William Stephenson's ludenic newsreading theory, which asserts that the newsreading situation is not one in which information is passed from a communication source to a receiver, but one in which the individual plays with communication, is examined in this study. Four postulates from the theory are tested in relation to student newspaper demands:…

This paper summarizes a series of studies undertaken by the United States Information Agency Service between 1970 and 1972 in Bolivia, Great Britain, Argentina, and Lebanon. The purpose of the research was to develop new techniques for analyzing the audiences of USIA periodicals. Survey respondents--all members of USIA priority audience…

Many school systems are facing mandated, systemic change, through the imposition of standards-based reform. Ontario (Canada) is no different than many other jurisdictions. Mandated, systemic change has impacted teaching and learning in Ontario classrooms. The issue of boys' underachievement in literacy appears to resurface whenever student…

While story grammar and cognitive science theories of stories state or imply that a story will be more interesting if the protagonist experiences difficulty in attaining his or her goal, neither theory considers that the importance of the goal may also affect how interesting the story is. The structural-affect theory, however, defines stories on…

A study examined uses of newspapers by elderly persons, with emphasis given to the extent to which exposure and gratification patterns change by age segments within the aged, and what kinds of factors are associated with such changes. Data from a national sample of 1,308 elderly persons indicated that readership varies more by demographic and…

To ascertain whether reading attitudes changed as boys and girls progressed through the grades, a reading attitude inventory was administered to 234 children in grades one through six. Items in the inventory were grouped into the following categories: free reading in the classroom, organized reading in the classroom, reading at the library,…

The result of an International Reading Association committee organized to identify successful community programs that stimulate an interest in reading, this paper identifies and describes 10 selected program areas that might be used as models for other communities. Following a brief description of the project and the submission criteria, the 10…

Novels intended for adolescent readers have the following qualities in common: a tone that is implied by the diction and the syntax; themes that relate to adolescent concerns such as the search for status and identity, breaking family ties, and handling sex; a predilection to teach through example or to convey a message; and an atmosphere of…

The purposes of this study were to discover whether teachers can report the ways in which books, stories, poems, or articles have changed their concepts, attitudes, or behavior in relation to reading instruction, to learn the kinds of reading materials which have influenced their reading instruction, and to ascertain the instructional areas which…

Before launching any publications, a newly formed publishing company in New Delhi, India, surveyed its potential readership to develop a demographic overview of the community, to determine patterns and preferences of magazine use, and to develop a profile of perceived and real readership needs. A questionnaire eliciting such information was given…

There is ample theoretical and experimental evidence showing the positive impact of interest on academic achievement to suggest that college administrators might be well advised to include "expressed interest" in test batteries designed to facilitate the accurate placement of students in particular courses and curricula. J. Dewey was the…

Two studies investigated the relationships between readability, prior knowledge, and interest in the material being read. In the first study, 169 college freshmen read cloze passages of materials from the Nelson-Denny Reading Tests, then one week later read the whole passages and completed the related multiple choice questions. A control group…

The diagnostic and prescriptive strategies presented in this paper are based on the assumption that reading is language, reading is understanding, reading is not an exact process, reading is responding, and reading is enjoyable. The principles of diagnosis based on these assumptions are that diagnosis will be based on the goals of the reading…

One of the most difficult problems facing teachers of remedial reading is getting students interested in the act of reading. Causes of students' negative attitudes toward reading include the following: flexible grouping which turns out to be inflexible; teachers' selecting the books students have to read; and the requiring of book reports on…

A study of the current expressed reading interests of children in the first two years of school conducted in ten countries--Austria, Canada, England, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Panama, Sweden, and the United States--is reported in this paper. Over 2,000 children drew pictures about what they would best like to read or have read to…