A Study of Online Discourse at The Chronicle of Higher Education

Given the explosive growth of online communications, new forms of discourse are an intriguing topic of study. This research focused on ten online discussions hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, using content and discourse analysis of the postings to answer several questions. What is the “conversational scaffolding” used by posters in higher education-related online discussions? Are academic online discussions more like speech or writing? Additional questions dealt with how posters identify themselves, who their audience is, what motivates them, how accurate and political they are, and what the experience of reading these online discussions is like. Based on the analyses, these posters were more likely to write correctly although with diary-like personal insights. Through the analysis I also identified both positive and negative aspects of the online discussion experience.     

Introducing critical race theory to archival discourse: getting the conversation started

This article introduces the application of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to archival discourse in order to demonstrate how such a critical and analytical approach can help identify and raise social and professional consciousness of implicit racial bias. To demonstrate the potential of CRT, the paper discusses how the terminology and methodological structures of CRT might be applied to some aspects of archival theory and practice. The paper concludes that CRT can contribute to a diversified archival epistemology that can influence the creation of collective and institutional memories that impact underrepresented and disenfranchised populations and the development of their identities.     

Performance Approach,Performance Avoidance and Depth of Information Processing: A fresh look at relations between students' academic motivation and cognition

This study examines the effects of motivational approach on the recall of verbal information processed at shallow and deep levels. Two hundred students attending the same primary school were randomly assigned to either a mastery focused condition, performance approach condition, performance avoidance condition, or a control group. The participants were motivationally manipulated prior to receiving 12 stimulus words designed to be encoded at either shallow or deep levels of processing. A free recall test followed, then a cued recall test. Results indicate that students remembered more stimulus words during cued recall than free recall. Recall of verbal information was superior when processed according to the deeper (category and sentence) levels of processing. Performance approach and avoidance goals resulted in superior recall during free and cued recall, compared with a mastery goal or with the control group. The usefulness of these findings for promoting greater clarity among motivational frameworks and ideas for further research are discussed.     

When Topics are Controversial: Is it Better to Discuss Them Face-to-Face or Online?

Ten students in a graduate-level course on Historical and Policy Perspectives in Higher Education held face-to-face and online discussions on five controversial topics: diversity, academic freedom, political tolerance, affirmative action, and gender. Upon completion of each discussion, they assessed their comfort, honesty, concern for others’ feelings, similarity of feelings to others, and willingness to disagree and then compared the face-to-face and online discussions on these measures. Students’ assessments are complex and indicate that some topics did elicit feelings of discomfort, concern for others’ feelings, and willingness to disagree in the face-to-face discussions. However, despite these feelings, the majority of students continued to prefer the face-to-face discussions. Online discussions were valued to a lesser extent, but a consistent minority of students were more comfortable in that setting. The age and race of the student also created differences in responses. Dr. Katrina Meyer is an associate professor of Higher and Adult Education at The University of Memphis. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Washington, and her research interests include online learning and virtual universities.     

Relationships between school climate,bullying and delinquent behaviours

Given that schools are, potentially, powerful sites for influencing adolescent behaviour, it is important that there is greater understanding of the psychosocial aspects of the school climate that can be leveraged for this purpose. The research reported in this article used structural equation modelling (with data from a sample of 6120 students at Australian high schools) to examine the influence of the psychosocial school-level environment on students’ self-reported experiences of bully victimisation (i.e. being victims of bullying) and engagement in delinquent behaviours. Further, we examined whether bully victimisation mediated the relationships between school climate variables and delinquent behaviours. School connectedness and rule clarity were negatively associated with both bully victimisation and delinquency (p < 0.05), and teacher support was negatively associated with bully victimisation (p < 0.01), confirming the importance of these aspects of the school-level environment. However, affirming diversity and reporting and seeking help both had positive influences on bully victimisation (p < 0.05), raising concerns about the ways in which these aspects of the school-level environment might have been promoted. Importantly, bully victimisation was found to mediate the influence of five of the six school climate constructs on delinquent behaviours (p < 0.001). This study advance our understanding of how specific aspects of the school climate influence the prevalence of bullying and delinquent behaviour, adding weight to the call for educators to actively monitor and enhance psychosocial aspects of the school climate in order to improve student behavioural outcomes.     

Linguistic diversity in a deaf prison population: implications for due process

The entire deaf prison population in the state of Texas formed the basis for this research. The linguistic skills of prison inmates were assessed using the following measures: (1) Kannapell's categories of bilingualism, (2) adaptation of the diagnostic criteria for Primitive Personality Disorder, (3) reading scores on the Test of Adult Basic Education, and (4) an evaluation of sign language use and skills by a certified sign language interpreter who had worked with deaf inmates for the past 17 years. Deaf inmates with reading scores below the federal standard for literacy (grade level 2.9) were the group most likely to demonstrate linguistic incompetence to stand trial, meaning that they probably lacked the ability to understand the charges against them and/or were unable to participate in their own defenses. Based on the language abilities and reading scores of this population, up to 50% of deaf state prison inmates may not have received due process throughout their arrest and adjudication. Despite their adjudicative and/or linguistic incompetence, these individuals were convicted in many cases, possibly violating their constitutional rights and their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.