A study was undertaken to develop a body of knowledge which might bridge the communications gap between the more formal communications establishment and the eclectic alternative television movement. Information was gathered mainly through personal experience, and by survey and interviews. The analysis was carried out during the period from late…

The use of graphics (maps, charts, diagrams, renderings, photographs) for regional policy formulation and decision making is discussed at length. The report identifies the capabilities of a number of tools for analysis/synthesis/communication, especially computer assisted graphics to assist in community self-education and the management of change.…

The Children's Television Workshop (CTW), responsible for the programs "Sesame Street" and "The Electric Company", conducted extensive research into the systematic use of television to promote the social, emotional, and intellectual growth of young children. Working without precedents in the field of formative research…

Examines how social and psychological factors interact to produce different lifestyles and patterns of media use. Based on responses to telephone interviews and questionnaires, four lifestyle types are identified and their use of cable television and newspapers and newsmagazines is analyzed. (50 references) (Author/LRW)

Examines evolution of awareness regarding the importance of organizational characteristics on the success of computer assisted instruction (CAI) projects. A list of 12 organizational factors are described that institutions of higher education need to consider in planning CAI projects. (Author/MBR)

This field study examined learning effects attributable to instructional design characteristics when eighth-grade science students used a print encyclopedia or a videotex version of the encyclopedia to write term papers. Results suggest that specific effects of instructional design characteristics of a delivery system are of a limited nature. (MBR)

A five-city survey of 464 fifth- and tenth-grade southwestern Mexican American boys and girls focused on media consumption. Findings paralleled other boy-girl and age group mass media experience comparisons. Students used media about nine hours per school day. Spanish-language media were little liked and seldom used. (MH)

The Commission on the Status of Women section of the Proceedings contains the following five papers: "Women as Sources: Gender Patterns in Framing the News" (Lynn M. Zoch and Judy VanSlyke Turk); "Gender Bias in Newspaper Coverage of the 1996 Olympic Games: A Content Analysis of Five Major Dailies" (Katherine N. Kinnick);…

A survey of 191 sixth through eighth grade students suggests that newspaper exposure is a positive predictor of political information and interest, that television exposure is a negative predictor, and that--contrary to expectations-- interpersonal communication is a negative influence on political information. (GT)

Presents five articles and a company resource directory to help librarians successfully incorporate technology into school libraries. Discusses actual situations, examines student needs, and gives advice to help librarians with library automation systems, videodiscs, library security systems, media retrieval, networking CD-ROMs, and locating…

Discusses policy and research needs related to the mass media and Latinos in five areas: emergency communications planning that considers limited-English-speaking populations, access to telecommunications and information technology, culturally sensitive children's television programming, bias in news and entertainment media, and teaching and…

This article describes a protocol that was effective in collecting media-use pattern and sensitive health data from young adolescents. Students from three public school districts in the southeastern United States were recruited to participate in a study of the impact of the media on adolescents' sexual health. Using a 34-page mailed survey,…

At first glance, any connection between professional wrestling and school-based literacy practices might seem far-fetched, or incongruous at best. This seeming incongruity, however, is what intrigues the authors most. It is also what drives them to wonder if governmental and media sources that regularly proclaim a crisis in literacy achievements…

This workshop kit consists of: (1) "Leader's Guide"; (2) "Handout Masters"; (3) special issue of the journal "Media & Values" on the theme "Children and Television: Growing Up in a Media World"; (4) "From Awareness to Action: Media Literacy for the '90s," a booklet on the basics of media literacy. The kit is designed for a four-part study of the…

Recent analyses of the linkages between policy analysis and politics suggests that contemporary focus on the first had been poorly attenuated to the theoretical needs of the second. This paper specifies the kinds of research in educational politics that should ensue if the politics-of-education field is to become less oriented to specific policies…