Intended primarily for researchers and prevention program personnel, this booklet provides current background information on the continuing problem of smoking among children and adolescents. In the first brief section, research findings concerning American youth's current smoking patterns and beliefs are described. The second section considers…

Media historians have been criticized for their inability to ask substantive questions, for ignoring underlying conditions in media's past, and for their failure to relate the narration of technological developments to existing social and cultural tensions. One problem media historians confront is the scope of their research--many media histories…

The arguments for and against Thomas Kuhn's paradigmatic thesis are presented in this paper as a means of discussing the appropriateness of Kuhn's thesis to the emerging composition discipline. Section one of the paper introduces the topic, noting how the term paradigm is used in composition to define a system of widely shared values, beliefs, and…

The effect of certain methodological changes on the fit of the Wyer subjective probability model and the effect of belief change on cognitive structure were investigated. Using syllogistically-related proposition sets of the form "A,""If A then B,""If not A then B,""B," it was found that certain…

The study of knowledge production and utilization deals with the problems of how to translate theoretical concepts and knowledge into practical solutions to people's problems. Many criticisms have been leveled at aspects of previous information system models, including their linearity, one-way communication paths, overdependence on scientific…

Noting the limitations of recent word recognition research, this paper suggests ways that these limitations might be overcome and then extends these suggestions into a framework for distinguishing between good and poor readers' ability to comprehend words. The paper begins by reviewing the major models of word recognition and discussing their…

This paper offers a critical look at the current research base supporting development and evaluation (D&E) models of instructional products. The author, accepting as valid a definition of D&E models as "exemplary models, outlining designs or conceptions of things worthy of imitation," examines current interest in their…

The concept of "structure" is discussed in connection with the biological and psychological sciences and shown, through a short historical analysis, to have been subject to imprecise use. The recent "structuralist movement" in the social sciences has also tended to cloud the meaning of structure rather than to clarify it. Using…

This report examines a series of general models that represent the process of merging records from separate files when it becomes essential to inhibit identifiability of records in at least one of the files. Models are illustrated symbolically by flow diagrams, and examples of each variation are taken from the social sciences. These variations…

This paper is a comment on the need for review and reanalysis of the accumulated research in social studies as a guide to future efforts to design useful and desirable social studies curricula. Several alternative models for social studies educators are noted. These serve as guides to possible directions for research. The problems of communication…

The papers in this volume are directed toward the problems of delineating and developing programmatic, directed, or targeted research and development. Because the authors represent a variety of research and development contexts both in and outside the educational system, the report is broadly representative of current thinking on programmatic…

The author's main concern is to provide a research format which will supply a unitary conception of communication. The wide range of complex topics and variety of concepts embraced by communication theory and the rather disparate set of phenomena encompassed by communication research create this need for a unitary study approach capable of linking…

This model of consultation is a process of highly structured consensus for decision making. The consultant provides a framework for generating plans and solutions. The weakest link in consultation appears to be research and evaluation. Infusing consulting interns and university professors into internal operations will result in better evaluation…

Presents an analysis of Pascual-Leone's quantitative model for the measurement of the cognitive capacity of children. Presents an experiment in which 8-year-old children are asked to reproduce single actions and combinations of actions modeled by an experimenter. (BD)

Considers some of the differences between "qualitative" and "quantitative" types of research, suggests three kinds of strategies for identifying qualitatively derived models and data that could be useful in collaboration across orientations, and concludes with some remarks on implications of both types of research. (Author/JM)