This paper attempts to unify the varied research in media literacy in order to make sense of this growing yet fragmentary movement and to organize the widely varied literature by the locus, objectives, and depth of the initiative. Much of this movement involves what educators choose to teach their students about media literacy. A critical…

Television is ubiquitous--it is seemingly everywhere at once. With its presence felt in nearly every United States household, how it may impact family interaction is worthy of scholarly study. This literature review spans nearly a half-century of television and family communication. The research suggests that television has negative, positive, and…

Reviews studies on children's and adolescents' attitudes about aging. Analyzes media content such as children's literature, textbooks, and public television programs to determine how older persons are portrayed. Provides a rationale for systematic education about aging in the public schools. (Author)

Provides limited support for the use of newspapers in school. Concludes that the Newspaper in Education (NIE) program does not necessarily increase newspaper readership in adult life. (RL)

Reviews, analyzes, and critically assesses a sample of articles reporting research findings related to the instructional effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Problems in CAI research are described, including validity of the experimental research design, and current trends in CAI research are discussed. (31 references) (LRW)

Discusses the appropriate use of Logo and microcomputers in elementary education and gives recommendations for its successful use. Highlights include problems with unsubstantiated claims for the benefits of Logo; the effects of teaching children to program; formal operational thinking; research on Logo; and problem solving and transfer to other…

Discusses ways in which computer-assisted instruction (CAI) could be used for mnemonic instruction in the classroom. Literature on mnemonic instruction is reviewed, CAI and the acquisition of effective learning strategies are discussed, and software developed for memory improvement is described. (25 references) (LRW)

Discusses research issues related to using cognitive learning and instructional theory to design technology-based learning environments such as hypertext and hypermedia. A "Theory-to-Design" framework is described, and the framework is then used to analyze theoretical and design issues raised in a hypermedia research project. (Contains…

Argues that the debate about media attributes versus instructional methods should be shifted from instruction- and media-centered to a learner-centered conception of learning. Learning with media should be explored on the macro level (where learning is situationally dependent) and on the micro level (where design should support, instead of…

This work considers desktop publishing technology as a way used to paginate newspapers electronically, tracing the technology's development from the beginning of desktop publishing in the mid-1980s to the 1990s. The work emphasizes how desktop publishing technology is and can be used by weekly newspapers. It reports on a Pennsylvania weekly…

This study examined the media coverage of California higher education in the popular press in four of the state's major dailies. In particular the study examined the roles that the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Jose Mercury News play in fostering the public debate about higher education. All the…

Claims that computers and other high technology can replace teachers and staff, thereby reducing educational costs, are unwarranted for several reasons. First, most cost analyses focus on hardware costs, which are not the major factor directing the cost of computer assisted instruction (CAI). Second, technology is more likely to change the skill…

Radio's "Golden Age," the 1930s and 1940s produced numerous successful and profitable daytime serials, called "soap operas" because they were most often sponsored by firms selling laundry products. Among the most popular of these series were those produced by the team of Anne and Frank Hummert. Working through the…

Noting that there are signs of a relaxation in the long tension caused by the methodological "cold war" between quantitative and qualitative research proponents, this paper points to communications research as one area where the trend is developing. Placing communications studies in the framework of current public attitudes toward…

Recognizing that writing suicide stories is hard for reporters, a study examined 1,010 suicide stories from the 1879-1900 era published in 12 newspapers from around the United States to determine how American journalists at other times carried out similar assignments. The newspapers examined were the Atlanta "Constitution," Arkansas…