Focusing on the seminal work "Being and Nothingness," this paper explores the implications of the ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre for the study of communication in society. The paper redefines communication from an existential point of view, explores some implications of this redefinition for the study of communication within the social…

The Flesch readability formula was used to analyze 192 100-word samples from selected matching issues of "Time" and "Newsweek." It was hypothesized that "immediate-reward" types of news, such as sports, social, and human interest events, would be significantly more readable (fewer syllables per 100 words and fewer…

An examination of task analysis from several perspectives in order to identify some of its purposes and advantages reveals that, as the interest in learning theory has shifted from a predominately behavioral perspective to a more cognitive orientation, the purpose of task analysis has also shifted. Formerly the purpose of task analysis was to aid…

This paper reports the findings of a study which analyzed both the content and form of thirty-two recommended children's novels written about the American Revolution. The novels studied were published between 1899 and 1976. The analysis of content reconstructed the historiographic conception of the Revolution which is embedded in the various…

A content analysis was performed on six mass-audience women's magazines to determine frequency of coverage of specific mental disorders and to see how fair and complete mental illness coverage was in the magazines. The six magazines analyzed were "Family Circle,""McCalls,""Good…

Five adolescent novels with significant homosexual themes were analyzed for patterns of conflict and resolution. Content analysis revealed eight major conflict situations in the novels: sexual conflicts, interpersonal conflicts, peer conflicts, intrapersonal conflicts, parental/family conflicts, heterosexual character conflicts, community…

THE PURPOSES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO DETERMINE (1) WHAT PROBLEMS THE ADVICE COLUMNS AND ARTICLES IN THE TEEN MAGAZINES PRESENT, (2) THE NATURE OF THE ADVICE GIVEN, (3) WHETHER THEY WERE DIRECTED PRIMARILY TOWARD GIRLS, BOYS, OR BOTH, AND (4) WHO THE AUTHORS ARE. OVER A 10-MONTH PERIOD, 84 ISSUES OF DIFFERENT TEEN MAGAZINES WERE EXAMINED BY USING A…

Much of the periodical literature within scientific disciplines is characterized by overlap in content among journals and by scatter of content areas across journals. This obscures the inherent structure that may exist within the literature of discipline, creating problems for authors seeking suitable publication outlets, for editors wishing to…

This essay is a survey of selected literary works of fiction with drug-related thematic content. The themes represented in the survey reflect popular American attitudes toward drugs from pre-World War II through the 1970's. The roots of these themes, beginning with 17th century French cultural attitudes are explained. The subject has been treated…

This paper describes Rod McKuen's theories of poetic composition, arguing that McKuen appeals to the anti-intellectual, blindly sentimental capacities of the American public. A comparison of McKuen's work with the work of such poets as James Dickey, Robert Lowell, and Theodore Roethke is outlined in order to demonstrate to students the superficial…

Through an analysis of several stories, this paper defines the similarities and differences between classic and hard-boiled detective fiction. The characters and plots of three stories are discussed: "The Red House" by A. A. Milne; "I, The Jury" by Mickey Spillane; and "League of Frightened Men" by Rex Stout. The classic detective story is defined…

This paper suggests that the variety of decision making proposed by Professor Lortie will not afford the luxury of evaluative systems of the kind he describes. Professor Gordon feels that, had Professor Lortie pursued a line of functional analysis of many outcomes, he would have arrived at an entirely new analysis of the justification for…

This study examined children's literature and the development of biography intended for juvenile readers. The writer assembled a list of characteristics of writing for children, reviewed the growth of biography as a literary form, and noted the difference between biography written for the child audience and that intended for adults. Qualities were…

The ways in which the American Negro had been depicted in the illustrations of children's picture books published between 1930 and 1968 were studied. A total of 41 books, which included 1,067 illustrations, were found on recommended book lists. The books were grouped into four historical periods: 1930-1944, 1945-1954, 1955-1964, 1965-1968. Four…

A test bias definition, applicable at the item-level of a test is presented. The definition conceptually equates test bias with measuring different things in different groups, and operationally equates test bias with a difference in item fit to the Rasch Model, greater than one, between groups. It is suggested that the proposed definition avoids…