An experimental investigation of rhetorical clarity∗

Francis Bacon succinctly described a number of methods of communication and he alluded to others. He also characterized his method of scientific investigation (the New Induction). Hence it is possible to state Bacon's underlying conception of method. It is a conception far less rigid than that held by contemporaneous logicians, classical or Ramean, and it allowed him to specify more methods of dispositio than the rhetoricians recognized. Furthermore, Bacon applied his notion of method deliberately by naming the method or using the language of method in over a score of his communications in a variety of cirstances, in works major and minor, including the 1597 essays.     

The rhetorical functions of consciousness‐raising in third wave feminism

The rhetorical practice of consciousness‐raising has changed since communication theorists first began to apply its functions and style, as a small group, face‐to‐face practice, in the early 1970s. In this essay, we argue that in feminist activism and theory, the practice of consciousness‐raising has evolved in response to shifting cultural conditions. Our examination of consciousness‐raising rhetoric produced by self‐labeled “third wave” feminists reveals how contemporary social contexts have generated different rhetorical problems and discursive responses for feminists. Specifically, we show how third wave feminist consciousness‐raising instills a critical perspective that focuses on personal and social injustices. We argue that these rhetorical responses raise consciousness in the public sphere, through mass media, popular culture, and college classrooms, fostering both public and private dialogue about gender inequities that aims at self‐persuasion.     

The development of discourse presentation in The Times, 1833–1988

Newspaper preferences for particular formats of speech presentation differ and they change in the course of time. In this contribution we focus on The Times and trace such developments in the formative years of the modern Anglo-American newspapers, from 1833 to 1988. We extracted data from The Times Digital Archive in six samples of roughly 5000 words at intervals of 31 years and analysed the texts manually for instances of reported speech. Our analysis shows that the focus has shifted from the presentation of speech events as coherent wholes in earlier newspapers towards a more selective use of individual statements that summarise an event or characterise it from different angles. And it also shows that the frequency of indirect forms of discourse presentation decreases over the years in favour of direct forms. This gives further support to the claim that in terms of discourse presentation broadsheets slowly develop into the direction spearheaded by tabloids.     

The rhetorical structure of science? A multidisciplinary analysis of article headings

An effective structure helps an article to convey its core message. The optimal structure depends on the information to be conveyed and the expectations of the audience. In the current increasingly interdisciplinary era, structural norms can be confusing to the authors, reviewers and audiences of scientific articles. Despite this, no prior study has attempted to assess variations in the structure of academic papers across all disciplines. This article reports on the headings commonly used by over 1 million research articles from the PubMed Central Open Access collection, spanning 22 broad categories covering all academia and 172 out of 176 narrow categories. The results suggest that no headings are close to ubiquitous in any broad field and that there are substantial differences in the extent to which most headings are used. In the humanities, headings may be avoided altogether. Researchers should therefore be aware of unfamiliar structures that are nevertheless legitimate when reading, writing and reviewing articles.     

The loudness of side‐tone∗

"Communication” is examined as a cultural term whose meaning is problematic in selected instances of American speech about interpersonal life. An ethnographic study, focusing on analysis of several cultural “texts,” reveals that in the discourse examined here, “communication” refers, to close, supportive, flexible speech, which functions as the “work” necessary to self‐definition and interpersonal bonding. “Communication,” thus defined, is shown to find its place in a “communication” ritual, the structure of which is delineated. The use of the definition formulated, and of the ideational context which surrounds it, is illustrated in an analysis of a recurring public drama, the “communication” theme shows on the Phil Donahue television program. Implications of the study are drawn for ethnography as a form of communication inquiry.     

Cognitive dissonance and communication theory∗

Rhetorical criticism (i.e., textual analysis of speeches) is severely handicapped because speech cannot be adequately represented in writing; even if it could be so represented, it is illogical and presumptuous to study critically oral communication received from an inappropriate medium (printed page) via an inappropriate sensory channel (vision). A hierarchy of research priorities—the criterion for relative worth being the degree to which methodologies extend our knowledge of rhetorical theory—is proposed by the author.     

