Efficacy and authority of the message sender during emergency evacuations: a mixed methods study

To understand why coastal residents do not always evacuate before storms, a pair of studies analyzed evacuation decision-making among residents of Long Beach, NY and surrounding municipalities on Long Island, NY via a mixed methodology approach. First, residents who lived in Long Beach, NY during ‘Superstorm’ (hurricane turned post-tropical cyclone) Sandy in October 2012 were interviewed about their evacuation decision. Second, 34 pre-storm messages were developed and administered to residents of the same area: faced with a hypothetical oncoming hurricane, respondents indicated after each message whether they would evacuate. In the interviews, residents spoke more about friends and family than traditional authority figures; survey results, however, imply that residents are more likely to evacuate given messages from traditional authority figures. This can be resolved with the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion, which suggests that motivation and emotional state influence information processing. Implications for actual emergency message formation are discussed.     

Learning to Lead: Challenges and Resources for The New Public Library Director

Library directors are part of the infrastructure of information management, but how well do they manage their institutional knowledge for succession planning? Our study looked at strategies to ease managerial transitions between libraries, focusing on knowledge management, communities of practice, and mentorship. Our survey found that succession planning was dictated by local practice and size of library. The results of this paper inform knowledge of succession planning and reveal existing gaps between informal transfer of knowledge and structured knowledge management (KM), as well as librarians' resourcefulness. Library directors use KM strategies, mentoring, and involvement with communities of practice to foster innovation.     

Undergraduate Biotechnology Students’ Views of Science Communication

Despite rapid growth of the biotechnology industry worldwide, a number of public concerns about the application of biotechnology and its regulation remain. In response to these concerns, greater emphasis has been placed on promoting biotechnologists’ public engagement. As tertiary science degree programmes form the foundation of the biotechnology sector by providing a pipeline of university graduates entering into the profession, it has been proposed that formal science communication training be introduced at this early stage of career development. The aim of the present study was to examine the views of biotechnology students towards science communication and science communication training. Using an Australian biotechnology degree programme as a case study, 69 undergraduates from all three years of the programme were administered a questionnaire that asked them to rank the importance of 12 components of a biotechnology curriculum, including two science communication items. The results were compared to the responses of 274 students enrolled in other science programmes. Additional questions were provided to the second year biotechnology undergraduates and semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with 13 of these students to further examine their views of this area. The results of this study suggest that the biotechnology students surveyed do not value communication with non‐scientists nor science communication training. The implications of these findings for the reform of undergraduate biotechnology courses yet to integrate science communication training into their science curriculum are discussed.     

Who likes to engage in writing? – The role of children’s beliefs and intrinsic value regarding leisure writing

Abstract

While leisure writing may help children to acquire writing skills, it can also be considered as an inherently valuable cultural activity. This study explores how children’s beliefs may explain to what extent children are inclined to leisure writing and if there are any gender differences. Building on preliminary scale development work, we analysed data from 963 third-graders. Variables included (a) the intrinsic value attached to leisure writing (b) preceding behavioural, normative, and control beliefs related to these activities, and (c) the level of leisure writing. In a structural equation model, the preceding beliefs were applied as explanatory variables for the intrinsic value. Intrinsic value, in turn, explained a large proportion of variance in children’s leisure-writing activities. Gender differences in leisure writing were mediated by intrinsic value. Significance of intrinsic value and preceding beliefs regarding leisure-writing activities are discussed.     

Using Constructivist Instructional Design Featured in Two Online Courses: Notes From the Field

Abstract

We thought that the close integration of theory and practice offered by constructivism promises unique opportunities to maximize learning in online courses using interactive software as the primary medium of communication. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine the ‘goodness of fit’ between principles drawn from constructivist theories and the design and implementation of the interactive online course.     

Methodological and Ethical Dilemmas in International Research: school attendance and gender in Ghana

abstract

The paper considers questions of ethics and methodology in international research. An action research project designed for Ghana/UNICEF as part of a consultancy on school attendance is used as a case‐study from which to examine the ethical dilemmas facing consultants and their clients in educational research carried out as part of international aid. Ethical dilemmas of resourcing, ownership, accountability and self‐interest are discussed by the English consultants. It thus has a double purpose. It both contributes to research on school attendance, and also furthers debate about methodology and constraints on it.     

An analysis of digital competence as expressed in design patterns for technology use in teaching

Teachers cannot presume that their learners have the competence to use the technology brought to the classroom. Therefore, the learners’ abilities to use technology may be a concern for teachers. This paper reports on digital competence through an analysis of designs for learning in design patterns, written by upper secondary teachers. Learning activities found in the design patterns were analysed with the aim to understand how teachers perceive the learners’ digital competence when using technology. A framework that compromises digital competence was utilised for inferring the digital competencies. The qualitative analysis of these learning activities reveals that competences of information and data literacy, and of communication and collaboration predominate. By analysing the characteristics of learning activities and hence the teachers’ ideas of technology use in teaching, it is concluded that design patterns can be used to identify the competences teachers believe are relevant for the learners to acquire. The result therefore involves aspects of how teachers perceive learners’ digital competence when using technology in teaching.     

Elternvertreter mit Migrationshintergrund an allgemeinbildenden Schulen

Parents with a migration background are underrepresented among parent representatives at schools in Germany. However, increased involvement of these parents is essential for a lively democratic culture. To explore the motivations of parents with migration background regarding their school involvement, interviews with N?=?31 parent representatives with migration background were content analysed, starting deductively from a set of categories according to the theory of planned behaviour. In the analysis, the main category ??attitude?? was deductively subdivided into ??motivation in the course of action/intrinsic value??, ??results and consequences regarding own interests?? and ??results and consequences regarding others/altruistic motivation??. ??Subjective norm?? was inductively differentiated into ??other parents??, ??teachers and leadership team?? and ??other persons/perceived general expectations??; ??perceived behavioural control?? was differentiated into the subcategories ??assertiveness and freedom from anxiety??, ??language competence??, ??socioeconomic background??, ??availability of time??, ??setting in school and school district?? and ??field expertise and know-how??. Additionally, ??habit?? was deductively established and retained as a main category. Analysis of 513 statements resulted in an interrater-agreement of ???=?0.82. Implications for working with parents in an intercultural context are discussed.