Some aspects of regional-national scientific relationships in East Africa: a summary

This study of some aspects of regional-national scientific relationships in East Africa focuses on the interplay between the East African Agricultural and Forestry Research Organization (EAAFRO) of the East African Community (EAC) and the national agricultural and forestry research systems of the Partner States which make up the Community - Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Recently, regional (in the multi-national sense) cooperation or integration has increasingly been proposed as one way in which small developing countries can utilize their scarce resources in a more effective and efficient manner and thus develop faster. Despite the seeming logic and rationality behind these arguments, however, most attempts to date have either failed or have not lived up to expectations. The first major section of this study covered two exercises. In one, a methodology for ‘objectively’ measuring the direct benefits from EAAFRO and determining how they were distributed among the Partner States was developed and utilized. In the second exercise, a transaction analysis was attempted which covered the professional visits of EAAFRO officers to locations in the Partner States and of visits of national-level representatives to EAAFRO headquarters. The results were then related to distance and national borders in an attempt to see what factors might be influencing these transaction patterns. The second major section of this study focused on the individual national researcher in all Partner States. The primary dependent variable investigated was his general opinion toward EAAFRO, and a set of hypothesized relationships was tested to try and explain that opinion. Independent variables tested included benefits from EAAFRO, opinions toward the EAC, the opinions of relevant national groups toward EAAFRO, proximity to EAAFRO, knowledge about EAAFRO, the race of the national researcher, the extent of personal contact transactions, and the extent to which EAAFRO's work complemented that of the national researcher.     

A systems-based approach to technology integration using mentoring and communities of practice

The purpose of this article is to present a systems-based mentoring model of technology integration that follows a research-based path. The model moves teachers through four specific stages of technology adoption toward using technology to support learning in more student-centered ways. The model describes how a mentor can negotiate the interplay of multiple barriers (time, beliefs, access, professional development, culture) on teachers who are learning to integrate technology and suggests a number of strategies for integrating technology, such as establishing a culture of technology integration, modeling technology use, and creating teacher leaders. Unlike previous mentoring approaches to integrating technology into the classroom, this model culminates with the establishment of a teacher-led community of practice that uses the resources currently available at a school to support and sustain the implementation of the system. Suggestions for implementing the model in a variety of K-12 and higher education settings are discussed.     

College student perceptions of teaching and learning quality

Numerous instructional design models have been proposed over the past several decades. Instead of focusing on the design process (means), this study investigated how learners perceived the quality of instruction they experienced (ends). An electronic survey instrument containing nine a priori scales was developed. Students responded from 89 different undergraduate and graduate courses at multiple institutions (n = 140). Data analysis indicated strong correlations between student self-reports on academic learning time, how much they learned, First Principles of Instruction, their satisfaction with the course, perceptions of their mastery of course objectives, and global course ratings. Most importantly, these scales measure principles with which instructional developers and teachers can evaluate their products and courses, regardless of design processes used: provide authentic tasks for students to do; activate prior learning; demonstrate what is to be learned; provide repeated opportunities for students to successfully complete authentic tasks with coaching and feedback; and help students integrate what they have learned into their personal lives.

Motion Pictures

George Rehrauer's Cinema Booklist: Supplement Two (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1977– $15.00), a 482 page update to the main volume (1972–see 4:1:9)

Bab-bars Anne Price and Theodore Price, Federico Felini: An Annotated International Bibliography (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1978—$11.00).

Dennis R. Bohnenkamp and Sam L. Grogg Jr., eds. The American Film Institute Guide to College Courses in Film and Television (Princeton, N.J.: Peterson's Guides, 1978—$9.75, paper)

Ian C. Jarvie's Movies as Social Criticism: Aspects of their Social Psychology (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1978—$10.00)

Robert Stanley's The Celluloid Empire: A History of the American Motion Picture Industry (New York: Hastings House, 1978—$15.75/7.95)

Richard Koszarski, ed. Hollywood Directors 1941-1976 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977—$4.95, paper)

Andre Bazin's Orson Welles: A Critical View (New York: Harper & Row, 1978— $10.00)

James Naremore's The Magic World of Orson Welles (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978—$15.95)

Paul Michael's The Academy Awards: 50th Anniversary Edition (New York: Crown, 1978— $14.95)

James Beveridge's John Grierson, Film Master (New York: Macmillan, 1978— $17.95)

John McCabe's Charlie Chaplin (New York: Doubleday, 1978—$10.00)

Leonard Maltin's The Great Movie Comedians, From Charlie Chaplin to Woody Allen (New York: Crown, 1978—$10.95)

S. C. Earley An Introduction to American Movies (New York: New American Library Mentor Books, 1978—$2.25, paper)

Ron Haydock's Deerstalker! Holmes and Watson on Screen (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1978—$12.50)

Matthew J. Bruccoli, ed., F.Scott Fitzgerald's Screenplay for Three Comrades (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1978—$10.00/3.95)