An empirical investigation of actual cheating in a large sample of undergraduates

Cheating behavior of university students enrolled in an upper-division mass-lecture business course was investigated in a two-semester study. It was found that slightly over 3% of the students plagerized/copied a library research assignment. The findings indicate the need for more empirical studies of what studentsdo—as opposed to what theysay they do—when it comes to academic dishonesty in undergraduate education. Such an approach holds the greatest promise for pinpointing just how widespread cheating really is in the lecture halls and classrooms of academe.     

Liability considerations in child welfare: lessons from Canada

OBJECTIVE: Recent years have been fraught with investigations into the deaths of children receiving child welfare services throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. These inquiries have attracted considerable media attention and public outrage. Added to this have been increases in attempts to hold social workers in child welfare responsible for the abuse and deaths of children through the criminal and civil courts. As a result of fears regarding liability, many child welfare professionals are resorting to defensive practice strategies. METHOD: This article reviews recent court decisions and legislation in Canada regarding this issue in order to assess actual risks. RESULTS: Social workers who act according to accepted standards of practice and who in good faith make difficult judgments to the best of their abilities, will not be held to be criminally culpable or civilly negligent. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that child welfare professionals who exercise reasonable caution and engage in good clinical social work practice, good record keeping, effective communication and verification of information, can continue to strive to offer the high quality services to children and their families as they have always done without any serious fear of recrimination.     

Broadcasting‐film academic budgets: 1971–72

As a supplement to the standard “Niven list”; (which follows in this issue), the Journal offers here a look at the finances of many of the broadcasting‐film departments detailed by Niven. Based on budgets for the 1971–72 academic year, Bensman and Futrell provide data on four‐year colleges and universities offering broadcasting and/or film degrees. Dr. Marvin Bensman is assistant professor of speech at Memphis State University while James Futrell is a graduate assistant in the same department.     

A comparison of department chair tasks in Australia and the United States

Virtually every managerial book written lists and expounds upon the tasks, duties, roles and responsibilities of administrators. This paper reports a portion of the findings of the third phase of a study of Australian and U.S. academic department chairs in colleges and universities. In it, we seek to clarify how chairs in the two countries define the tasks that exemplify their role as chair. The driving question behind this inquiry is: Do academic department chairs, independent of country, define their tasks in the same way? And, if so, how might universities in both countries benefit from this knowledge?     

Intervening with school problems: A family systems perspective

Viewing children's behavior from a systems perspective allows the school-based consultant an expanded perception of the contextual function of the behavior. The two key systems in a child's life, home and school, often overlap, and what occurs in one system can affect the child's behavior in the other system. By considering the relationships of the child to both home and school, a more holistic view of the child is obtained, and greater opportunity for family involvement is provided. This article explains the differences between systemic and linear approaches to behavior, and provides examples of how the school-based consultant can intervene from a systems perspective, using interviews, short-term family counseling, and teacher consultation. Issues and cautions about using a systemic approach are presented, and the need for data-based research is explored.     

The effects of matching locus of control and presentation mode in parent training

This study examined the effects of a behavioral parent training program presented in a manner either congruent or incongruent with participant's locus of control orientation. Statistically significant interactions between locus of control orientation and presentation mode were formed for the management skills and child behavior measures. Greater positive attitudinal changes were realized by parents participating in the shared-control training group.     

Patterns of perceptual deficits in academically deficient juvenile delinquents

Patterns of perceptual deficits were investigated in a population of academically deficient juvenile delinquents. Comparisons were made with a group of youthful offenders with adequate academic skills. Auditory perceptual deficits appeared to be a more significant factor in accounting for the severe academic deficiencies observed in the delinquent subjects than did visual-perceptual deficits. However, multiple perceptual deficits involving both auditory and visual perceptual skills formed the basis of the majority of academic deficiencies and social maladaptation. The results indicate the potential ill effects of an undiagnosed and untreated learning disability on subsequent emotional development. Prevention of delinquency may begin with the preschool child who is at high-risk for developing behavioral problems in later years.