Changing Technologies

UNDERSTANDING NEW MEDIA: TRENDS AND ISSUES IN ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION,edited by Benjamin M. Compaine (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger, 1984—$29.95).

ELECTRONIC MARKETING: EMERGING 'IV AND COMPUTER CHANNELS FOR INTERACTIVE HOME SHOPPING, by Lawrence Strauss (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1983—$34.95).

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY , by Peter Zorkoczy (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—$29.95).

INFORMATION NETWORK SYSTEM: TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, by Yasusada Kitahara (Edison, New Jersey: Heinemann Educational Books, 1983—$15.00).

CABLE TELEVISION , by William Grant (Reston, Virginia: Reston Publishing, 1983—$23.95).

CABLE TELEVISION: AN ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL ISSUES IN WASHINGTON, D.C. (Washington, D.C.: Institute for District Affairs of the University of the District of Columbia, n.d., but 1984—price not given, paper).

THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS—A SOURCEBOOK OF GENERAL INFORMATION (Washington, D.C.: The Media Institute, 1983—price not given, paper).

INTRODUCING CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS: THE NEW MOBILE TELEPHONE SYSTEM , by Stan Prentiss (Blue Ridge Sumniit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books, 1984-$9.95, paper).

CHANGING INFORMATION CONCEPTS AND TECHNOLOGIES: A READER FOR THE PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIAN White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—price not given, paper).

BOOKS, LIBRARIES AND ELECTRONICS: ESSAYS ON THE FUTURE OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—$24.95).

THE SUBCARRIER PAGING GUIDE, by Alan A. Reite and ThOrnas J. Buono (Subcarrier Publishing, P.O. Box 57011, Washington, D.C. 20037—$75.00, paper).     

Future Trends and Possibilities for Creating More Gender Equitable Community Colleges

A review of the articles in this issue highlights how gender as a lens, construct, and identity shapes each current issue within the community college. Using the articles in this issue as a basis, this final article provides a series of recommendations for researchers and practitioners who are interested in identifying causes, methods, and practices for creating more democratic and pluralistic environments.     

Finding possibilities in the impossible: a celebratory narrative of trans youth experiences in the Southeastern USA

Abstract

Using collective biographical narrative, this paper examines the ways in which school spaces – even in socioculturally and politically conservative locations – might serve to empower trans youth. The authors explore the ways that teacher, peer and curricular interactions enabled them to navigate a range of cultural spaces and arrive at authentic selves who advocate on behalf of trans youth.     

How much of the decline in sound recording sales is due to file-sharing?

Although most studies of file-sharing have concluded that file-sharing has decreased record sales, the extent of the decreased sales often seems uneven. This paper demonstrates that the results are more uniform than previously understood once a consistent metric is used to provide easy comparability across studies. This paper uses the percent of the decline in record sales that is due to file-sharing as a metric to translate the results of the literature into a common framework and then summarizes those results. What has not been previously noted is that the estimates from most studies imply that the impact of file-sharing was sufficient to have caused the entire decline in record sales that occurred from the advent of Napster up to about 2005. A smaller number of studies using post-2005 data indicate that the shift to digital formats may also have contributed to the sales decline that continued after 2005.     

Learner motivation for MOOC registration and the role of MOOCs as a university ‘taster’

Despite the widespread adoption of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), no business model has emerged to make them sustainable from an institution standpoint. Using MOOCs as a marketing platform shows promise; but for this to succeed, it is necessary to understand the motivations of those who undertake them and to demonstrate how these same motivations can be better satisfied through enrolment in a fee-paying university course. We discuss the motivations for students as they progress through a MOOC and the factors that might lead to subsequent university enrolment. Our arguments are informed by MOOC statistics, the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) marketing model, and the literature on adult education, technology adoption, goal seeking and consumer value. We argue that most students are led to MOOC enrolment through close alignment of the course topic and subject matter with their personal goals and through the establishment of an attractive value proposition. Progress in the MOOC depends on whether this goal alignment is maintained, and whether the value assumptions of students are met or exceeded. We predict that subsequent university enrolment will most likely occur when the MOOC experience is both satisfying and representative of the university experience, and where the increased time and financial commitment demanded by formal study is offset by the greater likelihood of attaining the focal goal. For this strategy to succeed, it will be necessary for the host institution to actively work with MOOC students to create an awareness of appropriate fee-paying courses and to promote the benefits of university study. This has implications for the way institutions market their courses to MOOC students.     

A risk‐analysis approach to implementing web‐based assessment

Computer‐Based Assessment is a risky business. This paper proposes the use of a model for web‐based assessment systems that identifies pedagogic, operational, technical (non web‐based), web‐based and financial risks. The strategies and procedures for risk elimination or reduction arise from risk analysis and management and are the means by which the quality of the system is measured. A comparison is made between the severity of risks for non‐web based systems and web‐based systems.     

Attachment status in children prenatally exposed to cocaine and other substances

Attachment status of children exposed in utero to cocaine, opiates, and other substances was examined at 18 months (n=860) and 36 months (n=732) corrected age. Children exposed to cocaine and opiates had slightly lower rates of attachment security (but not disorganization), and their insecurity was skewed toward ambivalent, rather than avoidant, strategies. Continued postnatal alcohol use was associated with higher rates of insecurity and disorganization at 18, but not 36, months of age. Stability of attachment across the 18-month period was barely above chance expectation. Attachment status at 18 months was associated with child temperament and caregiver-child interaction; at 36 months, attachment was associated with child temperament, child behavior problems, and caregivers' parenting self-esteem.