Reported Argumentativeness and Verbal Aggressiveness Levels: The Influence of Type of Argument

Arguments in interpersonal relationships can be divided into two types: public issue arguments and personal issue arguments. This study examines the ability of type of argument, trait argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness, and gender to predict reported argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness levels related to a particular argument episode. Reported argumentativeness levels were higher in the public argument condition, and reported verbal aggressiveness levels were higher in the personal argument condition. Trait argumentativeness predicted reported argumentativeness levels better in the public argument condition than the personal argument condition, suggesting that type of argument may serve as a moderator for the relationship between trait argumentativeness levels and argument-specific argumentativeness levels. Implications for using these two scales to examine interpersonal argument are discussed.     

A Measure of Perceived Argument Strength: Reliability and Validity

Studies of the content of persuasive messages in which the central arguments of the message are scrutinized have traditionally relied on the technique of thought-listing to assess argument strength. Although the validity of the thought-listing procedure is well documented, its utility can be limited in situations involving nonadult populations and sensitive topics. In this paper, we present a self-reported scale that can be used to assess perceived argument strength in contexts where thought-listing may be less appropriate. This scale taps into perceived argument strength from multiple points of view, including but also extending beyond the potential of the argument to elicit positive and negative thoughts. Reliability and validity of this scale were assessed in health communication contexts involving anti-drug public service announcements (PSAs) directed at adolescents and anti-smoking PSAs targeting adults. Evidence of convergence between this scale and the thought-listing technique was also obtained using the classical comprehensive exam arguments.     

The Perceived Threat and Resolvability of Serial Arguments as Correlates of Relational Uncertainty in Romantic Relationships

This study explored the degree to which the perceived threat and resolvability of a serial argument are associated with relational uncertainty in a romantic relationship (i.e., self, partner, and relationship uncertainty). Participants included 147 individuals who were currently in a romantic relationship. Results revealed positive associations between argument frequency and relationship uncertainty, the perceived threat of the argument to the relationship and all three forms of relational uncertainty, and inverse associations between the perceived resolvability of the issue and all three forms of relational uncertainty. Interaction effects emerged for perceived threat by perceived resolvability for self and partner uncertainty, such that the resolvability of the issue diminished the strength of the positive association between the perceived threat of the argument and self and partner uncertainty.     

Majority/minority size and the evaluations of persuasive arguments

The present study examines the influence of relative minority size on perceptions of argument quality and attitude change. Strong and weak arguments for both cautious and risky positions were presented in conjunction with information describing the size of minority factions as either small or large. Results demonstrated that cautious argument quality influenced perceptions of argument quality only when the majority advocated a cautious position or when the minority faction was large. Results are discussed in light of their implications for normative and informational influences in group polarization.     

Abandonment of genus: The evolution of political rhetoric

Richard Weaver's notion that the forms of argument used by a speaker—genus, similitude, cause and effect, or circumstance‐indicate the speaker's ideology is used to analyze speeches of Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson, and Jane Byrne, mayor of Chicago. Their early rhetoric was characterized by argument from genus, their later rhetoric by less idealistic forms of argument, suggesting that their world view has changed and with it the public's view of their performance.     

Patterns of communicative interaction in small groups

Effects on selection of message strategies of variables relevant to two communicative objectives, task and interpersonal, were studied. Subjects composed a message in response to one of four situations: high or low self interest in compliance, or high or low desire for liking by the message recipient. Self interest influenced the degree of pressure exerted on the message recipient. Desire for liking altered usage of strategies which conveyed attitudes about the message recipient or attempted to alter reactions to the communicator. In a second study, subjects selected strategies from a list provided by the experimenter rather than actually composing messages. Under this procedure, the effects of the independent variables disappeared. An argument is advanced that message construction may be the more useful approach in determining effects of situational variables on the selection of message strategies, as well as more valuable in elaborating the strategies themselves.     

