A pilot study examined to what degree answers that students supply on basal reader workbook pages are integrated with understanding the words in the story or with understanding the story itself. The sample consisted of 27 workbook pages from 5 fourth-grade basal reading programs with a 1989 copyright date. Two simple content analyses were applied…

A study conducted by the copy editor of a small daily newspaper in Porter County, Indiana examines readers' motivations for writing letters to the editor. Analysis was based on letters that appeared in "The Vidette Messenger" September 16-30, 1992. Of 75 letters, 32 were responses to information published in the paper during the last 2…

To clarify dominant perspectives on women in adult education publications, ethnographic content analysis was used to examine 112 journal articles in 4 major adult education journals. Articles analyzed were from two North American journals ("Adult Education"/"Adult Education Quarterly" and "Adult…

In the early 1980s, Shakeshaft and Hanson reviewed the 10 volumes of "Educational Administration Quarterly" (EAQ) that were published during the 1970s for evidence of androcentric bias. Androcentric bias is said to occur when the theory and research is informed by the male perspective. The underlying assumption is that the experience of…

This descriptive study analyzed the portrayal of females as protagonists in adolescent literature published 1989-1993. A review of literature showed that 85 percent of main characters in stories for young children were male and that sexism still existed in books for young people. For this study the literature survey instrument used in the initial…

A study examined the coverage of women in one midwestern college newspaper and three midwestern city newspapers during 1992, the Year of the Woman. Bylines, references, and the roles portrayed in newspaper photographs were examined to determine how local newspapers covered the record number of women running for political office, the record number…

A total of 450 video reviews in three journals, published in 1991, were randomly selected and examined through a content analysis, described and compared. This study was undertaken to answer the following questions: What do these journals provide for librarians who have to make informed decisions on video purchases? What criteria do the journals…

A study investigated the ways male and female fifth-grade writers compose short, open-ended autobiographical narratives. The research focused on whether students composed narratives reproducing society's prescription of reality according to gender roles, or whether they found their own voices, writing as autonomous writers representing their own…

A study investigated the principles included in basic public speaking texts and the relative importance given to each principle. Content analysis was used to examine 12 of the most popular introductory-level college public speaking textbooks. The unit of analysis was selected, categories were constructed, and the data were coded and weighted.…

The Mass Media Studies section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 20 papers: "Media Awareness of Media Manipulation: The Use of the Term 'Spin Doctor'" (James W. Tankard, Jr. and Randy Sumpter); "Prime Time Network TV Sex as a Counterprogramming Strategy during the 1992 Winter Olympics: An Analysis…

This paper examines how the attitudes toward Victorian literature have changed through the years. After a brief introductory section, the paper presents a chronological bibliography of 44 general and specific anthologies dealing with Victorian literature, followed by detailed annotations for eight anthologies. Next, some observations of the shift…

Noting the potential effect of print media on society, a study addressed the question of how "Time,""Newsweek," and "U.S. News and World Report" (USNWR) have presented the creation-evolution issue (particularly as taught in public schools) to its readers. Thirty-nine articles published form 1980 to 1992 were analyzed:…

The Scholastic Journalism--Civic Journalism section of the Proceedings contains the following 14 papers: "Look Who's Reading Newspapers: The Impact of a Citywide High School Newspaper" (Elinor Kelly Grusin and M. David Arant); "Factors Affecting the Degree to Which the Student Press of Michigan is Subject to Prior Review and/or…

In 1958 in their journal, "The Fifties," Robert Bly and William Duffy introduced North American readers and students to a number of European and South American poets who had developed an imagination variously described as "ecstatic,""surreal,""fantastic,""mythic," etc. That same year the American poet Donald Hall began to write poetry in a new…

A two-stage study was designed to offer a comprehensive analysis of current basic public speaking textbooks. The first stage involved a comprehensive classification, enumeration, and comparison of the substance of six textbooks identified by publishers as leading competitors on the public speaking market. Results from the first stage formed the…