General Media and Journalism

William E. Francois, Introduction to Mass Communications and Mass Media (Columbus, Ohio: Grid Publishing Co., 1977—$9.95, paper)

John M. Phelan's Mediaworld: Programming the Public (New York: Seabury Press, 1977—$8.95)

Harvey L. Zuckman and Martin J. Gaynes' Mass Communications Law in a Nutshell (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1977—price not given but under $10.00, paper)

Communication Abstracts (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, quarterly beginning Spring 1978/$30.00 for individuals; $54.00 for institutions, and these are introductory rates)

Margaret Harmon, ed. Working with Words: Careers for Writers (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1977—$7.95)

Walter Fox's Writing the News: Print Journalism in the Electronic Age (New York: Hastings House, 1977—$8.95/4.50)

Lee Finkle's Forum for Protest: The Black Press During World War II (Ruthorford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1975—$12.50)

Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin's The Coming of the Book: The Impact of Printing 1450-1800 (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press [London: NLB], 1976—$27.00)

George Seldes' Even the Gods Can't Change History: The Facts Speak for Themselves (Secaucus, N.J.: Lyle Stuart Inc., 1976—$10.00)

Denis McQuail's Review of Sociological Writing on the Press (London: IIMSO, 1976—£16 or about $2.00, paper, including postage)     

No Joke: A Comparison of Substance in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Broadcast Network Television Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election Campaign

This study examined substantive political coverage of the first presidential debate and the political conventions in 2004 on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the broadcast television networks' nightly newscasts. The study found the networks' coverage to be more hype than substance and coverage on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to be more humor than substance. The amount of substantive information in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the broadcast network newscasts was the same, regardless of whether the unit of analysis was news stories about the presidential election campaign or the entire half-hour program.     

A Delphi survey of research priorities and identified areas for collaborative research in health sector library and information services UK

The survey aims were to determine research priorities in the Health Library and Information Services sector in the United Kingdom as to their perceived value for the professional and impact on user needs and to identify areas suitable for collaborative research. A 34-member panel consisting of the Chairs of professional groups, journal editors, educationalists, key organizations and representatives from the Health Libraries Group, Libraries for Nursing and University Health Science Libraries professional groups, participated in a three-round postal questionnaire survey using the Delphi Technique. Consensus was achieved for a final set of 20 research priorities. The priorities and their category groups are discussed in the context of (i) the current R&D scene, and (ii) the health information environment. Six developmental recommendations are provided.     

Factors associated with the effective inclusion of primary-aged pupils with Down's syndrome

It is increasingly common for pupils with Down's syndrome to be offered places in mainstream primary schools. However, there is still much to learn about the impact of these placements upon children and classrooms. Recently the Nuffield Foundation funded a two-year research project exploring the inclusion of primary-aged pupils with Down's syndrome. The research focused on the inclusion of 18 pupils with Down's syndrome who attended mainstream primary schools in six local education authorities (LEAs) in the north-west of England. The research team investigated the ways in which schools manage the inclusion of pupils with Down's syndrome and the factors that contribute to the success of mainstream placements. In this article, Sam Fox, Peter Farrell and Pauline Davis from the University of Manchester discuss some of the findings from the study. These concern the support in place for the child and the attitudes of staff, other pupils and the parents of peers towards the inclusion of the child with Down's syndrome. Evidence from the 18 case studies suggests that there is no single way to guarantee effective inclusion. The extent to which a child is effectively included in a mainstream class is likely to be influenced by a number of key factors, including the way in which the teaching assistant (TA) works with the class teacher. Inclusion is more likely to be successful when the class teacher takes a central role in the management of support and the organisation of a child's daily educational experiences.     

Similarities and differences in views of ageing and learning in Hong Kong and Australia

This article is an overview and summary of the findings from a General Research Fund project funded (2012–2014) by the Research Grants Council of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong to investigate cross cultural understanding of ageing and learning by seniors in Hong Kong and Australia. Results have been published separately in Boulton-Lewis, & Buys (2015), Boulton-Lewis, Aird, & Buys (2016), Boulton-Lewis, Tam, Buys, & Chui (2016), Tam (2016), Tam & Chui (2016) and Tam, Aird, Boulton-Lewis & Buys (2016). These articles have dealt separately and variously with either a qualitative or quantitative analysis of learning choices in Australia, structural barriers to learning in Australia, a comparison of views of and ageing and learning in both cultures, Chinese views of later life learning, the meaning of ageing and learning to Chinese elders and an analysis and comparison of results in both places. The focus of this article is a summative discussion based mainly on the quantitative and qualitative analyses of the main themes of ageing and learning. It intends to provide an overview of the findings in some of the publications above. Other details can be found in the publications listed.     

Student-teachers’ perspectives on the purposes and characteristics of faith-based schools: an Australian view

At a time when the faith-based identity of schools is facing serious challenges, the researchers undertook a longitudinal study of the relevant opinions, beliefs and values of student-teachers at a Catholic university campus in Australia. The focus of the current paper is on the responses of first-year students to a survey regarding their choice of secondary school, the purposes of schooling and the characteristics of Catholic schools. Relevant context are addressed including global education trends, the values and characteristics of Catholic education and relevant aspects of Australian schooling and youth culture. Regardless of religious affiliation, self-reported religiosity or type of school attended, providing a ‘safe and caring school environment’ emerged as the most important purpose of schooling and as a key reason for choice of school, while faith-based purposes and reasons received particularly low ratings. ‘Caring community’ was regarded as by far the most important characteristic of the Catholic school, followed by engagement in social justice programmes. The findings are briefly compared with parallel findings for teachers in Queensland Catholic schools.