From 1942 to 1958, a national weekly programme on CBS radio and presented by Science Service, Inc. devoted 37 of its broadcasts to profiling American high school students' achievements in science talent searches, clubs and fairs. These "Adventures in Science" radio programmes cast scientifically talented youth as potential contributors to national…

Described here is a study on the efficacy of a media-rich curriculum based on the idea that children can learn best from "media synergy," that is, when children have opportunities to learn a focused set of skills by engaging in repeated practice with them in many different formats and media. Participants in this study were low-income…

Concern has been expressed that negative attitudes toward people with mental illnesses begin to develop early in childhood. This study examines one of the possible sources of learning of such negative attitudes--children's television programs. Two hundred sixty-nine (269) hours of children's television programming were videotaped, viewed, and…

Shortly after the first commercial radio broadcast in 1920, the medium's popularity exploded and the number of stations on the dial grew tremendously. By 1930, however, a mere 10 years after the first radio broadcast occurred, the industry was dominated by large, commercial stations who sold advertising time in a variety of forms and were operated…

The U.S. Department of Education's "back to the basics" thrust of the 1980s took a terrible toll on enrollments for those teaching in the "practical arts." So, in the face of declining enrollments, angry employers wanting more program graduates, and a concerned advisory council, technology teachers must go on television and express their…

This paper describes a novel qualitative study that identified the concerns of young people about sex through a talk-back segment from 2002 to 2004 on an Australian national radio popular music programme targeting 15-24 year olds. Two hundred and thirty-one unsolicited callers (150 female and 81 male) went to air over the study period, and 212…

"The George Lopez Show" is the first successful television show with a Latino in a leading role that features Hispanic material since Freddie Prinze's thirty-year-old sitcom, "Chico and the Man." This study seeks to assess how Latinos are presented on "The George Lopez Show." A content analysis reveals that the show perpetuates some of the…

This study examined perceptions of college of education students and their experiences with Channel One, a privately-owned news service used in public education. Given that about one-third of middle and high schoolers in the US view the broadcast every school day, the authors surveyed 172 freshmen to discern their views and attitudes toward…

Noting that the social and emotional experiences of American children today often heavily involve electronic media, Barbara Wilson takes a close look at how exposure to screen media affects children's well-being and development. She concludes that media influence on children depends more on the type of content that children find attractive than on…

An ideal time to start health promotion education is during the elementary years. However, over the last several years, many elementary schools have eliminated formal health education from their curriculum, subsequently integrating health education components into existing classroom content. The "I Feel Good!" radio broadcast is an…

The authors suggest that "CSI," a public mass media product, and other television programming have greatly influenced how students, especially female students, perceive scientists at work. Perhaps the increased airing of television programs focusing on laboratory sciences has caused student perceptions of scientists to shift away from the "mad…

As television transitions from analog to digital, questions arise as to how to best meet the needs of children. What are the potential benefits of digital television? How can the technology be used to serve children and families, while at the same time protect them from possible harm? The transition to digital television offers a unique…

Finds that nature as a theme is completely absent in 80% and the outstanding theme in only 1.7% of television programming; not only less frequent, but separate from the dominant themes in prime-time; and treated as a sociopolitical "issue" (like "politics,""science,""religion," and "education").…

College students exhibited impulsivity if, in the first of 2 sessions, they consistently chose an immediate, small reinforcer (15-s cartoon video followed by 75 s of waiting) over a delayed, large reinforcer (55-s prereinforcer delay, 25-s video, 10 additional s of waiting), or self-control if they showed the opposite preference. Previously,…

Catalyst, a quarterly newsletter from the Institute's Communications Office, contains news, information, and features about the programs and services of the National Institute for Literacy. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Spanish-Language Publication for Parents of Young Readers Among the Institute's New Titles; (2) Director's…