Thematic interviews of teachers and students in web-based courses described social interaction in terms of stage analysis and dramaturgy: role, stage, audience, script, and episode. Lack of nonverbal communication affects these elements. Even in the web medium, participants tend to continue roles from the face-to-face classroom. (Contains 20…

Notes that "women's web sites" are absent from discussions of rhetoric and electronic communication though these sites accumulate a significant number of the hours women log online. Argues that it is important to recognize the exchange and creation of knowledge by and for women through women's online resource venues. Offers productive ways of…

Analyzes undergraduates' interpretations of a short story that presents a relatively balanced argument between a man and a woman. Finds both male and female students arrived at androcentric readings by solving text ambiguities in favor of the male character. Presents methods that encourage students to recognize and reevaluate their reading…

Encourages communication researchers to understand better the rhetorical situation that challenges AIDS educators working with out-of-school, African American adolescents in urban centers. Identifies those culturally based experiences and attitudes that health educators must integrate into lines of argument and appeals for AIDS prevention…

Examines which power bases and Behavior Alteration Techniques (BAT) have positive, negative, and no association with student motivation toward studying course content. Finds that perceived use of power bases and BATs are associated with reports of cognitive and affective learning. (MG)

Examines issue-learning outcomes in three intra-party political debates during the 1984 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Finds significant viewer learning about the issue positions of each participating candidate, about most issues, and among all categories of viewers. (KEH)

Discusses the importance of impression management, an individual's conscious attempt to exercise control over selected communicative behaviors and cues for purposes of making a desired impression. Provides a comprehensive conceptualization of the impression-management process, and demonstrates how this process can facilitate effective training of…

Suggests ways in which attribution theories can explain the interpretation processes involved in understanding nonverbal behavior. Examines attribution choices for nonverbal messages between romantic partners and finds that level of relational satisfaction correlates with perceptions of cause for nonverbal messages. (MG)

Examines fundamental rhetorical constructs that students and business professionals should consider when analyzing textual and financial information contained in corporations' annual reports. Discusses how students in business communication classes evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of specific annual reports, as well as the ethics associated…

Uses William B. Stiles' discourse analysis system to determine whether there are general differences in the way individuals varying in construct system development use their utterances to establish understanding with each other. Finds that construct system development was positively correlated with edification and question response mode use, and…

Analyzes Fisher Ames' fiery speech of 1796 on the Jay Treaty. Demonstrates the influence of Scottish enlightenment thinkers (particularly in moral sense philosophy and faculty psychology) on Ames and his rhetoric. Demonstrates how Ames made a compelling case to shift the standard of political judgment from reason to passion. (SR)

Explores the effects of emotionally disturbing news stories upon recall of other newscast details. Explains that undergraduate communication students viewed an eight-item news telecast which included an item whose arousing properties were demonstrated in a pretest. Reports adverse effects upon recall of innocuous information presented after…

Studies the visual markers which students employ in writing descriptive and instructional text. Applies the guidelines approach, design decisions approach, and the information/reader model approach. Reports that beginning technical writing majors used fewer illustrations and visual markers than did technical majors. Suggests that the results may…

Explores how managers handle performance problems by isolating particular confrontive techniques recommended by managers. Addresses how these techniques enhance both alignment between managers and employees, and managerial control. Divides techniques into three categories: alternatives to confrontation, investigative actions, and fault finding.…

Reports on two studies that examine effects of trait communication apprehension on students' production and perceptions of written feedback. Finds, in the first study, trait anxiety was related to negative external attributions; while the second study showed that anxiety was associated with more internal interpretations. (MS)