Review

The Attitudes of Chinese Academics to Foreign Scholarly Journals; Part 1 – Report, Part 2 – Appendices. Global Publishing Information (Publishers Association and the British Council) March 2005. Free to ALPSP and PA members; £249 to others.     

New library buildings: Bracken Library, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

A brief sketch is given of the past history and present functions of the Bracken Library. Architectural and decorative features of the new library are described.     

Early communication strategies: using video analysis to support teachers working with preverbal pupils

Carolyn Anderson is a speech and language therapist who is currently working as a senior lecturer at the University of Strathclyde. In this article she provides an early account of her ongoing research into communication between teachers and pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities. Video recordings were made of teacher-pupil interactions. The recordings were then analysed in terms of the numbers of turns taken by pupils and teachers; the strategies teachers and pupils used to initiate and respond in interactions; and the numbers of information carrying words teachers used with pupils with different levels of language comprehension. Carolyn Anderson's findings will help teachers who want to develop their own awareness of the role they play in communicating with pupils. This research will also support staff who are trying to encourage pupils with learning difficulties to become more actively involved in interactions and teaching and learning opportunities.     

Teaching for deeper political learning: a design experiment

Is in-depth political learning possible in college-preparatory courses known for curricular breadth at an accelerated pace plus a high-stakes exam? A multidisciplinary research team conducted design-based implementation research (DBIR) for seven years across three school systems for the purpose of achieving deeper learning in an ‘advanced’ high school government and politics course. This article reports findings from the final year of research and development. The design centres on cyclical learning, projects (simulated political processes) and strategic use of texts as resources for learning the curriculum. Quantitative analysis shows comparable achievement to students in traditional classrooms on the high-stakes summative assessment despite the dramatic departure from test-prep instruction. Qualitative analyses focus on two of the design elements: learning from simulations and learning from text. The first allowed students to ‘experience’ political beliefs, institutions, and conflict, although simulated; the second required students to learn subject matter not only from simulations and teacher lectures but from texts, too. The discussion shows how these two in combination with cyclical learning required skilful attention to content selection. We conclude that when deeper learning is the goal, content selection cannot be elided or presumed, particularly with respect to the articulation of depth and breadth in curriculum and instruction.     

Reflections on the past,directions for the future: A template for the study and instruction of interpersonal communication

The purpose of this investigation was to validate a template for the instruction of interpersonal communication. Two dimensions emerged that characterize the study of communication: a theory—application dimension and a communication—relationships dimension. These anchors serve as the foundation for the Interpersonal Communication Template. Juxtaposing these two dimensions yields a four‐quadrant template featuring: theory—communication; theory—relationships; application—communication; application—relationships. Journal articles were categorized within the four quadrants. Five hundred and seventy two articles were reviewed, resulting in the identification of 998 interpersonal communication theories, constructs, and contexts. The theories, constructs, and contexts were then collapsed into 120 interpersonal communication topics. To derive the interpersonal communication topics, the co‐coders utilized the constant comparative method (i.e., analytic induction) (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The organization of the 120 topics within the communication—relationships and theory—application dimensions provides an illustration of the field utilizing the Interpersonal Communication Template as an organizing mechanism. Implications of the template for research and instruction of interpersonal communication are discussed.     

Telecommunications

Thomas R. Brooks' Communications Workers of America: The Story of a Union (New York: Mason/Charter, 1977—$12.95)

Lorne A. Parker and Betsy Riccomini, comps. A Report on University Applications of Satellite/Cable Technology: First Annual International Communications Conference (153 pp., paper, no date)

Lorne A. Parker and Betsy Riccomini, comps. The Status of the Telephone in Education: Second Annual International Communications Conference (220 pp., paper, no date)

Lorne A. Parker and Betsy Riccomini, comps. The Telephone in Education: Book II: Third Annual International Communications Conference (201 pp., paper, no date)

Mavis Monson, et al., eds. A Design for Interactive Audio (132 pp., paper, 1977)

John A. Bunyan and James C. Crimmons' Television and Management: The Manager's Guide to Video (White Plains, N.Y.: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1977—$24.50)     

Effect of timing of communicator identification and level of source credibility on attitude

This study investigated whether roommates who were similar in their communication traits would express more satisfaction with and affinity for their roommates. Specifically, the communication traits of willingness to communicate, interpersonal communication competence, and verbal aggressiveness were considered. Participants (college students and their roommates) completed measures of their own communication traits and their feelings about their roommates. Results showed that roommates who were prosocially similar (when both roommates were high in willingness to communicate, when both roommates were high in interpersonal communication competence, and when both roommates were low in verbal aggressiveness) reported the highest roommate satisfaction and liking.     

Oliver Wendell Holmes. Man of Medicine; Man of Letters

This biographical sketch portrays Oliver Wendell Holmes as a leading figure both in American medicine and in American literature. Particular attention is directed to his classic essay, "The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever."