The Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 makes it possible for competing newspapers to combine advertising, production, circulation and management functions into a single newspaper corporation. For the attorney general and the courts to authorize a joint operating agreement (JOA) for a "failing newspaper," certain conditions must be met…

The progress of a class of tenth grade Honors Biology I students learning in an open space learning environment during the first six weeks of the 1985-86 school year was compared to the progress of a similar class studying under the same teacher in a traditional, closed classroom the following year. The study was conducted in Westfield High School…

Students exhibiting poor academic performance can be grouped into three categories: those with limited access to the curriculum, those with little interest in traditional schoolwork, and those with low ability. This report lists typical characteristics of students of these types, offers some possible solutions to their performance problems, and…

Many factors make it difficult to identify a teacher formally as incompetent and to act on that identification once it is made. These factors include time constraints, bureaucratic requirements, and reluctance to face emotional stress. Once a poor teacher is identified, efforts are rarely made to help the teacher improve. Unsatisfactory…

Preschoolers are taken on many field trips during the course of their preschool experience. Yet, little research investigates the effects of such curricular offerings on children's developing social and intellectual skills. Intuitively, educators tend to agree that field trips are beneficial to children. However, findings of relevant studies are…

Fifty-eight kindergarten children were assessed on traditional presentations involving the conservation of number and liquid. Each conservation test contained two different items and began with the stimuli quantitatively and perceptually equal. Two other conservation tasks for number and liquid with initial nonequivalence followed. Performance on…

In response to empirical evidence that suggests that children use more than one strategy in transitive inference tasks, an effort was made to model strategy development as it occurs under the dual constraints of a concept of order and task demands. In the model, when a task is presented, procedural memory is searched for a strategy that is…

This chapter presents the theory and research underlying Merrill's concept of learner control as an instructional system. Three levels of learner control--content-control, display-control, and control of conscious-cognitive processing--and efforts to manipulate these variables are described, and a model of external and internal learner control is…

High-test-anxious individuals have been found to perform less well on cognitive tasks than others of comparable ability. To investigate the relationship between test anxiety and causal attributions following success and failure in an achievement situation, 200 introductory psychology students completed the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) and were…

Noting that stagefright has been the subject of intensive analysis and subjected to almost every conceivable test or measurement without revealing either its "cause" or its "cure," this paper presents vocal exercises to help combat the performance malady. After listing four principles concerning the nature of stagefright (it is…

The desire for consistent judging criteria is essential to the learning process of forensics students. When evaluating the After Dinner Speaking (ADS) judges need to focus on a variety of criteria. Some of these criteria transcend event descriptions while others are indigenous primarily to ADS. The topic chosen for the event should demonstrate…

The ability of individuals to make accurate judgments about others is examined and literature on this subject is reviewed. A wide variety of situational factors affects the appraisal of performance. It is generally accepted that the purpose of the appraisal influences the accuracy of the appraiser. The instrumentation, or tools, available to the…

Many empirical studies have examined factors that influence ratings of performance. This study examined the rating variable performance of a single individual. Serial position of a single poor or good performance in a series of otherwise good or poor performances was manipulated to examine its effects on both ratings and recommended actions toward…

The present study, based on Chelladurai and Carron's (1978) multidimensional theory of leadership, sought to determine if selected personality traits and specific leader behaviors are predictive of performance in collegiate football. Prior to regular season competition, collegiate football players (N=272) from three southeastern United States…

This study attempted to extend prior research on everyday problem solving by analyzing the effects of goal clarity and the presence or absence of a partner on performance in a number of problems. Subjects were 35 undergraduates who were screened, matched, and tested as singles or dyads during which time they thought aloud. Problems included mazes,…