The effect of sequence of instruction on students' cognitive preferences and recall in the context of a problem-oriented method of teaching

This experiment investigated two possible sequences in which biochemical theory and the clinical applications of such theory can be presented to pre-clinical medical students. The dependent variables were the students' cognitive preferences and their ability to recall the contents of the instruction. Seventy-two students were randomly allocated to either a Theory-to-application or an Application-to-theory condition. The results indicated that the Application-to-theory sequence of instruction produced a significantly greater preference for being taught the specific facts of pre-clinical medical science, as opposed to being taught about the clinical applications. However, this was achieved at the expense of a significantly reduced ability to actually recall the theory which was taught.     

Importing organizational reform: The case of lay boards in Hungary

Hungary initiated a major higher education reform program inthe early 1990s that included the establishment of boards at boththe national and institutional levels. This article exploresHungarians' engagement of the idea of boards, adaptations of theAmerican model, adoption of their own model and earlyimplementation. Importing an organizational reform like boardsoccurs within existing cultural and political norms. Thetraditional socialist norms, surrounding nature of the socialisteconomy and the concept of a civil society in countries likeHungary loom large in introducing new structures and values.Structurally, boards at both the national and institutionallevels challenge not only the remnants of the Soviet model ofhigher education but also the classic continental model, uponwhich Hungarian universities were built, of a bimodaldistribution of power between the state and the professorate. Boards fall between the state and professorate and challengethese power centers. The decentralization that boards representruns counter to bureaucratic ministry control and threatens thenewly found power of institutional senates. In a larger,societal sense they also occupy that intermediate space betweenthe government and the individual or what many writers refer toas civil society that by most observers' accounts isunderdeveloped in countries like Hungary. Underdevelopment ofcivil society generally raises questions of societal readinessfor institutions like boards.Politically, the introduction of boards demonstrates thecomplex nature of support for and opposition to change as well asthe personalized politics in reform movements in smallercountries. The changes that have occurred in governments alsoreveal how difficult institutionalization of reform can beespecially when combined with strong cultural norms that mitigateagainst change. While it is too early to tell whether boardswill flourish or wither, they have encountered rocky soil at thenational level and neglect at the institutional level in Hungary.     

Hannah Arendt and the ‘freedom’ to think

ABSTRACT

Dissatisfied with the Western tradition of political philosophy, Arendt maintained a tension between the political, which she associates primarily with the freedom to act, and the philosophical, which she associates principally with the activity of thinking, throughout her works. Whilst Arendt's work is underpinned by a focus on political action, her work on the thinking/non-thinking dichotomy is of significant educational value. Taking a broadly phenomenological approach, and reading Arendt through an educational lens, this paper seeks to demonstrate how the thinking/non-thinking dichotomy and the perils of ‘non-thinking’ reveal the wider dangers of instrumentalism and the performative models of education that accompanies it. It is suggested here that Arendt's work exposes ‘non-thinking’ as a form of instrumental thinking, which is not only a threat to the development of the capacity for critical thought but also to the development autonomy and the capacity for moral judgement.     

Belief correlates of perceived addiction in young smokers

Results from a survey of smoking prevalence and smoking beliefs among 10,579 pupils from 10 co-educational comprehensive schools from the Bristol conurbation suggest that there is more to adolescent smoking than a vulnerability to peer group pressure. Those adolescents who saw themselves as more addicted, those who anticipate more difficulty in stopping and/or reported more craving for cigarettes had more «external control» beliefs about their health, emphasized to a greater extent intrinsic enjoyment and the calming effect of smoking and rejected ideas that smoking by young people is motivated by the desire to look grown up or feel important. Young smokers appear to attribute their behaviour to the intrinsic benefits of smoking itself rather than to external pressure or to the desire to conform to peer group norms. The implications of these findings for health education programmes are discussed.     

Developmental changes in cognitive persistence and academic achievement between grade 4 and grade 8

This study describes changes in cognitive persistence, a key measure of mastery motivation, between the ages of 10 (grade 4) and 14 (grade 8). Prior research in the field of mastery motivation has focused mainly on early childhood. No longitudinal research findings have been published about age changes in mastery motivation during the school years. The sample of this longitudinal study consisted of 372 students in Hungary and was representative of the Hungarian school population regarding parents’ level of education. Participants were in 25 school classes, each from a different town. The instrument was the cognitive persistence scale of the Hungarian version of the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ). Grade point average (GPA), parents’ level of education, the size of the class and of the town were analyzed as background variables. Cognitive persistence based on students’ self-reports decreased substantially in 61 % of the students, did not change in 33 %, and increased in only 6 % over the four school years. Changes in cognitive persistence correlated with changes in GPA. Significant differences were found among school classes in both the average level of cognitive persistence and in how much it changed. However, neither cognitive persistence nor changes in cognitive persistence correlated with parents’ level of education or town size. Aspects of the school and classroom climate seem to substantially impact changes in students’ cognitive persistence. In addition, this study considered educational applications and for further research.     

