Vol 9, Issue 4, Winter 2007

Editor

Debbi Hatton, Sam Houston State University

Editor's Note

Determining Place and Shaping Change

Determining Place and Shaping Change

When approaching this edition I am reminded of Winston Churchill’s famous statement posed to the people considering whether to rebuild the bombed House of Commons, “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us. To this end we have now to consider whether we should build again, and if so, how, and when? For our decision impacts not only ourselves but what lies ahead." As Churchill poignantly stated, by defining place we shape the future and by focusing on how actions link place and identity to create movements, we have the opportunity to transform lives and communities.

This edition of ACJ takes a closer look at how communication determines place and shapes change. Lenert and Voigtmann in their article, The Internet as a Place for Community Action address how social networking application can link citizens, journalism and community action. While in the article, A Content Analysis of the Treatment of Informative and Reinforcing Feedback in Contemporary Communication Theory Textbooks, Owen and Dudley investigate how listener feedback influences the future verbal and non-verbal behavior of a speaker. Defining place in the literal sense, Foley in her article, A Case “for" and “of" Critical Pedagogy, examines the linguistic, cultural and pedagogical challenges that are part of teaching and interacting at the only university in the world for D/deaf and hard of hearing students. Philip Auter examines how a simple statement embedded in nationwide mass media outlets created a movement of acceptance that altered humanity as we know it in his article, Diffusion of the Concept that “the Internet is Good" via Television. Finally, in the article, Texas Vernacular Rock House Structure, Collins uses visual depictions of historical buildings to illustrate how “our buildings shape us." The three book reviews included in this edition further the discussion on how rhetoric can determine place and shape change. I sincerely hope you enjoy this edition of ACJ.

- Debbi Hatton

The “front" image for the journal is the work of Ryan Hignight, a photography major at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He is a freelance photographer and a member of the National Scholars Honor Society.