A cultural embrace

Conclusion As culture is at the heart of meaning making, it warrants exacting attention in the systemic design process. As Gustafson & Powell (1991) point out, too often models are not tested for validity and reliability. It is for this reason that we emphasize that research must critically evaluate this expanded ADDIE model. As technology enables us to increase our interaction with the peoples of the world, we are enriched by the incessant shifts in our own cultural paradigms. Attention to this cultural dynamism and incessant interplay leads to both improved designs and improved designers. As instructional designers, we must be able to critically analyze our learner’s cultures and allow it to strengthen the instructional design process. In this way we address our ethical commitment to creating culturally sensitive products. His research interests include culture, identity development, and meaning making in technology rich environments. His research interests are in the areas of Educational Gerontology, Instructional Design, and the Digital Divide. His research interests include Systemic Change and the Digital Divide.     

Some ‘Spill‐over’ Effects of a Home‐based Reinforcement Programme in a Secondary School

Abstract A home‐based reinforcement (H‐BR) programme was carried out in a secondary school to increase rule‐following and work completed by two groups of disruptive students. Of particular interest was whether the positive effects of the programme on target students would ‘spill‐over’ to equally disruptive control students in the same classes. The results showed highly significant improvements in the work and behaviour of both sets of target students but positive ‘spill‐over’ effects on controls were only apparent in one of the classes. Possible explanations for this are discussed. It is concluded that the already considerable value of H‐BR programmes in secondary schools as minimal intervention techniques would be enhanced even more if ‘spill‐over’ effects on non‐targeted, classroom sub‐groups could be planned for, rather than hoped for.     

Cross-Racial Interaction Among Undergraduates: Some Consequences, Causes, and Patterns

This study utilized a national longitudinal data set of college students to examine the educational relevance of cross-racial interaction and how campuses can best structure such opportunities. The general pattern of findings suggests that cross-racial interaction has positive effects on students' intellectual, social, and civic development. The results show that institutions could enhance such experiences by enrolling larger proportions of students of color and by offering students more opportunities to live and work part-time on campus. While these findings apply uniformly to white students, the frequency of cross-racial interaction does not always follow an expected path of steady gains for students of color as the student body becomes increasingly more diverse. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Attenuated and enhanced neophobia in the taste-aversion “delay of reinforcement” effect

Learning & Behavior - Rats were made ill immediately or 6 h after drinking either familiar tap water or a novel .1% saccharin solution. Control animals were given sham treatments immediately...     

Enhancing Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Web-based Scientific Inquiry

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

A proposed framework and tool for non-economic research impact measurement

ABSTRACT

Research impact features heavily in debates about ‘the measured university’ and is now formally assessed by governments in the UK and Australia. Yet clear guidance on how impact can be measured in non-monetary ways is often lacking because of confused thinking and the context-specific nature of outcomes. To help resolve this, we first propose a general impact model of inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes framework. Then, using a survey approach of research users, we measure outcomes at different levels of abstraction using usefulness as the central construct and impact categories from the European (EU) and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The survey measures are simple, comparable between different impact cases, cost-effective, externally verifiable, and easily administered by those for whom impact measurement is new and puzzling. They can also be combined to form an impact index to address criticism that there is little standardisation in impact measurement. To improve the standardisation of context-specific measures, we suggest a common methodology for deriving these (SROI). The article discusses limitations of using surveys including administration, self-report data, and impact timescale problems, and suggests ways to reduce these. Implications for researchers, research managers, and assessors interested in measuring impact, such as who should do it and pay for it, are discussed.     

Masculinity and femininity in twin children: genetic and environmental factors

Genetic and environmental origins of individual differences in masculine and feminine personality attributes were investigated in a sample of 38 monozygotic and 32 dizygotic twin pairs (total N = 140) during pre- and early adolescence. Self-report measures of both masculine and feminine characteristics were obtained for each child using 2 standardized instruments: the Children's Personality Attributes Questionnaire (CPAQ) and the Adolescent Self-Perception Inventory (ASPI). Multivariate biometrical analyses revealed significant genetic influences in all measures, accounting for 20%-48% of the observed variation in each. Environmental influences, which explained the remaining 52%-80% of variance in masculinity and femininity, were apparently specific to each individual and not shared by members of the same twin pair. The results underscore the importance of considering both genetic and environmental factors in gender-role development, particularly in studies of family resemblance.     

The Frontier of Web-based Instruction

In spite of advances in course design software and experience with online offerings, the question of how web-based education affects teaching and learning remains largely unanswered, and the terrain of online learning remains largely unmapped. In this paper, through the stories of 10 faculties of education and one computer science instructor in Ontario, we map out a small piece of the frontier of web-based course delivery and plot a course for future exploration. We argue that most existing offerings take the form of a Lone Ranger or Greenhorn approach but that there is a need to move toward a strategic institutional Wagon Train approach that consolidates and integrates support for online teaching and learning. We argue, as well, that failures in online instruction cannot simply be attributed to improper instruction or inappropriate course design. Rather, at least part of the problem locates in the ways in which conversation is structured in the online environment.