October 7, 2009

Contacts:
Carol Pardun, AEJMC President (803) 777-3244, pardunc@mailbox.sc.edu
Charles N. Davis, AEJMC Law & Policy Division Chair, (573) 882-5736 daviscn@missouri.edu

AEJMC Supports Free Flow of Information Act

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) joins the dozens of news organizations supporting the Free Flow of Information Act (FFIA), a federal shield law that passed the House and is now under debate in the Senate. A key component of the bill is how a journalist will be defined. The current definition, attached to the bill as an amendment, is too restrictive.

The definition of those who gather and disseminate news and information of public interest should not be predicated on an individual’s employment, but instead on an individual’s journalistic practice.

Freelance journalists (who disseminate their work in a variety of ways, including through reputable blogs) and student journalists need the protections extended through the FFIA.

The AEJMC encourages lawmakers to expand the definition of a journalist to be more inclusive so that this important law will be strengthened.

This statement was issued by the President of AEJMC and through the President’s Advisory Council.

About AEJMC

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals. The Association’s mission is to advance education, foster scholarly research, cultivate better professional practice and promote the free flow of communication.

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Pardun is the director of the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Prior to her appointment at USC, Pardun was the director of the School of Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University from August 2005 through July 2008. She has held faculty positions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1997-2005) and Kansas State University (1992-97).

Pardun sits on the editorial boards of Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journalism and Communication Monographs, Journal of Media & Religion, Simile, Mass Communication & Society, and Journal of Advertising. She was the co-principal investigator with Jane Brown (UNC-Chapel Hill) from 2001-06 for a $2.6 million grant investigating the impact of the media on adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Pardun’s research has been published in the Journal of Early Adolescent Research, Pediatrics, Newspaper Research Journal, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journal of Advertising Research, Public Relations Review, and elsewhere. Her current research investigates the prevalence of co-existing messages of nutrition and physical activity in entertainment programming, and advertising aimed at young elementary school-aged children. Her new book, Advertising and Society: Controversies and Consequences, is published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Pardun holds a PhD from the University of Georgia in mass communications, an MA from Wheaton (IL) College Graduate School in communications, and a BA in English Literature from Wheaton College.

CONTACT: University of South Carolina, Office: (803) 777-3244 E-mail: pardunc@mailbox.sc.edu

*Historical records indicate no sitting president or convention from 1918-20. Additionally, several presidents served two consecutive terms, including: Merle Thorpe, Kansas, 1914-16; Ralph L. Crossman, Colorado, 1932-34; Charles L. Allen, Northwestern, 1939-41; Douglas W. Miller, Syracuse, 1942-44; and Frederic E. Merwin, Rutgers, 1944-46, making Pardun the 91st person elected to lead AEJMC.

The Future of AEJMC

To help kick off the new year, we sat down with Carol and asked her to share some of her thoughts and plans for AEJMC during her term as president.

How do you plan to strengthen the voice for journalism and mass communication education?

We are already on the way. The Strategic Plan Implementation Committee has spearheaded some early initiatives that I plan to champion as well. The first is the Presidential Advisory Council, which is tasked with helping the President speak out on important issues facing journalism and mass communication. We have already met via conference call and several emails as we sorted through the kinds of issues worthy of an official statement. These conversations have been lively!

I invite all AEJMC members to contact me directly (803-777-4979 or pardunc@mailbox.sc.edu) or any members of the Advisory Council (Marie Hardin, Paul Lester and Julianne Newton) if you have issues that you’d like us to explore.

How do you plan to support research and creative activity?

Putting the right people in the right positions at the right time is one concrete way I can support research and creative activity. I was able to appoint three people to the publications committee and I’m happy that I was able to recruit productive, energetic, visionary scholars for that role. Again, making sure that the committee members for the new AEJMC Scholars Program are all capable scholars is another way to assure that we are supporting research and creative activity.

