Commodity culture: tropical health and hygiene in the British Empire

Before heading to a 'tropical' region of the Empire, British men and women spent considerable time and effort gathering outfit believed essential for their impending trip. Ordinary items such as soap, clothing, foodstuffs and bedding became transformed into potentially life-saving items that required the fastidious attention of any would-be traveller. Everyone from scientists and physicians to missionaries and administrators was bombarded by relentless advertising and abundant advice about the outfit needed to preserve health in a tropical climate. A closer look at this marketing exercise reveals much about the way people thought about tropical people, places, health and hygiene and how scientific and commercial influences shaped this Imperial commodity culture.     

The Limits of Persuasion: Rhetoric and Resistance in the Last Battle of the Korean War

This essay explores the case of twenty-three American POWs who refused to return to the United States at the end of the Korean War. It first highlights the role of resistance in liberal rhetorical theory and then uses resistance as a lens to analyze public discourse about the incident. Looking closely at the three most common explanations for the soldiers' turning (youth, impairment, and brainwashing), the essay shows how the debate over the nonrepatriates was fundamentally a controversy over the limits of persuasion.     

Differing Map Construction and Text Organization and Their Effects on Retention

On the basis of Kulhavy's (R. W. Kulhavy, J. B. Lee, & L. C. Caterino, 1985) conjoint retention model of text learning with organized spatial displays, the authors conducted 2 experiments to analyze the effects of different types of maps and a considerate text (i.e., a text that follows the scanning pattern of the map) or an inconsiderate text. In the 1st study, 158 participants viewed an intact or a segmented map and a considerate or a randomized text. Those participants who viewed the intact map and read the considerate text recalled significantly more information than those who viewed the intact map and read the randomized text. In the 2nd study, 179 participants viewed a flat map, a 1-point perspective map, or a 2-point perspective map, and a considerate text formulated on the basis of the predicted scanning pattern of the map. Those participants who viewed the flat map recalled significantly more information than those who viewed the perspective maps.