Two contemporary films, "Braveheart" and "Rob Roy," depict Scottish ethnicity from a rather narrow perspective. The positions that are sentimentally admired when attributed to white natives of Scotland are horrifying when expressed by contemporary peoples of color. These films raise interesting questions about the true nature…

Explores ways people learn from text. Content overlap between a text and the reader's prior knowledge is identified as one factor. Methods are proposed to identify whether a text is suitable for readers with a specific background. The usefulness of coherence gaps that stimulate constructive activities is discussed. (SLD)

Argues that teachers need to become "informed consumers" of standardized tests in order to influence decisions about test use and about ways to help students perform at their best. Six strategies for considering the content of a test form are presented. (LR)

To make text attractive to readers, writers may add supporting information. In texts of the characteristic topic type, this information may include narrative accounts, questions to the reader, and the use of examples. The use of narrative accounts and examples may confuse the reader. Awareness of topic type may help overcome some of these…

Content analysis of 7 mathematics textbook series, grades 1-8, found that textbooks published after 1989 (when NCTM Standards were published) showed shifts of emphasis among content areas; changes in amount of content development, drill, word problems, and problem solving; and increased use of estimation and calculators. (13 references) (MKR)

Reports a content analysis of sexuality education curricula (nine nationally available curricula and one curriculum guide) for junior and senior high school students. The basis for analysis was the Sex Information Education Council of the U.S.'s Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education. Results found only six of the curricula acceptable.…

Discusses the alliance of artists and technologists for business multimedia development. Highlights include building design/technical work groups; project management planning; and the establishment of preset principles for business (defining the scope and variety of products and services), content management, technical design, and interface…

Describes development of an objective content analytic category scheme for measuring the sexiness of women's business attire in media presentations. Finds women's business attire in television soap operas significantly more provocative than real-world attire. Finds a significant positive correlation between the degree of sexiness as measured by…

Explores the developmental trajectory within the field of English studies as discernible in the kinds of articles published over the past several decades in the most prominent pedagogical journals in the field, including "College English" and "Research in the Teaching of English." (HB)

Explores the history of social studies instruction. Reports findings of an analysis of 1,217 lessons contained in 5 social studies textbooks. Concludes that geography, history, and anthropology receive the greatest coverage in the books, whereas sociology and political science are stressed least. Identifies differences among the five books.…

A content analysis, consisting of 24 items covering behavior specification, objectives, program procedures, data collection, and quality assurance, was applied to 141 written behavior reduction programs of 2 large residential institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities. Use of the content analysis is recommended for program…

Describes several theoretical models developed to measure the effectiveness of an electronic mail (e-mail) system for scholastic and professional communications. Results of a test of the models with the e-mail system of the Chinese-American Librarians Association's Midwest Chapter are discussed. (17 references) (LRW)

Presents a review of five textbooks available for a one-semester undergraduate course in the history of economic thought. Includes method of approach taken by the authors, content, and features such as indexes and lists of suggested readings. Suggests how the texts differ with respect to content without recommending any particular book. (DK)

Reviews 14 international economics textbooks to help instructors with selection. Includes organization and structure, topics covered, and characteristics of the texts. Suggests considerations such as course length, level of abstraction desired, opinion of numerically based graphical analysis, extensiveness of examples and applications, and whether…

Analyzes 50 scientific papers selected from the top 100 most-cited papers for the period from 1945 to 1988. Finds that most are in biochemistry and became citation superstars because of method or material discoveries usable in other people's research. Discusses the typical form and writing style in these papers. (SR)