Citation Needed

The ability to add hyperlinks to a news story is a key feature of online news. In addition to the—aging—technical novelty, one can wonder what functions hyperlinks perform in news stories. Previous research, as well as my previous examination of meta-journalistic discourses, has shown that one of the alleged functions of links is to display the writer's sources. In that sense, hyperlinks are “journalistic objects of evidence” as they can directly point to the documents, data or discourses used as rough material for a news story. The present paper puts that particular function of hyperlinks to the test. It conducts a content analysis on a sub-sample of the stories published on six Belgian news sites that contain at least one external link, and compares the links with the sources explicitly mentioned in the news story itself. Results highlight that links and the mentions of sources do not overlap completely. Many sources are not reflected in links, and most links do not point to primary sources per se. Other functions of links emerge, such as providing a service or contextual information to the readers. These findings thus question the material nature of “journalistic objects of evidence” and the possibility for journalists to build networks of distributed responsibility with links.     

A macro-analysis of quality assessment in higher education

In most West European countries a quality control system for higher education is in a process of development. This article examines some general characteristics of the emerging structures, how quality is defined and what impact this definition has on internal evaluation.On the basis of a more substantive conceptualization of the term quality, the current trend of a quality control system in which quality is predominantly defined from one central power centre is questioned. Important methodological and substantive weaknesses inherent in this centralist model will be discussed.In the final section a shift towards a quality control system is advocated in which other interests and perspectives are taken into account.     

Validating the Digital Games Motivation Scale for Comparative Research Between Countries

Researchers interested in motives for playing digital games can draw on a variety of measurement instruments. When the aim is to compare between groups, however, instruments need to show certain psychometric properties. Specifically, an instrument needs to be invariant. Without such properties, comparisons between groups run the danger of yielding invalid results. The current study investigates to what extent the Digital Games Motivation Scale (DGMS) can be used to compare motivations between cultures by testing it in four different countries. Results indicate configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance for the cross-cultural comparisons. In conclusion, this study presents a psychometrically sound measurement instrument that can be used in cross-cultural settings.     

The Development of the Concept of Work: A Case where History Can Inform Pedagogy

An historical analysis of the work concept with particular emphasis given to the contributions of John Smeaton and Daniel Bernouilli is provided with a view to enlightening or resolving current difficulties experienced in the teaching and learning of the concept of work and its relationship to kinetic and potential energies. An approach which emphasises the work done by both applied and resisting forces and which gives some technological significance to the (force x distance) definition of work is recommended.     

The Traditional Code of Jewish Education

In years past, reporting on the state of the Minneapolis Talmud Torah Schools at national or regional educational conferences, the reaction was always: “Minneapolis”, “Minneapolis is different.”