Analyzes the media-effects research published in this journal during the last 25 years via meta-analysis. Finds that, as children age, they better understand media messages; mass media are a significant source of learning; and media can influence attitudes. Discusses political, social, and educational implications, as well as implications for…

Suggests that the field of communication study is divided into two subdisciplines: mass communication versus interpersonal communication. Expresses the division by (1) lack of cross-citations between five mass-communication journals and five interpersonal-communication journals; (2) separation of the two subdisciplines in communication…

Discusses consortium-based licensing as a means of meeting libraries' information resources needs. Topics include information needs, the need for more affordable information, requirements for libraries and for vendors, competition across disciplines, saving money, pricing and market practices, experiences at OhioLINK, and future possibilities.…

Concerned about the inexact terminology used in job descriptions and in documents connected with promotion and tenure, this article defines second-language acquisition as a subfield of applied linguistics and compares it to other fields with which it is often confused. Misunderstandings about SLA do not allow it the credit it deserves as a…

A typical instrument used to elicit college students' evaluations of teaching was critically analyzed with reference to two teaching paradigms: transmission and engaged-critical. Analysis revealed that the evaluation form does not represent all conceptions of teaching and learning, but is more consistent with the transmission paradigm and…

Argues U.S. secondary school reform requires a serious rethinking of the curriculum, in addition to revising the structures and relationships within schools. Explores problems posed by disciplines as the primary influence on curricula, and proposes an alternative model that evenly integrates the influence of disciplines with other influences on…

School subjects are not the same as the forms of inquiry that produce their underlying knowledge base, and the existence of conceptual structure does not automatically legitimize subjects. Beyond process and content approaches is the central ethos of a subject; for technology education, tools, materials, and ideas are at the core and students are…

Discusses cultural wars in academic disciplines and among populations within college and university campuses. Examines multiculturalism and the curriculum, ranging from reform of basic curricular requirements to the persistence of ethnic and gender studies programs, and considers opportunities for effecting change in academic libraries.…

Explores the status of the librarian in the Canadian university. Discusses the lack of peer status; the value of cross-national research; patterns of university restructuring, including libraries and librarians as targets for reductions; and the possibility of establishing Discipline Research Librarians, or Research Bibliographers, to improve…

The structure that best develops a discipline's core has a high density of positive network ties within the discipline, relatively weak subdivisions, and a lower density of ties to outside institutions. Theoretical insights about interactional dynamics that weaken this optimal disciplinary structure may help sociologists deal productively with…

Education developments in science and engineering can be based on a reasonable set of elements, such as knowledge, know-how, skills, and understanding. The basic assets of graduating students must be transportable between disciplines and countries in view of dynamics and the international nature of modern industry. The success of the ERASMUS…

Adapted the scoring matrix, a method used to facilitate community participation in planning and monitoring development projects, to a university course in participatory resource management. Suggests the matrix is an example of how discipline-specific tools can be adapted to serve the dual purposes of promoting experiential learning of…

Muses on reasons why the education community seems to have an inherent inferiority complex when compared to other university fields. Contends that this is the result of refusing to adopt the position that educators must engage the need to control and ethically use the power that comes with their knowledge. (DSK)

The reception of some major psychological theories in the field of education is traced in this discussion of educational psychology as an applied discipline. The focus is on aspects of development and learning. Educational psychology may be best thought of as an interdisciplinary field of research than as a subdiscipline of either education or…

Describes action research conducted at two universities in the United Kingdom to discover how students learn in different disciplines. Results of questionnaires and focus group interviews are presented that discuss how learning takes place; different learning outcome demands of different disciplines; and differences in knowledge structures,…