The contribution of Herbert Hoover to broadcasting∗

For three years the Department of State has brought a group of foreign broadcasters to the United States to study American techniques and station operations. The program has, to some extent, gone unnoticed. It has received no public fanfare and, since few academic institutions had a direct contact with any part of the program, attracted little notice among students or teachers of broadcasting. Since the foreign broadcasters offer such an opportunity for American students to learn something of foreign . broadcasting systems, the Journal has invited the Project Coordinator to describe the program. Dr. J. B. Briscoe is assistant professor of Communication in the School of Public Relations and Communications at Boston University. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Speech, with an Mjl. and PhD. in International Relations from the University of Chicago. From 1949–50 he was a Rotary Foundation Fellow at the University of London and since 1956 has been Project Coordinator for the International Seminars on Radio and Television held under the auspices of Boston University.     

The phonetic aspect of Joshua Steele's system of prosody∗

This paper identifies the essential characteristics of victimage rhetoric in American justifications for war. The Johnson administration's insistence on the aggression‐from‐the‐North thesis is the starting point for the analysis. Close inspection of the administration's efforts reveals that the enemy is portrayed as a savage, i.e., an aggressor, driven by irrational desires for conquest, who is seeking to subjugate others by force of arms. This image of the enemy is intensified by a contrasting image of the United States as a representative of civilization who is rational, tolerant of diversity, and pacific. Further investigation confirms that the contrasts of force vs. freedom, irrationality vs. rationality, and aggression vs. defense permeate the substance and style of the call‐to‐arms throughout American history. They provide the internal dynamic which integrates recurrent form into a genre of rhetorical discourse.     

Precision of articulation in repeated phrases∗

The authors examine the communicative, organizational, and political dimensions of how the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) treated the issue of nuclear arms control in the early 1980s. They argue that the NCCB as an organizational unit shaped a new “corporate advocacy” role for itself; the bishops responded to internal and external needs, revitalized their image within the Church, and achieved a new political status.     

The communications explosion and the study of speech∗

The characteristics and consequences of the communication explosion are interpreted as a world wide expansion of the uses of speech. Graduate studies in speech are shown also to have increased dramatically within the last ten years. Suggestions are made for possible developments and trends in speech education as ways of better coping with the rapidly developing field of communication in our time.     

The theory of reasoned action and self‐construal in predicting intention of studying among Korean college students

The study tested the Theory of Reasoned Action in Korea. Questionnaires measuring behavioral intention to study for final exams were distributed to 144 Korean college students. The findings indicated that attitude toward behavior and subjective norm predicted behavioral intention. When attitude toward behavior was divided into social and personal attitudes toward behavior based on the types of outcomes that behavior brings about, it was only social attitude toward behavior had a significant weight in predicting behavioral intention among the Korean students. Positive correlations were observed between the strength of interdependent self‐construal and the normative component and between the strength of independent self‐construal and the attitudinal component. Self‐construals, however, did not influence the relative weights of the two components in predicting behavioral intention.     

Abstracts of theses in the field of speech,XIV∗

In this paper we report on a longitudinal case study of an administrative unit of a large nonfederal government following the election of a new Chief Elective Official. In this case, the changing climate becomes a dominant characteristic of the emerging situation. Poole and McPhee's (1983) extension of Giddens' Structuration Theory is employed as an analytic framework, tracing through the evolution and transformation of climate themes in the case. We find new categories of, and conditions affecting, climate—theme emergence, spread, and sedimentation. More particularly, the case demonstrates the complexity of organizational climate, with several processes interacting simultaneously to generate a constantly changing climate in the course of reproducing the organization's culture and beliefs. Importantly, the case shows how these complex climate processes are related to demoralization and counterintentional results in organizational change.     

Abstracts of theses in the field of speech,XVI∗

The effects of interpersonal reward and violations of conversational distancing expectations on compliance and interaction behaviors were tested in three retail shopping settings. Subjects were salespeople (N = 70, N = 49, N = 104) who were approached by confederates posing as customers or students conducting interviews on consumer behavior. Two levels of interpersonal reward (high versus low levels of apparent status, attractiveness, purchasing power and/or expertise) and three levels of distance (close violation, norm, far violation) were manipulated. Results showed high reward to induce more compliance with a request and more favorable interaction patterns than low reward. Distance violations evoked more arousal, activation and apparent distraction, while the favorability of reactions to distance violations tended to vary by reward level, as expected. Confounding effects of gender, confederate communication style, and possible nonverbal norms for compensation and reciprocity are also discussed.     

