I have found the internet/world wide web to be a valuable tool to collect research for the thesis project. As I was browsing the web I found an electronic journal entitled "Journal of Technology Education." The article "The politics of Research in Technology Education: A Critical Content and Discourse Analysis Of the Journal of Technology Education" was submitted by Stephen Petrina. I found the article incredibly useful because it was designed just like a maters thesis. The author, Stephen Petrina, was a pilot editor in 1987 when the journal first started printing. "The new journal was intended to give scholarly direction to a profession in transition, and provide an outlet for addressing the increasing publishing demands on teacher education faculty" (Petrina, 1998, p.1). Each editor is a College professor from various colleges such as Ohio State, Virginaia Polytechnic Institute, and Virginia State University. The article is a valuable resource because the study design. The editor's wanted to access the race, gender, and citizenship of the authors that have contributed to the "Journal of Technology" over the last 10 years. The results documented that 87% more of the JTE authors were male, 90% white, and 84% of the authors were from the U.S. These statistics are of interest due to the research project our thesis team is currently examining. The field of technology, at least in literature review by one magazine is dominated by white, American men. Interesting study...I wonder how other technological magazines measure up.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 1999

Answers

Hi Catherine, I finally had a chance to more carefully look at this article commentary of your's. You have made some solid observations that are similar to what I have found in just a rough scan of the technology literature. The thing I have consistently noted is that the articles are written by men at least 95% of the time. Another item that has been curious to me are the technology related programs on radio and television. Again,I have seen primarily male hosts, reporters and guests. Recently though, I had a technology related problem and the technician that responded was a very skilled female who not only solved the problem, but also explained in "plain english" what had happened. What a refreshing change! Keep up the great work. Best Wishes, John

-- Anonymous, June 11, 1999