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The aim of this study was to determine the high school students' views about the trip to the science and technology center with QR code brochure. In the study, the design and development research method was used. The study group consisted of a total of 21 students studying in the 11th and 12th grades of the Technical Anatolian High School in the Marmara region in Turkey. In the study, an information brochure of the science and technology center located in the Marmara region was re-designed by enriched with QR code. Afterwards, a day trip to the STC was organized. Data were collected with semi-structured interview forms and analyzed according to the content analysis technique. According to the results of the study, before the trip the students stated that the QR code brochure had different, remarkable, informative, and lively elements. The students emphasized that the QR code brochure increased their interest and curiosity about the trip. The students indicated that they had a better quality of the trip thanks to the QR code brochure, they could visit many places in a short time, and the brochure guided them. After the trip, the students asserted that their favorite parts of the science and technology center were the Simulator and Planetarium. Most of the students confirmed that the science and technology center trip contributed to the lessons, that they applied and tried what they learned in the lesson. Therefore, QR codes can be used in teaching materials and outdoor activities since QR codes increase students' motivation to lessons.

Cutaneous malignancy is one of the leading causes of cancer-related morbidities and mortalities. Patient self-screening is helpful for early detection. Among educational pedagogies, game-based learning (GBL) has received increasing attention in recent years. We appraised the effectiveness of GBL, using Wordwall, to enhance cognitive performances pertaining to fundamental knowledge of cutaneous malignancies and perspectives on the intervention compared with a digital pamphlet. This multi-center study utilized a quasi-experimental research design and was conducted between February and April 2022. Participants were recruited and randomly assigned into a game group and a pamphlet group with a 1:1 ratio. Fundamental knowledge of cutaneous malignancies was assessed with pre- and post-intervention tests consisting of ten multiple choice questions with four alternative answers. These tests asked about prominent or pathognomonic features of cutaneous malignancies. During the five-day intervention period, recognition scores of participants in the game group were recorded. Perspectives on the interventions were also collected for analysis. A total of 94 participants were included, 60 (63.8%) were female. The mean age was 19.8 years (standard deviation [SD]=0.8). The increase in knowledge scores of the participants in the game group and pamphlet group was 2.57 (SD=1.30) and 2.36 (SD=1.52), respectively. In the game group, the mean best recognition score (13.89, SD=2.83) was significantly higher than the mean first recognition score (9.53, SD=2.48) with a pvalue <0.001. The overall satisfaction among the participants in the game group and pamphlet group was 4.41 (SD=0.57) and 4.23 (SD=0.59), respectively. This study suggests potentiality of GBL to enhance knowledge and recognition performances of common cutaneous malignancies with high satisfaction. Embedding this approach in the primary prevention of cutaneous malignancies might be a promising option to prevent cancer-related morbidities and mortalities.

Objective: This study evaluated Tummy Time recommendations in patient education materials and informal sources found on the Internet. Methods: Patient education materials, available from health professionals online, and informal sources, found outside of healthcare, were evaluated for consistency with evidence-informed recommendations. Patient education materials were also evaluated for readability and visual presentation. Results: Twelve sets of patient education materials were included in the top 20 search results. Only one of them addressed all the evidence-informed recommendations accurately. Fifty informal sources were included in analysis, ranging from search rank #1 to #57. Nearly half of the informal sources were judged fully consistent with evidence-informed recommendations. Counter to best practice recommendations, two-thirds of the patient education materials were written above the reading level expected of a student with no more than an elementary school education. All used strategies to enhance clarity, although none met all standards for visual presentation. Conclusion: Although some good resources are available, healthcare providers should exercise caution when selecting or recommending patient education materials online, even when they are available from healthcare professionals. Parents turning to the Internet will find accurate information. However, to develop a comprehensive understanding, they may need to visit multiple sites. Practice Implications: Healthcare professionals are responsible for providing or directing their clients to reliable, comprehensive sources of information, and for being aware of the quality of information they may discover through their own searches. Healthcare websites are responsible for communicating clearly and comprehensively with their clients and the public. Some parent education materials require revision for readability, formatting and consistency with Tummy Time recommendations.

