The strategy involved in the planning process to develop an employee assistance program is described. Issues to be decided include whether the program should cover both academic and nonacademic personnel; whether the idea could be made attractive to management and staff; and identification of a potential source of funding. (MLW)

Offers several reasons why English teachers should set aside the notion of literature and center teaching around the related but distinct notion of textuality. Discusses why the study of textuality should play a major role in a full curriculum aimed toward the development of alert, aware citizens. (JD)

This working paper focuses on the educational planner as a bureaucratic actor. To explain planner influence or lack of influence in the policymaking process, practitioners need to explore the micropolitics of organizations and understand individual, organizational, and situational forces demanding their engagement. Planners need an engaged…

Examines a macro theoretical paradigm for management communication which clarifies relationships among the factors that influence persuasion. Explores the notion of strategic choice, and elaborates a strategic model for managers. (MM)

Indicates that males were more likely than females to use (1) violence against a noncompliant male persuasive target in a noninterpersonal relational context, and (2) direct coercion against persistently noncompliant and noninterpersonal persuasive targets in relational contexts with short-term consequences. (JD)

Examines the influence of decision-making style on communication openness and satisfaction in Japanese organizations. Results of a survey indicated that Japanese employees preferred persuasive or consultative managerial decision-making styles and were more satisfied when their preferred decision-making style and the style of their manager were…

Analyzes the rhetoric of agricultural conservationists focusing on the 1930s Dust Bowl, revealing that its potential for promoting environmentally sound land-use practices was limited. Argues that the vulnerability of conservation efforts to competing forces was largely a function of the hierarchy of motives associated with land use. (SRT)

Discusses the quality of current political argument, the relation between this and public attention to politics, the competency of the public to evaluate political argument, and whether political argument and public competence can be improved. (SRT)

Argues that higher literacy levels, better instruction in rhetoric, and increased critical thinking abilities would improve both political discourse and public policy. (SRT)

Using a random sample of 493 persuasive papers written by 17-year-olds during the 1978-79 National Assessment of Educational Progress writing evaluation, a study investigated the relationships among features of textual cohesion and primary trait assessments of writing quality and coherence, with manuscript length held statistically constant. (HOD)

The study examines the writing of college freshmen on expository, argumentative, and speculative tasks by means of the Crediton cognitive model in order to describe how and why they evoke the range of responses they do, and why particular cognitive strategies are drawn on. Conclusions are presented and discussed. (Author/CT)

Outlines a model (SUCCESS) for an approach to teaching presentational speaking that deals with the basics of speech communication, the speaker's development of the main ideas presented, providing feedback on the speaker's ability to prepare and use visual aids, and an opportunity to comment on the more general aspects of the speaker's…

Describes the rationale for teaching the cognitive context of argument and argumentation, presents an example of an approach to value argument, and discusses the role of the unconscious in argument. (PD)

Describes how the talk of legislative policy makers in public forums builds a system of justification for their actions. Uses observations from a case study of the Utah State Legislature and develops a sociopragmatic perspective of argument fields. (PD)

Because any way of reporting research on teaching involves rhetoric, the question is not whether it is defensible to use rhetoric but what uses of rhetoric are defensible in trying to persuade teachers to accept research conclusions. Literature on the question of whether researchers should draw implications is discussed. (Author/MT)