The pioneers and settlers of the Oregon Territory were not of one ilk. They came from various places and brought their separate speech patterns with them. This study sought to identify which major North American English dialect was present in the first half of the 20th century in Oregon. Analysis relied on the descriptions for the Southern, Northern, Midlands, and Western dialects. Some dialect features have acoustic measurements attached to their descriptions, and others do not. The analytical process was based on acoustic measurements for vowel classes and individual tokens, as well as global observations about the place of a particular class means within the larger vowel system. Findings indicate weak presence of Southern and Western speech patterns. The Northern and Midlands dialects were present, but they were not advanced. No single dialect predominated. Part of the process attempted to find a dialect diagnosis to help determine a one-step indicator as to which dialect may be present. Observations implied that the front/back relation of /e/ and /o/ is a reliable dialect indicator.

In 1958 Stephen E. Toulmin wrote of inadequacies of formal logic and proposed a new field-dependent approach to the analysis of arguments. Despite a generally negative response to his proposal from formal logicians, Toulmin's model for the laying out of arguments for analysis was subsequently appropriated by several speech communication textbook writers. In some textbooks, the Toulmin model has become successor to the syllogism as the paradigm of logical argument. Yet, perhaps due to their seemingly uncritical acceptance of Toulmin's approach there appears to be serious disagreement and confusion among speech communication professionals about the nature and applications of the Toulmin model. Towards a resolution of this problem, this study provides a descriptive analysis and assessment of the history of the Toulmin model and its proposed applications to speech communication.

Nonverbal communication is especially significant in the area of intercultural communication. Familiar signals often signify and convey different and unexpected messages, usually out-of-awareness, and then unfamiliar stimuli cause confusion and uneasiness. This is a report of Thai NVC, which intends (1) to describe selected Thai nonverbal behavior, (2) to relate these to appropriate time and context, (3) to explain a cultural component that makes the behaviors acceptable and/or mandatory, and (4) to report how Thai nonverbal behaviors may affect intercultural and cross-cultural communication. Selected Thai nonverbal messages are described: (1) nonverbal signals: the sign language of wai, the kinesthetic behaviors of eye movement, and hand movements which include receiving, pointing, indicating farewell, rejection, negation, disagreement, beckoning, applause, counting, bad odor signal, insulting signal, and angry and friendly signals, (2) nonverbal action: the action of feet and khwan, postures which include sitting, walking and standing, (3) object language: four religious ceremonies of lod khrc kaaw pun, dam hua, wai khruu, and wi sa kha bu chaa; the use of artifacts: phra cee dii, phra phud tharubb, khryan raan ta krud, (dta gkroot) and jan, colors (clothing) which includes yellow, khaki, blue, red, daily color, black and white, the material orientation to directions such as staircase positions; cooking art which includes breakfast and eating, (4) paralanguage: the Thai linguistic parallel to paralanguage, especially vocal intensity (loudness and softness), (5) personal and social distance which includes proxemic behaviors of infancy, late childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and male and female public positions, and male and female sleeping positions (6) olfaction: artificial scents and natural body odors, and finally (7) skin sensitivity: touch and temperature. The method used to gather data was through participant observation. The descriptions of these illustrative Thai NVC behaviors are drawn from the writer's personal firsthand knowledge of Thai life, from Thai informants, his field work experiences as a research assistant to a Cornell University anthropologist in Thailand, from his experience as an interpreter-translator for the U.S. Army there, and his observations of Thai nonverbal behaviors among Thai migrants and student s in many natural settings in ·the United States of America. The approach of “Participant Observation” is a social and cultural anthropological technique best described by Bruyn. The study shows that Thais are rigidly taught behaviors early in life, which portray nonverbal messages. These become a part of Thai cultural communication norms. Thus, Thais communicate through explicit and unquestioned sets of norms, using proper, desirable, and appropriate behavior for them. Since these cultural norms are taught early in life, they are out-of-awareness and deeply ingrained. Evidence is given that Thai NVC behavior is culturally interpreted. In intercultural and cross-cultural communication, this should be taken into consideration to prevent erroneous interpretation.

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the language development rate of male and female children, 24 to 30 months of age, during a three month time period.

