New Media

ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING PLUS: MEDIA FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL FUTURE edited by Martin Greenberger (White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1985—$45.00/29.95)

NEWSPAPERS AND NEW MEDIA by David A. Patten (White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1986—$34.95/24.95)

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: A TELEVISION MANAGER'S GUIDE TO THE FUTURE by Paul Bortz, et al. (Washington, DC: National Association of Broadcasters, 1986—$40.00, paper)

VIDEO DEMOCRACY: THE VOTE-FROM-HOME REVOLUTION by Richard Hollander (Lomond Publications, P.O. Box 88, Mt. Airy, MD 21771—$14.95)

THE NEW TELEVISION TECHNOLOGIES by Lynne Schafer Gross (Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, 1986—price not given, paper)

USING COMPUTERS: HUMAN FACTORS IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS by Raymond S. Nickerson (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986—$22.50)

THE CULT OF INFORMATION: THE FOLKLORE OF COMPUTERS AND THE TRUE ART OF THINKING by Theodore Roszak (New York: Pantheon, 1986—$17.95)     

A comparison of teacher and principal perception of an outstanding biology teacher

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the level of agreement or disagreement between principals and teachers when using established criteria to measure the effectiveness of a biology teacher. To obtain information regarding their perceptions of an outstanding biology teacher, twenty-two principals and forty-one biology teachers were chosen randomly from English-speaking high schools within a 50 km radius of metropolitan Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The measuring instrument was a modified version of Dieter's questionnaire that evolved from his doctoral study of the National Association of Biology Teachers-Outstanding Biology Teacher Award Program. The data collected from the two populations were tested using one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) or by applying normal approximation. Results indicated that both the principals and teachers agree on the relative importance of most criteria, particularly those related to the teacher's classroom behavior and academic background in biology. From such results, it was possible to construct one stereotype of the outstanding biology teacher. A number of recommendations were made from the results of the study, which were directed to the (a) teachers and their professional organization, (b) principals and the school boards, (c) teacher training institutions, and (d) researchers in teacher evaluation.     

The 1970s in France: A period of student retreat

After the student turmoil of 1968–69, the seventies are characterized by an overall mood of retreat on the part of students. This can be explained by three main factors: (1) the institutionalization of politics within the university system which resulted from the 1968 Loi d'orientation which gave the minority willing to be politically active an opportunity of being so, while dissuading the majority; (2) as a consequence of the 1968 movement, universities are more diversified than they were prior to 1968 giving the students more choice. The increased diversity contributed to the substitution of the exit for the voice strategy; (3) in the seventies the returns from higher education decreased absolutely while they remained constant or increased relatively. This circumstance among others contributed to transforming the ideal-typical model of the full-time student into a new model of student economically active for a part of his time. As a result of these factors the conflicts of the seventies were of the corporalist-particularistic-materialistic type, contrasting with the cultural-universalistic conflicts which characterized the late sixties. In spite of the retreat, surveys show that a high proportion of students feel close to political ideologies weakly represented, if at all, in societal political institutions.     

Learning with Maps and Texts: An Overview

This paper serves as an overview of the research done on learning with geographic maps that are presented in conjunction with a related text. First, the review looks at a model of map and text learning and the factors such as prior knowledge and individual differences that affect the model. Second, the review examines how the location of features on a map has a significant effect on what is learned from the map; namely, that features located on the edge of a map are learned and remembered more often and at higher rates than those features located in the interior of the map. Next, the review looks at several ways maps can be used effectively in classrooms. The order of presentation, situated cognition, and the use of technology to improve map learning in classrooms are all discussed. Finally, the review looks at the future of learning from maps and texts.     

Validating self-paced sentence-by-sentence reading: story comprehension,recall, and narrative transportation

Previous studies on discourse have employed a self-paced sentence-by-sentence paradigm to present text and record reading times. However, presenting discourse this way does not mirror real-world reading conditions; for example, this paradigm prevents regressions to earlier portions of the text. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the ecological validity of self-paced sentence-by-sentence presentations by comparing it to normal page reading with respect to comprehension, recall, and narrative transportation, across two time points (immediate and delayed). Bayesian analyses found greater evidence in favor of the null hypothesis for transportation, indicating that little difference likely exists between sentence-by-sentence presentations and normal reading for this outcome. Weak evidence supporting the alternative hypothesis was found for immediate comprehension and recall, with participants who read the story as isolated sentences scoring marginally higher. Altogether, these results validate the self-paced sentence-by-sentence paradigm for measuring reading times, uncovering few differences in outcomes relative to natural reading.     

Information technology: Threats and opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises

The strategic use of information technology can both threaten and benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this paper, the strategic importance of information technology is analysed in light of the specificity of these organizations. Planning approaches are then outlined, focusing on how SMEs can attain a mastery of information technology for competitive advantage.     

The effect of writing assignments on achievement in college general chemistry

This study was designed to determine if student learning in college general chemistry could be increased through the addition of required writing assignments. Sixty-four students enrolled in the same section of a general chemistry II course were randomly assigned to two groups. Treatment group members were required to turn in written summaries of 8 class lectures. These summaries were graded and returned with mistakes in chemistry and writing noted. Feedback concerning errors in chemical content was shared with the entire class prior to the posttest. Analysis of covariance of the posttest results showed that the treatment group members scored significantly higher than the students who did not write the summaries (F = 6.78, p < .05). No interaction was observed between group membership and pretest scores. These results indicate that student achievement in chemistry may be enhanced through required writing assignments. The study results are inconclusive as to whether the gains in achievement were due to the processes involved in organizing and writing the summaries, or due to the additional study time required to write the summaries.