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This paper is in closed access. ; This article introduces the special issue on questions, questioning, and institutional practices. We begin by considering how questioning as a discursive practice is a central vehicle for constructing social worlds and reflecting existing ones. Then we describe the different ways questions and question(ing) have been defined, typologized, and critiqued, in general and within seven institutions including policing, the courts, medicine, therapy, research interviews, education, and mediated political exchanges. The introduction concludes with a preview of the articles in the special issue.

This engaging text explores how everyday talk--the ordinary kinds of communicating that people do in schools, workplaces, and among family and friends--expresses who we are and who we want to be. The authors interweave rhetorical and cultural perspectives on the ""little stuff"" of conversation: what we say and how we say it, the terms used to refer to others, the content and style of stories we tell, and more. Numerous detailed examples show how talk is the vehicle through which people build relationships. Students gain skills for thinking more deeply about their own and others' communic

The relationship between employee performance and communicative abilities was investigated in a field study of 128 claims adjusters from two insurance company offices. The study examines the relationships between communicator competence, listening ability, and frequency of task-related talk and employee performance with new technology. Comparisons are also made with individual levels of past productivity. Multiple regression analysis reveals significant positive relationships between each of the communication variables and employee productivity with new technology. Post hoc analyses reveal that two of the communication factors (communicator competence and frequency of task-related talk), and general level of past task productivity are significant predictors of two additional performance measures: (a) the productivity decrease that occurred during the first week in which the new technology was used and (b) the speed with which the employees returned to their average previous productivity levels using the new technology.

Essays in the The Prettier Doll focus on the same local controversy: in 2001,a third-grade girl in Colorado submitted an experiment to the school science fair. She asked 30 adults and 30 fifth-graders which of two Barbie dolls was prettier. One doll was black, the other white, and each wore a different colored dress. All of the adults picked the Barbie in the purple dress, while nearly all of the fifth graders picked the white Barbie. When the student's experiment was banned an uproar resulted that spread to the national media.