The digital classroom

Conclusion Undoubtedly, our schools must prepare students to live and work in a computer literate society. And as we build our curriculum to equip our students for the world that awaits them, Internet access becomes an increasingly important part of the student’s learning experience. It is incumbent upon administrators, teachers, and parents to introduce students to the Internet in a productive and educationally sound fashion. And to monitor their learning and behavior, because the task at hand is to prepare the future citizens of the networked world. They will not be perfect right way; they will make mistakes. We truly need to know when they need more guidance, and more teaching. Filtering technology, used alone or in conjunction with firewall security, provides a simplified, reliable, and cost-effective mechanism for schools to protect the quality of their students’ Internet use     

Women’s job‐related training in Canada: returns to human capital investments

The prevailing discourse informing most Canadian training and labour market policy assumes a positive link between individuals’ training and their labour market returns in the new knowledge economy. The primary objective of the study is to test the current rhetoric by developing a statistical model of women’s job‐related training. Training participation is a complex and multi‐dimensional social phenomenon. Within the arsenal of existing statistical methods, structural equation modeling is one of the few methods with a capacity to represent complex phenomenon by simultaneously testing cause‐and‐effect hypotheses. The study uses structural equation modelling to develop, test, and evaluate a model of the determinants and rewards of women’s job related training. Empirical studies of job‐related training in Canada are few. Until the recent launch of a linked, employer–employee survey, there had been a paucity of data sources that facilitate a national level analysis of job‐related training. By using this new data source, the study makes a significant contribution filling the existing gap in our understanding of the determinants of, and returns to women’s training in Canada. The study confirms that women are deriving significant economic benefits from their training participation. The conclusion drawn from the national‐level patterns in Canada is that training is a crucial element in the reward structure of the labour market for women, as it plays a dual role of being both a reward in itself and a predictor of other labour market rewards.     

Assessing and Addressing Safe Food Handling Knowledge,Attitudes, and Behaviors of College Undergraduates

ABSTRACT: The authors determined the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of undergraduates (n = 1122) on an urban college campus using a previously piloted survey tool. Data obtained found that while students reported high levels of confidence in their ability to engage in safe food handling practices, their knowledge and self‐reported behaviors indicated that they were not actually engaging in safe food handling practices. Students were particularly lacking knowledge with respect to proper temperatures for cooking, reheating, and refrigerating foods. The data were further analyzed to determine differences in food safety knowledge and practices between populations of different demographics within the students. Differences were found between male and female students, Caucasian and Asian students, and students who had worked in food service compared with those who had not. A final aspect of this study evaluated the effectiveness of a social marketing campaign to increase awareness of safe food handling practices among college undergraduates. A cross‐sectional, quasi‐experimental, pre‐ and posttest design was used. Following the baseline knowledge survey described previously, a social marketing campaign developed for young adults was implemented on the campus over a 4‐wk period that included promotional events and incentives. Postcampaign survey results indicated increases in food safety knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, particularly with respect to appropriate temperatures for cooking and refrigeration and found that e‐mails and posters may be effective ways to communicate food safety messages to this population.     

Visual Processing Deficits in Children With Slow RAN Performance

Two groups of 8- to 10-year-olds differing in rapid automatized naming speed but matched for age, verbal and nonverbal ability, phonological awareness, phonological memory, and visual acuity participated in four experiments investigating early visual processing. As low RAN children had significantly slower simple reaction times (SRT) this was entered as a covariate in all subsequent data analyses. Low RAN children were significantly slower to make same/different judgments to simple visual features, non-nameable letter-like forms and letters, with difference in SRT controlled. Speed differences to letter-like forms and letters disappeared once RTs to simple visual features were controlled. We conclude that slow RAN children have difficulty in discriminating simple visual features that cannot be explained in terms of a more general speed of processing deficit, a deficit in making same/different judgments, or to differences in word reading ability.     

Development from within academe: Eschewing imperialism,managerialism and missionary zeal?

Abstract

In the current turbulent environment as we face pressures for efficiency and commercialization, good intentions will not be sufficient. Reflection on what the future holds for us is timely. In this article two case examples of academic development, drawn from the experience of staff at The Australian National University's Centre for Educational Development and Academic Methods, are presented and analysed. A key issue for the field of academic development emerging from this critical examination of the cases is how units and those working in them are positioned in relation to academic colleagues, academic practitioners, and senior officers who are university leaders and managers. Through the case studies and discussion the article explores issues of our location; it concludes that reflection on our models and theories, and critical rethinking of our practice, are essential first steps in deciding on our own professional development.     

Contents Vol. 40

Volume Contents

Contents Vol. 40     

Rethinking employability: how students build on interest in a subject to plan a career

Higher Education - An entrepreneurship movement has advanced into higher education. There is a growing expectation that universities demonstrate an economic contribution to the public good by...     

Effects of Instructor Speech Rate on Student Affective Learning,Recall, and Perceptions of Nonverbal Immediacy,Credibility, and Clarity

Although research indicates that speech rate affects perceptions of speaker credibility as well as persuasiveness and information recall, research has failed to address how instructor speech rate affects student perceptions and learning. This study randomly assigned basic communication course students to one of three speech rate conditions (slow, moderate, fast), using a videotaped lesson by an instructor. Findings revealed significant differences for credibility, affective leaning, and nonverbal immediacy, but did not reveal significant differences for recall or clarity. Implications for instructional practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.