Presents a humorous approach to the question of how to recycle catalog cards necessitated by the results of library automation and online catalogs. A sidebar summarizes an article that appeared in the "New Yorker" magazine regarding the discard of card catalogs. (LRW)

Examines college students' responses to the program "Cops" to better understand how viewers construct meaning and pleasure from the televisual texts of reality-based programming. Finds that humor guides the viewers' interpretations of the text and is a major source of pleasure, but the audience's search for the comic both deviates from…

Examines the language games found in the 18th century Chinese novel "Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan." Examination focuses on distinctly Chinese literary conventions and devices that have no equivalent in English, such as "xiehouyu" and "qiaopihua," as well as puns, character splitting, enigmatic expressions, and reification of…

Argues that the study of humor should be worked into English curricula starting in middle school, taking students inside jokes to expose the subtle way humor can convey information, images, and assertions. Discusses understanding humor, reading humor, and writing humor. (SR)

Explores humor from a functional perspective. Finds three primary functions: positive affect, expressiveness, and negative affect. Finds positive relationships between positive affect humor and interpersonal competence. Supports the validity of the Uses of Humor Index. (SR)

Suggests that, rather than ignoring the enormous interest of children for joke and riddle books, educators can take advantage of humor's natural attraction by using it to involve children in reading and to provide worthwhile learning experiences. Discusses humor as an instructional tool, classroom use of joke and riddle books, and teacher…

Investigated humor response to aggressive cartoons using ratings of pain and funniness of cartoons by college students (n=93) and older adults (n=61). Found no significant age differences; however, sex differences were found. Females exhibited an inverted-U relationship between pain ratings and funniness ratings. For males there was no…

Suggests that humor promotes group unity, relieves tension, and stimulates creative thinking. Demonstrates how using cartoons in nursing education helps students identify and examine stereotypes to improve relationships. (SK)

We all come to the human family--and our schools--with different kinds of intellectual baggage and different kinds of lingo to describe it. "Underprivileged" to one becomes "over-exploited" to another; the same goes for "multiculturalism" versus "ethnocentrism." We all must learn to share perceptions honestly and respect these differences. (MLH)

This study compared the responses of 73 students (ages 6 to 21) with hearing impairments and a matched sample of hearing students to 14 cartoons. No significant differences in humor ratings were found between groups in their overall ratings, although significant differences were found between age groups and genders with younger participants and…

Examined processes by which 4- and 5-year-olds initiate, organize, and maintain language play interactions. Found that as children voice incongruities of greater proportion, the emotional climate of play is heightened and ingenious verbal representations are provoked. Identified developmental features of hyperbolic language play. Contextualized…

Examines historical ironies and stories with surprise endings about Rene Descartes and Wilhelm Wundt that can enliven history of psychology lectures and make certain concepts more memorable. Explains that this approach does not trivialize psychology's history but adds humor to a subject that students sometimes find dull. (CMK)

Examines approaches which have been successful in creating a humorous atmosphere in a Montessori class for 2- and 3-year olds, and reviews research findings with various ages and cross-cultural comparisons that contribute to an understanding of the role of humor in children's natural development. (Author)

A case study of a 29-year-old woman with high functioning autism is presented. Examples of her use of puns, jokes, neologisms, "portmanteau" words, irreverent humor, irony, sarcasm, and word play based on her obsessional interests are provided and discussed in relation to current theories of autism and of normal humor. (Contains references.)…

Discusses the use of humor in the counseling process and the potential difficulties when working with a client from a different culture. Explores the available literature and offers contributions on the subject from four ethnically diverse perspectives. Presents a general approach based on existential theory along with five general conditions to…