Considers why women have been absent from the history of technical communication. Discusses research from the history of technology suggesting that notions of "technology,""work," and "workplace" may be gendered terms. Concludes with several suggestions for defining technical communication so that significant works of…

Examines changes in disciplinary identity demonstrated in the discourse of several Internet discussion groups and suggests the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to address digital storage and retrieval problems. Highlights include the culture of intellectual disciplines and the organization of knowledge; the culture of the Internet; and…

Examined the effect of class size on student performance among 255,665 individual student grades in 6,075 instructional modules held from 1984 through 1994 at Oxford Brookes University (England). Found that although student performance was inversely related to class size, both student performance and class size increased over the course of the…

Discusses psychologists' contributions to higher education research, particularly in the areas of teaching and learning. Explores epistemological characteristics of psychological knowledge, the nature of research psychology, and how these characteristics relate to the intellectual and methodological traditions of psychology as a discipline.…

Examines the generalist critique of the value and validity of English for special purposes and discusses why it remains compelling for many as an approach to research and pedagogy. Suggests that specificity is not only central to teaching and the ways the disciplines and professions are perceived but also to moving forward as a field of inquiry…

The emerging field of leadership studies in higher education is discussed and the evolution, intent, and design of the University of Richmond (Virginia) Jepson School of Leadership Studies, scheduled to open in 1992, are described. The program will begin to remove leadership studies from the margin of academic endeavor. (MSE)

One of the reasons women's history no longer seems as cohesive is that scholars no longer focus only on the importance of gender in shaping women's lives, but also on race and class. Scholars also use competing methodologies, and many are abandoning theories that once helped define the field. (MLW)

Examines three theories of research--mechanistic, organismic, and contextual--and concludes that a contextual world view would give the multidisciplinary field of home economics a unified focus. (SK)

Analyzes content and process in Western historiography. Provides a diagram that explains variations in historical approaches: inquiry moves from small to large scale; and philosophies range from the humanistic to social-scientific. Examines four historians whose work exemplifies these points on the continuum. Suggests synthesis of humanistic and…

Presents an overview and statistical profile of currently available CD-ROM databases. Trends in the following areas are discussed: types of databases available (index, source, reference, full text, numeric, software and images); subject areas covered by databases; update frequency; and pricing. A list of key publishers and software is provided.…

Examining the existence of an identifiable domain of adult education, this article considers the increasing diversity of practice, the methodological and philosophical problems involved, changing concepts and aims of adult education, and the current climate of relativism. Proposes the concept of tradition, which helps define paradigms that change…

Six features are identified as common to modern universities and their medieval counterparts. A brief account of the range and complexity of university reforms is given, and deep reforms are accounted for in terms of the university's essential or presuppositional structure. (IAH)

Reviews speeches by former APA presidents to follow the historical development of psychology to its present status as an accepted science and profession. Discusses the nature of psychology as a discipline, science, and profession. Considers problems in the field and possible societal benefits from field research. (JS)

Claims that modern science is radically incoherent and that this incoherence lies within the practice of science. Details the work of the scientist and philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce, expounding on the difference between Rene Descartes' dualistic philosophy and Pierce's triadic view. Concludes with a brief description of the human existence.…

Discusses some parameters that account for changing assumptions about novelty across disciplinary communities. Argues that many of the insights required in a parameterized theory of newness have not yet made their way into theories of rhetoric or written composition. (MS)