Recollections of sexual socialisation among marginalised heterosexual black men

This paper describes the sexual socialisation process of marginalised, drug-using heterosexual black men, focusing primarily on the sources and content of sexual information. Analysing qualitative interview data, we discovered that the men in our sample both learn about sex and become sexually active at an early age. They most often learn about sex from the media and least often learn about sex from family members. The content of sexual information varies in specifics, but overall tends to equate sex with pleasure, encourage sexual activity with multiple partners and emphasise using protection. Our goal is to use this data to better understand how sexual socialisation contributes to the prevalence of multiple sexual partners and high rates of HIV among heterosexual black men in order to inform future risk-reduction intervention programmes.     

Measurement invariance and validity of a brief questionnaire on reading motivation in elementary students

In order to initiate more research on the role of reading motivation during the initial stages of learning to comprehend texts, we developed the Reading Motivation Questionnaire for Elementary Students (RMQ‐E). The sample comprised 1497 elementary students in Grades 1–3. By means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, three factors were determined: Curiosity, involvement and competition. The three‐factor structure of the RMQ‐E was found to be invariant across grade levels (scalar invariance) and across female and male students (strict invariance). As was anticipated, students in higher grades and male students were lower in curiosity and involvement than students in lower grades and female students. Whereas competitive reading motivation did not differ across grade levels, it was higher for boys than for girls. Moreover, the contributions of involvement and competition to reading amount and reading competence were in accordance with the hypotheses. The predictive validity of curiosity, however, was not confirmed.     

Online vs. offline course evaluation revisited: testing the invariance of a course evaluation questionnaire using a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis framework

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Survey-based formats of assessing teaching quality in higher education are widely used and will likely continue to be used by higher...     

Changes in the Most-Cited Scholars and Works Over 25 Years: The Evolution of the Field of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Cohn and Farrington’s work in citation analysis has examined scholarly influence within criminological research for over 25 years. The current analysis tracks the ten most-cited scholars and each scholar’s most-cited works in four international criminology journals and six American criminology and criminal justice journals over twenty-five years and five time periods—1986–1990, 1991–1995, 1996–2000, 2001–2005, and 2006–2010. This approach extends the traditional approach to citation analysis by documenting increases and decreases in individual citation careers as well as in the most-cited scholarly contributions of the most-cited scholars during a period of significant growth in criminology. The most-cited works mostly fall within the areas of developmental and life-course criminology and criminal careers, reflecting the importance of these topics in criminology.     

In support of a functional definition of interaction

Abstract

A common theme in the distance education literature is that delivery technologies with the potential for real‐time interactivity will improve both the image and practice of distance education. Although there appears to be a growing acceptance of a causal relationship between system interactivity and instructional interaction, neither concept has been clearly or functionally defined. This article discusses several systems models and relates them to the contexts of instructional delivery, instructional design, instructional theory, and learning theory in an attempt to establish conceptual parameters for the function of interaction.     

Out in the cold: sliding sports and the Amateur Sports Act of 1978

For decades American athletes in less-popular – or ‘minor’– sports suffered from a lack of institutional and practical support from their sports' governing bodies. The AAU, in particular, failed to provide the funds necessary for athletes in the sliding sports of luge and bobsled to obtain proper training and opportunities to compete. By the early 1970s, the American Olympic effort was in chaos as athletes from the Eastern Bloc, taking advantage of their nations' determination to field the best possible teams, began to excel at both the summer and winter Olympic Games. In response, Congress authorized a presidential commission to study the situation and make recommendations about how best to improve amateur sports in the United States. The result of the commission's work, the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, reorganized governance of amateur sports to the benefit, particularly, of athletes in sports such as luge and bobsled.     

Reconceptualizing the Sources of Teaching Self-Efficacy: a Critical Review of Emerging Literature

Teachers’ efficacy beliefs are thought to influence not only their motivation and performance but also the achievement of their students. Scholars have therefore turned their attention toward the sources underlying these important teacher beliefs. This review seeks to evaluate the ways in which researchers have measured and conceptualized the sources of teaching self-efficacy across 82 empirical studies. Specifically, it aims to identify what can be inferred from these studies and what important questions still remain about the origins of teachers’ efficacy beliefs. Results indicate that a number of methodological shortcomings in the literature have prevented a clear understanding of how teachers develop a sense of efficacy. Nonetheless, insights gleaned from existing research help to refine, and to expand, theoretical understandings of the sources of self-efficacy and their influence in the unique context of teaching. Implications for future research and practice are addressed.