Discusses methodology and results of a study conducted at the University of Massachusetts in which bored versus stressed subjects were provided opportunities to watch television. Results indicate bored subjects more frequently selected exciting rather than relaxing programs, while stressed subjects selected similar quantities of each program type.…

This investigation of a special program on library use, library attitudes, and reading attitudes at 11 Phoenix, Arizona, area elementary schools highlights selection of schools and media specialists, program description, subjects, dependent variables (classroom- and nonclassroom-related use, attitude toward school library/librarian, reading…

Evaluates the hypothesis that boomtowns enter a period of generalized crisis and loss of traditional values/attitudes; considers impact of energy development on residents' involvement in/attachment to their community, and perceived quality of community services. Uses linear and systemic models on data from three intermountain communities…

Reports on Green Thumb, a government-sponsored, university-operated, computer-based videotext system that disseminated agricultural information to 200 Kentucky farmers for 13 months. Findings suggest that adoption of videotext systems may follow a different adoption pattern than other farming innovations. (MH)

Studies from different countries on perceived problems of beginning teachers are reviewed. Issues discussed include: reality shock; behavior and attitude change; situational and individual differences; principals' views; job satisfaction; teacher education; and inservice support. Three frameworks of teacher development are presented which provide…

The use of surveys of student aid recipients in one university is reported, focusing on survey rationale and methodology. Topics include survey organization, questionnaire content and design, sampling and procedures, and analysis and presentation of results. The significance and use made of information obtained from one recent survey are…

Analyzed 58 studies and concluded that much empirical evidence on knowledge gaps exists but not on gaps under the influence of media publicity. Found little research on associations between knowledge and education that involves media coverage of issues/news topics. Provides guidelines for future research. (PD)

In the fall of every even numbered year, the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) conducts a faculty workload study. The Fall 2004 Faculty Workload Report marks the first year of information collected under a newly redesigned methodology. During the 2003-04 academic year, the NSHE Board of Regents assembled a faculty workload task force to…

During the past few years, several Harvard paper surveys were converted to Web surveys. These were high-profile surveys endorsed by the Provost and the Dean of the College, and covered major portions of the university population (all undergraduates, all graduate students, tenured and non-tenured faculty). When planning for these surveys started in…

In quoting Ivan Illich's observation that "people who have been schooled down to size let unmeasured experience slip out of their hands," the author of this article contends that this is what is happening in education --- that we are being assimilated and schooled "down to size." Unmeasured experience, he says, is slipping out of our hands as a…

This report examines the implementation of the first year of the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative. Funded by the Annenberg Foundation, it is an on-site professional development initiative that employs instructional coaches using Penn Literacy Framework in an attempt to improve the level of teacher instruction in districts across the…

Unprecedented attention has gone to researching young voters, and yet one segment of this age group has been largely ignored: non-college (or "working") youth. Because very little is known about them, the following paper advances three fundamental concerns: What types of political activities do young workers engage in? What can be learned about…

This guide was written for graduate students and is intended to provide a grounding in research methods, particularly research in education, and to be a useful ongoing reference source. Each chapter was written by a professor, senior lecturer, or research specialist from a university in England. Part A, "The Concept of Research,"…

This study is part of a larger research agenda, which includes future doctoral study, aiming to investigate the psychological processes of thought experiments. How do thought-experimenters establish relations between their imaginary worlds and the physical one? How does a technique devoid of new sensory input result to new empirical knowledge? In…

This digest briefly reviews the events that led to the development of the American Indian and Alaska Native Education Research Agenda, the basic assumptions and premises underlying it, and its six priority research areas. In response to pressure from Native organizations and tribes and a subsequent Executive Order, a working group organized by the…