Finally, I’ll be traveling a good bit this year in order to support scholarly activity. I’ve decided to attend a number of regional conferences so I’ll have a better chance to talk with young academics and graduate students. In mid-October, for example, I’m going to the District II and III BEA conference. In March, I’ll attend AEJMC’s Southeast Colloquium. Also in the spring, I’ll head to LSU to participate in awarding the first Equity & Diversity Award to the Journalism School there. Talk about creative activity! The faculty and administrators at LSU have done an excellent job in developing initiatives that support equity and diversity.

In your campaign platform, you spoke of “small, evolutionary changes” having big payoffs, citing examples like “Members’ Meetings” and “High Density Sessions.” What changes, small or big, do you hope to institute during your term as president?

The longer I’ve been in administration the more I have come to understand that what really excites me is figuring out how to make things better–because no matter how solid an organization is, it can always get better. So, with this “look inside first” approach, one thing I am planning to do (and have already begun) is to create a task force to examine our bylaws and see what ought to be changed in order for us to work more effectively as an organization.

Another change is to create an environment that will help our members to think of AEJMC as a place to connect to for the long haul. With our Centennial fast approaching, it’s time for us to think about what AEJMC has meant to us–and what we can do to assure its next 100 years. To that end, I’ve created a task force to look at ways to promote opportunities for stronger, demonstrable connections to AEJMC, such as the possibility of lifetime memberships, donor levels, etc.

Also in your campaign platform, you described yourself as an “observer,” a “defender” and an “optimist.” Please share one thing about AEJMC you’ve observed that you feel needs changing.

The urge to reinvent the wheel. It is frustrating to me that I continue to hear about things we do, that in reality, are things we haven’t done in years. For example, there is a residual legacy that the chip auction at the December meeting is a “free for all,” everyone battling positions, wrestling over chips, etc. It’s not like that AT ALL. Because our leadership rolls over so quickly, I can understand how this enduring myth continues, but we all have to work harder to make sure we’re communicating to those we’re working with now and those who will take over the work when we move on.

Please see Everything You Want to Know About “Chips” by Sue O’Brien and Glen Bleske, 2002-03, Revised 2008.

Please share one thing you’ll protect from changing.

The Council of Divisions always has been the heartbeat of AEJMC. This won’t change. But, in the midst of strategic plan initiatives–when we’re talking about change–it’s easy to understand if people wonder what might happen to the Council. Many people know that I attribute my role within the CoD as what gave me the experience and credentials to lead AEJMC this year. So, while this might be stating the obvious, I want to assure the entire membership that our commitment to the Council of Divisions is sacrosanct.

What legacy do you hope to leave behind once your term is complete in September 2010?

What’s great about this organization is that there have been many different kinds of presidents who have left behind different kinds of legacies. All are different, but all important. We can thank past presidents for focusing on internationalization, others on increasing diversity awareness, others on creating strong ties with our profession. I look back and realize that those were issues that bubbled up at just the right time–and I’m thankful those people were there to lead the way.

We are at a crossroads now in the academy, in our economy, and in our media organizations. It’s not a time to be timid, but a time to value what’s important, leave behind what is unnecessary, and hold our heads high, assured that we are engaged in an essential profession. The legacy that I hope to leave behind is that people will say AEJMC has not only weathered the storm swirling around the media and media education today, but that we’ve engaged in the debate, we’ve offered insights, and we’re optimistic about the future.

Turning over a New Leaf

In part to honor our history as an association and to welcome Carol into leadership, we asked the past three presidents of AEJMC to share some words of wisdom and encouragement with Carol as she embarks upon her journey:

Congratulations, Carol – your day is finally here.

I’m passing on the AEJMC Officers’ Handbook to you, knowing that you’ll need to consult it regularly to keep up with the myriad activities of the divisions, commissions and task forces. AEJMC is truly a membership organization and represents all that is best in journalism and mass communication higher education. Treasure the moments, both big and small, and the special places you’ll visit as AEJMC’s persona. As the captain of our ship – we’re ready to follow you as the organization continues to sail!

