This description of the systematic approach to dissemination of behaviorally oriented materials developed at Boys Town focuses on the Teaching-Family Model for residential treatment and the development of products to transmit information about the model to a variety of audiences in formats appropriate to the particular groups. Information…

Reactance theory predicts that when a behavioral freedom is restricted or eliminated an individual is motivationally aroused to restore that freedom. This theory served as the basis of a study that investigated whether motion picture ratings, specifically R and X ratings, acted as a source of reactance arousal for high school students. Subjects…

In writing, as with tools, form must always follow function. From this perspective there can be no "good" writing, only effective writing. Unfortunately, in most instructional situations the function of communicating to an audience is often neglected. Most so-called poor writing falls into the category of writer-based prose. Once student writing…

This overview of current trends in radio program design presents program characteristics which should be considered in the design and production of educational radio programs. A variety of descriptive terms are presented and defined as program variables which can be manipulated to create a desired effect. For each term presented a diagnostic…

Richard Lanigan's phenomenology of human communication is applicable to the development of a model for critiquing oral interpretation performance. This phenomenological model takes conscious experience of the relationship of a person and the lived-world as its data base, and assumes a phenomenology of performance which creates text in the triadic…

Although the nature of topicalization is complex and cannot be easily separated from considerations of syntactic structure and sentence focus, analysis of language usage has indicated that topicalization is more a stylistic than a syntactic process. Topicalization refers to moving a noun phrase (NP) into the initial position of a sentence.…

A study was conducted to establish whether optimum editorial mixes (mixes of items selected from content categories determined from factor analysis) can be determined by publications editors in attempting to provide wide audience appeal with a minimum number of stories. A questionnaire was designed to determine employee opinions of the Tennessee…

The goals of this Pennsylvania Public Television Network (PPTN) project were to define target audiences, assess program impact, and utilize this information in making programming and promotion decisions. This audience research study was originally conceived as a 3-step program: (1) ascertaining audience size and composition, (2) characterizing and…

Evidence in recent years has linked a heavy dependence on television news with lower levels of knowledge about various aspects of the political system and negative evaluations of that system (political malaise). Three different sources of data on audience dependence on television news were used (1) to examine more closely the shift toward…

Terrorism has become not merely a political act, but a carefully designed and rhetorically sophisticated attempt at communication. What role should the communication scholar play in the investigation of terrorism? Specifically, there are six areas within which the communication scholar may actively contribute to an understanding of terrorism as…

A study compared the relative effects and functions of a live versus a televised presentation of a political message. Specifically, the study examined whether (1) the audience for a live political speech differed from the audience for a similar televised speech, (2) a live political speech produced more positive attitude change regarding the…

Although the apparent audiences of the news media are quite large, the real audience for news, in particular hard news of politics and public affairs, is much smaller than is commonly assumed. This situation, while antithetical to the democratic ideal of a news-hungry, well-informed electorate, in practice makes little difference in the way the…

A survey of 194 graduate students compared the old and new formats of "Esquire" magazine, combining two issues of each format in a sequence of four viewing pairs (to negate possible bias effects of content). The subjects indicated their preferences and reasons for preferences for old and new logos, typefaces, tables of content formats,…

An important factor the technical writer must keep in mind is the makeup of the intended audience. Students should be encouraged to identify as many specific characteristics as possible about an intended audience. It is also important that students comprehend the relationship between audience and use of stylistic elements. By also being sensitive…

The results of research undertaken to assess the impact of "Big Blue Marble," an international series of children's television shows sponsored by the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, are outlined in this paper. Summaries of the following projects are included: a concept study of consultants' roles in the early stages of…