Significant research studies, bibliographies, and selected scholarly papers that have analyzed numerous aspects of illiteracy are examined in this paper. A definition, characteristics, and the plight of illiterates are discussed. The following selected research studies are then reviewed and a brief analysis of each is given: (1) "The Acquisition…

A study of 52 teachers of grades 1 thorugh 4 from 18 schools in an urban setting indicated that teachers functioning at higher conceptual levels did not seek more information and resources than teachers functioning at lower levels, but appeared better able to identify optimal sources of assistance and the most direct routes to resources. The study…

A series of studies of explanatory label reading and comprehension by visitors of various age groups was conducted at The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia. A single large, complex exhibit (the Gravity Tower) was selected for case study. Adult visitors were found to read an average of only 18 percent of the labels in the exhibit…

Advice on writing the history of a college is offered. Until recently, there appear to have been few examples of rigorous, ongoing programs to record the facts regarding the founding and development of colleges. One problem is that much of the historical and detailed information relative to the development of colleges is not found in one…

Traditional stereotypes and attitudes about the elderly are of interest to both researchers and health care providers. Misconceptions about the elderly and the sources of these misconceptions were examined in undergraduates (N=150) and in elderly subjects (N=50). Subjects completed the Miller-Dodder revision of Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz One…

Information is provided on the data sources and tools used in-house at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). The objective of the guide is to serve as a central resource for the various data management and analysis activities of NCHEMS. Summaries are provided of NCHEMS information and analytic resources including…

A study examined American newspaper coverage of the Harvard Medicare Project proposal of 1986, a major health policy proposal calling for comprehensive reforms in the national health program. Using Burrelle's news clipping service which includes every daily newspaper (over 1500) in the United States, all 75 newspaper articles on the project from…

The question of whether colleges are doing better or worse in educating their graduates compared with previous years is addressed. Attention is directed to recent trends in average test scores of students at graduation, as well as what the scores represent. Information is provided on changes since 1966 in several tests of academic aptitude taken…

Al Hester's communication model sees news flow as being primarily dependent upon national rank in the hierarchy of nations, dominance and weakness of nations, and economic and cultural factors. A sample of 37 newspapers was content analyzed in a study extending this international news flow concept to the intra-national level to determine whether…

Coverage of Mamie Eisenhower as First Lady illustrates difficulties that the media have in projecting images of women. Like many women in the news, she was noteworthy because of her satellite status in relation to a man. Exercising some control over her public portrayal--if only to refuse to see the press to the extent it desired--she deliberately…

Content trends were analyzed in more than 3,000 articles in two selected special interest magazines ("Audubon" and "Environment") and two general audience magazines ("Time" and "Saturday Review") for the period 1959-1979. Through this analysis, the study examined the role of the two media types as well as…

A study examined how statehouse reporters covering the 1982 session of the Indiana General Assembly used information sources. Specifically, it focused on reporter reliance on key senate leaders, on the visibility of those senators in published stories, and on the institutional images transmitted in stories in which those and other senators were…

A study was conducted to determine the images of the media held by members of a state legislature. Specifically, it examined the legislators' perceptions of differences in print and broadcast news media performance, and differences in coverage of the legislature in the home district and on a statewide level. Questionnaires containing demographic…

This report presents findings and recommendations from a 1-year study which identified corporate needs for resource information (particularly statistical information) and assessed the extent to which these needs are being met by various resource-information services, including those of the federal government. Chapter I discusses 11 types of…

Recent polls seem to indicate that many Americans rely on television as a credible and primary source of news. To test the accuracy of this news, a study examined three networks' newscasts of science news, the attitudes of the science sources toward reporting in their field, and the factors related to accuracy. The Vanderbilt News Archives Index…