Objective: This study examined the characteristics and quality of publicly available COVID-19 information education and communication (IEC) materials in India between March and December 2020. Design: An explanatory sequential mixed-method design was employed to examine the characteristics and quality of 265 purposefully selected IEC materials. Setting: The IEC materials analysed were those published between March and December 2020 on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website, Government of India. Methods: A checklist was utilised to examine the quality and characteristics of the materials. Thereafter, qualitative analysis provided insights into the contents of the materials with specific focus on the 'COVID-19 continuum of care'. Results: The majority (73.96%, n = 196) of the selected materials were directed towards the general public and had a focus on prevention (67.55 %, n = 179). Despite COVID-19-associated stigma, only 56 (21.13%) of the materials addressed this issue. However, most (95.47%, n = 253) of the materials adhered to quality standards for contents, readability and aesthetics. This qualitative analysis focused on the contents of selected IEC materials using the concept of 'continuum of care'. The analysis identified three important themes: prevention to early diagnosis and treatment; mitigation of stigma and discrimination surrounding COVID-19; and addressing the infodemic caused by COVID-19. Conclusion: The quality of materials was mostly satisfactory and appropriate to the emergent requirements. Strengthening audience engagement and attractiveness of the materials might enhance readability and actionability. A bottom--up approach to the development of future IEC materials, involving the community might widen the coverage of vulnerable populations in future crisis events.

At the University of North Carolina Greensboro's Speaking Center, recent formation of an Antiracist Values Committee, as well as former research completed by its members, have governed antiracist efforts. As one resource to students, the University of North Carolina Greensboro's Speaking Center offers tip sheets. These tip sheets are pamphlets that cover numerous communication-related topics from introductions to group cohesion. The measure of Black Language to White Mainstream English can be compared to the measure between antiracism to racism. In an effort to assess the antiracism or lack of antiracism in the materials offered by the UNCG Speaking Center, a textual analysis of 20 online tip sheet resources was conducted. Upon analysis and discussion, there are clear areas where antiracist efforts and language can be applied to a further extent. This article shares two of the study's findings which provide an example of unintentionally harmful rhetoric.

Information literacy has become one of the most essential skills we teach undergraduates. One highly effective way of teaching this skill is to put students in the active role of the mediator by asking them to produce a critical edition of an existing, open-access text. The process of inserting explanatory footnotes, writing introductory material, or creating an appendix of cultural contexts teaches research skills for interacting with a wide range of primary and secondary texts. Furthermore, critical editing foregrounds questions of audience and purpose that are essential to metaliteracy. This article discusses a footnoting assignment I designed for an undergraduate humanities course in which we read Edward Jenner's 1798 pamphlet on vaccination against smallpox, An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae. I developed a sequence of three research assignments that asked students to use online annotation software to create an edited version of Jenner's text aimed at their fellow students. In the first assignment they worked in groups to define key terms, identify the main points of Jenner's argument, and pose critical questions about the text. In the next two assignments, students conducted independent research in nineteenth-century periodicals to discover the popular debates surrounding smallpox and Jenner's work and then used their research to insert explanatory footnotes into Jenner's text.

