In order to stimulate scholars to investigate systematically and fully the religious dimension of dramatic television content, the first part of this paper develops a basic framework for such study. After establishing the importance of this kind of research, it defines and explains the four basic variables that would have to be examined: general…

A study was conducted to determine how to reach out in an effective manner via televised public service announcements (PSAs) to particular at-risk audiences to motivate participation in drug abuse prevention programs. The subjects (207 young adults in Fayette County, Kentucky) responded to the M. Zuckerman sensation-seeking questionnaire. They…

These four issues of The Quarterly of the National Writing Project cover the calendar year 1989. The January 1989 issue contains the following articles: (1) "The Unteachables" (J. Juska); (2) "Changing the Model" (M. Griffith and others); (3) "Literate Cultures: Multi-Voiced Classrooms" (M. Roemer); (4) "Despite…

Students at Hauppauge Middle School are writing original children's stories and then telling these stories to preschool children. Before middle school students begin writing their stories, they participate in activities to help them develop a sense of their intended audience. As students write their stories, they work in small groups to discuss…

This book draws on extensive demographic information to present a portrait of the nation's reading habits. Research offers the following observations and facts: reading of serious contemporary literature is the pastime of a distinct minority; the proportion of Americans who read serious literature is between 7 and 12% and contemporary fiction,…

The study described in this report was designed to measure the attitudes of Virginians towards higher education in Virginia and towards some environmental problems facing the Commonwealth. The survey questioned 517 Virginia citizens over age 18 whose households were chosen through random-digit-telephone dialing. Among the findings of the survey…

The library can assist in grounding college student writing in reading and inquiry rather than in the mere retrieval of information Fundamental rhetorical goals can best by met by getting students into the library to ask questions, analyze sources, and evaluate claims so they can react to and incorporate the work of other writers into their own…

More than one-third of U.S. newspapers use various kinds of systematic survey research other than that provided by Gallup or Harris, and broadcast networks have polling units that are part of their news divisions. However, as most of the media employ them, opinion polls provide a genuine basis for "broad, sweeping generalizations." News…

Careful audience analysis should be a major focus of the rhetorical side of technical writing courses for university undergraduates. Student writers need to be taught to appreciate their readers' problems, interests, and motives. Most often, audience analysis is accomplished imaginatively--authors create mental images of their readers. Students…

To test the hypothesis that use of sexist language in television newscasts cultivates images of women as immature, frivolous, or incompetent, two television news anchors (one male, one female) were asked to tape versions of a news story involving a 28-year-old female lottery winner. In one version, each anchor referred to this female as…

A study examined the influence of news about single nations on U.S. residents' inferences about groups of foreign countries. Subjects, 150 students in introductory psychology, writing, and mass communications courses at a U.S. state university, were randomly assigned to treatment groups. Participants answered questions concerning a group of…

This workshop presenter's guide is intended for use by administrators in training one another in the Project Leadership program developed by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). The purpose of this scripted guide is to give administrators the knowledge and the tools to communicate effectively and professionally with the news…

This paper identifies major shifts in advertising and marketing addressed to the female audience between 1940 and 1980 in terms of women's labor, lifestyle, and leisure, and analyzes various popular and publicized conceptualizations of female identity and feminism from the point of view of business and marketers. The first period is identified as…

A number of important consequences have resulted from the generally increased sensitivity of trade unions to questions of communication and representation, particularly the trade union's uses of videos. Primarily developed by union leadership as a response to general political problems they have faced in the last decade, trade union videos…

Positive school-media relations are essential if schools are to expect an "understanding press" during crucial periods. Recommendations for developing and maintaining such relations fall into 10 areas, including school boards' establishing a firm media relations policy, appointing a board spokesman, creating a "game plan" for media dealings, and…