Use of inoculation to foster resistance to credit card marketing targeting college students

Student credit card debt is a growing problem. This study explores the effectiveness of the inoculation strategy to foster resistance to credit card marketing targeting college students. In order to explore further the medical analogy on which the inoculation strategy is based, this study was the first systematically to alter the argument strength of both the counterarguments and refutations in the inoculation pretreatment message to determine whether argument strengths impact effectiveness of inoculation treatments. In addition, this investigation explored whether inoculation spreads from person to person via social channels, similar to the marketing concept of viral marketing. Results indicated that conventional inoculation treatment messages successfully inoculated college students against credit card advertisements, manifested in attitude valence and behavioral intentions, and that matching argument strength is the most effective inoculation strategy.     

民国时期图书馆学史上的一场学战

民国时期图书馆学人与商务印书馆之间,特别是与王云五之间曾经发生过一场学术论战,主要围绕着《万有文库》的分类和卡片,以及《中外图书统一分类法》和四角号码检字法等问题展开。该文揭示出这场学战的深层次原因在于图书馆学人与外行之间,以及图书馆界与出版界之间存在的天然矛盾。     

New Significance for an Old Method: CAS Theory and Ethnography

This paper presents a new significance for an old method by describing the theory-method fit between complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory and ethnography. Using an example from an ethnographic study of intergroup conflict in joint product development, this paper supports the argument that doing ethnography is necessary to find and analyze empirical evidence for what CAS theory illuminates about the social world. I extend this argument by discussing its importance for communication research. A key question for communication researchers is how system-level events in complex social systems are grounded in and produced by local interactions among individuals. This paper describes and illustrates some important insights that researchers can gain into this question by paying attention to the parallels between CAS theory and ethnography in the investigations of complex communicative phenomena.     

University library planning: The experience of the university of petroleum and minerals

The digital divide is severe in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The prevailing digital divide will continue to exist and define the characteristics of the digital information environment of the sub-region as it influences, along with other concerns, the information needs of end-users in the sub-region. The model of information needs of end-users in the electronic information environment and observations and theories from the literature of Library and Information Science (LIS) show that the information needs of end-users in SSA are for information content that is relevant for day-to-day tasks and that is adequately accessible and effectively usable within the capabilities of the information and communications technology (ICTs) that they possess and their level of skill in manipulating the ICTs. The model of the information needs of end-users in the electronic information environment presents the nature of user tasks, the state of electronic resources in use, and user experience in using the electronic resources as factors giving rise to information needs of end-users in a digital information environment. The principles of least effort, satisficing, utility and accessibility particularly give support to the argument of the paper: that end-users need information content that is adequately accessible and effectively usable within the capabilities of ICTs currently in use by the end-users concerned. Recognizing the nature of the information needs of the end-users of SSA will help in meeting their needs as well as in selecting appropriate interventions in addressing the digital divide in the sub-region.     

The information needs of end-users of Sub-Saharan Africa in the digital information environment

The digital divide is severe in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The prevailing digital divide will continue to exist and define the characteristics of the digital information environment of the sub-region as it influences, along with other concerns, the information needs of end-users in the sub-region. The model of information needs of end-users in the electronic information environment and observations and theories from the literature of Library and Information Science (LIS) show that the information needs of end-users in SSA are for information content that is relevant for day-to-day tasks and that is adequately accessible and effectively usable within the capabilities of the information and communications technology (ICTs) that they possess and their level of skill in manipulating the ICTs. The model of the information needs of end-users in the electronic information environment presents the nature of user tasks, the state of electronic resources in use, and user experience in using the electronic resources as factors giving rise to information needs of end-users in a digital information environment. The principles of least effort, satisficing, utility and accessibility particularly give support to the argument of the paper: that end-users need information content that is adequately accessible and effectively usable within the capabilities of ICTs currently in use by the end-users concerned. Recognizing the nature of the information needs of the end-users of SSA will help in meeting their needs as well as in selecting appropriate interventions in addressing the digital divide in the sub-region.     

Strategic Planning From the Bottom Up: A Unit Strategic Plan That Pushes Change

This article describes an example of a unit level strategic plan, its formation, and its effects in implementation. The argument is presented that unit level strategic plans can help libraries by giving individuals specific goals that are tailored to their strengths and make up for the unit's weaknesses.     

