Explores the constraints imposed by certain common discourses on the development and implementation of language policy in South Africa. Analyzes a debate in the 1870s concerning the future language of South Africa, examines a series of popular articles from a daily newspaper to reveal traps of popular discourses, and scans official policy…

Public policy rhetoric depicts information/communications technologies as a means of transforming lifelong education, freeing individual learners, broadening social inclusion, and improving competitiveness. However, concerns about social exclusion are predominantly economic, and increasing participation does not mean the same thing as widening…

As in the United States, affirmative action policies in Fiji were intended to correct past injustices. However, their proponents' use of colonial discourse fails to acknowledge the historical roots of the lower educational attainment of Fijians, which is a legacy of colonial policies. (SK)

Examines one exemplar discipline, mechanical engineering, to see how classroom discourse and practice construct professional identities for students (as future engineers) and their customers. Suggests that although students' conceptions of the customer provided glimpses of professional identity, design processes in these classrooms were ultimately…

Focuses on the roles, relationships, and talk of two kinds of teachers--language specialists and subject specialists--in multilingual and multicultural mainstream English secondary school classrooms. An analysis is undertaken of how the teachers are differently constructed through their discursive, pedagogic classroom practices. (Author/VWL)

Develops the theme of interactional asymmetry by bringing into focus a hierarchical context of a single employer-employee conversation. Argues that the asymmetrical dynamics of a workplace interaction are revealed better when captured in terms of discursively produced selves as opposed to given identities. (RS)

Analyzes communication behaviors of 10 abusive and 10 nonabusive couples discussing their daily routines. Identifies seven communication-based differences: vague versus precise language, opposition versus collaboration, relational versus content talk, despair versus optimism, interfering versus facilitating interdependence, complaints versus…

Coded the feeling state content of three- and four-year olds' narratives to adults. Found that children talk a great deal about affiliation, that sex differences emerge only in the context of interactive talk between adults and children, and that older children talk more about emotions than younger ones, except when "scaffolding" is…

Describes the historical, cultural, and mythic contexts that infuse the territorial exclusionary practices of surfers. Analyzes surfers' rhetorical responses in letters published in surfing magazines, describing how rhetors use economic and religious metaphors to position ideologies that both reproduce and mediate cultural myths of perfection…

Applies fantasy theme analysis to Richard Nixon's "Checkers" speech. States that three major themes emerge: Nixon as Moral Model, Nixon as the American Dream, and Nixon as Patriot. Points out that each issue responds to allegations of dishonesty that were leveled against him at the time. Argues that Nixon's speech was accepted and…

Determines whether the textbook "Elements of Writing" is an improvement over "Warriner's" which it replaces. Considers how in determining whether a textbook promotes the curriculum and daily activities that lead to a rich perspective of writing, teachers need to consider what it means for a textbook to focus on writing and what teachers mean by…

Describes the development of discourse cohesion in bilingual children through an analysis of narrative discourses produced by hearing children of deaf parents (HCDP) in both British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English. Reference mechanisms in both languages are described in the context of recent work on narrative and discourse organization…

Analyzes differences and conflicts in intercultural business communication between Israeli and Indian businesspeople, also analyzing their communication sources and strategies. Finds that communication problems between international managers are better explained by focusing on differences between their discourse systems rather than global…

Reviews values evident in early discussions about the social effects of distance education in New Zealand. Public debates and emergent literature are characterized by extreme positions indicating deep value conflicts. Most discussions were driven by ideological commitment to principles, such as egalitarianism, communitarianism, and…

Dominant discourse about participation in adult education assumes that (1) participation is good; (2) participation equates with formal learning; (3) learners are individuals, abstracted from their social context; and (4) there are barriers to participation, not resistance. These assumptions obscure issues about informal learning, collective…