This book is a significant contribution to the field of sociology of school knowledge. It looks at the historical development of the field and argues that, although this field has appealed only to a limited audience, it has the potential to reach a larger audience of scholars if an alternative research agenda could be created. (SLD)

Argues that mainstream composition studies is narrow in scope and limited in perspective. Offers thoughts that might help composition professionals improve the situation. Provides evidence of neglect of writing in English as a Second Language and languages other than English. Introduces concepts from second-language studies that could help…

Argues that statistical data can be misleading. Explores two types of indicators of growth and transformation of communication studies: statistics on degrees granted and trends in the classification of books and serials. Shows that, for each type of indicator, the emergence of communication as a category involved qualitative transformation of the…

Examines four postmodern forms of thought that are posing fundamental challenges to modern assumptions about knowledge; all reject absolute foundations of knowledge, which are rooted in the notion that legitimate intellectual activity is the discipline-based pursuit of knowledge of entities that exist before and independent of inquiry. Offers a…

Investigated predictors of attainment in British students awarded first degrees. Those aged under 21 or between 26 and 50 at graduation were more likely to obtain good degrees (with first-class or upper second-class honors), but the pattern of age-related variation was different across different subjects of study. Overall, women were more likely…

Discusses full-text databases and whether existing aggregator databases are meeting user needs. Topics include the need for better search interfaces; concepts of quality research and information retrieval; information overload; full text in electronic journal collections versus aggregator databases; underrepresentation of certain disciplines; and…

Examined the extent to which labor-market conditions and the sex-composition of academic disciplines influenced average disciplinary salaries, based on the average, full-time 1988-89 salaries of new assistant professors for 16 academic disciplines. Findings from both cross-sectional and dynamic models indicated that both labor-market conditions…

A new salary survey highlights concerns about the growing pay gap between professional-school faculty members and everyone else. Offers a table of average faculty salaries by field at 4-year institutions. (EV)

Interviews with 75 women faculty and administrators revealed how a cohort of academic women came to challenge and revise traditional content and organization of academic knowledge. Intellectual biographies and career histories gave insight into how knowledge organization has constrained or facilitated feminist scholars advocating…

Describes a paper that revealed controversial findings about peer review of manuscripts submitted to scholarly journals. The impact of this paper is examined through an analysis of citation frequency, co-citations, and reasons given for citing the paper. The links made throughout the literature provide the basis for a discussion of the transfer of…

An essay on the institutionalization of women's studies in the college curriculum is followed by three responses describing women's studies programs at individual institutions and the approaches used to organize their curricula. (MSE)

Describes the dilemma facing American Indian Studies, a discipline evaluated (and constrained) by mainstream academics according to Eurocentric conceptual "standards." Suggests that American Indian studies could become a valid, autonomous discipline by placing its subject matter in a global context of indigenous experience. Contains 27 references.…

Presents a brief history of public relations education. Proposes a model program for public relations education and discusses where such a model program logically fits in the university structure and where it would be most likely to receive necessary resources. (MS)

The renewed interest in interdisciplinary studies is producing different instructional approaches that are providing an important corrective to the limited and fragmented perspectives of the individual academic disciplines. Since they are in the curricular mainstream as requirements for all students, interdisciplinary offerings may have more…

This article describes past and present approaches to physical education teacher preparation as practiced in Canada. Also discussed are social influences, the professional curriculum, instructional methodology, and the status of specialization within professional education. (IAH)