– Dr. Barbara B. Hines, Howard, AEJMC President 2008-09

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Carol,

Congratulations on ascending to the Presidency of AEJMC. It will be an exciting and invigorating ride. I don’t think we have ever had anyone better prepared than you are for the job or anyone with a better grasp of the diverse elements that give our association its strength. You certainly need no advice from me. Still, I would only suggest that you keep in mind the whole-part paradox and mind the center, for it draws and unites those parts. Have a fantastic journey.

– Dr. Charles C. Self, Oklahoma, AEJMC President 2007-08

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Carol,

The best of luck on your year as president. I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully. As far as advice, gosh, there are a million things I could tell you. Get a good keynote speaker. Outlaw cash bars (heh…). Maybe the best advice would be to not let criticism bother you. I had an unusual year as president since I had some new committees to name and people for the strategic plan. It always seemed like someone wanted someone else on some committee. Don’t take it personally, and just enjoy the many new friends you’ll make. My year was incredible, and I’m sure yours will be too.

– Dr. Wayne Wanta, Oklahoma State, AEJMC President 2006-07

This process creates a way for the AEJMC president to weigh in on an issue between annual conventions, that will concentrate on positions that are central to the association’s mission (below), including (but not limited to) the promotion of the free flow of information in college and professional media, or the condemnation of the use of propaganda in video news releases.

The purpose of the corporation shall be the improvement of education in journalism and mass communication to the end of achieving better professional practice, a better informed public, and wider human understanding. The corporation seeks to achieve this purpose through the functions of (a) encouraging high academic and professional standards for education in mass communication; (b) fostering scholarly research and inquiry in mass communication and facilitating the publication and distribution to the public of reports based on such activity; and (c) supporting freedom of communication consonant with the ideal expressed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In the first years of the 21st century, journalism and mass communication and the First Amendment have faced extraordinary challenges. While maintaining a scrupulously nonpartisan stance, AEJMC has previously reacted to these challenges in two formal ways. First, the association has passed a number of annual resolutions that have weighed in on important issues. An example of this would be the association’s censure of the government’s practice of “video news releases,” taxpayer-funded propaganda pieces distributed to news organizations that occasionally air them unedited. The second way the association formally reacts to issues of the day is that the board occasionally approves friend-of-court briefs supporting college media in free expression disputes. These avenues would still be available.

A three-member subcommittee of the Standing Committee of Professional Freedom and Responsibility will be created to help inform and advise the president in an informal way, primarily over e-mail or conference call. If either the president or the subcommittee feels that an issue merits comment, the group may discuss it, using the mission statement as a guide, and the president will decide whether a statement is merited.

Requests for participation of the president on behalf of the membership may also come from any AEJMC constituents, including but not limited to individual members, officers, interest groups, divisions, standing committees, taskforces or the various members of the Council of Affiliates. Those requests should be made by email or letter, addressed to the sitting president.

Members of the subcommittee, called the President’s Advisory Council, will include the sitting chair of PF&R and two additional members appointed by the chair in a manner designated by the PF&R Committee. PF&R chairs will report the activity of the subcommittee, including new appointments, in their reports each year to the executive board.

A record of the president’s public statements and appearances – whether in interviews, by press release, in written form or press conference – will be archived by the AEJMC central office and may be found in the general news release section of the AEJMC website at aejmc.org/release.

The News Coverage Index (NCI)—The NCI captures and analyzes some four dozen news outlets in real time to determine what is being covered and what is not in the U.S. news media. The NCI launched in January 2007 and has run continuously since. Weekly findings are released every Tuesday in a concise narrative that charts the top stories of the week, trajectory of the coverage, and differences among media sectors. In all, the 2008 NCI sample includes 48 outlets, every Monday through Sunday. The key variables include source, story date, big story, broad story topic, placement, geographic focus, story word count, and duration of broadcast story. The outlets studied come from print, network TV, cable, online, and radio. They include evening and morning network news, several hours of daytime and prime time cable news each day, newspapers from around the country, the top online news sites, and radio, including headlines, long form programs and talk.

