TV's distorted vision of poverty

Avoiding almost entirely the depiction of poverty during prime‐time broadcasts, television networks present a sentimentalized vision of economic deprivation that omits or minimizes hardship while idealizing the supposed benefits of a spartan way of life. Much happier than the harried members of middle‐ and upper‐income groups, poor and working people on television seldom strive against their economic fates or against the system. Conclusions are based on a monitoring of prime‐time entertainment broadcast by the three commercial networks during “ratings month.”     

Speech in the undergraduate public relations curriculum

This essay analyzes the divergent public response in democratic cultures to power symbols who manipulate either a self‐disparaging (ironie) public persona or a self‐aggrandizing (hypocritical) one. This divergence is explored in light of well‐known democratic assumptions about power‐holders, and it is illustrated in the contrasting presidential images of Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy. It is concluded that the critic may require an extended vocabulary to evaluate the actions of power‐holders over and above those used to evaluate the actions of private individuals.     

Exploring social constructivism: theories and practicalities

In the drive to improve standards, the collection and dissemination of numerical data still directs much contemporary educational policy. However, recent publications and debates seemingly attempt to reorient discussion from performance to learning. In support, constructivism is often referenced as a contributor in this endeavour. However, constructivism is not a single unified theory either of knowledge or pedagogy. This article identifies one version of constructivist thinking, social constructivism, both in terms of its underlying epistemology (theory of knowledge) and related pedagogy. Contemporary educational theories are then outlined to demonstrate that many practical solutions and theoretical ideas now presented as ‘good learning and teaching’ have much in common with social constructivist thinking. Finally, the article concludes by identifying two issues that require further discussion and debate if pedagogy of a social constructivist nature is to be considered.     

A City's Schools: From equality of input to inequality of outcome

This paper analyses the educational attainment of the total primary school population (13,984 children) of a city based on a series of tests between the ages of 6 and 12. The children were surveyed in Aberdeen in the 1960s. The attainment of each age-group in each school is analysed against the background of their parental class, the social status of their neighbourhood and the life style of their family. A steep gradation of attainment across all class levels, already apparent in early school years, persisted unchanged up to the age of 12. Class influence on physical development was similarly marked at school entry. School intakes reflected the social character of their neighbourhood which in turn dominated the schools' educational potential. The paper looks at attainments atypical of nominal class and asks why a system based on equality of input produces gross inequality of outcome.     

Development and Validation of Instruments to Measure Learning of Expert‐Like Thinking

This paper describes the process for creating and validating an assessment test that measures the effectiveness of instruction by probing how well that instruction causes students in a class to think like experts about specific areas of science. The design principles and process are laid out and it is shown how these align with professional standards that have been established for educational and psychological testing and the elements of assessment called for in a recent National Research Council study on assessment. The importance of student interviews for creating and validating the test is emphasized, and the appropriate interview procedures are presented. The relevance and use of standard psychometric statistical tests are discussed. Additionally, techniques for effective test administration are presented.     

Interviewing objects: including educational technologies as qualitative research participants

This article argues the importance of including significant technologies‐in‐use as key qualitative research participants when studying today’s digitally enhanced learning environments. We gather a set of eight heuristics to assist qualitative researchers in ‘interviewing’ technologies‐in‐use (or other relevant objects), drawing on concrete examples from our own qualitative research projects. Our discussion is informed by Actor‐Network Theory and hermeneutic phenomenology, as well as by the literatures of techno‐science, media ecology, and the philosophy of technology.     

Editorials

A Handbook of Public Speaking (Revised Edition). By John Dolman, Jr. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934; pp. vii, 165; $1.

Legal Reasoning and Briefing. By Jesse Franklin Brumbaugh. Indianapolis: The Bobbs Merrill Co., 1917; pp. xvi, 775; $5.

Legal and Public Speaking. By Jesse Franklin Brumbaugh. Indianapolis: The Bobbs Merrill Co., 1932; pp. xiii, 1049; $5.

Winning Orations of the Interstate Oratorical Association, 1933 Edited by I. M. Cochran. New York: Noble &; Noble, 1933; pp. 66; $1.

Modern Short Stories for Oral Interpretation. Edited by M. Pearl Lloyd and John Tryon Marshman. Boston: The Expression Company, 1933; pp. viii, 306.

Some Exercises in the Sounds of Speech. By C. C. Bell. Cambridge: at The University Press; New York: The Macmillan Company; 1933; pp. viii + 94; $1.25.

The Theatre on the Frontier. By William G. B. Carson. Chicago: the University of Chicago Press, 1932; pp. 361; $5.

The Year Book of College Oratory. Vol. V, 1933. Edited by Evan E. Anderson, New York: Noble &; Noble, 1933; pp. 364; $2.

Poet's Gold. By David Ross. New York: The Macaulay Co., 1933; pp. 288; $2.

Intercollegiate Debates, Vol. XIV, Edited by Egbert Ray Nichols. New York: Noble &; Noble, 1933; pp. 529; $2.

Habits: Their Making and Unmaking. By Knight Dunlap. New York: Liveright, Inc.; 1932; pp. 326.

Psychology Applied. By George W. Crane. Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 1932; pp. 586; $4.