Research in the field of political communication has traditionally reflected a behavioral approach which has focused largely on the influence of mass communication on the public's political behavior. The role of the individual in selecting, interpreting, and processing political information has received significantly less attention. The…

Processing complex multivariate information effectively when relational properties of information sub-groups are ambiguous is difficult for man and man-machine systems. However, the information processing task is made easier through code study, cybernetic planning, and accurate display mechanisms. An exploratory laboratory study designed for the…

This book reports on a study of administrative feedback from subordinates to leaders in nine federal bureaus. It describes the processes by which information about subordinates flows back to headquarters and assesses that information in an effort to find out whether leaders could, if they want to, learn what happens below. The findings indicate…

Carter's model of affective relations (1965) and Chaffee's research on cognitive discrepancies and communication (1959) are used to test the hypotheses that increasing an attribute's discriminatory power will increase attribute salience and that increasing the exclusiveness of an object's attributes will increase objective salience. The current…

The objectives of the Publisher's Alert Service (PAS) is to announce the availability of educational programs and products to all potential publishers. This report provides the Office of Education with recommendations for improvements to the PAS. It includes: 1) information on the status of current announcements that would normally appear in a…

If feedback from educational research is not properly related or interpreted, it can often be more detrimental than beneficial. Five factors that should be kept in mind regarding feedback are: (1) varying interpretations of research findings depending on the user, (2) ethical-human aspects, (3) validity problems, (4) interaction effects, and (5)…

Some six hundred educators were studied in depth to determine their experiences with innovation, the influences of recognized diffusion agents upon their adoption of innovations, the characteristics of selected target audiences in relation to the adoption of innovations to personal practice, and relationships between five distinguishable stages of…

This paper presents two models, one for organizing institutional research and research data, and the other for applying research findings to the decision-making process. The model for organizing research consists of four subsystems: goal-setting, program development, cost-effectiveness, and program review. Each subsystem has a distinctive…

A Student Goals Inventory (SGI) for use in the community college was developed by a committee of Florida community college personnel. Six general goal categories were identified: career development, personal development, social development, academic development, cultural development, and community development. From six to seventeen goals are…

Argues that information management calls for development of an organizational strategy that encompasses users, information resources, and the available and appropriate technology. Discussion of factors involved includes the nature of information and information resources, variance in information usage, and guidelines for developing a strategy to…

A series of articles addresses issues concerning decision support and knowledge based systems. Topics covered include knowledge-based systems for information centers; object oriented systems; strategic information systems case studies; user perception; manipulation of certainty factors by individuals and expert systems; spreadsheet program use;…

A tongue-in-cheek list of faculty behaviors for improving student evaluations suggests that faculty manipulation of student comments is both common and a threat to quality social work education. Reduced emphasis on student ratings is strongly advocated. (Author/MSE)

Interviews with 59 Chinese parents of children with developmental disabilities uncovered some of the problems these parents experienced because service providers did not speak their language. The lack of language-appropriate information concerning the nature of the handicap and the course of interventive actions seriously affected both parents and…

Describes simple, unobtrusive method of determining who uses government publications by analyzing manual check-out circulation data at Arkansas State University. Per capita circulation and cross-tabulation results, analysis by classification number, document circulation and library circulation statistics, and publications that make up more than…

This discussion of the explosion of knowledge focuses on how schools must organize their curriculum to be conducive to change. Ten guidelines are suggested for providing new learning methods and for successfully dealing with a changing society. (LRW)