Background: Because early recognition of symptoms and timely treatment of stroke can reduce mortality and the longterm effects of such events, efforts to make many people both aware of these symptoms and knowledgeable about what to do when recognising them are critical for reducing impacts from stroke. Objectives: To assess the impact of a stroke preparedness film (intervention) and stroke preparedness pamphlets (usual care) on self-efficacy for stroke recognition and action. Design: Two-arm cluster randomised trial conducted between July 2013 and August 2018. Setting: A total of 13 church sites located in economically disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods in New York. Of the 883 churchgoers approached, 503 expressed interest, 375 completed eligibility screening and 312 were randomised. Participant inclusion criteria were Black or Hispanic churchgoers, aged 34years or older, without stroke history, but at a high risk for stroke. The intervention consisted of two 12-minute stroke films: "Gospel of Stroke," in English for Black participants, and "Derrame Cerebral," in Spanish for Hispanic participants. Method: Participants were pre-post-tested (at baseline, 6-month follow-up and 12-month follow-up) for self-efficacy. Descriptive analysis, a linear mixed model and "t" tests were used to assess the effects of a stroke preparedness film and stroke preparedness pamphlets on self-efficacy. Results: Findings are based on intention-to-treat analysis. A total of 310 participants completed the study (99% retention rate). About half (53.8%) of participants were Black and 46.2% Hispanic in the intervention group; 48.3% were Black and 51.7% were Hispanic in the usual care group. Overall, both groups evidenced higher self-efficacy (i.e. lower predicted means) over time (p < 0.0001), although a significant benefit was not observed for the intervention relative to usual care. Conclusion: Both stroke preparedness films and stroke preparedness pamphlets improved self-efficacy with respect to stroke recognition and action among minority churchgoers.

This study examines the communication strategies employed by Qatar's government in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The study contributes to a growing body of work on the sociolinguistics of crisis communication. We focus on the use of South and Southeast Asian languages, spoken largely by blue-collar migrant workers, which are often seen as peripheral even though they are spoken by a large segment of the population. The deployment of these languages during Qatar's COVID-19 awareness campaign assumes further significance against the backdrop of a series of measures taken by the government in the last few years to strengthen the status and use of Arabic. We analyze multilingual printed pamphlets, multilingual audio-visual communication through radio and social media, as well as interviews conducted with key figures who were part of the awareness campaign. Our examination of the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability of the multilingual awareness materials reveals that while the different languages and modes of communication were important in spreading awareness, equally critical, if not more, was who carried the information and in what forms. We show the significant roles community and religious leaders and social media influencers played in disseminating the awareness information to the diverse migrant language communities.

The catastrophic devastation from recent natural calamities in the Philippines such as Typhoon Yolanda and Central Visayas earthquake in 2013 had made disaster preparedness a primary concern in the country. Prompted by the critical need to use science to save lives, this study developed Science of Survival (SOS) pamphlets titled "When the Wind Rages and Water Rises: A Science of Survival Pamphlet for Typhoon, Flashflood, Storm Surge and Tsunami" and "When the Earth Moves: A Science of Survival Pamphlet for Earthquakes and Their Aftermath (Liquefaction, Fire, Landslide and Tsunami)". The study used the developmental research design consisting of three phases: needs and context analysis phase, design, development and formative evaluation phase, and semi-summative evaluation phase. By carefully documenting the iterative process of analysis, design, evaluation and revision, insights were sought with regard to the development of pamphlets that provide useful and scientifically accurate information about surviving natural calamities such as typhoons and earthquakes. Experts from government agencies involved in disaster risk reduction and management, science experts in the university, and students who were victims of major disasters reviewed and evaluated the pamphlets. The results of the semi-summative quantitative evaluation showed that both pamphlets are highly acceptable as supplementary resource materials on disaster response and management.

Obesity and diabetes are two of the biggest public health problems in the modern world. One possible way to combat the rising prevalence of these diseases is through the spread of awareness about its consequences and how to prevent them. Therefore, educational interventions focused on teaching the physiological basis of these conditions might be valuable tools. However, most scholar curriculums lack high-quality material devoted to this topic. Thus we developed an educational booklet, composed of playful elements, targeted toward high school students and destined for application in classrooms. The efficacy of the developed material was validated through a pretest-posttest design, in which the students had to answer a 10-question test. After booklet completion, students had better outcomes, with an increase in the percentage of correct answers in 7 out of 10 questions contained in the test (P < 0.05. Thus we developed an effective material for usage in the high school classroom to spread the awareness of the risks of metabolic diseases and how to prevent them.

