New Media

Videoplayer (Videoplayer Publishing Co., Suite 3, 4731 Laurel Canyon Blvd., North Hollywood, Cal. 91607 -- $10.00 per year/6 issues)

Conference on Communication Policy Research: Papers and Proceedings (National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va. 22151 -- hard copy and microfiche prices not known: you might also write directly to OTP for this one)     

Sail training as education: more than mere adventure

This paper describes the process and findings of a multinational study of the characteristics of sail training for young people. The study used a structured qualitative method and involved ‘indigenous practitioner‐researchers’ who collected the majority of the data. Our findings show that participation provides an opportunity for learning in the practical and cognitive domains in relation to skills and knowledge, and in the affective domain in relation to social confidence. The data collected provide evidence that sail training has positive benefits in terms of participants’ social confidence and their self‐perceptions of capacity to work collaboratively with others. It is argued that while sail training experiences are generally positive and beneficial, some appear to be more effective than others in developing social confidence. We also show that it is not principally the seamanship dimension of the experience, but the combination of a structured purposeful programme with the unique character of the seafaring environment that provides the basis for that learning. The more effective experiences in this respect appear to be those where there is a greater emphasis on specific programme activity. Sail training should therefore be understood not solely as adventurous recreation but as a powerful educative experience.     

The impact of relational consequences and intimacy on the selection of interpersonal persuasion tactics: A reanalysis

This study investigated the effects of situational variables on the likelihood of use of four types of compliance‐gaining strategies: justification, exchange, manipulation and personal rejection. Subjects rated the strategies on the probability that they would actually use them to gain compliance in each of four situations that varied systematically in intimacy and relational consequences. Both situational variables were found to he significant predictors of strategy preference. Message strategy selection was concluded to be based upon an assessment of the relative risk associated with the implementation of a given strategy and on the basis of the relative importance of three communicative goals: (1) whether strategy implementation would lead to successful compliance; (2) whether strategy implementation would result in relational harm; and, (3) whether strategy implementation would result in poor management of the agent's image. Recommendations for future research were noted.     

Medical Simulation in the Community College Health Science Curriculum: A Matrix for Future Implementation

As the nation's healthcare education system struggles to keep pace with the demand for its services, educators are seeking creative and innovative solutions to meet the needs of a growing number of students. The integration of medical simulation technology into the community college health science curriculum is a creative solution that can meet the needs of healthcare educators and the students they serve, as well as of the healthcare community. This article provides a comprehensive overview of medical simulation, beginning with a review of literature regarding its history and efficacy, continuing with the current state of medical simulation usage, and concluding with implications for practice by offering a matrix for simulation integration and implementation. While Iowa's community colleges are the focus of the current state of usage, the implications for practice are useful to all comprehensive community colleges offering health science education programs.     

Family-based care buffers the stress sensitizing effect of early deprivation on executive functioning difficulties in adolescence

We examined whether family care following early-life deprivation buffered the association between stressful life events (SLEs) and executive functioning (EF) in adolescence. In early childhood, 136 institutionally reared children were randomly assigned to foster care or care-as-usual; 72 never-institutionalized children served as a comparison group. At age 16 years, adolescents (n = 143; 54% female; 67.1% Romanian) self-reported recent SLEs, completed a battery of memory and EF tasks, and completed a go/nogo task in which mediofrontal theta power (MFTP) was measured using electroencephalogram. More independent SLEs predicted lower EF and more dependent SLEs predicted lower MFTP, but only among adolescents with prolonged early deprivation. Findings provide preliminary evidence that family care following early deprivation may facilitate resilience against stress during adolescence on EF.     

Taxonomy of golf putting: Do different golf putting techniques exist?

Abstract

This study is a preliminary investigation into the use of cluster analysis to determine if different putting techniques existed in a group of club level golfers.

Putting at a hole 4?m away, the performances of 34 experienced golfers (age 55.3?±?17.8 years and handicap 15.3?±?6.9, range 3–27) were analysed using putter head kinematic and centre of pressure data. Two distinct putting techniques were identified (named as Arm putting and Body putting), this being the first time different putting techniques have been reported in the research literature. These techniques were defined by parameters related solely to movement of the centre of pressure along the line of the putt. Some players (17 of 34) moved between techniques when performing their putting trials. Neither technique produced more accurate putt results (P?=?0.783).

Putting technique was further analysed after grouping players according to handicap (similar skill level) or accuracy (similar putting performance). The lack of significant findings when players were re-analysed according to handicap or accuracy highlights the importance of the correct methodological approach to detecting technique differences.     

Becoming a Presidential Candidate: Social Media Following and Politician Identification

Political candidates increasingly use social media to tell their stories, share their thoughts and feelings and chronicle an unfolding election. We argue that the concept of identification—the process through which an audience member cognitively assumes the perspective of a media personality—can help illuminate how online campaigns can increase citizen support. This study employed a two-wave survey with a U.S. national sample conducted prior to the 2016 presidential election. Results of our analysis support our expectations that following Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on social media leads to increased identification with that candidate, which then affects candidate support.     

Schools,psychosocial well-being and agency: From fragmentation to coherence

This article is about the relationship between everyday practice in schools and the development of agency. It examines two areas of current concern in which agency is seen to play a key role: young people's mental health or human flourishing and their development as citizens. The argument is made that the foundation stone of agency is self-efficacy and that related crucial attitudes and beliefs are learned in school. The role of agency in learning and its importance in young people's psychosocial development are discussed. The latter part of the article focuses upon how schools can become effectively agency orientated.     

Listening: To Thine Own Self Be True

This collaborative self-study examines the impact of taking a listening stance in the collegial relationships and practices of three early-career teacher educators within a small, private liberal arts institution. We consider the consequences of a listening stance on students' experiences of our practices and their education program. In addition, we explore how our individual histories influence our practices, our efforts to model listening, and our collegial relationships. Data sources include our journaling and in-class observations, feedback gathered from students on anonymous questionnaires and through focus-group discussions, and regular conversations with colleagues. Our findings illuminate the paradoxical nature of modeling a listening stance with pre-service teachers as listening to a multiplicity of voices challenged our ability to remain true to self in the midst of others' expressed needs and imperatives.