The development of communication apprehension: A retrospective analysis of contributory correlates

Although a considerable amount of research demonstrates the powerful effect of oral communication apprehension on social behavior, little research has explored the etiological bases for that anxiety. This research examines the role of parent/home and school variables in predicting the apprehension of college students. Results suggest that the amount of positive reinforcement for communication attempts experienced at home contributes significantly, while general parental affect, negative or punishment responses from parents, and parental competitiveness do not. The grade‐school environment and the perceived amount of error correction present in both grade school and high school were also found to have a significant effect Home and school, when taken together, accounted for significantly more of the apprehension than either one did individually although school effects predominate over home effects.     

Xenophobia and right-wing-extremism in German youth groups — Some evidence against unidimensional misinterpretations

The antecedents of violent and xenophobian orientations among young people have been extensively studied after the German reunification, producing various complementary or contradictory theoretical approaches. The present study presents statistical analyses of survey data collected from 1,177 adolescents in six German towns. These serve as the base for a bidimensional structural analysis of extreme right-wing orientation. The overlap between extreme right-wing social orientation and variables, such as gender, educational level or affinity to various youth cultures is analyzed and discussed. It is shown that there is a great danger of misinterpretation if one tries to generalize isolated results concerning xenophobian and violence-related orientations among German youths.     

Preservice teachers’ blogging: collaboration across universities for meaningful technology integration

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore technology integration by preservice teachers (PSTs) through collaborative blogging between two universities. Researchers aimed to learn more about the ways PSTs apply and integrate technology into classrooms. As digital natives, many PSTs assume that because they already know how to use technology personally, they can also teach using technology. However, learning to integrate technology effectively in educational settings is a challenge. This two-phase qualitative study analyzed blogging between PSTs (n = 83) enrolled in elementary teacher education courses in two different regions of the United States. Data sources included anecdotal records, PST blog post and replies, PST and elementary student technology project artifacts, and questionnaires. The data revealed three themes related to technology integration by PSTs: (1) collaborating in an online community expanded professional learning, (2) PSTs demonstrated shifts in purposes, use of digital tools, and self-efficacy when learning to integrate technology, and (3) blogging served as a conduit for meaningful technology use. Findings show that collaboration through blogging with peers outside the walls of a university classroom was a catalyst for meaningful technology integration.     

Video clips for YouTube: Collaborative video creation as an educational concept for knowledge acquisition and attitude change related to obesity stigmatization

Mobile phones and advanced web-based video tools have pushed forward new paradigms for using video in education: Today, students can readily create and broadcast their own digital videos for others and create entirely new patterns of video-based information structures for modern online-communities and multimedia environments. This paradigm shift in video usage can be used for advanced learning about complex topics in higher education, for example, learning about socio-scientific or medical topics. Yet–technology aside–applicable educational concepts using collaborative video creation as a method need to be developed. In the present study, we investigate a specific concept designed to fight obesity stigmatization by developing knowledge using a learning-through-design-approach. We expected that creating videos can actually contribute to a deeper understanding of obesity and to a reduction in stigmatizing attitudes–when compared to a control condition. Dependent measures were based on the students’ video products, obesity-related knowledge and attitudes. The course group assessed their own knowledge on causes of obesity and stigmatization because of obesity higher in the post-test than a control group who read a newspaper article on the topic. A corresponding significant reduction in stigmatizing attitudes was found. In sum, results indicate significant differences between students who produced YouTube videos and a control group of students. The results are interpreted as a confirmation of our initial assumptions and evidence indicating that the program is successfully applicable in higher education.     

Buchbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The role of mediating organizations for school reform: independent agents or district dependents?

This paper examines the role of mediating organizations in helping schools engage in whole school change as part of a school district's reform agenda. Specifically, it examines the Learning Community Program in Los Angeles, a programme designed by an external school reform organization, to assist schools in planning and implementing LEARN (Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now). The programme's success is shaped by the district and school contexts in which it operates. As mediating agent, the Learning Community Program must balance the challenges facing the schools ‐‐ particularly their readiness to engage in reform ‐‐ with the demands of the district for scale, accountability and resources. As it does so, it faces the challenges of maintaining program flexibility, building sustainable changes, and preserving its organizational independence. These pressures generate three central dilemmas and threaten to undermine the success of the district's reform and the Learning Community Program ‐‐ scale versus sustainability, district mandates versus site autonomy, and organizational independence versus survival. It concludes that mediating agencies can be constrained by their dependence on policymakers for critical resources.     

Three-dimensional printed millifluidic devices for zebrafish embryo tests

Implementations of Lab-on-a-Chip technologies for in-situ analysis of small model organisms and embryos (both invertebrate and vertebrate) are attracting an increasing interest. A significant hurdle to widespread applications of microfluidic and millifluidic devices for in-situ analysis of small model organisms is the access to expensive clean room facilities and complex microfabrication technologies. Furthermore, these resources require significant investments and engineering know-how. For example, poly(dimethylsiloxane) soft lithography is still largely unattainable to the gross majority of biomedical laboratories willing to pursue development of chip-based platforms. They often turn instead to readily available but inferior classical solutions. We refer to this phenomenon as workshop-to-bench gap of bioengineering science. To tackle the above issues, we examined the capabilities of commercially available Multi-Jet Modelling (MJM) and Stereolithography (SLA) systems for low volume fabrication of optical-grade millifluidic devices designed for culture and biotests performed on millimetre-sized specimens such as zebrafish embryos. The selected 3D printing technologies spanned a range from affordable personal desktop systems to high-end professional printers. The main motivation of our work was to pave the way for off-the-shelf and user-friendly 3D printing methods in order to rapidly and inexpensively build optical-grade millifluidic devices for customized studies on small model organisms. Compared with other rapid prototyping technologies such as soft lithography and infrared laser micromachining in poly(methyl methacrylate), we demonstrate that selected SLA technologies can achieve user-friendly and rapid production of prototypes, superior feature reproduction quality, and comparable levels of optical transparency. A caution need to be, however, exercised as majority of tested SLA and MJM resins were found toxic and caused significant developmental abnormalities in zebrafish embryos. Taken together, our data demonstrate that SLA technologies can be used for rapid and accurate production of devices for biomedical research. However, polymer biotoxicity needs to be carefully evaluated.