This study is devoted to the effect of "textual metafunction" on the levels of coherence and cohesion in the Iranian EFL learners' English writing performance. Sixty Iranian intermediate EFL learners who were adult females participated in this study were randomly divided into two groups; experimental, and control. They were given a writing pre-test. Then both groups' subjects attended an essay writing class, two sessions per week, for a ten-week term; however, while the experimental group was taught how to write a standard three-paragraph essay in English, and apply the textual metafunction in it, the control group was only taught how to write a standard three-paragraph essay. After the completion of the instructional period, both groups were given a writing post-test in which they were asked to write a standard three-paragraph essay on a subject. The analytic scoring scale of "Hungarian School-Leaving English Examination Reform" (2001, as cited in Tankó, 2001) was employed by three independent raters for rating the writing samples. A "t-test" on the mean scores of both groups indicated a significant difference between the scores of the post-tests, meaning that the textual metafunction was significantly effective in the experimental group's writing task. Moreover, while the mean scores of the control group's pre-post tests were the same, the mean score of the experimental group's post-test was higher than that of the pre-test, meaning that textual metafunction increased the levels of cohesion and coherence in their writing task.

Introduction: This paper concerns the concept of information use. The aim of the study is to understand how information use, as an activity, is shaped when project-based methods are used in primary school. The particular focus here is information use which involves visual information resources. It relates to the overarching aim of a set of studies describing and illustrating how information literacies are enacted and socially shaped in Swedish primary schools. Method: 25 booklets, produced by children at a Swedish primary school when working with project-based assignments, were collected during an ethnographical study. Analysis: An analysis of the relationships between pictures and text in the 25 booklets was conducted. Results: The analysis suggests that the pictures in the booklets are subordinated to written text and their functions are decorative and illustrative. Pictures are seldom used for explaining or narrating. Conclusions: An underpinning idea of the study is to understand information activities as purposeful within the settings where they take place. Given earlier research indicating that project-based working methods tend to be focused on the reproduction of facts and the making of products rather than on contents, it could be argued that the children's use of pictures in this study is purposeful. However, if this use of pictures is a desirable outcome could be a matter of discussion. The findings may be relevant for developing teaching in the multimodal aspects of information use. (Contains 9 figures and 1 table.)

This article will analyze where the Amherst Project stood within the evolution of educational thinking since the early twentieth century and then show in detail how its activities developed fromits inception in 1959 to publication of the last pamphlet in 1972. The Amherst Project began among a group of instructors from Amherst High School and Amherst College who socialized regularlyat the Lord Jeffrey Amherst Inn. Leaders of the discussion group took it upon themselves to call a public meeting to confront the problem, during which a teacher from the high school insisted that students connect with history best through vivid primary sources. The first pamphlets came out in 1963; running from forty to eighty pages long, they were published by D. C. Heath under the title of the Amherst Project. From the start, it was obvious that most teachers were unsure how to use such lessons and needed extensive professional development if they were to use sources effectively. Reconsideration of the Amherst Project can help see how the history of history education relates substantially with present-day efforts to deepen teaching methods intellectually. This essay has traced how the most important attempts made to reform history education came about in the national reports of the 1890s, the progressive thinking of the 1920s, the movement for discussing primary sources in the 1960s, and, finally, the professional organizations begun in the 1980s.

