The information exchange groups experiment

From 1961 through 1966, the National Institutes of Health operated a facility for the rapid distribution of unevaluated preprints to research workers—an obvious precursor of many of the activities taking place today on the Internet. The experiment began with 32 researchers in a single Information Exchange Group (IEG). It grew to seven IEGs with total membership over 3600. During 1966, more than 1.5 million copies of preprints were produced and distributed. Considerable enthusiasm was generated among researchers who valued the speed of dissemination. Critics charged that the quality of the average preprint deteriorated with increased participation. They also noted that the unplanned burdens on production had often delayed receipt of the preprints until after they had appeared as formally reviewed journal papers. During this period, the Atomic Energy Commission had mounted a similar experimental program of “written informal communications” that was limited to theoretical high energy physics. Note: The NIH experiment ended as described by this summary, which was published inScience (154:843, 18 Nov. 1966). Obviously, no one wished to pay for it any longer. Despite the efforts of librarians at NIH, National Library of Medicine, and National Technical Information Services, we have not been able to locate the promised final report—A.H.     

Metacognitive scaffolds improve self-judgments of accuracy in a medical intelligent tutoring system

In this study, we examined the effect of two metacognitive scaffolds on the accuracy of confidence judgments made while diagnosing dermatopathology slides in SlideTutor. Thirty-one (N = 31) first- to fourth-year pathology and dermatology residents were randomly assigned to one of the two scaffolding conditions. The cases used in this study were selected from the domain of nodular and diffuse dermatitides. Both groups worked with a version of SlideTutor that provided immediate feedback on their actions for 2 h before proceeding to solve cases in either the Considering Alternatives or Playback condition. No immediate feedback was provided on actions performed by participants in the scaffolding mode. Measurements included learning gains (pre-test and post-test), as well as metacognitive performance, including Goodman–Kruskal Gamma correlation, bias, and discrimination. Results showed that participants in both conditions improved significantly in terms of their diagnostic scores from pre-test to post-test. More importantly, participants in the Considering Alternatives condition outperformed those in the Playback condition in the accuracy of their confidence judgments and the discrimination of the correctness of their assertions while solving cases. The results suggested that presenting participants with their diagnostic decision paths and highlighting correct and incorrect paths helps them to become more metacognitively accurate in their confidence judgments.     

General Communication

Eugene Garfield, Essays of an Information Scientist, Volume 3, 1977-78 (Philadelphia: ISI Press, 1980—$15.00)

The Information Society: An International Journal (Crane, Russak, 3 East 44th St., New York, N.Y. 10017– $48.00/quarterly)

M. Thomas Inge, ed. Handbook of American Popular Culture, Volume 2 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1980 —$29.95)

Information Resources: Knowledge and Power in the 21st Century by Anthony G. Oettinger (Incidental Paper 1-80-4, 10 pp. —$15.00)

Changes in the Information Industries– Their Strategic Implications for Newspapers by John C.Gates (Incidental Paper 1-80-5, 20 pp.—$15.00)

Economics and Postal Pricing Policy by Bruce Owen and Robert Willig (Publication P-81-2, 36 pp.—$30.00)

Factors Influencing Media Consumption: A Survey of the Literature by Christine Urban (Research Draft not yet for sale, March 1981, 107 pp.)

The Continuing Revolution in Communications Technology: Implications for the Broadcasting Business by Richard Rosenbloom (Incidental Paper 1-81-4, June 1981, 30 pp.—$15.00)

Information Resources Policy Viewed by an OutskIrten by Per Ongstad (Incidental Paper 1-81-5, July 1981, 53 pp.—$15.00)

Philip Hills, ed. The Future of the Printed Word: The Impact and Implications of the New Communications Technology (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1981—$25.00)

Ronald J. Matlon, comp. Index to Journals in Communication Studies Through 1979 (Speech Communication Association, 5105 Backlick Rd., Annandale, Va. 22003—price not given, paper)     

Telecommunications Technology

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: THE NEW MEDIA IN SOCIETY by Everett M. Rogers (New York: Free Press, 1986—price not given, cloth and paper)

BEYOND THE GUTENBERG GALAXY: MICROCOMPUTERS AND THE EMERGENCE OF POST-TYPOGRAPHIC CULTURE by Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. (New York: Columbia University/Teachers College Press, 1986—$8.95, paper)

UNDERSTANDING THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES OF THE MASS MEDIA by George E. Whitehouse (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986—$14.95, paper)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE INFORMATION AGE by Loy A. Singleton (Cambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1986—$19.95)

TELECOMMUTING: THE FUTURE TECHNOLOGY OF WORK by Thomas B. Cross and Marjorie Raizman (Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin, 1986—$25.00)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY by R.L. Brewster (Chichester: Ellis Horwood Ltd./New York: John Wiley, 1986—price not given)

SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS by Timothy Pratt and Charles W. Bostian (New York: John Wiley, 1986—$42.95)

UNDERSTANDING SATELLITE TELEVISION RECEPTION by S.E. Sutphin (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1986—price not given

1986 INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE DIRECTORY (Design Publishers, 369 Redwood Ave., Corte Madera, CA 94925—price not given, paper)

COMPUTERS AND COMMUNICATIONS: A VISION OF C&C by Koji Kobayashi (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986—$16.95)

DICTIONARY OF DATA COMMUNICATIONS edited by Charles J. Sippl (New York: Halstead Press/John Wiley, 1985—price not given, paper)     

Book review

Handbook of telecommunications economics, volume I. structure, regulation & competition. Cave, M., Majumdar; S. & Vogelsang (eds.). Elsevier Science, B.V., 2002, 726 pages, ISBN 0–444–50389–7, www.elsevier.com

Cost proxy models and telecommunications policy. Farid Gasmi, D. Mark Kennett, Jean‐Jacques Laffont, William W. Sharkey. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 2002, 275 pages, ISBN 0–262–7237–8

Media institutions and audiences: Key concepts in media studies by Nick Lacey. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 2002, 275 pages, ISBN 0–262–7237–8. Palgrave, 2002, 235 pages, ISBN 0–333–65870–1, www.palgrave.com

Copyright in the cultural industries edited by Ruth Towse. Edward Elgar, 2002, 263 + xxii pages, ISBN 1–84064–661–6, www.e‐elgar.co.uk

Telecommunications management. Industry structures and planning structures. by Richard A. Gershon. 365 pages, ISBN 0–8058–3002–2, www.erlbaum.com

Understanding media economics by Gillian Doyle. Sage Publications, 2002, vii +184 pages, ISBN 07619 6874

Media and power by James Curran. Routledge, London and New York, 2002, 308 pages, ISBN 0–415–07740–0, www.routledge.com     

The Media Buying Process: Perceptions of Media Sales Representatives

This three-wave e-mail/Web-based survey examined current perceptions of media sales representatives. Media departments from small, medium, and large advertising agencies across the United States answered questions related to the general perception, influence, and role of media sales representatives across media types. Overall, the findings suggested a favorable opinion about media sales representatives with magazine representatives rated as most influential. Trust emerged as a critical component in the buyer–seller relationship. In addition, providers of reliable knowledge and information were found to be critical roles of media sales representatives. The findings are noteworthy and emphasize the importance of educating industry sales representatives regarding the value of relationship building in the media sales process.