Paying less attention to the traditionally taught rational, logical argument analysis format, this book focuses on analysis of the emotional, non-logical persuasive language and techniques often seen in television advertisements. In so doing, readers become more discerning consumers and hone their writing skills. Designed as both a self-study…

This book probes the ways ads persuade people to purchase, and attempts to teach individuals to become more discerning consumers. Critical thinking, when applied to analyzing ads, benefits consumers by helping them recognize patterns of persuasion and sort incoming information in order to get to the hidden message. The book s basic premise is that…

The purpose of this study was to determine how parents and family relationships are characterized in realistic young adult fiction. A random sample of 20 realistic young adult novels was selected from the American Library Association's Best Lists for the years 1987-1991. A content analysis of the novels focused on the following: (1) whether…

This guide to searching the Georgetown University Catalogue of Projects in Electronic Text database provides information on electronic text projects in the humanities throughout the world as well as a variety of information on the many collections of literary works, historical documents, and linguistic data that are available from commercial…

Scientific advances in cognitive science and instructional technology suggest significant changes in methods of curricular and instructional design that will strongly affect educational practice. This paper discusses one of the major areas in which cognitive science and instructional technology are affecting instructional design theory: the…

The International Health Communication Hotline (InHealth) represents an attempt to firmly establish, develop and promote a new Communication Studies subdiscipline in the academic and health care arenas via computer networking. If successful, the project will demonstrate the power of computer networking as an agent of change. Health communication…

This study compared the portrayal of children with disabilities in 15 children's books published prior to and 30 children's books published after 1978 (roughly after implementation of Public Law 94-142, which encouraged mainstreaming of such children). Four teachers rated each book according to a set of 10 statements concerning portrayal of…

Analogies are considered an effective method for providing a bridge between unfamiliar concepts and knowledge that students already have. This paper reports a critical analysis of analogies found in chemistry textbooks used by Australian senior high school students and is presented in three sections. The first section of the paper presents the…

The Radio-TV section of the Proceedings contains the following 13 papers: "Computer-Assisted Reporting: A Nationwide Survey of Television Newsrooms" (Sonya Forte Duhe' and Erin Haynie); "Network Television News Coverage of the Environment and the Impact of the Electronic Newsletter 'Greenwire'" (Claudette Guzan Artwick);…

To determine what content and design features may be included in the new design of the State Library of Ohio's World Wide Web site, the researcher conducted a content analysis of the World Wide Web sites of the fifty state library agencies, using the COSLA (Chief Officers of State Library Agencies) index as the access point. Specifically, content…

This paper discusses the content analysis of literacy narratives written in a college composition course in the Fall, 1996. The students developed their histories during the first weeks of class, using a journal format and sharing results with the class. They then wrote a polished and completed reading and writing autobiography. Using purposive…

In 1992, a study was conducted of the codes of ethics and relevant policy and procedural statements of the largest two-year colleges in each state. By analyzing these documents, the study sought to determine whether a common body of ethics is surfacing among the colleges surveyed; compare academic codes of ethics with business codes of ethics, and…

The Media History section of the proceedings contains the following nine papers: "'This Is a Test': The Evolution of the Emergency Broadcast System" (Larry G. Burkum); "Radio Homemaker Programming: Old Time Radio's Ingredient for Attracting Women Listeners" (J. Steven Smethers and Lee Jolliffe); "Her Amplified Voice:…

The Magazine section of these proceedings contains the following six papers: "An Analysis of 'Magazine Type': Toward an Empirically Based Typology of Magazines and Non-Newspaper Periodicals" (Marcia R. Prior-Miller); "'Redbook': Changes in Attitude and Advice 1965-1990" (Jennifer Harbour); "A Quantitative Analysis of U.S.…

A method is presented for determining the content validity of a series of secondary school mathematics tests. These tests are part of the Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP), a collaborative effort by California university systems to develop placement examinations and a means to document student preparation in mathematics. Content…