'REDEFINITION OF IMAGE': THE IMPACT OF MASS-MEDIATED TERRORISM

The emergence of media-oriented terrorism led several scholarsof modern terrorism to reconceptualize the phenomenon of terrorwithin the framework of symbolic communication theory. However,the success of media-minded terrorists has been studied mainlyby measures of amount of coverage given to terrorist acts andnot by examining the impact of this coverage on public opinion.The present study sets out to examine the effects of media coverageof two terrorist events on the public's attitudes and perceptions.By means of an experimental design, the impact of press andtelevision reports of two terrorist incidents was studied. Thefindings highlight the ‘redefinition of image’ causedby exposure to media reports and relate media functions suchas status-conferral and agenda setting to the specific caseof mass-mediated terrorism.     

Disciplinary Text-Dependent Questions: Questioning for Learning in the Disciplines. The Challenge of Literacy in the Disciplines

The challenge of reading across disciplines is often not a matter of word recognition or general comprehension instruction; it is a matter of understanding how ideas are represented in the language and conventions of that discipline. In this article we describe a strategy for foregrounding the disciplines in the design and implementation of text-dependent questions in content area courses in order to accomplish a dual focus on content and discourse when using discipline-specific texts.     

Facilitating conditions for farmer learning behaviour in the student-to-farmer university outreach

Purpose: This study elucidates on how faculty supervision support to students during farm placements and other facilitating conditions influence farmer learning in the student-centred university outreach.

Methodology/Design/Approach: Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 283 farmers who had previously hosted students of Gulu University in the student-to-farmer university outreach. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse how faculty supervision support to students in combination with other facilitating conditions affect the formation of intentions for learning and actual farmer learning behaviour.

Findings: Faculty supervision support in the student-to-farmer outreach was found to significantly influence formation of intentions for learning (β?=?0.380; t?=?5.263; P?β?=?0.182; t?=?2.081; P?Practical implications: Faculty supervision support to students is critical to fostering lasting learning relationships in university outreach. Thus, it needs to be a part of the transformation agenda of the higher education sector for improved community linkages and innovation.

Theoretical implications: Empirical data obtained from the context of student-centred university outreach is used to extend the model of facilitating conditions.

Originality/Value: The study addresses how faculty supervision support together with farmers’ perception of student attitudes and the value of the learning content influence farmers’ learning behaviour during university outreach.     

La Necessite D'un Organe de Coordination de L'education Non-Formelle au Burundi

Sans résumé     

Preventing teen Pregnancy and Academic Failure: Experimental Evaluation of a Developmentally Based Approach

A true experimental evaluation was conducted of a national volunteer service program, Teen Outreach, that was designed to prevent adolescent problem behaviors by enhancing normative processes of social development in high school students. This evaluation addressed 2 problem behaviors in adolescence—teenage pregnancy and school failure—for which experimental evidence about successful preventive programs has been largely lacking. High school students (N=695) in 25 sites nationwide were randomly assigned to either a Teen Outreach or Control group and were assessed at both program entry and at program exit 9 months later. Rates of pregnancy, school failure, and academic suspension at exit were substantially lower in the Teen Outreach group, even after accounting for student sociodemographic characteristics and entry differences between groups. Results are interpreted as suggesting the potential value both of the Teen Outreach Program specifically and also more generally of interventions that seek to prevent problem behaviors by addressing broad developmental tasks of adolescence rather than by focusing upon individual problem behaviors or micro skills.     

The role of comparison in perceptual learning: effects of concurrent exposure to similar stimuli on the perceptual effectiveness of their unique features

In three experiments, rats were given concurrent exposure to a compound flavor (AX) and to one of the elements of the compound (X). The perceptual effectiveness of A was then assessed by a test involving generalization of a conditioned aversion. Comparison was made with a preexposure procedure in which the compound and the common element were presented on separate trials, either in alternation or in separate blocks of trials. The effectiveness of the unique cue was less after blocked preexposure than after either of the other procedures; concurrent preexposure did not produce a greater effect than did alternating preexposure. These results challenge the suggestion that concurrent preexposure engages a special comparison process that will facilitate this form of perceptual learning.     

The introduction of infinite durability to an information good and the decision to buy or rent: evidence from the film industry

Home entertainment markets have seen dramatic declines in revenues over the last 10 years due to the digital revolution, making new adaptation strategies of crucial importance to maintaining existing profitability. Recently, the film industry has worked with related firms to develop a standardized ecosystem for the sale and access to digital versions of their films. This system, known as UltraViolet, embodies infinite durability; the perpetual access to a purchased film across computing platforms and time. The author makes use of exogenous variation in the implementation of this system to study the effect the introduction of this new feature has had on the decision to buy or rent. His findings show that the inclusion of infinite durability creates enough value to spur increased purchasing behavior. Also, the inclusion of infinite durability creates a high degree of substitutability amongst products that include it in purchase markets. Lastly, the author found evidence that the lack of inclusion of infinite durability will spur consumers to rent rather than buy.     

Perceived environment in relation to objective and self-reported physical activity in Spanish youth. The UP&DOWN study

The aims of the present study were to assess the association of environmental perception with objective and self-reported physical activity (PA) and the relation between environmental perception and meeting PA recommendations on children and adolescents. A sample of 1520 youth (770 boys) aged 8–18 years (12.1 ± 2.5 years) from the UP&;DOWN study were included in the data analyses. Environmental perception was assessed with the short adapted version of the ALPHA environmental questionnaire. PA was objectively (accelerometers) and self-reported measured (PA Questionnaire for Children, Patient-centered Assessment and Counseling for Exercise Questionnaire and Finnish PA Index). Linear regression models were used to assess the association of environmental perception with PA. Bivariate logistic regression models were used to assess differences between environmental perception and meeting PA recommendations. Environmental perception was positively associated with both objective and self-reported PA. Some differences were found in the association of environmental perception and PA between sex- and age-specific groups. Youth who perceived a more favourable environment were more likely to meet PA recommendations (at least 60 min · day^?1 of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA)). Results suggest that environmental perceptions of children and adolescents may play an important role in achieving higher levels of PA.