Reconstructing the Cultural Context of Urban Schools: Listening to the Voices of High School Students

Through listening to the voices of students, educators and community members can begin to reconstruct the culture of urban schools that are often full of stories about student deficits, genetic explanations about achievement, and cultural mismatch theories that may be traced to historical and sociological ideologies. The purpose of this heuristic qualitative investigation was to explore the ways in which student voice can contribute to reculturing high schools in urban settings. Data sources for this study included videotaped interviews and observations in two Midwestern urban high schools to explore the stories of 28 culturally and linguistically diverse students in grades 10 through 12. Findings suggested that the teens in these urban high schools want caring teachers who listen attentively, provide engaging learning opportunities, and who demonstrate high expectations for achievement. They did not want teachers who, in essence, perpetuate hegemonic discourses via pedagogical practices, and school environments that resemble prisons. At the same time, students wanted more structure to “avoid chaos” and asked teachers to give attention to the paradigm of the personal within the school curriculum. We extend the meaning of the study to include student voice as a critical stance for reconstructing the cultural context of urban schools, which entails listening to students to identify complex and sensitive topics for dialogue and inquiry.     

The Influence of Female Lead Characters in Political TV Shows: Links to Political Engagement

This study examined political television dramas with lead female characters, proposing a model that links viewing of these shows with political engagement. A survey revealed that regular viewers of Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, or Scandal reported feeling transported by these programs’ narratives and parasocial relationships with the main characters (i.e., women in positions of political leadership). These responses were also related to increases in political interest and self-efficacy, with interest predicting real-world political participation. The findings illustrate that these political dramas have prosocial implications, including the non-stereotypical representation of women as well as increased political engagement among viewers.     

Patient and Partner Strategies for Talking about Lifestyle Change Following a Cardiac Event

Heart patients are frequently advised to make lifestyle changes and communication with a romantic partner can help or hinder adoption of heart healthy behaviors. However, talking about lifestyle change can have both positive and negative meanings and this can create dilemmas for couples. We engaged in an interpretive analysis of interviews with 25 patients and 16 partners to identify the ways they managed the meanings of lifestyle change talk. Their communicative strategies included rationing talk, saying it nicely and framing it cooperatively. Each strategy had advantages and disadvantages as well as optimal conditions. We also identified interpretive lenses that shaped the meaning of talk, including legitimacy, patience, emphasizing the positive, moderation, benefits for both people, and perceived compliance. Finally, environmental resources (such as household patterns and communication with the social network) contextualized the meaning of talk. We proposed a model of the interrelated influence of communication, interpretation, and environment on the meanings of talking about lifestyle change.     

Beyond the Classroom: Fostering Soft Skills in Pre-Professional LIS Organizations

Are LIS graduates being adequately prepared to work in the information workplace? While students are absorbing valuable knowledge, library school curricula do not foster the essential soft skills students need to thrive in their post-graduate careers. However by being an active member of a graduate student organization, future LIS professionals can gain and hone effective soft skills, such as communication, initiative, curiosity, understanding, and the means to deal with mistakes, while adopting responsibilities that will all ultimately translate to success in the professional workplace, particularly in their first positions following graduation.     

A University-Wide Collaborative Effort to Designing a Makerspace at an Academic Health Sciences Library

This article describes the planning and development of a 3D printing makerspace at an academic health sciences library. At the start of 2015, a new library Technology Team was formed consisting of a team leader, an emerging technologies librarian, and a library systems analyst. One of the critical steps in the development of the proposal and with the planning of this project was collaborating and partnering with different departments and units outside the library. These connections helped shape the design of the makerspace.     

Relational turbulence and perceptions of partner support during reintegration after military deployment

The transition from deployment to reintegration can be stressful for returning military personnel and at-home partners, and support plays a key role in their ability to transition effectively. We draw on relational turbulence theory to advance predictions about how parameters of the relationship between returning service members and at-home partners predict their perceptions of their partner’s support during the post-deployment transition. We surveyed 235 individuals (117 returning service members, 118 at-home partners) who had experienced the transition within the past 6 months. Findings consistent with the theory indicated that relational turbulence partially mediated the negative associations that relational uncertainty and interference from a partner shared with partner support. Partner uncertainty was a direct negative predictor of partner support as well. We consider how these results extend theory, research, and practice.     

Using Political Journalists’ Definitions of Public Opinion to Predict Source Use in Political News

This study examined political journalists’ definitions of public opinion and how these definitions influence the structure of political news stories. After considering prior conceptualizations of public opinion, a scale of two distinct definitions of public opinion was created, consisting of the optimist’s and the pessimist’s definitions. Using a survey of political journalists in the United States, these public opinion definitions were significant predictors of the use of particular sources in political news stories. Importantly, the two definitions had opposite influences on the use of opinion polls, shedding light on the discrepancy in use and perception of poll results in political news.     

Error Analysis of Mathematical Word Problem Solving Across Students with and without Learning Disabilities

Solving word problems is a common area of struggle for students with learning disabilities (LD). In order for instruction to be effective, we first need to have a clear understanding of the specific errors exhibited by students with LD during problem solving. Error analysis has proven to be an effective tool in other areas of math but has had little application to errors in word problems. Using an error analysis approach, this study aimed to investigate in depth the various types and frequency of errors made by students with LD and their AA peers during math problem solving. The resulting similarities and differences between the two groups of students are discussed with insight into underlying cognitive processes, and implications for future research.