Foreign and International Media

Ion Trewin's The Professions: Journalism (North Pomfret, Vt.: David & Charles, 1976—$9.95)

Charles Husband (ed.) White Media and Black Britain: A Critical Look at the Role of the Media in Race Relations Today (London: Arrow Books, Ltd., 1975—about $3.50, paper)

Peter Douglas' Television Today (London: Osprey Publishing, 1975—about $9.00)

Louis L. Snyder's Encyclopedia of the Third Reich (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976—$24.95)

Leo Bogart's Premises for Propaganda: The United States Information Agency's Operating Assumptions in the ColdWar (New York: Free Press, 1976—$12.95)

Marcellus S. Snow's International Commercial Satellite Communications: Economic and Political Issues of the First Decade of Intelsat (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1976—$16.50)

Charles Sherman and Donald Browne (eds) Broadcast Monographs No. 2: Issues in International Broadcasting (BEA, 1771 N. St. NW, Washington D.C. 20036—$5.00, with a $4.00 price to BEA members, paper)

Access: Technology and Access to Communications Media by B.R. Webster (54 pp., $2.65, paper)

Towards Realistic Communication Policies: Recent Trends and Ideas Compiled and Analysed by John A.R. Lee (59 pp., $2.65, paper)

Mehra Masani, Broadcasting and the People (179 pp., Rs 10.25, paper)

Narayana Menon, The Communications Revolution (89 pp., Rs 5.75, paper)     

Advancements in instructional design theory: Contextual module analysis and integrated instructional strategies

In the past decade, research and theoretical advancements in both cognitive science and instructional technology have led to updates in instructional design theory. In this article, we review two areas in which the updates make important contributions: information analysis for higher-order cognition, and instructional strategies to improve acquisition of such higher-order processes. From our reviews of the literature, we propose procedures for conducting a contextual module analysis and designing integrated instructional strategies. An additional purpose of the article is to demonstrate the need for researchers in educational technology to lead in the discovery of theories contributing to acquisition of higher-order cognition.     

Sherlock Holmes: scientific detective

Sherlock Holmes was intended by his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, to be a 'scientific detective'. Conan Doyle criticized his predecessor Edgar Allan Poe for giving his creation - Inspector Dupin - only the 'illusion' of scientific method. Conan Doyle believed that he had succeeded where Poe had failed; thus, he has Watson remark that Holmes has 'brought detection as near an exact science as it will ever be brought into the world.' By examining Holmes' methods, it becomes clear that Conan Doyle modelled them on certain images of science that were popular in mid- to late-19th century Britain. Contrary to a common view, it is also evident that rather than being responsible for the invention of forensic science, the creation of Holmes was influenced by the early development of it.     

Are they paying attention? Students’ lack of motivation and attention potentially threaten the utility of course evaluations

Student evaluations are a common source of information used by instructors and administrators, but their utility depends on students’ motivation and attention. This paper presents evidence from two studies indicating that insufficient effort responding and lack of motivation may be problems in course evaluations. In the first study, approximately one in four students responded in an improbable way to ‘catch items’ embedded in actual course evaluation instruments, suggesting a lack of attention. In the second study, students’ responses to an online survey indicated that they doubted that their responses to course evaluations would be used by instructors or administrators. The majority of students admitted to only occasionally putting sufficient effort into their responses. Potential means for identifying insufficient effort responding and mechanisms for increasing student attention and motivation during the course evaluation process are discussed.     

A case study in defining literacy: David Olson's journey from the Great Divide to the Great Beyond

David Olson writes his reply to Snyder in this issue ofInterchange. See page 56.     

The Development and Validation of the Perceived Academic Underachievement Scale

Academic competence beliefs have been widely studied. However, conceptual and measurement efforts have not yet been directed toward understanding perceived underachievement (feeling that one's accomplishments fall below perceived capability). We conducted two studies in order to develop and examine validity evidence for the Perceived Academic Underachievement Scale (PAUS). Participants were individuals enrolled for credit in at least one post-secondary course. In Study 1, we evaluated content validity and conducted an exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis and investigated external validity. For both samples, PAUS demonstrated good internal consistency reliability, and items loaded strongly onto a single factor. PAUS was empirically distinct from a range of related constructs. Findings represent preliminary validation evidence.     

Implementation of the Peer-Led Team-Learning Instructional Model as a Stopgap Measure Improves Student Achievement for Students Opting Out of Laboratory

In entry-level university courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, students participating in associated laboratory sessions generally do better than those who have no related lab classes. This is a problem when, for various reasons, not enough lab sections can be offered for students and/or when students opt out of optional available lab courses. Faced with such a situation, this study evaluated the efficacy of the peer-led team-learning (PLTL) instructional model as a potential method for narrowing the achievement gap among undergraduate students electing not to enroll in an optional laboratory component of an introductory biology course. In peer-led workshops, small groups of students participated in solving problems and other activities that encouraged active learning. Students led by peer leaders attained significantly higher exam and final course grades in introductory biology than comparable students not participating in PLTL. Among the introductory biology students who opted not to enroll in the optional lab course, those who participated in PLTL averaged more than a letter grade higher than those who did not. This difference was statistically significant, and the PLTL workshops almost entirely closed the achievement gap in lecture exam and final grades for students who did not take the lab.     

Index of mechanical efficiency in competitive and recreational long distance runners

The purpose of this investigation was to compare external work and net energy expenditure during a bout of repetitive stretch-shortening cycles between competitive and recreational long-distance runners. Participants were divided into either competitive or recreational runners based on their maximal oxygen consumption and self-reported 1600 m times. The stretch-shortening cycle involved a repetitive hopping protocol on a force plate while measuring oxygen consumption and lactate accumulation for a total of 10 min. External work and net energy expenditure were calculated for 3 min after steady state was achieved and the ratio between these variables was utilised as an index of mechanical efficiency. Lower extremity stiffness was calculated during this interval as well. Net energy expenditure was significantly lower in competitive runners (152.6 ± 33.3 kJ) in comparison to recreational runners (200.6 ± 41.4 kJ) (P = 0.02) given similar amounts of external work performed in both groups (competitive runners = 65.6 ± 20.1 kJ, recreational runners = 68.8 ± 12.1 kJ) (P = 0.67). Index of mechanical efficiency was significantly different between competitive runners (43.2 ± 9.0%) and recreational runners (34.8 ± 5.3%) (P = 0.03). No significant differences were found in lower extremity stiffness (P = 0.64). Competitive distance runners can perform similar levels of external work with lower net energy expenditure and thus a higher index of mechanical efficiency during repetitive stretch-shortening cycles in comparison to recreational runners with similar values of lower extremity stiffness. This ability could possibly be due differences in muscle–tendon length changes, muscle pre-activation, cross-bridge potentiation and short-latency reflex responses as a result of training which should be considered for future investigation.