Raymond Yeager, director of forensics and professor of speech at Bowling Green State University, has made a major contribution to the field of speech communication. He has been much appreciated as professor, mentor, and friend. Yeager, the personification of the "good man skilled in speaking," is a well-spoken gentleman of principle who…

In much current literary and rhetorical theory, analysis of text assumes greater authority than the text and its creator. Through a reexamination of the ancient Greeks' notion of "ethos" (the residue of the writer or speaker in the text), the writer, reader, and text can be reunited, particularly in light of the theory of meanings…

Prominent contemporary theories of academic argument are based upon jurisprudential models where argument is analogous to forensic discourse. Yet the implications of classical notions of testimony and the rhetorical function of citation make academic argument more a deliberative activity than the forensic one suggested by contemporary theorists.…

Theories of persuasion have long assumed a process which includes comprehension of the message by the recipient. Several hundred undergraduates at Ohio State University and Marshall University (Ohio) participated in six experiments examining persuasion and the use of unintelligible messages. Subjects in individual cubicles of a university language…

In advertising, a creative idea can be defined as being right or on strategy in a unique way. For a copywriter, it is not easy to create an ad that has the "Big Idea" in it. Some helpful techniques that advertising students can use to generate creative ideas are (1) analogy, (2) forced relationships, (3) doing the opposite of what…

An exploratory study examined the perceptions of creative directors and broadcast production managers in advertising agencies regarding the perceived effects of the 15-second commercial upon creative formats and production techniques. A sample of 600 randomly selected advertising executives and managers were surveyed using a 55-item mailed…

Comparing the manner in which contestants' scores were tabulated at both the 1985 American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET) and National Forensic Association Individual Events Nationals (NFA-IEN), a study (1) examined whether a correlation exists between contestants placing in the quarterfinals with five…

Parliamentary procedure might best be taught in a context specific format; it would be better understood by students if not taught as a "stand alone" subject. Since the basic concepts of argumentation theory--propositions, stasis, and presumption and burden of proof--are reinforced by the rules of parliamentary procedure, instructors can…

Developing a theme drawn from speculative writing of the nineteenth century--that technology, like biological species, undergoes a process of evolution--this paper explores the thesis that if technology divides from its human creators and perfects itself until it gains the capacity for self replication, it cannot return to its creator. Using…

In written compositions, authority derives from the dynamic interchange among author, text, and reader. English majors at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, after competing rigorously for their place in the university, adhere to received opinions rather than writing originally or authoritatively. From their very first assignment, the students…

To investigate whether "USA Today" emphasizes "good news" over "bad news," a study was conducted using 10 randomly selected adults in State College, Pennsylvania, over an 11-week period in 1985. Subjects were asked to rate 248 stories over 45 pages of main news columns in 10 issues on a scale ranging from 1 (very…

Graduate programs in speech communication offer students a variety of assistantships including a forensic assistantship. Among factors affecting assistantships that have not been investigated in past studies, three stand out. The first factor that should be considered is the size of the entire graduate program in the department. The nature of a…

This paper examines what rhetoric used in communicating with general audiences is appropriate to educational research as a form of knowing. Answers to this question depend not only on characteristics of knowledge, but also on what one considers a defensible goal in research reporting. Assuming that this goal is communicating authorized convictions…

S. Jackson and S. Jacobs's criticism of "single message" designs in communication research served as a framework for a study that examined the differences between various sequential request paradigms. The study sought to answer the following questions: (1) What were the most naturalistic request sequences assured to replicate…

Words, like any other information resource, must be managed in order to contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. Managing communication refers to planning, organizing, leading, and controlling words. Planning determines goals and how they can be best accomplished, and aids in providing direction for the message, thus increasing the…