Contributes to scholarship advancing the understanding of human communication by exploring the concept of controversy within a theoretical framework which does not presume the existence of a public sphere. Suggests an alternative perspective based on the intersection of moments of opportunity and specific sites of discourse. Applies this…

Expands the symbolic resources of the African Burial Ground through a dialogical reading of an essay in the same issue of this journal which offers a rhetorical examination of the controversy surrounding the African Burial Ground. Argues that, post-critique, controversies may be recuperated to recover an expanded sense of coalitional engagement,…

Responds to two articles in the same issue of this journal regarding a controversy over the African Burial Ground in New York City. Raises a third set of questions, arguing that investigations of rhetorics of controversy can also include investigations of the rhetorics of incommensurability, investigating the development of logics and…

Transcripts of interviews for places on a diploma course in an educational institution in Singapore are used to illustrate phenomenon of distance and familiarity in unequal dialog. The study discusses how interactional movement along distance-familiarity cline reveals participants' relative power, status, mutual understanding in speech situation…

Sources of organizational learning were studied for 131 employees, 109 of whom were managers, who participated in projects with external consultants in a large public-transport company in Norway. A multiple regression analysis explained 69% of organizational learning as a function of attitude toward learning. Differences between managers and other…

Reviews a single indicator approach and multiple indicator approaches that simplify testing interaction effects using structural equation modeling. An illustrative application examines the interactive effect of perceptions of competence and perceptions of autonomy on exercise-intrinsic motivation. (SLD)

Planning is a social activity in which educators negotiate personal and organizational interests in constructing programs. Four concepts encompass a planning model: power, interests, negotiation, and responsibility. (SK)

Summarizing the case studies and critique in this issue, the authors conclude that planners must (1) learn to negotiate power and interests responsibly because their actions validate whose interests matter; (2) anticipate sources of support and opposition; (3) determine power relationships; and (4) know to whom they are responsible. (SK)

Suggests that language planning and policies that seek to protect the interests of linguistic minorities must be based on a realistic analysis of power relations that exist between the groups concerned. Argues that such an assessment is complex and exemplifies some of the difficulties involved through reference to the situation in Catalonia,…

Outlines the long history and the dangers of doublespeak--language that misleads, distorts, and deceives. Offers examples of doublespeak in euphemisms, "gobbledygook," and inflated language. Argues that doublespeak is carefully constructed to appear to communicate when its real purpose is to mislead, and notes its relationship to…

Developed an integrative model of adolescent autonomy that considers attitudinal, emotional, and functional autonomy. Tested this model through a questionnaire assessing adolescent autonomy completed by 400 Dutch adolescents between 12 and 18 years. Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for the three hypothesized dimensions. (SLD)

Because true diversity challenges dominant discourses, those in power attempt to assimilate competing discourses in the name of diversity. An example is the judging of qualitative research proposals by the rules of quantitative research, which inevitably disadvantages qualitative research. (Contains 21 references. Includes commentary by Dawn…

A case study of automation in the British baking industry illustrates several perspectives: (1) technological change as inevitable due to external market forces; (2) selection and implementation of technology as an outcome of strategic choices; and (3) awareness of the need for change as part of a political process in which choices are made among…

Presents the author's views and philosophies in reflection as a former dean of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Considers how form guards against the arbitrary use of power, but imaginative power is necessary to overcome the tyranny of mere rules and the inertia of disciplinary structures. (SG)

Discusses propositions about adult education: no type is neutral; it requires understanding of historical change; it should include analysis of power; curriculum is a social construction; instruction involves principle and purpose as well as technique; and adult educators should undertake critical reflection and dialectical thinking. (SK)