Use and perceptions of information among family physicians: sources considered accessible,relevant, and reliable

Objectives:

The research determined (1) the information sources that family physicians (FPs) most commonly use to update their general medical knowledge and to make specific clinical decisions, and (2) the information sources FPs found to be most physically accessible, intellectually accessible (easy to understand), reliable (trustworthy), and relevant to their needs.

Methods:

A cross-sectional postal survey of 792 FPs and locum tenens, in full-time or part-time medical practice, currently practicing or on leave of absence in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan was conducted during the period of January to April 2008.

Results:

Of 666 eligible physicians, 331 completed and returned surveys, resulting in a response rate of 49.7% (331/666). Medical textbooks and colleagues in the main patient care setting were the top 2 sources for the purpose of making specific clinical decisions. Medical textbooks were most frequently considered by FPs to be reliable (trustworthy), and colleagues in the main patient care setting were most physically accessible (easy to access).

Conclusions:

When making specific clinical decisions, FPs were most likely to use information from sources that they considered to be reliable and generally physically accessible, suggesting that FPs can best be supported by facilitating easy and convenient access to high-quality information.

Highlights

• Medical textbooks were the most popular information source for family physicians'' (FPs'') clinical decision-making purposes, and medical journals were the most popular information source for the purpose of updating FPs'' general medical knowledge.
• FPs considered medical textbooks to be the most reliable (trustworthy) source, colleagues the most physically accessible, and continuing medical education the most relevant and intellectually accessible.
• The lowest ranked information sources across all four attributes were personal digital assistants, mental health professionals, pharmaceutical sales representatives, and other decision aids.

Implications

• The most popular information sources for clinical decision-making purposes among FPs were sources characterized as reliable and generally physically accessible.
• This study suggests the need for further research into interventions that target information access barriers in FPs'' practice settings and the promotion of reliable evidence for FPs'' clinical decision-making purposes.

     

A Social Cognitive Theory Approach to the Effects of Mediated Intergroup Contact on Intergroup Attitudes

This research applies a social cognitive theory perspective to the study of mediated intergroup contact. It was hypothesized that exposure to positive intergroup contact on television would be associated with more positive intergroup attitudes. Some support for this hypothesis was found for exposure to gay-straight and Black-White interactions. It was also hypothesized that identification with a character belonging to the viewer's ingroup and perceived typicality of a character from an outgroup would be associated with more positive intergroup attitudes. Some support for these hypotheses emerged with regard to associations between exposure to televised gay-straight interactions and homophobic attitudes.     

Patronizing young and elderly adults: Response strategies in a community setting

Within the context of an elaborated model of the communication predicament of aging, the effects of particular response strategies to patronizing, intergenerational talk were investigated with written vignettes depicting a community situation. Young adults (N = 222) evaluated a patronizing speaker more negatively than a non‐patronizing speaker, and they also judged both conversational partners to be more satisfied when patronizing speech was absent. As compared to cooperative responses, assertive responses from the patronizee led to evaluations that she was higher status, more controlling, less nurturing, and less satisfied. Patronizing individuals receiving an assertive response were evaluated as less in control and satisfied than when they received a cooperative response.     

Videotaping as a Means of Self-Monitoring to Improve Theater Students' Performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of retroactive and focused self-monitoring, actualized by videotaping, on children's theater performance. In Experiment 1, 20 students in a theater performance program were randomly assigned to either a control or a self-monitoring condition, and their weekly rehearsals were videotaped. Only students in the self-monitoring condition viewed their videotaped rehearsals. The authors found that retroactive self-monitoring enhanced theater performance. In Experiment 2, 36 children preparing for a Christmas play were randomly assigned to either a focused or to a general self-monitoring condition. They viewed their videotaped rehearsals; the focused self-monitoring group received a list of important aspects of the performance to watch. The focused self-monitoring enhanced the children's performance in the play.