Introduction: This paper reports on a study of publishers' attitudes towards e-books in the context of the global situation of e-book publishing. Comparative data are drawn from a replication of a survey carried out in Sweden, in Lithuania and in Croatia. Method: A self-completed questionnaire survey was undertaken, offering respondents the choice…

This paper summarizes information about using computer hardware and software to aid in making purchase decisions that are based on user needs. The two major options in hardware are IBM-compatible machines and the Apple Macintosh line. The three basic software applications include word processing, database management, and spreadsheet applications.…

The guide for teachers of English as a Second Language offers practical advice on the format and layout of instructional materials they produce using desktop publishing technology. An introductory section discusses important design considerations for producing effective materials. Subsequent sections describe how to: organize ideas; outline the…

Indigenous language programs that have a literacy component require reading materials. Recent advances in computer technology and certain legal changes in the publishing industry have made self-publishing such materials an easier task. This paper describes some of the steps necessary to self-publish indigenous language materials. Suggestions are…

This study investigated the position of illustrations and how they affect the sequential organization of text. The primary purpose was to describe learners' reading sequence and preference for page designs with variations of illustration placement. The 70 subjects were undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in education courses at Memphis…

Perhaps the most significant development in microcomputer technology over the last two years has been the development of desktop publishing techniques. This technology promises to offer some significant advantages to institutions developing instructional materials in less developed countries, particularly in terms of control, cost effectiveness,…

This paper explores questions of institutional responsibility and the potential for legal liability falling on public school institutions as a result of their involvement with computer-networking technology. First, the paper examines the doctrine of sovereign immunity to understand the limits of government responsibility for damages in this…

Outlines the process of a CD-ROM desktop publishing project at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Highlights include the planning process; data generation and database development; data preparation, including data conversion and indexing; full text retrieval; assembly and production; and distribution. (three…

A college English professor applied for and received a grant to equip a 20-station networked computer classroom designed to provide a site for state-of-the-art pedagogy in teaching English using computers. The networked computer classroom has two related goals: to provide a setting for the preservice and inservice training of English and language…

Technical writing programs housed in geographically isolated universities face great challenges in regard to getting students career-related work experience. A course in desktop publishing can provide students at rural schools with experience equivalent to internships. In a desktop publishing course taught at Murray State University in Kentucky,…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of three electronic text variables (run-around, wrap-around, and transparent text) on reading speed and comprehension. One hundred thirty-two undergraduate students in an introductory computer literacy course at a major university were asked to read one of three randomly-distributed passages…

Teaching desktop publishing (dtp) in college journalism classes is most effective when the instructor integrates into specific courses four types of software--a word processor, a draw program, a paint program and a layout program. In a course on design and layout, the instructor can demonstrate with the computer how good design can be created and…

One of the most important decisions speech communication basic course directors make is the selection of the textbook. The first consideration in their choice of text should be whether or not the proposed text covers the units integral to the course. A second consideration should be whether or not the text covers the special topics integral to the…

After a period of slow growth, companies that provide business news to the manager's desktop PC are now among the most rapidly growing companies in the United States information industry. Well established companies such as Desktop Data and Individual, Inc. are now being joined by a number of new services and by enhanced versions of existing…

The textbook industry seems to reflect the larger fragmentation of communication channels. When communication, then called speech, was emerging after World War II as a discipline, the instructor ordered Monroe's "Principles and Types of Speech" or one of its lesser competitors. The choices were limited. With the availability of new…