Cultural studies, an amalgam of literature, social history, sociology, anthropology, and media studies, looks at the intersection of culture and politics. The discipline is still evolving and has drawn criticism, but proponents do not want it to become too institutionalized at the risk of losing its critical integrity. (MSE)

Addresses two aspects of disciplinary identity in the communication field--self-concept and academic standing. Discusses various forces that contributed to the fragmentation of the discipline. (MM)

Suggests that "competence" is a component of power-knowledge practices that regulate adults through a process of self-regulation. Argues that competency-based education is a means of producing consent without using oppression or force in reproducing the social order. (SK)

Describes the forced merger (with reduced funding) of the Journalism School and the Communication Department at Ohio State University. (SR)

The development of professional gerontology instruction is examined in the context of previous research on the development of professional education more generally through six stages: apprenticeship, knowledge generation, knowledge classification, knowledge teaching, formalization of teaching, and improvement of the profession. Implications for…

Discusses the merger of Central Missouri State University's speech and mass communication departments. Describes the university administration's reasons for the merger and the departments' reactions. Examines the departments' involvement in planning for the change. Reports that the new department remains committed to academic and professional…

Discusses special issue of the journal, which is product of a University of Oregon symposium that looked for points of contact among perspectives on second-language acquisition (SLA), second-language instruction, and cognition. Contributions make case for extension of cognitive science methods and ideas but also make case for incorporating study…

Documents the process used to construct the definition of the field of instructional technology. A chronology of the development and the key factors that influenced the construction process are described. Issues confronted, including acceptable definition characteristics and the scope and nature of the domains, are covered. (13 references) (KRN)

Data from the 1984 Carnegie survey of faculty at U.S. universities show substantial disciplinary variation in pessimism that one's field is stagnant. Field-level variations in both anomie and consensus exert strong effects on average levels of scholarly pessimism within fields and are stronger determinants of scholarly pessimism than individual…

Discusses the future trends possible in the field of communication education and research. Argues that administrators of communications programs should anticipate dynamic curricular changes that will strain traditional concepts of the discipline. Considers how paradigm shifts might affect the discipline's growth and organization. (HB)

National data on foreign student enrollment lists the 80 2- and 4-year colleges and universities with the largest foreign student enrollments, the number of foreign students in each state, distribution of students in 1989-90 and 1990-91 by field of study (number and percentage), and countries of origin (ranked, with total student numbers). (MSE)

A conceptual framework for home economics asks the questions What is the purpose of home economics? What is the field's structure? What are model cases of the field's actions? and What arguments explain and evaluate the field? The framework can clarify understanding of home economics' mission and enable practitioners to interpret subject matter.…

Discussion of journal article titles as an index to the contents, and thus to the underlying discipline, focuses on a study that was conducted to investigate the development of the field of counseling. Use of the Danielson and Bryan Index is described, and implications of a trend toward longer titles are suggested. (11 references) (LRW)

The concept of paradigm as disciplinary matrix and exemplar is applied to industrial education. It is suggested that research on the rapid and profound changes in the field must proceed within an explicit conceptual framework that takes into account the unique structure and dynamic nature of the field. (SK)

Outlines the emergence of the field of composition studies as a scholarly research discipline in the 1970s. Argues that the development of composition studies is part of a broader intellectual history affecting linguistics and literary studies. Describes the common themes shared by these different fields of study. (HB)