Includes two articles from a German journal that focus on the content of dissertations from East German institutions of higher education that had been classified as secret prior to the unification of Germany. Highlights include legal background; levels of secrecy; release from classified status; and differences among graduate institutions. (LRW)

Addresses questions regarding research in school psychology by coding all of the articles published from 1994-1998 in the main USA school psychology journals and in "School Psychology International." Assessment-related topics and research on clinical/personality issues dominated the USA literature, while clinical/personality and professional…

Finds sexual imagery more common than religious imagery in a sample of 207 rock, country, and Christian videos, although religious imagery was present in approximately 30% of the videos. Finds that the presence of sexual and religious images in combination occurred more often than would be expected by chance and in relatively equal proportions…

Examines if the reading levels of state-adopted science textbooks at the high-school level are consistent with their intended reader levels. Finds that four of five chemistry textbooks had reading levels beyond high school, while biology textbooks fared better but not as well as the physics and physical science textbooks, which were on grade level…

Finds that the number of black models in magazine advertisements has increased; the use of Hispanic and Asian models was extremely small; there were few differences in portrayal by gender or age; and blacks were more likely to appear as athletes or musicians and to be featured in public-service or government-sponsored ads. (SR)

Demonstrates that the first-year composition class can be a particularly important contact zone in that it can serve as an arena for exploring the pedagogical value of several types of first contacts that new students experience in the other contact zones of the university. Analyzes student papers to illustrate how students discover the social…

Considers the need to make Web sites accessible to foreign users, by localizing it for another country or globalizing it for users from many countries or cultures. Discusses online images; customer support issues; language translation, including quality control; and using Global English, which avoids jargon, includes useful headings, and proper…

Analyzes the dimensions and manifestations of identity development embedded within commonly used instruments measuring student identity development. To this end, a content analysis of ten identity assessment tools was conducted to determine the assumptions about identity development contained therein. Findings suggest the importance of determining…

Using a framework of organizational arenas (rational, human, political, symbolic), narrative analysis of the content of 36 Harvard Business School case studies revealed an overwhelming emphasis on the rational to the virtual exclusion of other domains. Four perceptual hazards (metathemes) that characterize rationality bias were elaborated:…

Examines school-improvement plans of three low-performing schools on probation using content analysis of the accountability systems in Maryland, Kentucky, and San Francisco. (Contains 38 references.) (PKP)

Examines the second-language content published in two journals from 1990 to 2001 and finds an increase in the amount of such material. Presents results from each journal and examines the progressive content. Finds that, overall, both "The Reading Teacher" and "Language Arts" adequately relayed the major second-language literacy research trends.…

Describes adaptive educational hypermedia systems which aim to increase the functionality of hypermedia by making it personalized to individual learners and considering individual learning styles. Presents a prototype hypermedia system and reports results of a pilot study that investigated the system's educational effectiveness. (Author/LRW)

Proposes a model on which activities in children's educational software could be evaluated based on Multiple Intelligences theory. Proposes that, when evaluating the types of activity in children's educational software, one should ask whether it contains at least some of the activities in the model for each learning activity. (Author/SLD)

Examines children's books which highlighted multicultural issues, with the understanding that what is said about multiculturalism is as important, if not more so, than the simple fact that multiculuralism is discussed. Uses an adaptation of Mulvey's (1975) "gaze," to examine whiteness in seven multicultural children's books. Finds that the white…

Describes the development of the Motivation Analysis Rating Kit (M@RK) to address motivational design elements and to assess children's perceptions of Web site design elements and the Web features they most prefer. Results showed children were most motivated by Web sites that are rated high for both content and design elements. (Author/LRW)