Over the last twenty years, medical discourse has attracted a great deal of scholarly research. Language in healthcare settings has been more generally analysed through genres--whether in terms of expert-to-expert or expert-to-lay communication--whereas more specific aspects include the study of discourse strategies behind the expression of empathy, problems of media representation of healthcare issues, and the role played by cultural variables in healthcare contexts. While substantial research exists on medical discourse and the transmission of medical knowledge, a number of works still tend to focus on accuracy and comprehensiveness of content rather than on the linguistic analysis of communication strategies. In light of that, the aim of this work is to substantiate the findings in the literature published so far by bringing a genuinely discourse-based perspective to bear on them. To achieve this goal, a corpus investigation was carried out of web-based resources employed by a leading nationwide organisation to communicate to the public about cancer. The study focuses on the discourse functions of frequently occurring phraseology, in the attempt to address the following questions: (a) Are there any recurrent discourse patterns that tend to be reiterated across the sections of informative healthcare materials? (b) How are patients' needs addressed through the language of such materials? (c) More generally, how can findings be interpreted with a view to both their relevance to the context under analysis and their possible application in the language-learning classroom?

This study compares two modes of visually presenting information about wind energy--one using photographs and the other using cartoons--on audience's knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions. In an online experiment, participants were randomly assigned to the two treatments. Results indicate no significant difference between the two groups in terms of knowledge and attitudes, but those shown in the comics version showed stronger intentions to support wind energy than those shown as photos. Those exposed to the comics-aided brochure found it more informative, interesting and cognitively engaging. Those who saw the photo version found the brochure more credible.

This empirical study explores higher education advertising campaigns displayed in five world cities: Boston, New York, Oslo, Tokyo, and Toronto. The study follows a mixed-methods research design relying on content analysis and multimodal semiotic analysis and employs a conceptual framework based on the knowledge triangle of education, research, and innovation. The study reveals that education is overwhelmingly the strongest element emphasized across the five cities and that students constitute the most salient and central element in the majority of the advertisements.

Inactivity is a prevalent problem in the population affected with multiple sclerosis (MS). Thus, there is a need to develop and test physical activity (PA) interventions that can be widely disseminated. We conducted a formative evaluation as part of a randomized controlled trial of a pamphlet-based PA intervention among 30 women with MS. Pamphlets were customized to sub-sets of participants who shared similar symptoms and barriers to PA. Mixed methods were used to examine the intervention's influence on self-efficacy, social support, processes of change and stages of change placement, as well as explore participants' perceived barriers, motivators and strategies for engaging in a PA program. Results indicated that the intervention group significantly improved stages of change placement (F = 16.64, P < 0.01) and social support (F = 4.08, P = 0.05) in comparison to the control group. Fatigue, pain and lack of time were the commonly cited barriers to engage in the PA program; whereas the pamphlets, phone calls and action planning were cited as motivators. Participants used fatigue management strategies, enlisted social support and modified their environment to routinely engage in the PA program. Strategies were identified to improve the PA intervention in future research.

Environmental issues such as climate change are becoming ever more important in today's societies and politics. Information is spread by the media, for example, via the Internet or information brochures, employing different representational styles (e.g. sensational vs. neutral styles, emphasis of human vs. natural causes). We investigated the effects of such differences in presentation when informing about local impacts of climate change--more specifically about invasive species--on perceived risk, emotions, and learning. Seventy-two students at a German university read five brochures about the local effects of climate change and invasive species. They rated their perceived risk and emotions and worked on learning outcome tests. As expected, the sensational style led to higher perceived risk and stronger negative emotions than the neutral style. In addition, our results reveal a potential dilemma for environmental education: while a sensational style enhanced general learning outcomes, it seemed to lead to quite a negative and one-sided view about climate change and invasive species.

