A study was conducted to ascertain which characteristics of instructional films affect learning. Fourteen versions of a film designed to teach the assembly of part of an anti-aircraft gun were prepared and shown to different groups of trainees. The study examined the following factors: 1) number of words of narration used to describe the action,…

This paper explores certain findings of a DAIR (Drug Abuse Information Research) project undertaken at the University of Connecticut which is investigating the dissemination and impact of drug abuse information. Specifically, findings regarding audience response to persuasive antidrug abuse messages on television are discussed. On the basis of the…

This book, written for engineering students and young practicing engineers, provides a systematic approach to the design of technical communication: the communication process, audience analysis, and the design and writing of technical reports. Focus is on the questions that a writer must answer in order to compose clear and effective reports: who…

In this periodical, six respondents from various colleges and universities provide brief commentaries on the subject of genre study in the field of oral interpretation. According to the pamphlet's editor, all of these critics affirm the importance of literary study and genre study to performance, intimate some dissatisfaction with the terminology…

This report, the third in a series of four, describes part of a national study commissioned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to investigate audience awareness of public television, level of viewing, and reaction to programming and on-air fund raising. Data collected from 1,083 randomly selected adults living in telephone-and-television…

This report, one of two investigations into the use of public television and radio requested by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and prepared by their Office of Communication Research, compares the demographic characteristics of the public-television viewer and the public-radio listener. Data gathered in the 1976 Roper Reports, which…

Slide-tape shows offer a relatively inexpensive, easy-to-assemble means of informing a wide variety of groups interested in education. This article outlines a seven-step procedure to produce a coherent, professional-looking slide-tape presentation. (DS)

A project to sponsor town meetings in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, to permit residents in isolated areas to express their concerns about delivery of human services and to make contact with others with similar concerns, is described. The description includes the project's rationale, purpose and goals, format, and evaluation. (KR)

Relevant and timely information inexpensively produced for learners of all ages is the foundation of cost-effective services enjoyed by WBEZ Public Radio listeners in Chicago. Performances from the listening audience increases interest. (MP)

Reports on a survey of British television viewing. Results indicate that younger viewers are more likely to watch a higher proporation of programs containing violent material than older viewers. (JMF)

Katz answers several criticisms of his research proposals for the British Broadcasting Corporation regarding the narrowness of their scope, the definition of professionalism in broadcasting, the question of theory in communication research, and the question of the broadcasters' involvement in the organizational framework in which the proposals…

Reports on a study that indicated that men and women generally prefer to read the same types of subject-matter content within newspapers but prefer to use different kinds of newspaper material for getting at this subject matter. (GW)

Women, blacks, the poor, and the elderly view more television than the population as a whole. Does TV serve the needs and interests of these primary viewers? Professor Comstock doubts it and finds these viewers largely disenfranchised by shallow news programs and entertainment that reinforces accepted norms. (Editor/RK)

Discusses a survey on Family Viewing Time designed to determine audience reactions to program content including violent and sexual content, audience perceptions of the suitability of program offerings for family viewing, and audience viewing habits with respect to Family Viewing Time. (MH)

Concludes that open-minded persons attend to the content and implications of a message while close-minded persons attend to the surface quality of information and to the reputation of the source. (RL)