Presidential silence,C. Everett Koop,and the surgeon general's report on AIDS

On October 22, 1986, C. Everett Koop released the Surgeon General's Report on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. This essay examines that report as a rhetorical watershed in the national dialogue about AIDS. We suggest that this report—and the media attention that attended it—dramatically shifted the socio‐political environment concerning AIDS and contextual‐izfd Reagan's silence concerning the disease as a lack of presidential leadership on the issue.     

Bridging the Gap: Integrating Information Literacy into Communication Courses

Courses: Introductory Public Speaking, Introductory Small Group Communication

Objectives: Students will locate, analyze, evaluate, and utilize secondary sources through an in-depth research process. They will complete a comprehensive research portfolio. Students will practice effective group dynamics skills. They will demonstrate effective oral presentation skills in a panel presentation.     

Cognitive dissonance and communication theory∗

Rhetorical criticism (i.e., textual analysis of speeches) is severely handicapped because speech cannot be adequately represented in writing; even if it could be so represented, it is illogical and presumptuous to study critically oral communication received from an inappropriate medium (printed page) via an inappropriate sensory channel (vision). A hierarchy of research priorities—the criterion for relative worth being the degree to which methodologies extend our knowledge of rhetorical theory—is proposed by the author.     

The elements of the rhetorical theory of Phillips brooks

Sections of the beginning course in oral interpretation—three taught by an experienced faculty member using open‐circuit television facilities supplemented with classroom instruction by graduate assistant instructors having no prior teaching experience, and eleven taught by graduate assistant instructors having various levels of prior teaching experience—were compared for retention of specific course content at the end of a semester's instruction. A positive relationship was displayed between teaching experience level and retention of specific content. Although the television group displayed much higher median test scores than a control group taught by graduate assistants with little prior teaching experience, it displayed only slightly higher scores than a control group taught by graduate assistants with moderate experience, and a slightly lower median score than a control group taught by highly experienced graduate assistants.     

Foreign and domestic news content of Chinese television

A sample from 10 weeks of the major Chinese national television news program was content analyzed; 559 news stories were coded according to duration, topic category, position in the newscast, and geographic origin. The 189 international stories clustered at the end of the broadcast and were significantly shorter than domestic stories. A plurality of domestic stories was from the capital, Beijing, and covered different topics than those that originated outside of China. Foreign and domestic stories were brief and provided little interpretation or background.     

Landsat Yesterday and Today

Abstract

Since the late 1960s, the United States government has invested more than $1 billion in designing, launching, and operating the Landsat (land satellite) series of Earth-observing satellites. Global change researchers, geologists, and environmental scientists have used images gathered by the satellites for purposes ranging from human health research, energy exploration, and pollution detection to agricultural assessments, urban growth monitoring, and earthquake lineament studies.

The earliest data were captured on a digital medium called wide-band video tape (WBVT). However, two decades of unsound media storage conditions and a poorly maintained processing system have left the physically deteriorating WBVTs with no mechanism for interpretation. A national treasure was in jeopardy. With seed money from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a project to rescue the data. More than 21,000 tapes from the 1970s have been transcribed to stable, archival media, preserving the data for future studies in Earth System Science.     

Holocaust Resources on the Internet

Summary

Due to the wealth of information available on the Internet, using it for research is often difficult and time consuming. These barriers can be traced to the Internet's mystic appeal. This misplaced focus often leads users away from the very thought process that directed them to this resource tool. The following article stresses a research process rather than the delivering technology. It details the use of an established evaluation criteria that helps identify quality Net resources. The process also involves locating Net information based on resource type (museums, research centers, oral testimonies, library catalogs, etc.). Although this survey focuses on the Holocaust, the process is universal.     

Literature Awareness Among Health Staff in Developing Countries

Abstract

Health professionals, although in principle a highly information-conscious group, are frequently observed to be poor users of literature and library services. The main reason for this lack of literature awareness is the tradition of oral transmission of knowledge found in a number of Third World countries. Since the practice of modern medicine is not conceivable without constant support from the professional literature, either for reference or continuing education purposes, it is suggested that national or regional programmes be launched to promote literature awareness, notably among medical and nursing students. This requires the active participation of faculty staff as well as policy and financial commitments of the governments concerned. Failure to heighten the literature awareness of coming generations of physicians and nurses, and in general to improve the situation in the sector of health information support could have serious consequences on the quality of medical care in large parts of the developing world.     

“Localism”; in Chinese media context: An examination of a closed circuit community cable system

The ongoing reforms in the Chinese media system have offered greater latitude for the development and operation of closed circuit community cable television. This research describes the structure and program content of one community system. Although similar to the national media model, the addition of a community channel offers a functional alternative. Local newscasts contain themes and production values similar to China Central Television (CCTV). Feature entertainment and music video request programs provide alternatives to the national and regional television channels. Increased access available through such systems has the capacity to expand the ideological range possible in Chinese life and exert pressure for further structural, operational, and ideological reform at the national level.     

