MEDIA INFLUENCES ON SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN PRIMARY ELECTIONS: THEORY, METHOD, AND EVIDENCE

In this article the authors argue that studies of the influenceof the mass media on public support for presidential candidatesin primary elections should return to the social pyschologicalmodel of attitude change. This model should take into account,however, that in the real world, unlike laboratory settings,randomization and complete controls of variables are not possible,and rational and strategic choice considerations come into play,along with the cumulative effects of new information on aggregateopinion. The variables found to be relevant to attitude change,especially the characteristics of the communicator and the communication,have not been studied systematically in natural settings. Littleis known about how new information unrelated to electoral ‘momentum’affects the public's evaluations and support for candidates.A fuller explanation is needed of what are complex media influenceson candidate support in primary elections—including especiallythose messages conveyed through the media which tend to be distinctiveand most accessible to memory: information about the viabiltiyof candidates; positive messages and images conveyed directlyfrom the candidates themselves and (to a lesser extent) fromother major party leaders who support or oppose them; and, ofspecial theoretical importance, the ostensibly credible newscommentary about the candidates.     

An analysis of service delivery models for learning disability programs in the U.S., 1984–1985 school year

A survey of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs indicates that the Models of Service used in remediating the problems of learning-disabled (LD) students are in need of standardized definitions. Models were ranked for their effectiveness by state or territory LD Supervisors. The results of the ranking, from “excellent” to “poor,” were as follows: LD resource, Consulting Teacher, self-contained, modified self-contained, itinerant resource, noncategorical, and, ranked least effective, cross-categorical (except when used with preschool classes). Consulting Teachers apparently are used effectively in several different kinds of situations: teaching only LD students, either in the regular classroom or a separate room; providing demonstration teaching in a regular education classroom; team-teaching with a regular education teacher; providing only consultation to regular education teachers; assisting with students in the regular classroom who need help but have not been identified as LD; assisting LD students in transition back into regular education.     

How Well Do We Know Our Students? A Comparison of Students' Priorities for Services and Librarians' Perceptions of Those Priorities

Perception gaps measure the disparity between the current state and the expected or desired state for a particular phenomenon. This research study examined the perception gaps between how undergraduate students at the University of Mississippi prioritized adding prospective services and how librarians at the University of Mississippi thought students prioritize those services. Card sorts completed by students during a prior study were compared to cards sorts completed by librarians to calculate the perception gap for sixty different services and spaces. The perception gaps for technology-related services were analyzed based on findings from the authors' prior study. The perception gaps revealed several services that librarians either notably underestimated (extended hours, natural lighting) or overestimated (3D printing, removing bookshelves to add study space). The perception gaps for items which students had the most and least interest were also analyzed.