The Campaign Coverage Index (CCI)—The CCI is based on a sub-set of PEJ’s 2008 NCI—all the stories from Jan.1-Nov.3 2008 that were primarily about the 2008 presidential campaign. For these stories, PEJ added special coding to more closely examine the nature of the campaign narrative and the amount of coverage devoted to the candidate. During the year, these weekly reports were called the Campaign Coverage Index.

Additional reports—PEJ offers topline data for additional content-based reports. The focus of these opportunistic studies ranged from how the media covered the 2008 election to health care in the news and much more.

The 2008 NCI data set totals 69,942 stories: 7,350 newspaper stories, 6,539 online stories, 19,796 stories from network television, 21,892 stories on cable news, and 14,365 stories from radio programs. The 2008 CCI data set totals 18,836 stories, including 1,474 newspaper stories, 1,264 online stories, 3,977 stories from network TV, 9,202 from cable TV, and 2,919 from radio programs. Both data sets are offered in SPSS through the use of zip files and are accompanied by the coding scheme and other explanatory material. In addition, toplines from nine additional studies are included as PDF files. PEJ makes data sets of the Index available in a yearly basis. The 2007 data set was released in July of 2008. And data from 2009 will be available in July of 2010.

The News Coverage Index was designed by PEJ Director Tom Rosenstiel and Deputy Director Amy Mitchell and an advisory team of nine academic and commercial researchers, including Steve Lacy of the Michigan State University, Esther Thorson of the University of Missouri—Columbia and Dan Riffe of University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill. It required the creation of proprietary software and a new website. The index report is written by PEJ Associate Director Mark Jurkowitz. The coding team of fourteen professionals works 24 hours behind the news cycle. They work with content supervisor, Paul Hitlin, and supervising research methodologists, Hong Ji and Banu Akdenizli.

PEJ, which is non-partisan and non-political, is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., a “fact tank” funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The Direct Marketing industry has long used decile charts, gains tables and lift charts to demonstrate and evaluate response differences between market segments and to compare competing segmentation schemes. As the number of schemes increases, the complexity of comparison also increases using these methods. For the most part, marketing analysts rely on “eye ball”” inspection, without any rigorous statistical measurement. If scheme A “looks” better than scheme B (higher highs, and lower lows), then scheme A is deemed superior and recommended for incorporation. If there are numerous competing schemes, the “eye ball” method becomes difficult, making it even more challenging to select the optimum segmentation scheme.

The Gini coefficient, a statistic developed more than 100 years ago ago for evaluating disparity of wealth within a population is recommended as a useful metric for comparing competing segmentation schemes or for comparing competing response models. The Gini coefficient rages from 0 to 1. Once the Gini Coefficient is computed for each segmentation scheme, a decision can be immediately rendered by selecting the scheme with the highest Gini coefficient. For a more detailed description of how the Gini coefficient is related to other methods currently used to evaluate response performance, please refer to the author’s article in JAE.

Contact: Henry Greene, Ph.D., Central Connecticut State University, greenehej@ccsu.edu

Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

Researcher John Russial examined the role of copy editors in the changing media environment to determine what is edited online, who is responsible for editing and whether staff blogs are edited.

Because newspapers are publishing stories online before the print versions are completed, Russial speculated that online stories would be edited as vigorously as those in print. However, because a newspaper’s copyediting schedule was designed for a print-based production system, staff other than copy editors often are editing online stories.

Russial also found many newspapers are trading speed for accuracy, as more value has been placed on posting breaking news immediately. Because of the relationship between accuracy and credibility, Russial suggests further monitoring of the trend away from editing, as well as the need to determine editors’ attitudes toward online copy editing.

Russial is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. His study is published in the spring 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt Cell: (901) 628-2553 e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu

• For more information about Newspaper Research Journal
• Download a PDF version of this article.
• You can find more “Research You Can Use” HERE

Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

These were part of the findings from a recent study published in Newspaper Research Journal, which revealed a lack of communication and feedback from management to their staff bloggers.

Brad Schultz and Mary Lou Sheffer examined the attitudes of newspaper managers toward blogs and then compared earlier research on journalists’ views toward blogging.

