Book reviews

Chester E. Finn, Jr., formerly assistant secretary of education, is professor of education and public policy at Vanderbilt University.     

Assessing the 21st Century After-School Program and the Educational Gains of LEP Participants: A Contextual Approach

This study examines math and English standardized test score progress of students who participated in the 21st century program across 2 years of involvement with a focus on the learning trajectories of limited English proficiency (LEP) students. We find that math and English scores are highly associated with the school and program type—even within a single school district. LEP participants are the furthest behind but have the highest gains compared to other participants. Results vary based on the type of outcome (math or reading), the type of activity (academic or enrichment), and the grade level (elementary or middle school).     

“回收”爸爸

我成长于七十年代初,那时,离婚尚未对核心家庭产生严重的影响。整个小学阶段,我仅遇到过一个来自破裂家庭的小孩,而在我看来,她是让人好奇的异类。同学们似乎都害怕她,好像她会传染似的。我父亲已经去世,所以离婚似乎与我无关。我四岁时,父亲就去世了,虽然我偶尔会密谋想要让亨利·方达成为我的继父,但是我和母亲相依为命,     

Is Social Media Too Social for Class? A Case Study of Twitter Use

This qualitative case study examined Twitter use by undergraduate and graduate students in three classes. Previous studies have shown that while some faculty use Twitter, few are incorporating it into classes despite many recommendations for such use. This study examined how students perceived Twitter as a classroom tool. As an optional activity, many started with Twitter but fewer continued through the semester. The study reports on content and counts of tweets as well as student self-reports on usage and interest. The researchers found students enjoyed being consumers of tweets but seldom retweeted or replied. Incorporating Twitter in courses will require careful consideration of scaffolding, modeling, privacy and course design. Questions remain as to whether the informal social focus of Twitter may overwhelm attempts to use it in more structured educational settings.     

Environmental learning in online social networks: adopting environmentally responsible behaviors

Online social networks are increasingly important information and communication tools for young people and for the environmental movement. Networks may provide the motivation for young adults to increase environmental behaviors by increasing their knowledge of environmental issues and of the specific actions they can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study examined an application within Facebook.com – the largest online social network in the world – that allowed users to post climate change news stories from other websites and comment on those stories. A survey revealed that users of the social networking application reported above average knowledge of climate change science and that self‐reported environmental behaviors increased during young people's involvement with the Facebook application. Focus groups indicated that peer role modeling through interaction on the site motivated pro‐environmental behaviors, that is, behavior that seeks to minimize the negative impact of one's actions on the natural and built world. Participation in a community of like‐minded users spurred many participants to learn more about climate change and do more to limit its impact.     

Visual Short‐Term Memory for Complex Objects in 6‐ and 8‐Month‐Old Infants

Infants' visual short‐term memory (VSTM) for simple objects undergoes dramatic development: Six‐month‐old infants can store in VSTM information about only a simple object presented in isolation, whereas 8‐month‐old infants can store information about simple objects presented in multiple‐item arrays. This study extended this work to examine the development of infants' VSTM for complex objects during this same period (N = 105). Using the simultaneous streams change detection paradigm, Experiment 1 confirmed the previous developmental trajectory between 6 and 8 months. Experiment 2 showed that doubling the exposure time did not enhance 6‐month‐old infants' change detection, demonstrating that the developmental change is not due to encoding speed. Thus, VSTM for simple and complex objects appears to follow the same developmental trajectory.     

“Hello,How May I Offend You Today?” NBC's Outsourced and the Discourse of Cultural Authenticity

Cultural authenticity is a fluid construct in an era in which globalization is celebrated and vilified. The author examines how cultural authenticity is discursively ascribed, legitimized, and negotiated among creators and viewers of the short-lived NBC series Outsourced within the overlapping contexts of globalization, outsourcing, and fake Indian accents. Findings indicate that authenticity materialized around country of origin, and the author explores whether cultural artifacts conformed to iconic signifiers. The implications are contextualized within Arjun Appadurai's globalization framework.