Search

This study investigated what changes in the television-personality and presidential images of the candidates would occur among first-time young voters due to the first presidential debate. Subjects, 116 18- or 19-year-old students at Purdue University, completed semantic differential forms, before and after the debate, which rated the concepts of ideal president, Ford as president, Carter as president, Ford as a television performer, and Carter as a television performer. About half the subjects were assigned to watch the debate, while the other students were free to watch as much or as little as they wished. Findings show that the candidates' television-image ratings showed the most change; following the debate, Ford's ratings moved closer to the ideal and Carter's moved farther away, and both candidates were rated as having much less warmth. The greatest differences between Ford and Carter on presidential image occurred on the wise, experienced, fair, calm, and liberal scales, with Carter perceived more negatively (except for liberal, which depended on the political views of the respondent for positive or negative weight). (JM)

This conference was designed to provide information on the development and implementation of seven undergraduate science courses primarily for non-science majors at Lehigh University, to examine what ought to be the objectives of courses such as these in the liberal arts curriculum, and to describe parallel efforts with similar educational objectives at other institutions. The Lehigh courses, which are taught on a continuing basis by senior science and engineering faculty, include: (1) chemistry for the consumer (chemistry); (2) regulation of public safety (metallurgy and materials engineering); (3) the factory of the future (industrial engineering); (4) tall buildings and urban design (civil engineering); (5) computer modeling of our world (chemical engineering); (6) mineral deposits, economics, and world politics (geology); and (7) a course designed to serve as an introduction to engineering as a problem-solving discipline linked to applications of scientific research and to economic, political, and social interests in those applications. An opportunity was also provided during the conference to assess the state of a science and technology literacy movement that has been steadily growing in power and influence since the late 1970's and to examine issues related to the development and teaching of science and technology literacy courses. (JN)