They found managers tend to view blogs, which offer more content as well as the potential for Internet presence and revenue, as a positive development, although they are aware that the blogging system has not been perfected.

In addition to resenting not being paid for the extra time spent blogging, journalists with more newspaper experience are less inclined to embrace new developments in the newsroom. The researchers also found a tendency among journalists to resist technological change, which they see as a threat to their influence in the newsroom.

The authors suggested further research into how consumers use newspaper blogs, as well as a case study examining blogs in a specific newsroom.

Schultz is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Mississippi and Sheffer is an assistant professor in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi.

The study was published in the spring 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt Cell: (901) 628-2553 e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu

• For more information about Newspaper Research Journal
• Download a PDF version of this article.
• You can find more “Research You Can Use” HERE

Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

This is part of the findings published in a study in Newspaper Research Journal recently, which explored how journalists perceive their own roles as well as the roles of citizen journalists.

Researchers Seungahn Nah and Deborah Chung found journalists generally feel positively about citizens’ ability to post comments in response to their content, but they are negative about citizens’posting news content of their own. They also found, however, that citizens’ participation could potentially influence editors’ decisions, as well as alter the newsroom dynamic.

Journalists with less offline work experience in the newsroom are more likely to view the role of citizen journalists positively, according to their findings.

Overall, journalists seem to think the potential for citizen journalists to fill an information-provider role is a good thing; however, they see their own roles as much more significant than the roles of citizen journalists.

Both researchers are assistant professors at the University of Kentucky. Nah is in the Department of Community and Leadership Development, and Chung is in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications.

The study was published in the spring 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt Cell: (901) 628-2553 e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu

• For more information about Newspaper Research Journal
• Download a PDF version of this article.
• You can find more “Research You Can Use” HERE

Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

Mark K. Dolan, John H. Sonnett and Kirk A. Johnson examine the perspectives of three black newspapers, the Louisiana Weekly, the Amsterdam News and the Chicago Defender. They also pose the question of how much perspective trends reflect those of the black press historically.
Second to blaming government, racial uplift was the most frequently occurring theme. Both themes were prominent in black newspapers historically. For example, the authors found the newspapers blamed the government for lack of protection against lynchings and worked to elevate blacks by covering African-American role models.

Two-thirds of African Americans believed the federal government would have been more responsive to the plight of citizens after the hurricane if they had been white, according to a Pew study cited in the Louisiana Weekly. President George W. Bush, FEMA and the Red Cross were blamed for the “inadequate” relief effort, which resulted in the displacement and weakening of the black community.

The Black press also criticized the mainstream media for the disseminating information about post-disaster criminal behavior. Additionally, the authors found that those in unaffected states would have been more inclined to participate in relief efforts if mainstream media had framed the issues differently.

Mark K. Dolan, John H. Sonnett and Kirk A. Johnson are at the University of Mississippi. Their study was published in the winter 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal (Volume 30, Number 1).

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt Cell: (901) 628-2553 e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu

• For more information about Newspaper Research Journal
• Download a PDF version of this article.
• You can find more “Research You Can Use” HERE

Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

The study by Roxanne K. Dill and H. Dennis Wu examined front-page newspaper content of six newspapers during the two weeks following the hurricane.

On the local and regional level, the most common topic covered was death and injury, followed by rescue/relief/evacuee distress and property damage—topics most important to local citizens. Nationally, the focus was primarily evacuee distress and secondarily criminal activity.

Dill and Wu also analyzed the relationship between the stories and what reporters experienced on-site. Interviews with news staff showed they felt the coverage of Katrina was overall more arduous than any previous assignment due to lack of reliable information, communication issues and the challenge of meeting the needs of a displaced, scattered audience.

Further study is suggested, including an exploration of broadcast and Internet news sources, as well as analysis further than just the front-page of newspapers.

Dill is an instructor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, and Wu is an associate professor in the College of Communication at Boston University. Their study is published in the winter 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal (Volume 30, Number 1).

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt Cell: (901) 628-2553 e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu

• For more information about Newspaper Research Journal
• Download a PDF version of this article.
• You can find more “Research You Can Use” HERE

Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.