A study examined the content and approaches embodied in seven popular high school literature anthology series, grades 7 through 12. The seven series examined consisted of 42 volumes with 1989 copyrights, stratified by grade level and by series. All selections in all 42 volumes were analyzed to develop a portrait of the content of literature…

A study measured attitudes towards Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) victims by providing a qualitative content analysis of newspaper coverage of the epidemic. A search of the NEXIS database was conducted to identify every "New York Times" article on the subject of AIDS in which the word "innocent" appears. Results…

Newly discovered transcriptions of 87 of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's women-only press conferences held from 1933 to 1945 make possible an examination of the objectives, topics, and value of these conferences. By holding the conferences, Mrs. Roosevelt attributed to women an important function in the political communication process, and at the…

Designed for media specialists and educators, this issue reviews 19 short films produced between 1956 and 1978. Films range from 2 to 24 minutes in length and include both verbal and nonverbal live-action and animation films. Although most of the films are aimed at elementary-aged children, a few are also suitable for teenagers and adults. The…

To identify the means by which scientific discourse achieves any degree of success in representing nature, an examination was made of Arthur H. Compton's and Alfred W. Simon's paper, "Measurements of Beta-Rays Associated with Scattered X-Rays," which originally appeared in 1925. Analysis reveals that the rhetorical choices of Compton,…

Content analysis of two classes of professional periodicals that appeared between 1886 and 1917 provides a comprehensive picture of the evolution of teaching methods in English. Designed specifically to aid the classroom teacher, device journals presented teaching methods or actual lessons with few explanations of the theories underlying practice.…

Because they tend to reflect dominant cultural values that are more obvious and taken for granted by historians, male stereotypes in radio serials, or "soap operas," have been ignored. They are prevalent, however, especially in the representative "Golden Age" productions of Anne and Frank Hummert. The Hummerts produced 46% of…

To explore the issue of educational content in basal readers, a study analyzed 34 basal reading textbooks, representing eight of the most commonly used series in American elementary education. Educational content was defined and categorized along three dimensions: subject matter, function, and ethos. The subject matter component covered theories,…

Fry's Readability Graph was used to determine the readability levels of the 1981 Scott, Foresman and Co. basal textbook series for grades one through six. The readability levels were then compared to those established for the 1978 edition. In the 1981 edition, all stories were handscored. Poems, skill lessons, and plays were not examined in order…

This study examined two career orientation textbooks to determine the level of sexism, as represented by the Double Standard of Mental Health, in them. The findings indicate tokenism in terms of representing males and females equally in careers. (EJT)

The de facto signature style of the Modern Language Association's "PMLA" magazine not only bores many readers (contributing to the decline in MLA membership), but mandates rejection of any papers stylistically distinct from previous "PMLA" articles. In addition, to judge from several rejection letters, "PMLA" subject…

The 66th and 67th Texas legislatures mandated that an economics course with an emphasis on the free enterprise system and its benefits be a required course for all students graduating from Texas high schools. This paper presents an analysis of the 1982-1988 textbooks adopted for that course. The key concepts evaluated were: definition of…

This study identifies philosophical and instructional values implicit in the educational thought of Maria Montessori and compares those values with Shapiro's (1986, 1987) set of humanistic value principles. Shapiro's 16 value principles, which are derived from an analysis of 100 works of 89 well-known writers who have been publicly associated with…

Although some researchers have argued against use of the term "content validity," the ability of a test item to adequately represent the domain of knowledge tested continues to be an issue of paramount importance in test construction. The present paper reviews previous analyses of test content and proposes a new empirical method for…

Summarizing approximately 800 reports of reading research identified between July 1, 1988 and June 30, 1989, this book categorizes the research studies into six major areas, five of which have been further subcategorized, with the majority of studies classified into the physiology and psychology of reading area. The major areas are as follows: (1)…