A service-learning project appropriate for a biochemistry or advanced biochemistry course was designed and implemented. The project involved students partnering with a homeless shelter to design informational pamphlets to be displayed at the shelter for the clients' use. The pamphlet topics were based on diseases studied within the course. Students were required to present a rough draft of their project to the class for comments and revisions and give a brief presentation. The assignment allowed students to use their knowledge and expertise learned within the course and to apply their education by creatively designing a public-service pamphlet. Integrating service learning into an upper-level biochemistry course improved student communication, writing, and critical-thinking skills. Students reported that the service-learning component of the course increased motivation to learn course content. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

This article presents a critical case study of an inner city state school that for a decade (1940s-1950s) attracted the interest of a wide contingency of educationalists, policy makers, researchers, artists and various press and film media. It has been argued that if we are to progress "social alternatives" in education, researchers need to construct "critical case studies of possibilities" drawing inspiration from traces of experimental and utopian practice in schools from the past as well as the present. The article demonstrates how this might be achieved through research that questions dominant narratives, goes beyond the public accounts of particular sites of experimentation and explores multiple-narratives embedded in the records of past practice. The authors argue that such situated counter-currents in the history of education are necessary both to inform our collective notions of past experience and enrich our regard for future possibilities.(Contains 2 figures,11 notes, and 5 primary sources.)

Background: Healthy Ageing is a complex intervention aimed at reducing the prevalence of loneliness among elderly Dutch people. Purpose: This study aimed to assess how mass media communication materials, information meetings, and psychosocial courses were received by elderly people at high risk of loneliness. Methods: Face-to-face interviews with 17 independently living elderly persons at increased risk of loneliness were conducted. They provided information about factors in?uencing attention to and acceptability of the content of the intervention components. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed with Atlas. Results: The mass media communication materials were not successful in attracting attention because interviewees' expectations about the communication channels differed from what was provided, the perceived personal relevance of the message was low, and the presentation was not attractive. The content of the intervention components was not well received because the objectives and components did not connect with the priority group's perception of their environment. Discussion: This study showed that the classical health education approach with one-way communication did not succeed in reaching the priority group. Translation to Health Education Practice: To select appropriate theoretical methods and practical strategies, such as using storytelling and personal invitation, we recommend involvement of the priority group. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article describes a crisis response framework based on the authors' first-hand experience following three Colorado school shootings. During each crisis response, one or more of the authors joined school and/or district crisis teams, providing direct assistance and leadership. The authors' experiences helped guide subsequent responses and assisted teams in better meeting the impacted school's needs. Lessons learned are shared with the intent of organizing and improving school-based crisis response to extreme acts of school violence.

Accessibility of early intervention program literature was examined through readability analysis of documents given to families who have a child served by the Birth to 3 program. Nine agencies that serve families in Birth to 3 programs located in a county in the Midwest provided the (n = 94) documents. Documents were included in the analysis if they conveyed information about the nature of the program, the financial obligations of the family, intervention planning, and programmatic consent. The analysis indicated that a majority of the documents were written above the recommended fifth-grade reading level. Action steps to improve the accessibility of early intervention documents are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.)

What students remember about their 8th grade study of American history is the historical simulations and the roles they played in them that stick in their memories. Other teachers across America have had similar successes implementing role-plays. Of course, these role-plays have an important place in the curriculum; to understand the controversies of antebellum America, students must re-imagine them from all sides. But is there a way to set up a role-play in which all students are on the right side of history? To solve this dilemma, this article discusses a simulation of an Abolitionist Society Convention in which students could role-play a truly diverse cast of characters working together for a common purpose. What the Abolitionist Society Convention allows students to see is that the most complex and nuanced debates in American history are not between those for and against social change, but among those who agree on the goal but disagree on the speed, scope, manner, and mode of change. The authors describe how to stage an Abolitionist Society Convention. (Contains 1 note.)

