Polarization as a Function of Citizen Predispositions and Exposure to News on the Internet

Observers of democratic polities decry a seeming increase in social and political polarization. This article outlines the conditions under which Internet-based news exposure can facilitate polarization. Analyses of data from a nationally representative United States panel study reveal that frequency of news consumption over the Internet can widen disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over a wide range of social and political issues. The results reveal few signs of a similar Internet news exposure effect for disagreement linked to race and income. These findings point to some possible mechanisms of, and limitations to, processes driving social and political polarization.     

Interpersonal problem solving and children's social competence: Are current measures valid?

Ninety-four first- and second-grade students participated in a study designed to determine whether a measure of interpersonal problem-solving skill would predict the social competence of children with no clinical history. The social competence measures used in the study included peer ratings (sociometric scores) and teacher ratings. The interpersonal problem-solving measure used yielded three separate scores obtained from ratings of open-ended responses to hypothetical peer problems. To enable control of other variables known to affect social competence, measures of IQ, academic achievement, and SES also were included. Results did not confirm a prior expectation that problem-solving scores would correlate well with competence measures. Correlations between the three problem-solving scores and both peer and teacher ratings all were in the range between .04 and .20. On the other hand, intelligence, achievement, and SES had moderate to high correlations with competence measures (range = .04–.77). In stepwise multiple regressions, only achievement and SES predicted peer and teacher ratings when other variables were controlled.     

The cognitive levels test: Its relationship with reading and mathematics achievement

Any instrument designed to measure broad cognitive ability is expected to correlate substantially with valid measures of academic achievement. This report describes an investigation designed to evaluate the relationship between the Cognitive Levels Test, a newly available instrument, and two tests of academic achievement that have been widely used for nearly two decades: the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests and the KeyMath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test. The study included children in grades K-2 who were enrolled in a remedial summer school program. The results showed the Cognitive Levels Test (Cognitive Index) to be rather highly correlated with the KeyMath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test Total score (r=.72) and moderately correlated with the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests Total Reading score (r=.55). A repeated measures analysis of variance comparing standard scores for the Cognitive Levels Test with those of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests indicated few mean differences between the two sets of scores. Implications concerning the validity of the Cognitive Levels Test were discussed.     

The Professional Accreditation of Conservator-Restorers: Developing a competence-based professional assessment system

The accreditation and registration systems used by professional bodies serve a number of purposes including offering clients a measure of confidence, creating or maintaining a market niche, and raising the profile of the profession. The currently dominant technocratic model of professional accreditation normally places a high value on examining knowledge, with sometimes a secondary assessment of practice. A few UK professional associations are beginning to accept practice-based accreditation, generally as an alternative to their mainstream systems. Conservators and restorers represent a small occupational group in the process of professionalising. A recent project has seen agreement on a practice-based system as the primary route to professional accreditation. This system draws on some of the principles established through UK occupational standards and National Vocational Qualifications, while incorporating modifications to aid clarity, improve the ease and rigour of assessment, and reflect intelligent, reflective practice. The approach used raises some issues and questions about how and on what grounds professional practitioners are accredited, and how occupational standards can be applied and assessed in a professional context.     

中国参与信息全球化的潜力

全球的新闻媒体以大量篇幅报道了迅速成长的中国经济,并预言在21世纪中国将领先于世界各经济强国。与此同时,中国投入了大量的人力和物力来实施INTERNET联网。使之覆盖整个中国。发达的电讯设施将成为推动任何国家经济成长的主导力量。本文将讨论中国在经济方面快速成长这个大环境下INTERNET的发展,并对影响中国信息产业发展和有碍于中国全方位参与信息全球化的各种因素做一探讨。     

Assessing the Effects of Library Instruction

The current study sought to measure the influence of a one-hour library training/orientation session on college students' library use and library skill development. Data analysis revealed a statistically significant increase in student library use while there was no statistically significant increase in library skill development. Some issues, however, limited the utility of the findings. This paper also critiques the study's design with the intention of helping future researchers plan for occurrences that may limit the accuracy of their findings.