This introductory chapter addresses the question of whether the field of instructional development is a science, an art, or some combination of the two. It is suggested that the field is not merely a collection of flow charts, diagrams, and techniques, but a unified whole, to be understood first in terms of its underlying research foundation,…

This chapter considers the professional status of instructional developers, the skills they need, and how those skills should be taught. Three differing approaches are discussed and critiqued: the specific skills approach; an approach which advocates the addition of "higher level" skills to the list of specific skills; and an "underlying skills"…

Data collected in a 1981 national survey of physical/biological and social/behavioral scientists were used to investigate three research questions: (1) How often are scientists who encounter journalists called upon to discuss topics tangential or unrelated to their research? (2) Will the amount of contact with journalists be related to the number…

Individual and institutional/environmental factors that distinguish "vital" professors from a "representative" group of their colleagues were investigated. Of concern was whether the faculty vitality concept discriminates among professors in meaningful ways (i.e., regarding their professional attitudes, practices,…

Rural sociology needs a conceptualization of social change and its implications for the discipline. Scientifically adequate conceptualization would enable rural sociologists to understand their own and others' social roles as activities which are aspects of social change. With this understanding the rural sociologist could conceive of his…

This study consisted of the development of the Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (TJSQ), designed to assess teacher job satisfaction in elementary and secondary schools. A thorough review was conducted of concepts, theories, and approaches related to job satisfaction in order to develop a clear definition of job satisfaction. A list of…

For the process leading to the publication of one's professional work to be equitable, all authors must understand why and how publication decisions are made. Psychologists must understand how editors and reviewers look at manuscripts, and how the author's own attitudes and skills may affect the acceptance of manuscripts. These four papers are…

Designed to clarify the roles played by prizes as evaluative mechanisms in journalism, a study examined journalists' attitudes toward both internal (professional) and external (nonprofessional) reward systems and then examined the ability of both individual-level and organizational-level variables to predict these attitudes and prize-seeking…

This background paper, prepared for the Council of Europe on the problem of equivalence in professional qualifications and academic studies among the European countries, contains eleven proposals to set up a system that would interpret information on equivalence. (JH)

Based on data gathered under the sponsorship of the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education in 1969, the political science community and its components -- faculty and undergraduate and graduate students -- are compared demographically and professionally with other discipline communities and the general academic population. (JH)

Reviewing concepts in the world of work relevant to the health field, the paper suggests a framework for classifying occupational categories in terms of specific roles, responsibilities and achievement. (MW)

A study of various rhetorical strategies fellow academicians apply to colleagues who appear lacking in intellectual respectability. (CH)

This paper compares the literary success of two novels published in 1955: "The Dollmaker," by Harriette Arnow, and "A Fable," by William Faulkner. Reviews of each book reflect that Arnow's book was judged excellent, while Faulkner's book was considered rough and unpolished. In spite of the reviews, Faulkner received the…

Specialists in the field of children's literature, who publish research and decide on awards for individual books, should give serious study to what children themselves choose to read. Among the children's books that were not originally awarded top honors by critics but that have proved extremely popular with children are the Oz books by L. Frank…

Faculty development programs should help professionals to encourage in students not only a mastery of a body of knowledge but also a familiarity with various modes of knowing. (Author/KE)