Access to academic curriculum in Australian secondary schools: a case study of a highly marketised education system

This study examines how access to academic curriculum differs between secondary schools in Australia, a country whose education system is marked by high levels of choice, privatisation and competition. Equitable access to academic curriculum is important for both individual students and their families as well as the larger society. Previous research has shown that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to study academic curriculum than their more advantaged peers. Less is known, however, about the extent to which this pattern is related to differential provision of curriculum between schools. We found that low socio-economic schools offer students less access to the core academic curriculum subjects that are important for university entry. We also found that the breadth and depth of courses offered is related to school sector (private or public) and socio-economic context. Previous research has shown that choice and competition are inequitable because they frequently increase school social segregation and ‘cream-skimming’. Our findings show another inequitable consequence, namely that choice and competition limit access to high-status academic curriculum in working-class communities.     

The Effects of Social Support,Depression, and Stress on Drinking Behaviors in a College Student Sample

Social support research contends that supportive interactions provide a buffer wherein individuals are protected from increased risk due to negative affect. The present study investigated the relationships between social support and college students' stress, depression, and alcohol use. A total of 54 students completed questionnaires in exchange for extra course credit. Results demonstrated that stress and depression were correlated with one another and that social support was negatively correlated with each of these outcomes. Depression, but not stress, was correlated with increased drinking behavior. Overall, social support was negatively correlated with alcohol consumption; however, depression moderated the effect of social support such that support and alcohol consumption were negatively correlated for participants with higher depression whereas support and alcohol consumption were positively correlated for individuals with lower depression. These findings partially confirm existing theories of alcohol use that hypothesize differences between self-medicating drinkers and social, sensation-seeking drinkers.     

General Mass Communications

Jerry Robinson's The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art (New York: Putnam, 1974—$15.00)

A History of the Comic Strip [Crown, 1968—$3.95, paper]

Perry and Aldridge's The Penguin Book of Comics [Penguin, 1967—$4.95, paper]

Reitberger and Fuchs' Comics: Anatomy of a Mass Medium Little, Brown, 1972— 6.95, paper—this last is discussed in 4:6:4 ; of which the latter appears the best competition to this new volume)

Arthur Asa Berger's The Comic-Stripped American (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1974—$2.95, paper)

Eli M. Oboler's The Fear of the Word: Censorship and Sex (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1974—$10.00)

The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (3937 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104—$4.00/3.00 per issue)

Ted Klein and Fred Danzig's How to Be Heard: Making the Media Work for You (New York: Macmillan, 1974—$9.95)

Douglas R. Berdie and John F. Anderson's Questionnaires: Design and Use (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1974—$7.50)

S.H. Steinberg's Five Hundred Years of Printing (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1974— $3.25, paper)     

In Defense of “Mass Communication” and Other Stuff

A consistent news frame that deligitmizes and depicts most social protests as "police vs. protesters" has been identified in studies of news coverage of social movements. This study used an experimental design to examine the extent to which photographs and prior attitudes toward protests and protesters in general contribute to previously identified framing effects of protest news. Results indicated that for the protest issue of interest evaluations of the protest and protesters were more negative when photos depicting higher levels of conflict were shown. The amount of conflict shown in the photos did not affect evaluations of the protest and protesters when the issue was of less interest to participants. Additionally, participants who had more positive prior attitudes toward protesting in general were more likely to identify with the protesters in the stimulus story and to perceive that the protest was more effective than were those with more negative prior attitudes. Findings suggest the need to address possible nuances associated with the visuals alone and to incorporate prior attitudes when examining effects of news coverage of protests.     

The Relation Between Television Viewing and the Values Orientations of Japanese Students

Applying the postulates and methodology of the universal value structure theory articulated by Schwarrs and Bilsky (1987, 1990) to mass communication, this study employs value type analysis to investigate how respondents' cultural background and television viewing habits are related to their perceptions of the importance of value types and to individualistic or collectivistic value structures. In this study, we found significant relations between television program genres viewed and individualist, collectivist, and mixed value types. The findings indicate that-throughout individualist, collectivist, and mixed value types-television program genre usually serves as a stronger predictor of value type importance than do demographic variables.     

Winning an election: A communication case study

The researcher studies a community in Ohio in an attempt to change previous voting behavior involving a tax levy. This case study offers a methodology for future research.     

The evaluation of interactive learning modules to reinforce helping skills in a web‐based interview simulation training environment

The research presented in this paper shows the continued evaluation of a web‐based interview simulation designed for human services and counseling students. The system allows students to practice empathetic helping skills in their own time. As a possible means to reinforce acquisition and transfer of these skills, interactive learning modules (ILMs) were developed and implemented. The ILMs act as supplemental instruction presenting scenarios and demonstrating best practices responses to client behaviors. Data were collected to assess the impact of these modules on empathetic helping skill acquisition and to assess the efficacy of repeated interactions with the system. Survey items and comments from users were also collected. Findings show some positive trends in empathetic helping skill acquisition through repeated interactions but no significant effects of the ILMs. Attitudinal survey results and comments from users were collected to assess user perceptions of the system as a whole and of the ILMs.     

Inclusion Paradigms and Perspectives: A Stepping Stone to Accepting Learner Diversity In Physical Education

Learner diversity is the focus of this paper. Parallels are drawn among attenlpts to integrate children with disabilities (who have unique motor needs), less skilled learners, and/or disinterested learners. Paul and Ward (1996) propose that debates over inclusion are paradigmatic in that ethical inclusion paradigm proponents (all children should be included) are at odds with comparative inclusion studies (determining whether or not inclusion really works). Application of Paul and Ward's idea about paradigm conflict and other special education perspectives are discussed to draw attention to low skilled and/or disinterested learners as well as to children with disabilities so that the needs of all children are uniformly addressed. When conducting research about learners without disabilities that are currently not fitting into physical education classes, paradigm dilemmas must be avoided. Future studies in physical education should focus on how diverse learners can be accommodated more than on how diverse learners affect other children. Further, physical educators may be better able to serve the needs of all students through coltural/social minority models (Paul, 1998; Sherrill. 1998) and infusion-based curricula (Rizzo, Broadhead, & Kowalski, 1997).