Discusses the identity problem both inside and outside the profession of technical communication. Discusses components of a definition of technical communication. (SR)

A survey of journal editors, scholarly press directors, and granting agencies examined definitions of excellence in faculty scholarship in light of Ernest Boyer's expanded definition of scholarship. Six standards of excellence were derived: clear goals, adequate preparation, appropriate methodology, outstanding results, effective communication,…

Evidence of the efficacy of andragogy is inconclusive and affected by definitional confusion. Analysis of research on andragogy yields seven criteria for an operational, consensus-based definition: voluntary participation, adult status, collaboratively determined objectives, performance-based assessment, measurement of satisfaction, appropriate…

Focuses on the debates over the MacKinnon-Dworkin Anti-Pornography Ordinance to explore one instance of definitional argument: the attempt to effect a redefinition. Argues that advocates for a definitional shift created the possibility for a "terministic catharsis" by simultaneously locating pornography in multiple locations on the pentad,…

Discusses definitional issues and tensions around adult development theory. Presents a typology of developmental theories: biological, psychological, sociocultural, and integrative. (SK)

This letter to the editor comments on a 1998 article by J. S. Yaruss which proposed that classification of stuttering be adopted to foster improvement in basic understanding. The article is critiqued as failing to recognize the two major components of a stuttering event and for the author's definitions of impairment and disability as applied to…

This article discusses central auditory processing disorders (CAPDs) including background information, a current definition of CAPDs, test battery approaches which follow guidelines of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and various approaches to intervention. Also noted are remaining questions and various controversies related to…

Clarifies the confusing terms "genre,""text type,""domain,""sublanguage," and "style" in an attempt to help individuals navigate the British National Corpus. (Author/VWL)

Responds to an earlier article that sought to clarify the terms "genre,""text type,""domain,""sublanguage," and "style" in an attempt to help individuals navigate the British National Corpus. (Author/VWL)

States that in 1783 J. F. Zollner, a Berlin theologian, asked the question: "What is 'Enlightenment'?" Notes that the next year Immanuel Kant and Moses Mendelssohn gave definitions of the Enlightenment that are famous in the history of ideas. Analyzes and discusses the definitions through keywords such as reason, criticism, and…

The Goggle Deskbar is a handy utility that allows users to search the Web with Goggle while using other computer applications. Once the Goggle Deskbar is installed, the browser does not need to be open to perform a web search, as long as the computer is connected to the internet. The Goggle Deskbar is ready to search the Web from any computer…

Numerous definitions of literacy have been advanced by policy-makers, politicians, academics, teachers and others over the years. It is not always easy, however, to know how one definition might relate to another or differ from it. This paper offers a framework, based on the work of the educational philosopher Israel Scheffler, for identifying and…

In this article, the author asks why we assume that we must define something before we can begin to understand it? Is that assumption a holdover from the predominantly behaviorist orientation of the 1950s when everything had to be measurable? Haven't we gotten past the paradigm of defining, measuring, then studying phenomena? If physicists had to…

The difference between frogs and toads can be determined scientifically but is based in the historic use of the terms frog and toad. These are Old English words for the common frog, "Rana temporaria," and the common toad, "Bufo bufo," both inhabitants of the British Isles. In the process of describing a new anuran species,…

This article traces the historical shifts in usage of the term vocation as a significant keyword wherein a range of different connotations and assumptions about the nature of work and the relationship between the domain of work and the practice of adult education are negotiated and contested. The aim of this article is to establish a wider…