cuomo's keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention as a case study in rhetorical interaction. Argues that the keynote setting presented both generic and immediate constraints, which Cuomo resolved through a rhetorical strategy rooted in metaphor as an argumentative technique. (MM)

Studies visual discourses and visual modes of viewer engagement structuring negative political commercials. Finds that, using strategies of pictorial direct address and pictorial narrative, texts construct their visual arguments by creating ambiguity around the natural versus symbolic status of pictorial expression. Shows how pictorial realism can…

States that, in "The Etiology of Hysteria," Sigmund Freud's "seduction theory" asserted that child sexual abuse was the single cause of adult hysteria. Argues that Freud's failure to persuade his audience can be attributed not only to their denial of sexual abuse but also to his failure to clarify how pschyoanalysis could…

Discusses the author's experience as a playwright and teacher of public readings of early drafts of new plays. Explains the Five Step Model for these readings as follows: prepare the playwright before the reading; prepare the audience with a precurtain speech; after the reading, establish discussion ground rules; remember these guidelines during…

Presents names of college and universities unfamiliar to potential students. Finds that one cluster of respondents had a clear preference for geographic or aspirational names while a second cluster had a preference for proper names. Notes that there was an overall preference for proper names. (SG)

Discusses the importance of the spoken word and the tradition of nursery verse and other forms of poetry. Encourages teachers and students to never abandon the rhythm, balance, and pleasurable taste of language as it was first learned through oral chants, jingles, and rhymes of early childhood. (MG)

Presents new measures of musical syntax which allow systematic comparison of normative and distorted syntactic structure and thus investigation of the notion that distortion, both semantic and syntactic, enhance audience attention. Applies the measures in an examination of the social forces that influence the use of normative versus distorted…

Summarizes a comprehensive study isolating long- and short-term recollections of young audiences in regard to characters, themes, scenography, objects, and sound effects of 26 theater productions over a 17-year period. Finds that, in general, young audiences recall more strongly those theatrical elements further removed from reality. (SR)

Investigates patterns of college-student reactions to local television newscasts. Finds that significant audience adaptation does not occur during a 30-minute newscast and that there was no relationship between segment placement and level of viewer interest. Suggests that the audience rebound phenomenon overcomes the audience adaptation phenomenon…

Examines psychophysiological and cognitive processing of television events to see what kinds of contextual information might be stored as a result of both real and fictional television events and mediated and unmediated television events. Examines decision processes that use this information. Suggests that television may result in contextual…

Shows two experiments at Delft University of Technology support the conclusion that an introduction makes audiences more willing to listen to a speech. States subjects (in experiment 1) viewed videotapes of professional presentations on "Sick Building Syndrome." Indicates audiences respond to exordial techniques in a predictable manner.…

Gives advice on the proper presentation and selection of conference papers. Suggestions include the following: (1) practice the talk; (2) clarify the paper's thesis; (3) respect the assigned time limit; (4) avoid interpolations; (5) make the paper a complete work; (6) avoid dialogue with the chair; (7) minimize the use of quotations; and (8)…