States that "gathering material" is what writers do when they are not writing and that writers are their own first audience, even as they write. Advocates active reading and book collecting as rewarding for writers. (PA)

While many educators find that critical pedagogy appeals ideologically, some have found the transition from ideology to praxis difficult. One route for making the transition from theory to practice combines critical pedagogy with interactive performance practice. This combination creates a learning community that empowers participants, which…

One art critic called it pure Despite the mixed reviews of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's temporary art installation in New York's Central Park, the public reaction to The Gates was largely positive.The Gates consisted of 7,500 orange PVC frames straddling the park's walkways that varied in widths from 5 1/2 feet to 18 feet. Eight-foot-long ripstop…

The role of spectator is crucial for an actor, for there are "no actors without spectators." At times the success of the actor depends upon the role taken by the spectator. Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" depends upon an active, creative, involved audience. Other artists expect their audience to be passive, almost unconscious. Whether the medium of…

With her recent book, "Paint the Wind" (2007), hitting the shelves this fall, author Pam Munoz Ryan delivers a welcome addition to the 25 plus books she has written for young people, including her award-winning novels "Esperanza Rising" (2000) and "Riding Freedom" (1998) and picture books "Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride" (1999) and "When Marian…

Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference on the Teaching of Psychology: Ideas and Innovations, sponsored by the Psychology Department of Farmingdale State College. The conference theme for 2014 was:" Infusing Issues of Racial, Religious, and Sexuality Diversity Across the Undergraduate Curriculum." The Conference featured a keynote…

Handheld wireless transponders, commonly referred to as "clickers", are similar to standard household remote controls. The present study advances a dialogue in the literature about the specific ways in which clickers may be effectively used in the classroom. The present study was a survey of 516 students who were using clickers in a…

As part of their efforts to create a total advertising environment, companies continue to aggressively market in school to children and youth. Advertisers now routinely blur the boundaries between editorial content and advertising in an effort to thoroughly infuse childhood with marketing messages. The goal of creating a total advertising…

This article offers a case study of a graduate class in communication research methods with a service-learning approach. Students were engaged in evaluating the public information campaign of a nonprofit organization exposing human rights abuses in US prisons. They gained hands-on experience in the use of a variety of basic research methods and…

The present study compared the rhetorical strategies for argumentative writing in Chinese and English composition textbooks. The textbooks were selected based on four criteria. The results of the study revealed that there are similarities and differences in Chinese and English argumentative writing. Both Chinese and English agree upon the function…

This study explored the effectiveness of communication training for clergy, working to create an outcomes assessment model for such endeavors. Clergy-participants (N=46) completed an extensive training process designed to increase the transformative quality of their sermon communication. Training outcomes were assessed with a prepost test design,…

In a recent study of the Tampa (Florida) market, TRAC Media Services acquired some interesting information about the market's response to its two public television stations. WEDU is a VHF-signal community station that reaches about 745,000 households in a week, and WUSF is a university-licensed UHF station that reaches about 547,000. Month-long…

If the arts are an essential means for cultural expression, then the study of arts participation is central to the understanding of U.S. culture and its evolution. This document aims to provide an understanding of arts participation at the national and local levels. To this end, the historical development of arts research is summarized and an…

A study examined how college students watch television: Are there gender differences in how students watch? Is watching a form of socialization or a means of escape and diversion? Is there a relationship between students' GPA and the number of hours they spend watching television? Subjects were 379 full-time undergraduates--half of whom were male…

The uses and gratifications paradigm, like the initial conceptions of media effects, can be viewed as a compatible elaboration of contemporary social and political theory. The fundamental assumptions of the uses and gratifications approach, particularly the assumptions regarding the nature and extent of audience activity and the ability of the…