Hobo Orator Union: Class Composition and the Spokane Free Speech Fight of the Industrial Workers of the World

From 1909 to 1910, the public performance of soap-box oratory began to effect dramatic changes in the composition of migrant workers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Municipal authorities in Spokane attempted to curb the formation of a union of hobo orators by outlawing public speech-making within the city fire limits. The ensuing confrontation has come to be known as the first major Industrial Workers of the World free speech fight. Despite the ostensible concern with freedom of expression, I argue here that the cycle of struggles initiated in this confrontation should be understood as a novel effort to transform a highly mobile population of casual laborers into an orator union. Through the analysis of these events, I offer in this essay one possible model for integrating the insights of Operaismo Marxism into the critical cultural historiography of American public address.     

Editorial: Education in an information era

Collaborative arrangements among educators and community agencies can transfer programs for the gifted from outdated school systems to comprehensive educational systems.     

The accidental learner: experiences from participation in classroom research

This paper brings into focus what can happen when a person is both a researcher and a teacher in two different classrooms almost at the same time. In the two classrooms project work is the subject of inquiry and the working method used. The aim of the research was to figure out how group work and collaborative processes function during project work, and to compose and present a kind of ‘thinking tool’ for other teachers to use when reflecting over their own teaching. Both the researcher and the informant maintain that they influenced each other. The paper also shows that the teacher/informant interactions in addition mediate the researcher’s work as a teacher.     

Consumer Awareness and Willingness to Pay for High-Pressure Processing of Ready-to-Eat Food

ABSTRACT:  Commercial, nonthermal processing of food, such as high hydrostatic-pressure processing (HPP), has increased. The safety and quality of foods produced by HPP has not been well communicated to the public. An online, nationwide consumer survey was implemented to assess awareness of alternative food processing technologies, consumer food safety attitudes and knowledge, and willingness to pay (WTP) for HPP products. The consumer survey was administered by Zoomerang™, an online survey clearinghouse. The survey was completed by 1204 adults. Frequencies and crosstabs were calculated on Zoomerang and SPSS used for one-way ANOVA and chi-square analyses. The survey assessed knowledge of HPP, attitudes about new food processing techniques, WTP for HPP foods and demographics. Overall, many demographic characteristics reflected U.S. census population. While traditional methods, that is, canning, freezing, and microwaving were all well recognized by over 80% of respondents, only 8% recognized HPP. Trends indicated an increase in age, education, and income reflected greater food safety knowledge. Regardless of demographics, no survey respondent exhibited knowledge mastery (80%). Given an explanation of HPP and its benefits, 39% of respondents indicated they would be WTP an additional cost, with higher income and education having the most impact. Majority of respondents indicated a WTP of $0.25 to $0.50 regardless of the value of the food product. More respondents were WTP slightly more for a more expensive product. New technologies often encounter a stumbling block in consumer acceptance and processing costs. A consumer's WTP, once they were informed, could encourage industry to look favorably on this technology.     

Variables contributing to academic success in an intermediate statistics course: the importance of learned resourcefulness

We examined the variables contributing to statistical anxiety, statistical resourcefulness and grades in an intermediate statistics course. Questionnaires assessing the aforementioned variables, as well as general resourcefulness, statistical self‐efficacy and attitudes, and grade goals were completed by 168 students in September and in January. Our findings revealed that students possessing a larger repertoire of general resourcefulness skills and higher statistical self‐efficacy were more likely to rely on statistical self‐control strategies, and, as a result, attain higher grades. Students having higher statistical test anxiety were not only less generally and statistically resourceful, but they were also more likely to be aiming for lower grades and attributing past performance disappointments to lack of ability and task difficulty.     

Two critical psychological components of ski racing: fun and feelings

The concepts of having fun and being aware of feeling states are presented as two critical factors in ski racing. First, the positive motivational characteristics of 'fun' are outlined. It is suggested that fun is not only a concept for young athletes but elite ones as well. Preliminary data based on a questionnaire, completed by the United States Alpine Ski Team and approximately 150 ski coaches, are represented. Second, the discussion on feelings refers to the mental programming of tactile sensations and determining one's emotional arousal (feeling state) prior to, and during, competition. Practical suggestions are made with regard to the psychological states and their effects on ski racing.     

Exploring information literacy in secondary schools in Hong Kong: A case study

Current curriculum reforms in Hong Kong emphasize learning how to learn and project-based learning. The most recent reform introduces “Liberal Studies” as a mandatory school subject in senior secondary school. This article reports on an exploratory case study of the information searching process (ISP) among Form 6 (Grade 12) students in a Liberal Studies course. Researchers examined sources of information used by students, students' cognitive and emotional experience during the ISP, and communication within the collaborative groups. Findings indicated that Internet-based sources were predominant but that most students had difficulty completing the ISP. Work is needed to help students develop a theory of knowledge in which the meaning of information is contextual and the process of interpreting information requires effort. Such work is important if collaborative inquiry projects in Liberal Studies courses are to lead to deep learning.     

FORM AND STRUCTURE OF CHINESE CHARACTERS AND CHILDREN��S UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE

The written representation in Chinese can be considered as a pictorial or a symbolic representation which is very different from English where the pronunciation is related to how the word is spelt. Students face challenges of a very different nature when science is learnt in Chinese compared with English. In Hong Kong, students are making translations between the language they use in their daily lives, the science concepts and the scientific terms. The research team designed an interview protocol for primary school pupils in order to identify the pupils’ alternative concepts of science and if these alternative concepts are related to the structure of the Chinese language. The findings suggest that there are alternative conceptions related to (a) the form of the Chinese character—for example, the Chinese character for crocodile includes a radical meaning fish, and so pupils may take it that a crocodile is a fish; (b) the meaning of the Chinese character—for example, an electronic buzzer is a device used to attract bees as in Chinese, the character contains the word meaning “bees producing sound”. The findings provide important data for future endeavours aiming to compare the learning of science using different languages and on ways in which primary teachers may better facilitate their pupils in learning science.