The oratory of James Wilson of Pennsylvania∗ (1742–1798)

Responses provided by high school freshmen and seniors to hypothetical persuasive and empathic communication situations involving peers were coded according to the level of perspective‐taking implied in the communicative strategy. Older adolescents were found to use. higher level communication strategies reflecting greater perspective‐taking ability than younger adolescents on both tasks. Although the quantity and quality of interpersonal constructs supplied in describing peers varied between age groups, this was not shown to affect communication within age group levels. The group membership of the other being addressed was, however, a relevant condition affecting the level of performance in empathic communication for both early and late adolescents.     

The rhetorical construction of Popular Front France in the fascist Italian press during the ‘Paris, 1937’ international exhibition

This article will discuss propaganda in the press used by the Italian fascist regime to create and disseminate a negative image of France and socialism. The ‘Paris, 1937’ exhibition represented a pretext for the Italian press to attack the Popular Front on both policy and competence. Manipulating information, the propaganda fabricated an idea of ‘otherness’, presenting France as the chaotic antithesis to the orderly Italian regime. France was presented as a country full of drunks and idlers, as a nation descending into chaos due to the social economic reforms of the Blum government; images that were juxtaposed with a state thriving under fascist corporatism. With the use of archive files and press-clippings, this work intends to illustrate the construction of stereotypes to feed the fear of socialism in Italy by the fascist press.     

The development of archives and records management education and training in Africa – challenges and opportunities

The development of education and training opportunities for professionals in the archives and records management (ARM) profession in Africa has been the subject of a number of professional discussions in the past. However, a significant number of recent developments and trends have not been captured in these discussions. This article provides a historical outline and some of the major developments of ARM education and training in Africa. In addition, it traces some of the key challenges educators and trainers currently face. The article demonstrates the diversity that exists in the African continent both in the variety of institutions and the types of qualifications offered in archives and records management. It provides a glimpse of the growth of universities in the continent using the case study of Kenya. While this growth provides greater education and training opportunities, there is a need to examine its impact on quality. The article suggests the strengthening of graduate-level education as well as participation in global research to mitigate against risks in the quality of ARM education and training.     

The development of recordkeeping systems in the British Empire and Commonwealth, 1870s–1960s

¹ 1. Use of the term ‘recordkeeping’ should not be taken as an endorsement of the Records Continuum as elaborated by Frank Upward and his collaborators. View all notesThis essay demonstrates that initiatives in the imperial periphery, not least in Western Australia, played a significant role in the development of recordkeeping systems in the British Empire and Commonwealth. Local circumstances, including the adequacy of local revenues and the availability of skilled staff, played their part in shaping the systems. Nonetheless, there are overarching patterns. The need to maintain security provided a potent driver for the creation of confidential registries. The need to carry out basic functions influenced the design of recordkeeping systems far more than any shared ‘imperial imaginary’. The diverging work patterns of colonial capitals and of district administrations tended to produce distinct recordkeeping systems. The development of integrated registry systems may have played a part in the development of the Secretariat as an institution of colonial government.     

Parents’ information seeking during adolescent career development: a test of the theory of motivated information management

Parents are an important source of advice when adolescents are faced with decisions about postsecondary education and career planning; however, parents often need to seek information to facilitate their child’s career development. This study applies the theory of motivated information management (TMIM) to evaluate the decision-making process parents undergo in this context and tests the boundaries of TMIM by considering how individuals use face-to-face (FtF) and online sources to alleviate uncertainty-related anxieties. A community sample of parents (N?=?937) completed a survey regarding their information seeking behaviors surrounding their adolescent’s career development. Parents reported using both FtF and online sources to seek information about their child’s postsecondary plans, and they engaged in different evaluative processes depending on the source of information. Theoretical implications related to TMIM and practical implications related to parents as sources of information in adolescent career development are discussed.