The evolution of the newspaper industry can be viewed within the perspective of a dialectic ecology that emphasizes the determinative influence of the environment on the development of newspapers in the three stages of variation, selection, and retention. This perspective also introduces the concept of contradictions that rupture into…

Many consider the use of adjunct questions (mathemagenics) to be a means by which the instructional value of a text can be increased with relatively little difficulty, and this explains the appeal they have generated over the years. Yet this appeal is seldom tempered by a consideration of the ecological validity of the experimental studies on…

In this document, a multifactorial model of child abuse dynamics is presented. Designed to illustrate the simultaneous mutual interaction among factors contributing to an episode of child abuse, the model is intended to serve as a conceptual skeleton providing a context for comparing abuse factors. Child abuse is defined broadly as "the physical…

The review of research on child abuse and neglect presents brief abstracts of studies collected by the Clearinghouse of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Material is organized into five subject areas (sample subtopics in parentheses): definition of abuse and neglect; incidence (national and selected geographic estimates);…

Defines the problem of child abuse, indicates problems of researching the phenomenon, and presents the thesis that the maltreatment of children is fundamentally a cultural problem. Proposes four hypotheses concerning the origins of child abuse and discusses the role of schools in prevention and treatment. (RH)

Presents a comparison of human population and pathologic models. Builds support for a hypothesis that the human population is a planetary cancer by establishing the following: (1) features of human populations; (2) characteristics of human populations and other biological communities; (3) models of pathologic processes; and (4) malignant…

Surveys social science literature on economic variables affecting law-violation rates. Asserts that social, cultural, and political aspects of the lives of many youths are major determinants of both their unemployment and their offenses. (PR)

Summarizes the theory of psychological differentiation and reviews recent cross-cultural research on the roles of child rearing, culture, and ecology in the development of individual, group, and sex differences in the field dependence-field independence cognitive style component of psychological differentiation. (SS)

Special needs children can be effectively integrated into mainstream classrooms if family and classroom dynamics achieve ecological congruence. Family dynamics may be impacted by parental acceptance of their child's special needs, sibling reactions, and finances. Factors in classroom dynamics include parent/professional interactions, teacher…

Describes contact linguistic backgrounds in three distinct sociolinguistic areas in Old Belgium, illustrating the importance of ecological approaches in analyzing areas in which one or more languages or varieties are in danger of dying out. Data collection methods that discover, rather than conceal, linguistic realities are revealed. 29…

The research literature is reviewed for transitions from birth to eight years. A model describes transition as a change in ecocultural niche, requiring accommodations in daily routines for a child, family, and service providers and transition impact measures the number of accommodations required and the sustainability of daily routines.…

Sixteen questions dealing with racial equality, abortion, and civil liberties were extracted from the National Opinion Research Center's General Social Surveys of 1972 (N=986) and 1980 (N=1,128) to seek a possible cultural component of rurality and note any changing contours to such a phenomenon over time and across social strata. Rural…

Examines a dimension of neighboring that need not assume friendship as the role model. When the model assumes only a sense of connectedness as defining neighboring, then the residential correlation, shown in many studies between urbanism and neighboring, disappears. Theories of neighboring, study variables, methods, and analysis are discussed.…

Presented is a summary of scientific knowledge about the rainforest environment, a tropical ecosystem in danger of extermination. Topics include the current state of tropical rainforests, the causes of rainforest destruction, and alternatives of rainforest destruction. (BT)

This introductory article to a special issue on families of children and adolescents with special needs across the life span notes the articles' focus on theory, research, and practice as a way to provide information about current work in the fields of early intervention, special education, and family support from an ecological perspective. (DB)