The world's appetite for the development of more television programs is constantly on the rise. Yet the manner in which television programs are produced for international viewers is still casual and often careless. Neither the message nor the way in which the medium shapes the message take into account the basic cultural barriers that cause…

This paper provides a framework for developing an approach to understanding soap opera's appeal as a direct function of both the genre's form and of its fans' viewing behavior. The paper suggests that while this analysis is largely critical, other studies from both critical and social scientific approaches can be based upon the framework and…

This case study examined one advanced undergraduate student's efforts to write on similar topics for three different audiences--an advanced composition class, a history of Western philosophy class, and a district meeting of Pi Alpha Theta. Initially the student was juggling the demands of writing research papers for her two courses, and the third…

The ways in which, and the extent to which, changes in viewer positioning mediate the diegesis of commercial television news is problematic, since television news is generally considered to be "non-fiction." Diegesis can be defined as the depicted real-world. The choices made in depicting the scene have implications as to the positioning…

This paper applies concepts from intercultural communication theory, adult learning theory, and traditional Native American medicine to a specific learning experience for Native Americans. The background is an educational opportunity offered by the Indian Health Services Bureau to tribe members to become employed on their reservations as Health…

A study examined the promises and limitations of the entertainment-education strategy used in development communication and charted some future directions for this approach. The approach began in the 1970s with the recognition that mass media has its limitations in fostering national development; a more participatory development theory emerged…

A study examined the effects of the Children's Television Act of 1990 on television stations' freedom to schedule programs. Subjects were programming directors responsible for scheduling children's blocks in the Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Michigan, TV market, the nation's 60th largest. The four program directors, whose stations were major network…

A study examined the current legitimacy crisis that faces America's educational system and the efforts of one group, Catholic schools, in addressing this crisis. A legitimation model for educational institutions was developed based on the values society calls for in education, and this model was then applied to Catholic schools to see how their…

This paper analyzes the mission statement of a small liberal arts college: (1) to establish a rationale for examining a mission statement from a postmodern perspective, which will aid in the understanding of the context within which the mission statement and accompanying goals were developed and produced; (2) to clarify the multiple voices and…

This paper discusses the emergent perspective in composition studies that sees discourse forms as producing material effects and writing classrooms and programs as part of an apparatus for producing subjective forms, which individual students are then induced to inhabit. The paper suggests that the closed circuit of the classroom is overdetermined…

The purpose of teaching speech is to give students enough basics and practice so they can become more confident and effective at the podium. Theory may be useful but there is no substitute for practice: students in a speech class taught at a community college gave six speeches during the semester, three of them solo speeches and two in groups. The…

Critical thinking skills are inherent in limited preparation forensic activities which, with some modification, can be successfully incorporated in virtually any classroom situation. Furthermore, extemporaneous and impromptu speaking provide educators with certain advantages over debate activities in terms of assessment and classroom logistics. In…

Students may forget that writing involves a relationship between writer and audience--a relationship foregrounded by speech-act theory. The writer should focus on what the audience is to be led to see about the subject. To be distinguished are "locution" (saying something), "illocution" (performance of an act in saying…

A study investigated whether some level of writing apprehension or some expressed attitude toward writing might result in better essay scores. Subjects, 255 freshmen composition students at two campuses of the California State University system, were administered instruments designed to comparatively measure the quality of students' writing, gauge…

A study investigated what a group of 29 senior advertising students, part of "Generation X," at a midwestern university found "objectionable" in 35 selected contemporary magazine advertising executions. Using a Q-sort, students ranked the advertisements and completed a personal interview. The majority of the advertisements that…