Examine, through six experiments, the role of metaphorical knowledge in people's use and understanding of euphemisms and offensive expressions. Findings indicate that people's metaphorical conceptualization of a certain topic can influence the processing time and appropriate use of euphemistic and dysphemistic expressions. (21 references)…

In early 1997, over 100 University of California, Hayward faculty members signed a statement of concern about the heavy use of part-time faculty as lecturers. Professors fear that increased use of lecturers threatens tenure, hurts quality of education, and reduces departmental continuity. Part-time faculty are generally treated as a different…

Research indicates that leisure participation enhances health at various levels, reducing stress and promoting better physical and mental health. Participation in personally meaningful leisure activities serves as a buffer to life's stressful events. Leisure professionals must work to promote leisure as a priority in people's lives. (SM)

Research shows that parks and recreation services provide people with opportunities that have substantial positive health effects, resulting in massive public-health cost savings. In a rapidly changing world, the ability to adapt and collaborate is critical for leisure services professionals. Recreation and parks must be reconceptualized to remain…

Used the experience sampling method to examine Indian adolescents' use of free time. Found that adolescents' free time use was influenced by both tradition and modernization, and varied according to social class, urban versus rural setting, and gender. Concluded that youth activities continue to reflect the sociocultural and historical nature of…

Examines five important student learning needs that are being met in an English language institute in Mexico. These needs include feeling important and secure in the learning environment, understanding learning goals, having time to integrate learning, understanding the learning process, and receiving feedback. (Author/VWL)

A study examined effects of class-wide curricular modification on the engagement and behaviors of six students (ages 13-14) with emotional disturbances, in a self-contained science class. Modifications included providing opportunities for choice making and ensuring activities were of high interest, which resulted in increased engagement and…

This study explored relative contributions of variables underlying 30 elementary teachers' referral judgments. Best predictors of referral were teachers' judgments about presence of behavioral problems and students' academic competence, while demography, off-task behavior, and teachers' stress failed to contribute significantly. (Contains…

This paper describes implementation of a combined active training and consultation project with 64 school staff members in a large urban district. Participation was broadly associated with increased staff knowledge of effective behavior management and instructional strategies, successful implementation of skills at the classroom level with…

The First Step to Success program was implemented with 22 kindergartners who showed early signs of developing antisocial behaviors. All 16 who completed the program showed significantly increased levels of academic engaged time, with follow-up levels generally maintained at acceptable levels. Overall behavioral improvement was significant but…

A survey of 171 full-time faculty at a Manitoba community college identified some factors affecting participation in staff development activities. College teaching experience and perception of administrative climate were the most important determinants, suggesting administrators play a key role through funding and reward structure. (Author/MSE)

Describes a study of college students that was conducted to isolate interactivity as an independent variable and test its effects upon student learning, the time required to complete the study unit, and student attitudes. Results are compared for a group using a traditional videotape and one using an interactive videotape. (five references) (LRW)

This study, involving a 10-year-old child with cerebral palsy and autism, found that the use of headphones resulted in an increase in on-task behavior whether stimuli were presented in an audiovisual mode, an audio-only mode, or a visual-only mode. Preference was for the auditory only or the mixed audiovisual stimuli. (DB)

Higher education's future leaders must have clear values, focus on quality, be willing and able to take calculated risks, balance the demands of professional and personal life, balance participation and input against delegation of authority, be motivational specialists, and use time in decision making more carefully than ever. (MSE)

Examines how postwar women's magazines introduced television to the American housewife. Reveals the way television was imbricated in the gendered division of labor and leisure at home by exploring how the magazines deliberated on the problems television posed for women's domestic chores and the efficient functioning of the household. (KEH)