Communication in General

COMMUNICATION YEARBOOK 11 edited by James A. Anderson (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1988, 648 pp.—$41.95, ISBN 0-8039-3138-7)

TARNISHED GOLD: THE RECORD INDUSTRY REVISED by R. Serge Denisoff (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books/Rutgers, 1986, 487 pp.—$34.95/16.95, ISBN 0-88738-06809 [cloth], 0-88738-618-0 [paper])

INSIDE MTV by R. Serge Denisoff (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books/Rutgers, 1988, 373 pp.—$24.95, ISBN 0-88738-173-1)

THE END OF CONVERSATION: THE IMPACT OF MASS MEDIA ON MODERN SOCIETY by Franco Ferrarotti (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988, 192 pp.—$37.95, ISBN 0-313-26087-7)

LAWS OF OUR FATHERS: POPULAR CULTURE AND THE U.S. CONSTITUTION by Ray and Glenn Browne (Bowling Green, Ohio: Popular Culture Press, 1986—$24.95/12.95, no ISBN given)

POPULAR CULTURE IN THE MIDDLE AGES edited by Josie Campbell (Bowling Greene, Ohio: Popular Culture Press, 1986—$19.95/9.95, no ISBN given)

THE PREDICAMENT OF CULTURE: TWENTIETH-CENTURY ETHNOGRAPHY, LITERATURE, AND ART by James Clifford (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988—$30.00/15.95, no ISBN given)

THE SILENT MAJORITY: NONRESPONDENTS ON SAMPLE SURVEYS by John Goyder (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1988—$39.00, no ISBN given)

MEDIA IN SOCIETY: READINGS IN MASS COMMUNICATION edited by Caren J. Deming and Samuel L. Becker (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1988, 435 pp.—price not given, ISBN 0-673-15820-9)     

Iowa Postsecondary Vocational-Technical Teacher Retention Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons for the apparently high turnover rate among postsecondary vocational-technical teachers in Iowa's 15 postsecondary area schools. Two techniques were used in an attempt to identify the reasons for the turnover rate. One technique consisted of comparing background information via Iowa Professional School Employees Data Sheets, for all former and current teachers for the period 1971 through 1975. The second technique consisted of asking former instructors, by use of a mailed questionnaire, to relate their reasons for leaving the vocational-technical teaching program.

The analysis of the data sheets failed to provide any conclusive insight into the reason for the turnover rate. Although the profile was of limited value, some tendencies were observed. Analysis of the data from the survey of current and former teachers revealed that: (a) former teachers showed greater dissatisfaction with preservice workshops than did current teachers; (b) former teachers tended to be less satisfied with external working conditions than did current teachers; (c) both current and former teachers found relationships with students to be the most rewarding aspects of their teaching experience; (d) both current and former teachers found interaction with administrators and supervisors to be the least rewarding aspect of their teaching experience. Finally, former teachers reported they left the program primarily because of problems they experienced with administrators and/or supervisors, and school policies. Current teachers were more likely to cite contract and salary problems as possible reasons for leaving the program.     

Cognitive learning styles and digital equity: searching for the middle way

This research is driven by a desire to understand the lifelong learner in the context of styles of learning and the emerging implications of technology enhanced learning for digital equity. Recognising cognitive learning styles is the first step educators need to take in order to be most effective in working with students of diversity and bridging across formal and informal settings. Learning environments as a characterising feature of learning styles have undergone unprecedented change over the past decade with learning environments now blending physical and virtual space. To support the increasing diversity of learners pedagogy has to be fair, culturally responsive, equitable and relevant to the ‘virtual generation’. This, in turn, will inform our understanding of the ‘middle way’ in recognising cognitive learning styles, associated cultural context, and the implications to digital pedagogy equity.     

The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt: An Innovative Research-Based Program for High School Students

The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) is an innovative partnership program between a Research I private university and a large urban public school system. The SSMV was started in 2007 and currently has 101 students enrolled in the program, with a total of 60 students who have completed the 4-yr sequential program. Students attend the SSMV for one full day per week during the school year and 3–6 wk in the summers following their ninth- to 11th-grade years, with each grade of 26 students coming to the Vanderbilt campus on a separate day. The research-based curriculum focuses on guiding students through the process of learning to develop questions and hypotheses, designing projects and performing analyses, and communicating results of these projects. The SSMV program has elevated the learning outcomes of students as evidenced by increased achievement scores relative to a comparison group of students; has provided a rigorous research-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics elective curriculum that culminates in a Summer research internship; has produced 27 Intel and Siemens semifinalists and regional finalists over the past 4 yr; and has supported the development of writing and communication skills resulting in regional and national oral presentations and publications in scientific journals.     

Martial arts masters identify the essential components of training

Background: Martial Arts (MA) have been touted as a beneficial psycho-social exercise and have been used in a number of training programmes and interventions. However, proving MA effectiveness through empirical research is hindered by difficulties defining exactly what students experience during MA training. As such, there is a need to define the essential components of the student experience, and to measure and quantify the learning associated with MA training.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore what students are likely to experience during MA training. In particular, we give an insight into the thoughts and expectations of some of the MA most experienced practitioner-teachers. In identifying these facets of the student experience, future research may then be able to determine which facets are most effective in improving student self-regulation and wellbeing.

Design: Four martial arts instructors from a broad range of disciplines, and (each) with over 30 years of teaching experience, were interviewed to gain insights into the typical student experience of martial arts training.

Conclusions: Thematic analysis revealed ten components/ facets of the student experience of training. These components belonged to the three broader areas of physical experience, social expectations, and mindful training. These components if validated by future research may be used to form a quantitative survey measure of the MA student experience, and may ultimately allow researchers and practitioners to identify the more functional facets of MA training in relation to improving the student experience and students’ self-regulation skills.     

Beyond the backchannel: tweeting patterns after two educational conferences

Mathematics teachers are using Twitter as a backchannel at conferences. Understanding whether teachers are using Twitter differently at traditional conferences like the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Annual as compared to new conference models like TwitterMathCamp (TMC) is important. Tweets surrounding the 2015 NCTM Annual and TMC2015 were collected and analyzed to determine the differences in tweeting behavior of the mathematics teachers. Our results showed teachers use Twitter in common ways, despite the attention placed on social media at new conferences.     

Family rearing antecedents of pubertal timing

Two general evolutionary hypotheses were tested on 756 White children (397 girls) studied longitudinally: (1) rearing experiences would predict pubertal timing; and (2) children would prove differentially susceptible to rearing. Analysis of pubertal measurements, including some based on repeated physical assessments, showed that mothering and fathering, earlier and later in childhood, predicted pubertal development, but only for girls, with negative parenting appearing most influential; maternal harsh control predicted earlier menarche. Rearing effects varied by infant negative emotionality, proving stronger (and opposite) for girls who in infancy were lower rather than higher in negativity. Maternal menarche, controlled in all analyses, was a stronger predictor than rearing. Findings are discussed in terms of theory development, genetic and nutritional influences, and sample restrictions.     

Applications of Business Presentation Techniques to One-Shot Library Instruction

One can think of one-shot library instruction sessions as a way to introduce the academic library's resources to first-year students to help them with their research. These classes can also be thought of as an opportunity to “sell” the entire library and its resources to the student. This article will propose suggestions that can be adopted by library instruction librarians based on the recommendations and practices of business marketing practitioners and entrepreneurs who depend on one-shot “selling” meetings to convince their audience to “buy” their wares.