Strategic leadership for large‐scale reform: the case of England's national literacy and numeracy strategy

Both ‘strategic’ and ‘distributed’ forms of leadership are considered promising responses to the demands placed on school systems by large‐scale reform initiatives. Using observation, interview and survey data collected as part of a larger evaluation of England's National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, this study inquired about sources of leadership, the distribution of leadership functions across roles and how such distribution could also provide the strategic coordination necessary for successful implementation of such an ambitious reform agenda     

Verbal Final Exam in Introductory Biology Yields Gains in Student Content Knowledge and Longitudinal Performance

We studied gains in student learning over eight semesters in which an introductory biology course curriculum was changed to include optional verbal final exams (VFs). Students could opt to demonstrate their mastery of course material via structured oral exams with the professor. In a quantitative assessment of cell biology content knowledge, students who passed the VF outscored their peers on the medical assessment test (MAT), an exam built with 40 Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) questions (66.4% [n = 160] and 62% [n = 285], respectively; p < 0.001);. The higher-achieving students performed better on MCAT questions in all topic categories tested; the greatest gain occurred on the topic of cellular respiration. Because the VF focused on a conceptually parallel topic, photosynthesis, there may have been authentic knowledge transfer. In longitudinal tracking studies, passing the VF also correlated with higher performance in a range of upper-level science courses, with greatest significance in physiology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry. Participation had a wide range but not equal representation in academic standing, gender, and ethnicity. Yet students nearly unanimously (92%) valued the option. Our findings suggest oral exams at the introductory level may allow instructors to assess and aid students striving to achieve higher-level learning.     

Political distrust in Hong Kong: News media use and political beliefs regarding the 1997 transition

As Hong Kong prepares for a political transition in 1997, neither the existing colonial British government nor the impending People's Republic of China (PRC) has established a strong historical foundation for political trust within the territory. In this study, we examine the level of distrust towards the existing and future political regimes, as well as attitudes towards Hong Kong's future. Based on a representative telephone survey of Hong Kong residents (N = 512), we find a high degree of political distrust among respondents, particularly towards the PRC administration. Although initial bivariate analyses establish some association between distrust and media exposure, channel preference, and demographic variables, further multivariate analyses suggest that many of these factors are highly interrelated. One central finding is that among men and those with middle to high socio‐economic status, television news exposure is associated with trust in the PRC. Conversely, women and younger people tend to distrust the PRC, regardless of their news exposure.     

The roles of value predispositions,communication, and third person perception on public support for censorship of films with homosexual content

This study aims to examine the roles of value predispositions, communication, and third person perception on public support for censorship of films with homosexual content in Singapore. Findings from a nationally representative telephone survey of adults showed that the majority of Singaporeans supported stricter censorship of films with homosexual characters. Conformity to norms, intrinsic religiosity, and Asian orientation were positively associated with public support for censorship. Media exposure and perceived negative media effects on self were negatively associated with public support for censorship. Our results supported the perceptual component but not the behavioral component of the third person effect.     

Editors' Preface: Think Global. Drink Local. National Studies with Transnational Appeal

Ad-financed TV channels are two-sided platforms where media houses provide communication from advertisers to viewers. Most media houses air several channels, some of which are particularly valuable to advertisers. At first glance, one might expect the ad volumes to be highest for the channels that are the advertisers' favorites. However, a crucial management challenge for media houses is to ensure that viewers go where the potential for raising advertising revenue is greatest. Because viewers dislike ads, we show that this implies that advertising volumes will be relatively low (and advertising prices relatively high) in such channels. Indeed, other things equal, the ad volume in a channel is inversely related to its attractiveness to the advertising market. Only if the costs of using alternative tools to attract viewers to the advertisers' favorite channels are sufficiently small will the advertising volume in channels with high demand for ads be larger than in channels with low demand for ads.     

Spatiotemporal crime analysis in U.S. law enforcement agencies: Current practices and unmet needs

This article compares the current states of science and practice regarding spatiotemporal (space + time) crime analysis within intermediate- to large-size law enforcement agencies in the Northeastern United States. The contributions of the presented research are two-fold. First, a comprehensive literature review was completed spanning the domains of Criminology/Crime Analysis and GIScience/Cartography to establish the current state of science on spatiotemporal crime analysis. This background review then was complemented with a set of interviews with personnel from seven intermediate- to large-size law enforcement agencies in the United States in order to establish the current state of practice of spatiotemporal crime analysis. The comparison of science and practice revealed a variety of insights into the current practice of spatiotemporal crime analysis as well as identified four broad, currently unmet needs: (1) improve access to externally maintained government datasets and allow for flexible and dynamic combination of these datasets; (2) place an emphasis on user interface design in order to improve the usability of crime mapping and analysis tools, (3) integrate geographic and temporal representations and analyses methods to better unlock insight into spatiotemporal criminal activity, and (4) improve support for strategic crime analysis and, ultimately, public safety policymaking and administration. The results of the interview study ultimately were used to inform the design and development of a spatiotemporal crime mapping application called GeoVISTA CrimeViz.     

International Media

Charles Roetter, The Art of Psychological Warfare:1914-1945 (New York: Stein and Day, 1974–$8.95).

Benjamin Draper (ed.) Pacific Nations Broadcasting III and Bibliography (Broadcast Inudstry Conference, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, Cal. 94132—$10.00, paper)

Structures of Television by Nicholas Garnham (48 pp.)

Light Entertainment by Richard Dyer (43 pp.):

The Cultural Policy of the United Republic of Tanzania by L.A. Mbughuni (72 pp., paper, $3.30):

Cultural Policy in Hungary (79 pp., paper, $3.30):

Culturalyolicy in Liberia by Kenneth Y. Best (59 pp., paper, $2.65):

Cultural Policy in Romania by Ion Dodu Balan (70 pp., paper, $3.30):

Unesco in Perspective by Rene Maheu (129 pp., paper, $3.30):

For Books: Unesco and its Programme by Emile Delavenay (74 pp., paper, $1.00):     

Beyond physics: A case for far transfer

This is a case study of a physics undergraduate who claimed that he “uses physics to understand other subjects.” This statement suggested that this student could describe issues concerning the transfer of learning and especially instances of far transfer. Detailed instances of far transfer have been difficult to replicate in lab settings. Therefore, three interviews were designed to investigate this student’s claims about using physics to understand other subjects as a means to better understand far transfer processes. Transfer in this case study is defined as the personal construction of relations of similarity. Furthermore, I operationalize this definition of transfer via 12 aspects of transfer derived from the work of several contemporary researchers who study the transfer of learning. As part of this case study I also investigate the subject’s motivation for engaging in far transfer. Directions for future research are discussed which includes the need to study the role of personal epistemology in far transfer as well as a larger investigation of students who transfer broadly across school subjects.