美国媒介批判研究概述

美国学者进行媒介批判,重点在揭示媒介民主功能方面的障碍,批判美国政府与企业对媒介的操控,媒介政治功能及论坛功能的衰败。学者们认为,主流媒介已从舆论监督机构变成了企业利益的维护者,其质变的根本原因是媒介所有权的过度集中。以上观点向我们发出警示,即市场经济也并非是新闻自由的天堂。     

《百家讲坛》与作者媒介化生存现象分析

针对近期央视《百家讲坛》播出系列讲座,产生的广泛影响和引发的争议,本文分析了在大众传媒参与建构社会文化的时代,传统上作者角色的演变及其在当代社会中的媒介化生存现状.     

Mapping Ethical Arguments in Journalism: An Exploratory Study

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the potential of a cognitive mapping variant called argument mapping for representing the process of ethical reasoning in journalism. The assumption is that some ethical reasoning journalists do on the job may be observable in the ethical argumentation that takes place among peers in newsroom discussions about ethically problematic situations. After some background on cognitive mapping and the novel aspects of its application in this study, an extended example is presented to illustrate the usefulness and limitations of the argument mapping technique in this context.     

John Dewey's “Wholly Original Philosophy” and Its Significance for Museums

Abstract John Dewey's lifework was to create a philosophy that encompassed both life‐experience and thought. He attempted to construct a philosophical system that incorporated life as it is lived, not in some ideal form. He rejected all dualisms, such as those between thought and action, fine and applied arts, or stimulus and response. An analysis of “experience” (defined as almost synonymous with “culture”) is central to Dewey's writing and leads him to emphasize process, continuity, and development, rather than static, absolute concepts. This paper examines the significance of Dewey's educational views for museum exhibitions and education programs, and his complex definitions of relevant concepts, with special emphasis on his interpretation of “experience.” Dewey's faith in democracy and his moral philosophy require that the value of any educational activity depends on its social consequences as well as its intellectual content, a proposition that is discussed and applied to museums. This argument suggests that exhibitions and programs can strengthen democracy by promoting skills that improve visitors' ability to become critical thinkers and by directly addressing controversial issues, taking the side of social justice and democracy.     

社会保障高度成长时代下的公共图书馆——图书馆属性的补充和新的定位

论文通过提出及论证图书馆、社会保障、教育三者是一个全新的、密切相连的人文社会科学的体系,补充了图书馆的属性,给予了图书馆新的定位,指出了在这个高度成长的社会保障时代下我国公共图书馆的新出路。     

How to persuade adolescents to use nutrition labels: effects of health consciousness,argument quality,and source credibility

This study tested the utility of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) in creating effective public service announcements (PSAs) of nutrition label use. Students (N = 169) from a secondary school in Hong Kong participated in a 2 × 2 × 3 (health consciousness: high vs. low × argument: informational vs. testimonial × source: expert vs. celebrity vs. ordinary person) factorial design experiment. Hypotheses were partially supported. Main effect was located for health consciousness. Adolescents with high health consciousness were more persuaded by the PSAs. There was an interaction effect between health consciousness and source. A dietitian as the source was most persuasive to people with high health consciousness, while low health conscious people were most influenced by a celebrity. The information processing route was biased by the match of argument and source. Informative argument made by an ordinary person was more likely to motivate adolescents to use nutrition label, while testimonial argument made by a celebrity was the most effective. The findings are discussed in light of ELM hypotheses. Recommendations are also offered for public health communication campaigns.     

面向中国专利文献的零形回指消解规则研究

[目的/意义]面对海量专利文献,如何使用户快速、精准地掌握知识,是优化专利服务的关键课题.中文专利文献中大量存在的零形回指现象,严重影响了知识的自动识别与提取,但由于专利文献零形回指识别与消解涉及到众多文本分析技术及特定资源建设,因此,目前尚未发现针对性研究.[方法/过程]在物性结构理论、语义角色及修辞结构关系理论的指导下,展开相关规则的研究,开发句法及语义角色标注工具和篇章标注工具两种工具,并构建了4个资源库:①"专利动词物性角色库",将专利的动词归纳为4类;②"专利知识论元结构库",用于自动标注专利动词物性角色及其论元结构;③"专利动词论元结构规则库",用于分析零形回指的先行语;④"零形回指修辞结构类型库",用于分析当零形回指搭配"功能角色"和"部件角色"的情况.[结果/结论]通过资源库的建设,得出5条消解规则.初步成果已成功应用于机械领域专利文献的自动处理工作.