作为技术研究者的马克思

本文主旨在于讨论马克思的社会变革理论中技术和科学的地位与作用.文中强调了技术与经济间的相互作用和反馈关系,同时驳斥了将马克思当作技术决定论者的粗浅观点.马克思把技术看做人类和外部物质世界之间的媒介.通过对科学与技术的区分,指出机器生产的出现和科学在生产中的运用对于资本主义生产方式的重大意义.马克思还分析了资本品部门的特殊作用和资本主义趋向大规模生产的必然性,以及在资本主义条件下技术创新的各种形式.     

An empirical analysis of an alternative configuration of the Academic Motivation Scale

The purpose of this study was to examine an alternative configuration of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), a psychometric instrument used as a measure of academic motivation in various academic environments. The analyses utilised data from a convenience sample of 2354 business students, broken into two random subsamples of 1177 cases. Exploratory factor analysis of the 28 AMS scale items was conducted on the estimation sample. The results indicated good model fit for a four-factor configuration consisting of amotivation, external regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic motivation as indicated by factor loadings, as well as internal consistency and reliability statistics.

Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the holdout sample to independently assess the construct validity and internal consistency of the item loadings on the reconfigured scale. Results indicated good model fit for the four-factor configuration and a significant loss of fit for competing three- and one-factor models. The uncovered factor structure advances our understanding of how the items on this scale cluster into theoretically meaningful constructs. This knowledge may be utilised in research designed to further assess the impact of motivational states on educational outcomes such as academic performance, absenteeism, dropout rates, etc.     

Inequality in Ghanaian secondary schools: Educational expansion,recruitment, and internal stratification

Researchers disagree as to whether expansion of an educational system leads primarily to greater equality of opportunity or the further reproduction of inequality. This article addresses this question through an examination of the social background characteristics of Ghanaian secondary school students in 1961 and 1974. Students in varying quality schools are compared as to their socio-economic status and urban experience. The data suggest that not only are children of relatively high-status parents gaining increased access to school, but that they are doing so increasingly in high-status institutions.