Joseph McCabe (1867-1955) was one of the most prolific and gifted polymaths of the twentieth century. Long before such a thing was thought respectable, and almost a century before any university established a chair in the public understanding of science, McCabe made a living as a populariser of science and a critic of philosophical and religious obscurantism. Through the first half of the twentieth century he wrote countless cheap and widely distributed books and pamphlets for those whose thirst for knowledge exceeded the money or time they could devote to such pursuits. This article will detail, and give some assessment of, McCabe's career as a populariser of science and expositor of evolutionary theory and its philosophical, religious and cultural ramifications.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of comprehension of an educational pamphlet on colon cancer, by adults at least 50 years of age living in the United States. Design: Data were analysed from the "2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy" survey. The survey was designed to assess functional English literacy, which included reading a colon cancer pamphlet, among American adults. Setting: The survey was carried out at interviewees' homes. Method: Data from 1231 adults who were 50 years of age or older were selected for the current study (mean age = 63.22 years). Results: Multiple regression analysis revealed that comprehension difficulties increased with age ([beta] = -0.13, p less than 0.001). Non-Black minority adults had poorer comprehension than Whites ([beta] = -0.10, p less than 0.001). Adults with a high school or further education had better comprehension than those with lower-level education ([beta] = 0.22, p less than 0.001). Comprehension was higher among adults who often received health information by talking to their health providers ([beta] = -0.12, p less than 0.001), and for adults who had high levels of verbal-reading fluency ([beta] = 0.24, p less than 0.001). In addition, increased English reading habits alone only marginally contributed to comprehension of the pamphlet ([beta] = -0.06, p = 0.06). Conclusion: Understanding the pamphlet was related to age, ethnic background, education, reading fluency and experiences in communication with health providers. Increasing communication between health providers and patients or tailoring the written materials to improve adults' knowledge of colon cancer is recommended. (Contains 4 tables.)

Objective: To determine the educational impact of placing partner violence resource information in a medical setting. Method: A cross-sectional study with a structured interview. Setting: Emergency department (ED) in an urban academic medical center. Participants: adult patients and visitors. Interventions: Educational materials and community resource information. Results: 51 patients and 71 visitors (N = 122) met the inclusion criteria and consented to enrollment during a 2-week study period. Of the participants, 71% were female and 29% were male. Sixty-five (53%) of the participants noticed the literature or cards. Ten (8%) read the materials. Seven (6%) retained a copy of the literature. Nineteen (16%) of the participants acknowledged knowing someone who could benefit from the information. Nine (7%) revealed that some of the information was new to them. Conclusions: Placing intimate partner violence resource pamphlets and cards in a medical setting is one means of educating the community and promoting violence prevention. (Contains 3 tables.)

Readability and usability problems with patient information leaflets continue to be reported despite long-standing recognition of their existence and the availability of guidelines for developing health education materials. This exploratory study examined possible causes for such problems, based on interviews with professionals who developed leaflets in large health organizations. Findings suggest that readability is an important concern for developers, but that complex organizational processes are involved in creating leaflets, and that developers face a need to cope with organizational politics, goal conflicts and various other pressures. Six factors were identified, i.e. (1) initiators, (2) intended users and contexts of use, (3) goals, (4) work flow and content decisions, (5) readability considerations, and (6) evaluation practices, that can adversely affect the content, organization, and resulting comprehensibility and usability of leaflets. It is suggested to adopt a broad ecological view of the environments in which patient education materials are created and deployed. Implications for practice and for future related research are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

Relapse prevention remains a major challenge to smoking cessation efforts. T. H. Brandon, B. N. Collins, L. M. Juliano, and A. B. Lazev (2000) found that a series of 8 empirically based relapse-prevention booklets mailed to ex-smokers over 1 year significantly reduced relapse. This study dismantled 2 components of that intervention: the amount of content (number of booklets) and the frequency of contact. Content and contact were crossed in a 2 X 2 factorial design. The criteria of at least 1 week of abstinence at baseline was met by 431 participants, 75%-85% of whom returned 12-, 18-, and 24-month follow-up questionnaires. Eight booklets produced consistently higher point-prevalence abstinence rates than did a single booklet, but frequency of contact did not affect outcome. Moreover, the high-content interventions were highly cost-effective.

