The research process in studying narrative analysis, or story-telling, is examined, focusing on: (1) how researchers use narrative to position themselves with respect to participants in a study, (2) how researchers use conversational stories to construct and negotiate meaning, and (3) what the absence of certain stories reveals about the…

This pilot study examined, from a dynamic systems perspective, changes in maternal/child discourse behaviors across repeated readings of a storybook. Four Caucasian children (2 boys, 2 girls), ranging in age from 2 years 7 months to 2 years 10 months, were videotaped reading unfamiliar storybooks with their mothers. The videotapes were…

This study used an interpersonal model of defense to examine children's understanding of how defense affects ongoing interactions. Participating were 62 New York City public school children, ages 7 to 8 years and 10 to 11 years, who were identified as intellectually gifted. Students were asked to respond to structured questions about interpersonal…

Since narrative forms help provide the rules and contexts for guiding human behavior, film and television offer excellent sources for the study of rhetoric in the college classroom. Kenneth Burke, Ernest Bormann, and Erving Goffman are all theorists, working from a "dramaturgical" perspective, who disuccuss the powerful role of the media…

The Cartesian/Newtonian vision of human existence is outmoded because modern quantum physics has rendered it inaccurate. Quantum theory has demonstrated that the world cannot be reduced to independent and separate elements. The notion that there is an external, objective reality "out there," separate from the self, to be classified, measured,…

Early in January 1994, more than 70 University of Colorado faculty, including all of the deans, asked president Judith Albino to resign. Albino, however, refused to resign, and later, the Board of regents voted 5-4 to turn down the resolution demanding her resignation; it also ordered a review of Albino's tenure as chief administrator. A study…

Locative inversion, one aspect of word order in English discourse in which the positions of verb and noun phrase are inverted (e.g., "in front of the house is a tree"), is examined. It is argued that inversions after deictic adverbs and those after non-deictic, locative constituents are related, both representing devices: (1) expressing point of…

A study examined the claim that computer-mediated discussion groups, also known as "lists,""conferences," or "bulletin boards" in which individuals contribute electronically to an ongoing exchange of information and ideas within a field of common interest, affect participation by women. Examination of the claim was accomplished by analyzing…

This paper contrasts two traditions, one originally seeking applications for theory, the other looking for solutions to problems in foreign language teaching, and finds both valuable. Five applied linguistics topics--curriculum, discourse analysis, systemic linguistics, testing, and second language acquisition--are briefly discussed within this…

The introduction to discourse analysis is intended specifically to inform second language teachers about aspects of discourse analysis that can be helpful in instruction. It presents the principles seen as relevant to the language teaching context and illustrates them with real spoken and written language data. The first chapter gives a historical…

This study investigated how native Japanese speakers use honorifics in everyday social interaction. Honorifics are affixes, words, and formulaic phrases that follow linguistic and sociolinguistic rules and are believed to mark a speaker's politeness toward an addressee or another referenced person. The honorific system is incorporated into most…

A study analyzed one form of speech act in the instructional materials entitled "De Vive Voix." The speech act in question was the invitation to someone to do something. The ways that the invitation is presented, possible variations, and how to make this rich and useful form more available to the student for communicative purposes are…

Recognizing film as a medium of expression that should have a place in high school and college classrooms, this book provides a framework for teaching about film as a medium and for studying the ways filmmakers use images and technology to convey experiences, emotions, and ideas. The first part of the book presents six chapters on…

Professional and disciplinary rhetoric often breaks down when texts cross professional boundaries. An ethnographic study conducted in an Indiana courtroom during a civil trial demonstrates the failure of disciplinary rhetoric. Despite the fact that the plaintiffs in a personal injury case had demonstrated the negligence of the defendant according…

To contribute to an understanding of the elements of good air traffic controller communication with the objective of providing recommendations to improve controller communication training, two studies analyzed team communication, ground-air communication, and ground-line communication. The simulated and live traffic analyses examined established…