Spring 1966 // Volume 4 // Number 1

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Note: The articles in this issue are available only online in PDF format. To view them, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. Acrobat Reader is available for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.

Point of View

Point of View
Concern for Direction
William E. Urash
Not a Complete Story
C. A. Vines
A Question of Professionalism
Claudia G. Williams
Vitality in Innovation
Jean W. Scheel
Economy of Learning
John E. Walker

Feature Articles

The Spirit of Research (pdf)
Royal Bank of Canada
Research begins with curiosity-a manifestation of man's love for understanding things. It is not confined to men in laboratories; the educator is doing research when he studies the community so as to match his efforts to the needs of his potential clientele. Characteristics of the research idea are identified that are pertinent at whatever level of simplicity or complexity an inquiry may function. Their pertinence is not restricted to the career "researcher." Perhaps even more important are the characteristics of the research-minded person-characteristics that are useful at any level of operation and that are required of any person who is alert to and concerned with his surroundings.

Background Information in Planning (pdf)
Ronald C. Powers
This article is about background information and its effective use in Extension program development. There are many reasons why information presented to planning groups fails to serve the intended purpose; one is the manner in which such information is handled- or mishandled. Its proper use is derived from the decision-making model (or problem-solving process). The analysis or the topic presented here is based on research findings and the author's experience as a participant and observer in many planning efforts. A proposal is developed for improving the planning process, utilizing two models.

Administrative Communication (pdf)
William L. Carpenter
Many county Extension chairmen are administrators not by choice or training. Consequently, minimal time is likely to be devoted to administrative responsibilities. Many such responsibilities involve creating, maintaining, and servicing effective channels of communication-within and without the staff. At least five areas of communication can be and are defined. Such communications can take place in a number of situations. However, roadblocks to communications exist and should be recognized.

Teaching by Television (pdf)
Eval Medved
The effects of teaching by television have been explored in a number of studies dealing with a variety of subjects. Some of these studies in areas of home economics are cited to demonstrate advantages of the medium. Findings from the author's own study, concerned with teaching nutrition in 5 to 7 minute programs, are summarized to substantiate her contention that the potentialities are great and that home economists are "naturals" for utilizing such a medium. Evidence of the effectiveness of teaching was elicited by testing and interviewing a sample of homemaker-viewers.

Communicating with Graphs (pdf)
Richard D. Powers
People do not read surface charts and segmented bar graphs correctly-correct interpretations run as low as 15 per cent. There are other types of graphs that can be used. Decisions on what type to use should depend on what the reader is expected to get from the presentation. Such decisions should depend not only on what the message is, but also on the complexity of the material to be presented. Objective research evidence from about 2000 persons provides the basis for such conclusions. The research summarized dealt with the question of whether or not data could be effectively presented graphically, as well as with selection of graphs to best serve specific purposes. The graph types discussed are used both to convey the findings of the research and to illustrate the relative merits of each type.

Low-Income Farm People (pdf)
Frederick C. Fliegel, Emory J. Brown
Despite their reference to particular localities, the many studies of low-income farmers have recurring themes that stress the diversity among such people and suggest guides to programming for them. One such theme is that low-income farm people do not represent homogeneous groupings. Yet, five common characteristics have been identified and are discussed in this paper-some are fixed, others can be altered. These characteristics indicate some ability limitations of such people and the restrictions that available opportunities may impose on possibilities for programming. On the basis of this general analysis, program implications are identified.

Research in Brief (pdf) R. L. Bruce, editor

Open Vs. Closed Groups
Financial Management in Low-Income Families
Professional Commitment of Home Economics Agents
How Do You Identify Community Leaders?

