Amazon: Love Them? Hate Them? Let’s Follow the Money

What is Amazon up to and why? Amazon reported $24 billion in annual revenue, from their 2009 year-end financial results. The Media/book category delivered $5.96 billion, or 1/4 of their total revenue. That’s considerably more than any of the largest companies in the traditional print or digital book business. Barnes and Noble/B Dalton collected $4.52 billion (2008), while Borders/Waldenbooks combined revenue was $3.11 billion (2008). Amazon’s book revenue steadily increases, while Borders and Barnes and Nobel continue to decrease. What strategies and values are fueling this growth? What is their vision and where have they put their money? Amazon has a demonstrated history of consistent behavior since their start-up in 1995, with big visions, long-term strategies, dedicated to streamlining, surgically eliminating costs, prolific innovations, strategic investments, and an obsession over the customer. We’ll track Amazon’s M&A investments in book publishing and digital to see exactly what they are doing to learn where they may be going. It is wise to stay current on one of the most influential companies in the world.     

The Differential Effects of Sequence of Training in Counselor-Responsive and Counselor-Initiated Conditions

In counterbalanced order trainees of two groups were trained on dimensions as follows: Group A: (a) counselor-responsive dimensions, (b) counselor-initiated dimensions; Group B: (a) counselor-initiated dimensions, (b) counselor-responsive dimensions. Pre-, mid-, and post-testing indicated that both programs were effective in demonstrating changes in communication and discrimination of both counselor-responsive and counselor-initiated dimensions. The counselor-responsive—counselor-initiated (R-I) sequence effected the greatest changes in the counselor-responsive dimensions in the briefest period of time while not being significantly different from the level of functioning of the counselor-initiated—counselor-responsive (I-R) group on the counselor-initiated dimensions.     

Supervising research in Māori cultural contexts: a decolonizing,relational response

We have collaborated for 25 years as indigenous Māori and non-Māori researchers undertaking research with Māori families, their schools and communities. We have endeavored to meet our responsibilities to the Māori people (indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand) and communities with whom we have researched, as well as meet the requirements and responsibilities of our academic institutions. In this paper, we reflect on the implications of these responsibilities for our work as supervisors of master’s and doctoral students (Māori and non-Māori) who seek to draw on decolonizing methodologies as they undertake research in Māori cultural contexts. We draw on the experiences and interactions we have had with four different postgraduate students whose research on improving educational outcomes for Māori students has required them to engage and participate in Māori cultural contexts.     

Estimating parallel form reliability from one administration of a criterion-referenced test: A computer program for practitioners

Reliability of a criterion-referenced test is often viewed as the consistency with which individuals who have taken two strictly parallel forms of a test are classified as being masters or nonmasters. However, in practice, it is rarely possible to retest students, especially with equivalent forms. For this reason, methods for making conservative approximations of alternate form (or test-retest “without the effects of testing”) reliability have been developed. Because these methods are computationally tedious and require some psychometric sophistication, they have rarely been used by teachers and school psychologists. This paper (a) describes one method (Subkoviak's) for estimating alternate-form reliability from one administration of a criterion-referenced test and (b) describes a computer program developed by the authors that will handle tests containing hundreds of items for large numbers of examinees and allow any test user to apply the technique described. The program is a superior alternative to other methods of simplifying this estimation procedure that rely upon tables; a user can check classification consistency estimates for several prospective cut scores directly from a data file, without having to make prior calculations.     

The dilemma of diagnosis in learning disabilities: Problems and potential directions

Current procedures for diagnosing perceptual and language deficits in the face of academic underachievement have resulted in a categorical expression—learning disabilities. In this paper, the contention is offered that learning disabilities so ascertained constitutes, at best, an expression, not a diagnosable entity. Current definitions may be incapable of describing a meaningful population for research or providing data that are useful for instructional management or placement. Two features are described that could become central in a diagnosable entity termed a learning disability.     

Literature and poetry

African American Literature: An Anthology (2nd ed.). Demetrice A. Worley and Jesse Perry, Jr. (compilers), Lincolnwood, IL: NTS Publishing Group, 1998,495 pages plus 108 instructor's manual pages, $29.95 (softcover), ISBN 0–8442–5924–1 (student edition); $32.66 (softcover), ISBN 0–8442‐ 5926–8 (instructor's edition).

Hispanic American Literature: An Anthology. Rudolfo Cortina (compiler), Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Publishing Group, 1998, 414 pages plus 59 instructor's manual pages, $29.95 (softcover), ISBN 0–8442–5730–3 (student edition); $32.66 (sofcover), ISBN 0–8442‐ 5731–1 (instructor's edition).

Keepers. Jeri Hanel Watts and Felicia Marshall, New York: Lee & Low, 1997, 29 pages, $15.95 (hardcover). ISBN 1–8800–0058‐X.

From Direct Action to Affirmative Action. Paul D. Moreno, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1997, 311 pages, $35.00 (hardcover). ISBN 0–8071–2138‐X.