A review of the literature on self-disclosure and small group communication showed that few investigations dealt with the effects of disclosing communication on small group process. The present study was conducted in order to assess the effects of the frequency of self-disclosure within small groups on the members' overall attraction to the group. 120 subjects were selected from the East Hill Church senior high youth department in Gresham, Oregon. Subjects were placed at random into ten small groups with twelve members each which met for one-half hour per week for six consecutive weeks. All group communications were audio tape recorded. Weekly recordings were transcribed and rated for frequency of self disclosure. In addition, a self-report "attraction-to-group" measure was completed by all subjects at the end of each session in order to assess the attraction members felt for their groups each week.

When a writer desires to express a feeling rather than merely a fact, a strict research method of writing is not always the most effective. If one is not bound by the historical facts of a situation, he may make his treatment dramatic and greatly help an audience experience his feelings by speaking in the first person or by atttibutlng his words to some other person. Because aesthetic and emotional communication is possible only through one of the major fine arts, the present writer decided to prepare a creative thesis entltled "Death Shall Die." It is hoped that through this thesis an illusion will be created, a human experience will be communicated. and - since truth is the aim of literature - a truth will be clarified. The chief difficulty encountered in this thesis was that problem common to all art - the problem of transmitting to an audience an experience with intensity and meaning. It has been agreed upon that the thesis itself shall consist of an original oral reading selection rather than the usual written thesis. The following few pages of explanation therefore, should not be considered the thesis, but are submitted as a supplement to the thesis. A copy of the oral reading follows the explanatory material. It is well to bear in mind. that the selection has been written to be heard rather than read; therefore, the appreciation of the work gained from reading it may not be the same thing as that gained from hearing it performed. While one may profit by reading this thesis, the nineteenth century French scholar, Paul Lorain, reminds us that if we read such a selection rather than hearing it, the work may be "like a dried flower: the substance, indeed, is there, but the color is faded and the perfume gone."

The primary purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of a school hearing conservation program that might be used by personnel planning other programs, to serve as a guide or for comparison. A secondary purpose of the study was to analyze and evaluate the hearing conservation program of the Office of the Stanislaus County Superintendent of Schools in order to find more efficient ways of administering and conducting the program and otherwise improve its effectiveness.

This thesis uses autobiographical inquiry to "re-member" how I came to understand that applied storytelling was a valid teaching tool in facilitating autobiographical expression in mature learners. It is an examination of how story sharing and story listening can transform a continuing education classroom into a learning community. Applied storytelling can help elders reframe their negative mental models about the value of their stories, memory, and mythology and create opportunities for positive story sharing experiences. I selected highlights of my journey that best represented my experience and use of applied storytelling techniques. Each chapter includes an exercise and reflection as well as a story and commentary. In the appendices, I include stories written by the elders.

The ghost story concert is a popular modern form of presenting ghost stories to ticket buying audiences and is one of the last stomping grounds of the oral tradition. Attendees come to be scared but not terrified. Tellers employ humor to release tension during the tale. When does humor release tension while maintaining the momentum of the story? When does the humor employed deflate it into a comical tale and diffuse suspense altogether? In an effort to answer these questions, four variants of a single story, Tailypo, were analyzed for the presence of tension and humor inducing stimuli employing Rothbart's diagram of Schematic Representation of Affective Response to Sudden, Intense, or Discrepant Stimulation. Rothbart's model has previously been applied to affective response to horror film; here it has been applied to oral storytelling.

The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the immediate and long-range implications of three speeches: (1) August 8,1938, (2) September 19, 1952, and (3) September 19, 1956, which J. Reuben Clark, Jr. delivered during the annual Pre-School Faculty Conference at Brigham Young University. The speeches were analyzed and compared to determine the goals and charges given and to determine whether there was carry-over from speech to speech.The significant findings included: (1) The LDS Church school system is to be manned only by those individuals who have strong, undeviating testimonies of a living Savior, of the Restored Gospel, and of a living Prophet; and who are prepared in both content and technique within their special fields of teaching. (2) Brigham Young University is the most important school in the world, to become even greater, because of the unique charge to maintain a balance between spiritual and secular education. (3) The advice and counsel given by Elder Clark has been followed, reaffirmed, and has become the standard by which the University shall maintain its quest toward excellence in education.