A conceptual model of the factors affecting dropout syndrome was develop emphasizing academic, social, and personal outcomes of the selection or socialization of students at a university. The model was estimated using path analysis, and the intervening variables were found to be important predictors of dropout syndrome. (Author/DWH)

Examines the effects of selected antecedent variables and communication processes on the consumer behavior of the elderly. Results suggest that the mass media and the family may be instrumental in reinforcing or developing traditional sex-role stereotypes among the elderly, whereas consumer education may help them filter puffery in advertisements.…

Reports on a longitudinal analysis of the impact of television in two Cree communities in northern Manitoba. Linkage exists between differing reactions and patterns of adaptation to Western pressure promoting different conceptions of the meaning and function of television. (Author/SA)

Examines findings from two studies: an over-all comic-strip page study and an in-depth study of three comic strips. Results reveal that comic strips perpetuate gender inequality and that comic strips reflect American society but also distort reality in ways detrimental to men and women. (Author/SA)

Analyzes the interrelationships of six basic child-rearing dimensions (nurturance, obedience, responsibility, self-reliance, achievement, and general independence) in a cross-cultural sample of 110 societies. Most generally, results reveal that societal pressures in child rearing in one dimension is likely to be related to pressure in any other…

This study investigated college students' use of and attitudes toward traditional and nontraditional news media, and the role of cable news network (CNN) and its integration into evolving news consumption patterns. Results indicate later college years are associated with heavier consumption. CNN viewers are heavier users of traditional media.…

Studies the ways in which citizens rationalize their obedience or disobedience to the law. There is a clear correspondence between cognitive structure, or moral reasoning, and political-legal predispositions. Political involvement is the catalyst which converts moral development into political maturity. (Author/CS)

A model of the development of interpersonal negotiation strategies in adolescents is proposed which included social-cognitive, interpersonal, and contextual aspects; and which has implications for such school-based interventions as classroom curriculum, individual/group counseling, school climate/discipline, and parent involvement. Implications…

Survey of students (grades 6-12) reveals that those who were heavy viewers of crime shows were more likely to have anticivil libertarian attitudes. Results indicate that television entertainment may be an important source of political learning. (PD)

The relationship between selected attitudinal variables among community college faculty members was investigated, using a framework derived from symbolic interaction theory, through a survey of 627 faculty in five Pennsylvania community colleges. Results indicated variations in attitudes toward the community college philosophy and orientations…

Based on the theory that educational systems reflect dominant principles within their cultures and that socialization through family and the educational institutions creates a particular sense of identity, attention is drawn to problems created by the challenge to the Indo-Pakistani student's sense of identity when he enters a British university.…

Studies focusing on the dying patient expose contaminating aspects of death and dying in our society. It will be argued that persons involved with the dying are sometimes "guilty by association." We must enlighten our understanding of all persons who are touched by death in this society. (Author)

Considers the liabilities imposed by the acceptance of a political orientation toward the concept of the free school or the open classroom. This orientation results when a notion of freedom taken from political theory is applied to education without careful consideration of the relevant differences between political and educational activity.…

Fifty cultures from the Human Relations Area Files of Harvard were compared on the age at which members of the culture assumed responsibility or teachability in children or assigned a more mature social sexual or cultural role. Ratings were made in 27 categories. (MS)