Background: South Africa's long-standing reading crisis is well recognised. At various stages since 2000, national government has presented the inculcation of a culture of reading as a solution to this crisis. Objectives: This article critically interrogated the term 'culture of reading' as used in national government discourse with reference to…

This article reviews current research on informal science learning through news media. Based on a descriptive model of media-based science communication we distinguish between (a) the professional routines by which journalists select and depict scientific information in traditional media and (b) the psychological processes that account for how…

Several factors contribute to a disproportionately lower Latino participation in college education. Foremost among those factors are policies that encourage quick job placement over career development, lack of understanding of the benefits of a college degree, lower expectations for Latino students, poor financial planning, and lack of guidance. A…

Reviews the literature relating to the development and application of modern imaging technology between 1987 and 1993. Highlights include image representation, including image data, compression, and image formats; and image access, including indexing and modeling, user interface design, and distributed access. (143 references) (LRW)

Discusses ParentLink, a collective of Missouri organizations and agencies striving to simplify parents' access to research-based information, services, and problem-solving support pertaining to parenting. It is based on systems theory, specifically the ecology of human development. A comprehensive array of technologies augments ParentLink…

Explores the applicability of the diffusion model to communication processes in the art world. The main fields of social studies of arts are reviewed in terms of communication research issues. Principal elements of the diffusion model are examined, and suggestions are given for applying this approach in the art world. (Contains 57 references.)…

Students often fail to store new information in memory in a way that is accessible or useful. The information they have acquired is inert. This paper examines the inert knowledge problem in the context of learning from informational expository text. Kintsch and van Dijk (1978) have suggested a framework for understanding learning from expository…

Presents a management model of ethical decision making in librarianship. Highlights include a definition of ethics; ethical concerns in information professions; the concept of social responsibility; ethical dimensions of decision making, including access to information and hiring decisions; ethical considerations for managers; and strategies for…

Policymakers, educators, and researchers recognize the importance of community colleges as open door institutions that provide a wide range of students with access to college. At the same time, competing demands for the state funds that would support community colleges have resulted in reduced public allocations and higher student tuition fees.…

Provides an overview of the current state of networking technology in rural libraries and describes a model for educating rural librarians in accessing electronic networks. Topics discussed include information needs in rural libraries; telecommunications technology access in rural areas; and examples of services to enhance information access.…

Analyzes the information life cycle and traces this concept in policy instruments and the primary and secondary literature. Topics addressed include differing views on the concept of a life cycle; steps of life-cycle management; managing information as well as technology; and the need for further study and development of models. (Contains 97…

Examines the role of the Internet in supporting scholarly communication via electronic journals. Topics include scholarly electronic communication; a typology of electronic journals; models of electronic documents and scholarly communication forums; publication speed; costs; pricing; access and searching; citations; interactivity; archiving and…

Discusses the concept of gatekeepers in the area of information and culture and presents a model for the information-seeking behavior of ethnolinguistic gatekeepers. Highlights include information needs and use models; information inequity in information and retrieval programs; affective and cognitive domains; and research implications for…

Discussion of the growth of the Internet focuses on the rate of growth based on three measurements of changes in reachable Internet services: (1) the rate at which sites initiate network connectivity; (2) the rate at which sites become directly connected; and (3) the rate at which sites distance themselves, usually for security reasons. (Contains…

Questions the wisdom of permitting visions of the electronic library to drive budgets and strategic planning. Social and economic realities limiting user access to information, new roles for librarians, and models that guide management of information resources and services by real librarians for real users are discussed. A proposed action agenda…