Presents results of a study on the speech act of definition in chemistry texts within two genres investigating whether or not it can serve as a criterion to differentiate the two genres. A random sample of 60 texts written by different writers served as the corpus of the study. Results suggest that definitions often cluster together in textbooks,…

Reviews major methods, and their theoretical underpinnings, for the definition and measurement of sexual orientations, highlighting their limitations and pitfalls, both practical and conceptual. Cautions against increasing politicization of this area. Makes recommendations toward measurement concerns with adolescent populations. Details a specific…

A survey of 188 Saskatchewan educational administrators and 20 interviews examined administrators' a priori definitions of "ethical." Definitions focused on external versus internal sources of ethical authority and on behavioral versus rational constructs and were often concerned with the reflection and alignment of community values and…

Describes an innovative values education program at a suburban New Jersey high school. The ABCD program's premise is that teachers and students must know themselves before they can benefit from a school's educational and teaching experiences. The pilot project, which emphasized self-awareness training, showed that ninth graders could understand…

Provides and supports a definition of public relations as behavior with a mode explaining the difficulty of achieving each behavior and the cost to organizations when the behavior is not achieved. Draws from the literature on ethics, rhetorical theory, public relations management, case studies, and from observation and experience to support this…

Examines the concept of utilization deficiency related to memory strategy development. Argues that problems with current definition obscure previous important theoretical distinctions and limit investigations of strategy inefficiencies that are likely to be important in understanding development of strategy use. Maintains that the developmental…

Focuses on the importance and meaning of the degree of spontaneity in memory strategy production. Situates the concept of utilization deficiency within current work on memory strategy heterogeneity, contextual support, and situation-specific skills. Concludes that work on utilization deficiencies helps balance the focus on early emergence of…

Defining terminologies accurately is a necessity in the learning environment. A glossary of related terms, developed by an instructor in a teacher training college is provided. "Applied" rather than "philosophic" definitions are determined. Terms are presented alphabetically, from "Advertising" to "Zoom Ratio." (AEF)

Argues that the failure to identify concepts and definitions with their corresponding levels of discourse has resulted in the propagation of historically outdated definitions and vocabulary in chemistry textbooks. Provides several examples of the problem from textbooks. Contains 36 references. (DDR)

Fifteen children (grades 3-5) with specific language impairment (SLI) were asked to define 10 common nouns. Children with SLI scored significantly lower than children with typically developing language for both content and form. Results suggest that lexical access and/or lack of metalinguistic knowledge were potential causes for the lower scores…

A survey of 218 learning disabilities experts found only 30 percent believed IQ-reading achievement discrepancy should be a marker of reading disability. Over two thirds selected three markers: reading achievement, phonemic awareness, and treatment validity. Over 75 percent believed exclusion criteria should remain part of the definition with…

Confronts 3 large lacunae in research on reading fluency: definition, component structure, and theory-based intervention. Presents a developmental- and component-based definition of reading fluency. Discusses how different types of current fluency interventions correspond to particular components in fluency's structure and to particular phases of…

Four issues facing the field of learning disabilities are discussed: (1) defining learning disabilities in terms of discrepancy scores; (2) delineating the boundaries of how specific a learning disability must be; (3) identifying treatments with scientific credibility; and (4) implementing instructional policy that is in the best interest of the…

Discussion of J. Renzulli's Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) finds that the model's focus on talent development allows increased access to opportunity, excellence, and equity for minority students who have been shut out of gifted education. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Simulated data were used to demonstrate that groups formed by imposing cut-points based on either discrepancy or low-achievement definitions of learning disabilities (LD) are unstable over time. Similar problems were demonstrated in longitudinal data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, where 39% of the children designated as having LD in…