Assimilation attitudes predict lower immigration-related self-efficacy among Israeli immigrant teachers

This study focuses on self-efficacy among teachers working in culturally diverse educational contexts. We put forward the notion of immigration-related self-efficacy and provide initial support for its relationship with the acculturation attitudes held by immigrant teachers. One hundred thirty-three teachers who immigrated to Israel from the Former Soviet Union participated in this study. We found that teachers tend to report high levels of self-efficacy in all the investigated aspects. According to our predictions, immigrant teachers endorsing more assimilative approaches report lower levels of self-efficacy vis-à-vis their immigrant students. Our results can contribute to a critical discussion on the place and roles of immigrant teachers in schools.     

Chronische koronare Herzkrankheit

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Cyril Stanley Smith’s translations of metallurgical classics

A remarkable contribution of Professor Cyril Stanley Smith was the translation of metallurgical classics into English from several languages -both ancient and modern.     

为了利润的教育，为了自由的教育

本文简要对比了两种教育,即为了经济富裕的教育和为了人的发展的教育。作者指出,因为迫切追求利润,对民主未来非常重要的价值正面临丧失之虞。如果教育真的要促进人的发展而不仅仅是为了经济增长和个人财富增加的话,批判性思考能力和想象力就绝不能忽略。     

The development, validation, and application of the Doctoral Student Connectedness Scale

Student attrition from distance and limited-residency doctoral programs is significantly higher than that from traditional programs. The focus of this paper is the development and application of a survey instrument, the Doctoral Student Connectedness Scale, designed to identify students at risk of dropout. The study focused exclusively on students currently working on their dissertations with results indicating that low feelings of student-to-student and student-to-faculty connectedness in the learning environment may be predictive of departure from the program. This study supports the work of Lovitts (2001) and others who have also recognized connectedness as an integral part of the dissertation experience. Recommendations are made for addressing these issues through various initiatives that administrators, faculty, and students can support including the design and development of a doctoral student community of practice (CoP).     

Web site credibility: Why do people believe what they believe?

This research investigates university students’ determinations of credibility of information on Web sites, confidence in their determinations, and perceptions of Web site authors’ vested interests. In Study 1, university-level computer science and education students selected Web sites determined to be credible and Web sites that exemplified misrepresentations. Categorization of Web site credibility determinations indicated that the most frequently provided reasons associated with high credibility included information focus or relevance, educational focus, and name recognition. Reasons for knowing a Web site’s content is wrong included lack of corroboration with other information, information focus and bias. Vested interests associated with commercial Web sites were regarded with distrust and vested interests of educational Web sites were not. In Study 2, credibility determinations of university students enrolled in computer science courses were examined for 3 provided Web sites dealing with the same computer science topic. Reasons for determining Web site inaccuracy included own expertise, information corroboration, information design and bias. As in Study 1, commercial vested interests were negatively regarded in contrast to educational interests. Instructional implications and suggestions for further research are discussed. Preliminary results from Study 1 were presented as a poster entitled “Users’ Confidence Levels and Strategies for Determining Web Site Veracity” (Iding et al. 2002a) and appeared in associated proceedings for The WWW 2002: The Eleventh International World Wide Web Conference, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Preliminary results from Study 2 were presented as a paper entitled, “Judging the Veracity of Web Sites” (Crosby et al. 2002) and appeared in associated proceedings for the International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2002) in Auckland, New Zealand.     

Mother–Infant Vagal Regulation in the Face-To-Face Still-Face Paradigm Is Moderated by Maternal Sensitivity

Parents' physiological regulation may support infants' regulation. Mothers ( N = 152) and 6-month-old male and female infants were observed in normal and disrupted social interaction. Affect was coded at 1-s intervals and vagal tone measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Maternal sensitivity was assessed in free play. Mothers and infants showed opposite patterns of RSA change. During disrupted interaction, mothers' RSA increased and infants' decreased, suggesting self-regulation of distress. During reunion, although the typical pattern was for infants to return to baseline levels, infants of sensitive mothers and sensitive mothers both showed a significant decrease in RSA from baseline. Mothers' and infants' physiological responses may be a function of mutual responsiveness.     

Active Learning and Student-centered Pedagogy Improve Student Attitudes and Performance in Introductory Biology

We describe the development and implementation of an instructional design that focused on bringing multiple forms of active learning and student-centered pedagogies to a one-semester, undergraduate introductory biology course for both majors and nonmajors. Our course redesign consisted of three major elements: 1) reordering the presentation of the course content in an attempt to teach specific content within the context of broad conceptual themes, 2) incorporating active and problem-based learning into every lecture, and 3) adopting strategies to create a more student-centered learning environment. Assessment of our instructional design consisted of a student survey and comparison of final exam performance across 3 years—1 year before our course redesign was implemented (2006) and during two successive years of implementation (2007 and 2008). The course restructuring led to significant improvement of self-reported student engagement and satisfaction and increased academic performance. We discuss the successes and ongoing challenges of our course restructuring and consider issues relevant to institutional change.     

Growing through copying: The negative consequences of innovation on franchise network growth

We explore how more exactly copying a blueprint for establishing a franchise network in a new country influences franchising network growth. We test opposing hypotheses using panel data involving the transfer of franchising knowledge to 23 different countries, measuring the degree to which master licensees ‘copy exactly’ knowledge concerning how to grow a network in their country and the effect that their approach has on subsequent network growth. We conclude that a strategy of copying more exactly seems to enhance growth and that the benefits of more exactly replicating knowledge in the 1st year of a local network’s existence persist for several years. Thus, innovation, in this specific context, seems to hinder firm growth.