Crucial, technologically oriented issues currently facing educators are addressed in the following 11 articles: (1) "The Definition of Educational Technology: An Emerging Stability," by Donald P. Ely; (2) "Media Applications to Instruction: Current Theoretical Considerations," by Gerald M. Torkelson; (3) "The Dilemma of…

Beginning with an analysis of conceptions of time with a particular emphasis on examining quantitative time use research literature for its manifestations of personal and social values, this paper proceeds with an overview of the literature on time use and the issues involved in its measurement. The central questions in this paper dwell on the…

To determine to what extent Spanish-language daily newspapers in Miami (Florida) and Los Angeles (California) reported political news about the primaries from Hispanic angles, a study examined how these newspapers reported news about the issues and candidates during the 1988 presidential primaries. The specific time period examined was from…

This review of the literature on interactive video examines research and evaluation reports in the context of the continuing debate over the effectiveness of media debate and Richard E. Clark's argument that media do not have a substantial impact on learning. The literature is examined from four perspectives: (1) behavioral issues (e.g., whether…

A study was conducted to explore teacher training needs related to effective use of technology in the classroom, with the specific objective of helping to improve a state-required, one-credit media competency course taken by approximately 250 teacher credential candidates each semester at a major California university. One of three surveys was…

Researchers recently have been focusing on the relationships between audience orientations toward specific media and their knowledge about political candidates and issues. The question of media dependency, particularly dependency on television versus newspapers, has been a focal point in the discussion. To test the relationship between media…

This empirical review of the relationship between Swedish youth and music begins with a brief overview of the place of music as a communications medium in Swedish society in general, and among Swedish youth in particular. An analysis of the findings of a large-scale, longitudinal study of media use by Swedish adolescents, the Media Panel study, is…

Times Beach, Missouri, a small town close to the Meramec River and about 25 miles from St. Louis, is now deserted due to contamination from dioxin, a contaminant generated during the production of some cleansers, herbicides, and pesticides. From November 30, 1982, until the end of January 1983, the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" ran 55…

A study examined differences in the language of direct mail advertising used by political campaigns at different levels--national state, and local. Seventeen direct mail fund-raising political campaign letters were content analyzed with Wiseman and Schenck-Hamlin's typology of compliance-gaining techniques, language style and readability. The…

Noting that 1977 public opinion polls concerning the new Panama Canal treaties were interpreted as showing increased support for the treaties, this paper contends that this interpretation was erroneous and that the major outcome of the extensive polling was misleading data. The paper is divided into three major analytical sections. The first…

This guide to the economic analysis of media use in education reviews the evidence on the costs and benefits of educational media and provides a methodology for future decision-making. It includes chapters on establishing a framework for media choice, evaluating the effectiveness of media use, and analyzing costs. The empirical evidence from past…

The relative effectiveness of teaching methods using programmed instructional materials to teach musical percepts--phrase, theme, introduction, interlude, coda, binary form, ternary form, and rondo form--was studied. The 124 undergraduate elementary education majors used as subjects were found to be similar in aural perception, length of musical…

Relationships between media format, sensory channel, and cognitive information processing are not straightforward. Media format does not determine information processing and storage except when a deliberate attempt is made to model cognitive processes by manipulating the medium. Sensory channel only affects processing and learning for relatively…

Five one-hour broadcasts of KPIX Eyewitness News (San Francisco) were analyzed to provide examples of a signification process and to understand both how humorous instances arise in the newscast and their likely meaning for the viewer. One general finding was that the amount of humor or attempted humor is quite small. Banter between anchorpersons,…

To explore the idea of image complexity, i.e., the more complex the television news image, the more appeal it will have to audiences, two time series measures were obtained by showing a regular half hour broadcast of a "CBS Evening News" program to a group of viewers. The two measures were an objective, machine-based measure of the…