The relation of a book to its public is always a matter of interest. Considers Alexis de Tocqueville's classic, "Democracy in America", and the American intellectual scene, as it has been known since about 1940. (Author/RK)

Factors affecting the stability of social relationships between 14 community members and 1 or more individuals with mental retardation were assessed. The community members had previously served as staff members to the clients, were willing to overcome logistical barriers to being friends, and perceived reciprocal social support from the…

Discusses today's black studies programs and the division between the empiricist and conceptualist views of black history. Through a personal narrative involving a visit to Tuskegee University, the author muses over Booker T. Washington's type of eloquence in addressing the black experience compared to today's black public intellectual's attempts,…

Based on life-history interviews it was determined that Russian teenagers emphasized continuity over change, and described themselves more as passive participants than active shapers of a democratic society. Concludes that post-Soviet Russian adolescents, having witnessed political and economic upheavals but experiencing a lack of tangible…

Responds to John Wilson's article "Philosophy and Education Research: A Reply to David Bridges et al." Discusses three observations: (1) different recollections of the pretensions attached to conceptual analysis; (2) the supposition of establishing meaning of a word without a theory of meaning; and (3) rhetorical and persuasive functions…

The "Research in Practice Series" is published four times each year by Early Childhood Australia. The series aims to provide practical, easy to read, up-to-date information and support to a growing national readership of early childhood workers. The books bring together the best information available on wide-ranging topics and are an…

A model linking children's peer acceptance in the classroom to academic performance via academic self-concept and internalizing symptoms was tested in a longitudinal study. A sample of 248 children was followed from 4th to 6th grade, with data collected from different informants in each year of the study to reduce respondent bias. A path analysis…

This article is based on the analysis of a fragment of conversation recorded in a year one classroom. It explores the ways in which young children use language to produce a meaningful world and highlights the importance of language in the presentation of social experience. It then draws upon this analysis to discuss how children learn to use…

Parents' reactions to brief separations from their infant children were investigated in this study. Participants included a total of 16 female and 16 male 10-month-old infants, together with their mothers and fathers. From the pool of 64 parents, one parent in each family was randomly chosen to serve as subject. The selection of subjects was made…

This book offers a structured approach to disco dancing, and is designed for use in group instruction. After a brief historical look at popular dance in America, the basic fundamentals of disco steps are explored. Dance terms are explained in a glossary, and a section on music introduces notation, rhythm and meter, and time signatures. In the…

Traditionally journalism history has been male-oriented and has operated on the assumptions that journalism history is about winning, autonomy, and change. Two corollary assumptions hidden in post journalism history are (1) proper journalism history should focus on action, not consequence of action; and (2) history should be explained in terms of…

The subject of this booklet is cross-age helping. It begins with a discussion of what cross-age helping is and why it is effective. Cross-age helping is described as a program where children teach or help other children. The older children help the younger children learn what the younger children want to know, and the younger children help the…

Describes a survey project for use in sociological research methods courses. The project is built around the American Council on Education's Freshman Survey, and provides instructors with valuable opportunities to design panel studies focusing on the experience of the students over their college years. Claims that the suggested project reduces the…

Explored relationship between two dimensions of social interaction and well-being (quantity and adequacy of social contact) in 1050 older Australians. Results indicated that respondents' assessments of the adequacy of their social contacts, rather than the amount of social contact per se, was a critical determinant of well-being in old age.…