Bibliographic Data Science and the History of the Book (c. 1500–1800)

Abstract

National bibliographies have been identified as a crucial resource for historical research on the publishing landscape, but using them requires addressing challenges of data quality, completeness, and interpretation. We call this approach bibliographic data science. In this article, we briefly assess the development of book formats and the vernacularization process in early modern Europe. The work undertaken paves the way for more extensive integration of library catalogs to map the history of the book.     

Current Trends in Research Resources from Russia,Eastern Europe,and Eurasia: Implications for Reference Services and Resource Sharing

ABSTRACT

In the last 20 years, national, regional, and academic libraries and other cultural institutions in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia have introduced subject portals, research databases, journal repositories, digital collections, research guides, and indexing resources, which scholarly communities outside these regions rely on to advance their research portfolios. In order to address the significant developments in scholarly communication and the proliferation of academic content, this article discusses recent trends in online research resources and strategies for incorporating these resources into research consultations. In addition, as these extensive networks of online resources continue to proliferate, possible models for collaboration with national and regional libraries are needed to strengthen existing partnerships with Slavic librarians outside these regions.     

Stereotype change following exposure to counter‐stereotypical media heroes

During his 1966–69 tenure as director of research for the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A., Ronald L. Johnstone helped plan and conduct the research reported here which is based on a sizable national sample. In the article, he constructs a profile of the typical religious radio program listener. Dr. Johnstone earned the Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1963 and is now associate professor of sociology at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant.     

COLOR POEMS

ABSTRACT

The value, roles and responsibilities of public libraries have been articulated in a variety of ways, and today their exact nature continues to be subject to broad interpretation. This research approaches the subject from a historic perspective, using Ernestine Rose and her career at the New York Public Library to exemplify five propositions that lead to a value-centered understanding of public libraries as cultural institutions that engage considerable physical, economic, and moral resources to improve the social and intellectual capacity of their communities.     

Research Output of Academic Librarians From Irish Higher Education Institutions 2000–2015: Findings From a Review,Analysis, and Survey

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to quantify, review, and analyze published research output of academic librarians from 21 higher education Institutions in Ireland. A mixed approach using an online survey questionnaire, supplemented by content analysis and extensive literature scoping were used for data collection. Factors inhibiting and predicting the likelihood of research publication are identified. Motivations, barriers, and collaboration are examined. Qualitative perspectives from survey respondents are offered. The survey response was 30%. The main findings are presented and contextualized. There is evidence of moderate research growth and publication rates among the Irish LIS community; Open Access pathways are increasingly accepted. The paper has original value with both exploratory and analytical perspectives. This is the first comprehensive national study of this cohort; it adds value and a new perspective to the existing literature on academic librarians' participation in scholarly endeavours and communication.     

Current control of journal literature in economics in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The National Library of Australia and the state libraries of New South Wales and Victoria each maintain separate collections of printed ephemera. The role of these collections and the policies used in the acquisition and selection of items for them are described, analysed and compared. The role of the public library local studies collections in helping to create a cooperative, nationwide approach to the acquisition of this material in Australia is discussed in relation to this national and state activity. The value of an understanding of the Australian situation is related to a research project to develop guidelines for collection policies for printed ephemera at the national and local levels in Wales.     

Geo-Bibliometric Mapping of French Geography

Abstract

French geography dissertations for the years 1985–2002 were examined for their salient characteristics in terms of degree production, dissertation type, institutional affiliation, and geographical reach. These dissertations offer a rich base of research conducted in a country known for its innovative geographical research and tradition. Particular strengths and trends were discerned and concentrations of institutional base and activity established. This study can serve as a template for other national research traditions and disciplines, and is especially useful for library science and those interested in characteristics of literature studies.     

Audience commitment and source knowledge of audience as determinants of attitude change following counterattitudinal advocacy

This study tested two hypotheses growing out of the aversive consequences interpretation of counterattitudinal advocacy effects: first, that persons encoding counterattitudinal messages for a known audience will report greater attitude change toward the position advocated than persons encoding counterattitudinal messages for an unknown audience; and, second, that persons encoding counterattitudinal messages for an uncommitted audience will demonstrate greater attitude change toward the position advocated than persons encoding counterattitudinal messages for a committed audience. After completing an attitude pretest, subjects encoded counterattitudinal essays favoring two years of mandatory military service for all male high school graduates. Analyses of the attitude change scores produced confirmation of both hypotheses.     

Service to the Profession

Abstract

For academic librarians with faculty status, service to the profession often forms part of the requirements for promotion and tenure. Considering the concept of professional service raises questions as to what specific activities qualify; what is their weight, both within the service requirement and also as compared with other requirements, such as research and publication; and how are service activities best documented. Examination of ARL Standards and selected promotion and tenure documents revealed inconsistencies between institutions and great flexibility in interpretation by most.