Book Reviews (pdf)

The Cooperative Extension Service. Edited by H.C. Sanders, 1966. Available from Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 436 pp. $8.50.
D. C. Pfannstiel

Adult Education. Edited by Gale Jensen, A. A. Liveright, and Wilbur Hallenbeck, 1964. Available from Adult Education Association of the U.S.A., 1225 19th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. 334 pp. $6.00.
Mary Boppell

Dynamics of Groups at Work. By Herbert A. Thelen, 1954. Available from the University of Chicago Press, Chicago 37, Ill. 379 pp. $6.75.
Albert A. Banadyga

Abstracts (pdf)

Rural Youth in a Changing Environment. Edited by Ruth Cowan Nash. 1965. 344 pp. Available from the National Committee for Children and Youth, Inc., 1145 19th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 2300326. $2.75.

Poverty and Social Change. Alexander H. Leighton. Scientific American, CCXXII (May, 1965), 21-237. Available from Scientific American, Inc., 415 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017. Single copy $1.00.

Some Factors in the Environmental and Psychological Status of Low Socioeconomic, Urban Youth. Richard E. Bitterman. ER&T 180(123-64). 24 pp., mimeograph. Available from Division of Extension Research and Training, Federal Extension Service, Washington, D.C. 20025.

Clear Communications for Chief Executives. Robert N. McMurry. Harvard Business Review, XLIII (March/April, 1965), 131-32+. Available from Harvard Business Review, Soldiers Field, Boston, Mass. 023163. Single reprint $1.00.

Family Mobility in Our Dynamic Society. Iowa State University Center for Agricultural and Economic Development. 1965. 2384 pp. Available from Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa. $4.95.

The Program Planning Process with Emphasis on Extension. Patrick G. Boyle. 1965. 56 pp. Available from the National Agricultural Extension Center for Advanced Study, Agricultural Hall, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. $1.50.

Families in an Urban Enclave. Starley Hunter et al. 1965. 30 pp. Available from Extension Division, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.

Education, 4-H and Low Socioeconomic Urban Youth. Richard E. Bitterman. ER&T-1(1-65). 24 pp., mimeograph. Available from Division of Extension Research and Training, Federal Extension Service, Washington, D.C. 20025.

Academic Women. Jessie Bernard. 1964. 332 pp. Available from the Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Penn. $6.50.

Introducing Social Change: A Manual for Americans Overseas. Conrad M. Arensberg and Arthur H. Niehoff. 1964. 214 pp. Available from Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois. $4.95.

Adult Education Procedures, Methods and Techniques: A Classified and Annotated Bibliography, 1953-1963. George F. Aker. 1965. 164 pp. Available from The Library of Continuing Education at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13210. $7.00.

Working with People in Community Action. Clarence King. 1965. 192 pp. Available from Association Press, 291 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10007. $5.95.

Organizational Authority. Robert L. Peabody. 1964. 164 pp. Available from Atherton Press, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10011. $5.50.

Problem-Solving Doesn't Have to Be a Problem. Raymond F. Valentine. Supervisory Management, X (February, 1965), 4-8, and X (March, 1965), 23-6. Available from American Management association, Inc., 135 West 50th Street, New York, N.Y. 10020. Single copy $1.00.

Relation between Meaning and Motivation for Learning. Hazel Taylor Spitze, Journal of Home Economics, XVIII (January, 1966), 27-30. Available from American Home Economics Association, 1600 Twentieth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009. Single reprint $0.15.

Behaviour in Uncertainty. John Cohen. 1964. 208 pp. Available from Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, New York, N.Y. $5.50.

University Extension. Theodore J. Shannon and Clarence A. Schoenfeld. 1965. 116 pp. Available from The Center for Applied Research in Education, Inc., 70 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10011. $3.95.

Individual Behavior and Group Achievement. Ralph M. Sogdill. 1959. 352 pp. Available from The Oxford University Press, New York, N.Y. $5.00.

A Model for the Analysis of Motivation. Robert D. Boyd. Adult Education, XVI (Autumn, 1965), 24-33. Available from Adult Education Association of the U.S.A., 1225 Nineteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Single copy $1.25.