Illustrates both the need and a reasoning method for normative social ethics in communication by applying Reinhold Niebuhr's concept of justice to advertising as a preliminary case study. (KEH)

Discusses the generalizability of critical thinking and the disposition to think critically. Argues that verbal reports of examinees' thinking on multiple-choice tests can explain the reasoning behind their answers and, thus, can be used to assess the inability to make credibility judgments. (FMW)

Describes a writing assignment (to be carried out while in the process of writing a research paper) in which students critique either their best or their worst sources. (SR)

The current state of knowledge, primarily anecdotal, concerning ritualism in child sexual abuse is reviewed. The terminology is defined, and the issues of credibility and responses among parents, professionals, and the community are discussed. Implications for interviewing in clinical practice and for policy development are described, as are areas…

Mexican-American college students (N=186) were exposed to a counselor introduction that identified her as either Mexican American or Canadian American, followed by a recorded bogus counseling session in which the counselor spoke English only or English combined with cues of Spanish-speaking ability. No effect was found on ratings of counselor…

By fashioning a blended approach, two superintendents in radically different school districts systematically distinguished what worked and what was worth promoting from what was failing and had to be revised or eliminated. They both established credibility by encouraging teachers and principals to examine their practice, consider new ways of…

Presents some of the comments the author has shared in recent years with a number of faculty, particularly colleagues who attended workshops he conducted at Bowling Green State University for new department chairs. Explains how the department increased its credibility. Blends explanations with ideas for establishing credibility from three…

Discusses ways to recognize attempts by classroom teachers to present anti-evolution materials. (WRM)

The eugenics era (c. 1900?1930) produced a strong desire among mental retardation professionals to recognize and control "the feeble-minded." Some eugenicists believed it was possible to classify individuals visually by learning to recognize what they believed to be observable characteristics of idiocy and imbecility. In this paper I used…

In what follows I explore the question of fictionality in history writing. First, I venture into the unfamiliar genre of "ego-histoire" and make my own professional training in the tenets of positivist or realist historiography an object of theoretical reflection and critical analysis. Then as a way of dealing with the literary dimension of…

This paper discusses some of the issues related to e-journals: cost, speed of publication, global access, the politics of academic publication, and reduced control of publication houses. E-journals are also examined relative to their impact on academic responsibility, the peer review process, censorship, credibility, and academic literacy skill…

Many historians on the left are unwilling to renounce communism and the agents in this country who ran its insidious errands. Despite damning evidence from Soviet archives, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Alger Hiss, and other traitors remain the darlings of many leaders of the profession. Harvey Klehr documents how, in journals and recent textbooks,…

This article discusses a group of new technologies--blogs, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarking, online photo galleries, and RSS (Real Simple Syndication)--collectively referred to as the Read/Write web. These tools allow users to easily create and publish online content, and are beginning to have a profound impact on curriculum, classroom…

This study examined the relationship between witness age, narrative features in testimony, and the perceived credibility of witnesses. Ninety older and young adult witnesses to a staged theft were videotaped as they freely recalled crime events. Later, participant-jurors viewed the videos and assessed the witnesses' credibility. Operational…

This chapter deals with the constraints that may inhibit authenticity, whether explicit and known to all or more insidiously embedded in our educational culture.