This article presents an interview with Jacqueline Wilson, a popular British author of children's books. Wilson has published 86 books for children and young adults with more than 20 million copies sold in the U.K. alone. Wilson's fans--mostly seven- to 14-year-old girls--love her gripping plots about dysfunctional families, homelessness, and…

Based on the premise that writing students are most encouraged by samples of published work written by published authors rather than by great talents whose books have become classics, this book aims to show aspiring writers how to write competently and professionally enough to be published. Throughout the book, examples that can loosely be labeled…

The need for treatment and prevention of cardiovascular heart disease (CHD) cannot be overestimated. There have been attempts to treat and prevent CHD by focussing on the relationship between a psychosocial factor, Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP), and CHD. Recent research suggests a consistent relationship between hostility, (a characteristic…

Intended to highlight the work which exists on women's folk humor and to encourage its further exploration, this annotated bibliography has been selected to provide access to the key works dealing with the oral tradition in women's folk humor. The bibliography's 33 annotations range from 1968 through 1992 and are gathered under the headings of…

The use of humor in the classroom has been investigated using a variety of humor operationalizations and methodologies with mixed results. The present study examined the role of teacher humor orientation (HO) rather than specific humorous behaviors. The relationship between teacher humor orientation and learning was the focus of this study.…

Comics help to shape, reflect, reinforce, and revise the beliefs and assumptions people have about themselves and others. This document addresses three issues related to the comics: (1) images of women in the comics by both male and female 20th century cartoonists; (2) conflicting and fragmented images of women in the comics; and (3) differences…

Humor, a communicative tactic used to engender support, is often used, but rarely understood. The literature in the field of humor has attempted to define situations where humor could be beneficial, although few definitive answers exist relating humor to effective leadership communicative behavior. This paper presents current research findings…

The difference between phrogfessors and teachers is that phrogfessors train tadpoles in the way of the swamp (i.e., create likenesses of themselves) while teachers produce people and thereby help to drain the swamp. Phrogfessors take responsibility for what their students learn. They believe that if a student does badly, it is the phrogfessor's…

Presents a collection of humorous statements made by elementary school youngsters on reports and tests pertaining to the aerospace sciences. (MLH)

Studied the enjoyment and comprehension of riddles and nonriddles by first, third, and fifth grade normal children. Also investigated the relationship of sex to the enjoyment of humor. (SDH)

Humor in adolescent literature is the focus of the articles in this themed journal issue. The articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Of Fiction and Madness" (Paul Zindel); (2) "Before the Immaculate Cuticles" (Jerry Spinelli); (3) "I Want To Make Them Laugh" (Ellen Conford); (4) "The Terrible Hilarity of Adolescence in 'Dinky Hocker…

No living American satirist has pushed the limits of satire--perhaps the most extreme form of expression that society has tolerated--further than Garry Trudeau, who draws the comic strip "Doonesbury." Newspaper editors regularly pull the strip, alter it, or accompany it with a disclaimer when they think it is unfair or libelous. And the…

A study was conducted to determine the effects of mildly self-disparaging humor on audiences' perceptions when it is used by speakers perceived to be of differing credibility (ethos) levels. Responses by 27 students who were potential subjects of the experiment were used to construct a credibility scale. The most credible speaker, a university…

American stereographs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are discussed in the context of the Victorian stylized stereotype of women which they so graphically capture. Stereograph cards and early motion pictures from the Library of Congress were the major sources studied. Stereograph cards were as ubiquitous in their time as television is…

Although humor and laughter are most often based in fundamental social interactions, this element of communication has received little attention. To examine the socially facilitating effects of communication and social acceptance by analyzing children's intrapersonal perceptions of communication apprehension, or shyness, 169 children, aged 8 to 13…