Reviews research on the educational aspects of British television programs, especially those dealing with economic knowledge and financial advice. Concludes that there is a public demand for better economic understanding and that television can be used as a significant component in an economic education campaign. (GEA)

Investigates whether the relative amount of bad, neutral, and good news on television has corresponding effects on viewers' image of the community depicted and of the carrying newscast. Concludes that bad news creates a bad image for the community but that good news does not produce a more favorable image than neutral news. (MM)

Motivational design, a major component of the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) model that describes how to understand the motivation to learn, is described in this second article of a two-part series. Topics addressed include audience analysis; motivational objectives, measures, and motivational strategy design; and…

Discusses how the tradition of studying the word-of-mouth diffusion of news was established in 1945 and came to mature during the 1960s after the Kennedy assassination. Notes that the pace of this research slowed substantially in the 1970s and has all but stopped in recent years. Outlines six broad generalizations resulting from studies conducted…

Describes the rationale for teaching the cognitive context of argument and argumentation, presents an example of an approach to value argument, and discusses the role of the unconscious in argument. (PD)

Analyzed the 15 best-selling single records for each year between 1955 and 1982, according to trend, content, decade, and musical era. Concluded that popular music is an expression of younger Americans who have become increasingly ironic in their view of human relationships. (PD)

Examines three articles written jointly by the same researchers and reporting the results of the same study in three different specialized journals. Points out the inadequacy of the current heuristic for analyzing audiences, and provides the basis for creating a different audience analysis heuristic based on rhetorical analysis of discourse. (HTH)

Concludes that clothing worn by anchorwomen appears to influence viewers' perceptions of the credibility and effectiveness of their newscasts. (FL)

Humorously discusses the problem of discerning when students are being honest in their writing and how to deal with the problems their honesty sometimes presents. (DF)

Describes the basic method of using naturally occurring settings for research on media effects. Suggests research questions that could be studied and identifies settings (and media markets) most promising for such research. (PD)

Argues that although textbooks emphasize the importance of attention-getting introductions, such devices are hard to explain and hard for students to recognize. Observes that such an emphasis may suggest to students a vastly oversimplified view of the reading process. (HOD)

Focuses on the persona or ethos of the writer. Demonstrates that ethos can be an effective form of appeal in technical discourse, particularly in commanding the attention of the audience to instruction. Suggests specific directions for future research on specific ways to communicate a strong ethos in technical texts. (EL)

Notes that considerations of audience awareness are receiving increased attention in composition theory and teaching. Argues that while audience awareness is often conceived as a unitary, global construct, it in fact has distinctly identifiable dimensions. Discusses the dimensions of social cognition along with their interaction with the composing…

Reviews the recent literature on mass media campaigns and communication approaches promoting drug abuse prevention aimed at four target audiences: youth, parents, women, and the elderly. Cited the importance of audience analysis, of segmenting audiences into subgroups, and of designing customized presentations as critical across all target…

Argues that in Poland, the Soviet Union, and in much of eastern Europe, creators can utilize strategies and take advantage of various policies that make theatre a relatively free medium for political expression. And the public, starved for such expression, naturally turns to the theatre, frequently making it an important political institution.…