This paper explores the formation of a political order, a constituency, during the 1938-1940 senatorial campaign of the "Partido Popular Democratico" in Puerto Rico. In particular it examines the constitutive force of the "Catecismo del Pueblo," a small booklet in the form of questions and answers regarding the party's basic assumptions and orientations. This booklet developed a political constituency by mediating a covenantal relationship through discourse in the form of a catechism. Burke's notion of constitutional dialectics is used to explore the Catecismo's nature as constitutive, as a catechism, and as the mediator of a political covenant between the Party and the "jibaros."

The American Civil War, the War between the States, War of the Rebellion, the Second American Revolution, and the War of Southern Independence are all names for the bloodiest conflict in American history. That war of many names has inspired authors to write thousands of books and articles. With the advent of the Internet came a plethora of Web sites devoted to the topic. Many Civil War sites are well done, but a number of them have little or no value to educators and students. In this article the author has included the addresses of some noteworthy Web sites on this popular topic that can be used by students, faculty members, teachers, researchers, and librarians.

A treatment group (70 whites, 49 nonwhites) and control group (69 whites, 50 nonwhites) evaluated employer recruitment brochures and completed ethnic identity measures. The treatment group's brochure addressed diversity initiatives. Regardless of race, those with higher ethnic identity were more positive about the organization and had greater job intentions when viewing the diversity-related brochure. (Contains 59 references.) (SK)

Systematically examined the content and components of college viewbooks/brochures. Compiled findings on: (1) physical components (e.g., photographs and slogans); (2) message content based on school characteristics such as size, type of school, enrollment, location, etc.; and (3) the type of image schools with different characteristics are seeking to portray. (EV)

Examined the usefulness of Means-End Theory in developing effective college recruitment brochures. Found evidence that brochures that emphasize attributes (e.g., cost, location) over consequences (e.g., getting a job) or values (e.g., security) will generate greater interest in an educational institution. (EV)

Describes collaboration between a college of education and urban and suburban school districts that supported dissemination of effective elementary practices across seven districts. Collaborators created four booklets describing best practices identified through research-based literature. Parent involvement, literacy instruction, multiage classrooms, and brain-based learning were targeted for attention. Two conferences to share the information were held. (SM)

Focus groups of recent Hmong and Somali immigrants provided information about effective design variables for public service brochures. Participants preferred a bilingual layout. Hmong participants did not like images showing native dress; Somali images must respect cultural aspects of dress. (Author/JOW)

A brochure was designed to communicate information to tourists about the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and its need for protection. A survey of 673 visitors evaluated the effectiveness of distribution methods, effectiveness of the brochure in communicating its intended messages, map effectiveness, visitor opinions of various brochure features, and visitor knowledge level. (Contains 30 references.) (SV)

States survey of college juniors, seniors, and graduate students found that recruiting brochures are the primary job-hunting resource for students. Brochures provide job seekers not only an introduction to and background information about companies, but also a means of selecting prospective employers. Suggested ways to increase effectiveness of brochure include details about available jobs, ideas on company growth, and comments by employees in credible situations. (Author/JDM)

Analyzes 1200 news pamphlets published in England from 1513 to 1640. Describes factors (subject matter, sales methods, and newsgathering techniques) that news pamphlets may share with modern news formats, and examines their characteristic tone. Suggests that news pamphlets may help media historians examine what is universal about the news and what is culturally influenced. (SR)

Describes a four- to six-week project for high school sophomores in which students create pamphlets and in the process learn basic research skills and practice several elements of the research paper. (SR)

Two brochures promoting a continuing medical education program were designed. One featured an institutional logo and the other the resort site of the program. The response to the resort cover was double that of the logo (44 to 21); the 23 additional registrants amounted to $6,000 in registration fees. (SK)

A report on the mail students of various test performance, self-reported grades, and academic interest received from colleges in 1983 was compared with the mail received by the daughter of the researcher in 1989. The vast majority of mail represents independent higher education; the public sector is conspicuously absent. (MLW)