Books Dealing with News

Delmor D. Dunn's Public Officials and the Press (Addison-Wesloy paporback, price unknown)

William O. Chittick's State Department, The Press, and Pressure Groups (Wiley-Interscience, $9.95)

Richard W. Lee, Politics and the Press (Acropolis Books (Washington D.C.), $3.95 in paperback, with a hardcover edition available, price unknown)

Curtis D. MacDougal's edited collection, Reporters Report Reporters (Iowa State, $6.50)

Ruth Adler, The Working Press (Bantam, $1.25)     

Motion Pictures

George Rehrauer, THE MACMILLAN BIBLIOGRAPHY: A CRITICAL GUIDE TO THE LITERATURE OF THE MOTION PICTURE (New York: Macmillan, 1982 2 vol. —the first volume is the bibliography itself, $90.00; the second is the index, $50.00).

Paula Rohrlick, EXPLORING THE ARTS: FILM AND VIDEO PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG VIEWERS (New York: R. R. Bowker, 1982—$24.95, paper, plus shipping and handling).

Jason E. Squire, THE MOVIE BUSINESS BOOK (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1983—$13.95, paper).

Gregory Goodell INDEPENDENT FEATURE FILM PRODUCTION: A COMPLETE GUIDE FROM CONCEPT TO DISTRIBUTION (New York: St. Martins's Press, 1982—$17.95).

James Curtis, JAMES WHALE, (Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press—$16.50 and $16.00, respectively).

William Schelly, HARRY LANGDON (Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press—$16.50 and $16.00, respectively).

Bruce Cook, BRECHT IN EXILE (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1983—$16.50).

Marsha McCreadle, WOMEN ON FILM: THE CRITICAL EYE (New York: Praeger, 1983—$21.95).

William Luhr RAYMOND CHANDLER AND FILM (New York: Frederick Ungar, 1982- $14.95/7.95).

Allen L. Woll, THE HOLLYWOOD MUSICAL GOES TO WAR (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1983—no price given).

Norma Kagan, AMERICAN SKEPTIC: ROBERT ALTMAN'S GENRE-COMMENTARY FILMS (Ann Arbor: Pierian Press, 1982—$17.95).

David Wilson, SIGHT AND SOUND: A FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY SFIECTION (London: Faber and Faber, distributed in the United States by Harper dc Row, 1982—$19.95).

Nicholas Pronay and D. W. Spring, PROPAGANDA, POLITICS AND FILM, 1918-45 (London: The Macmillan Press, 1982—$40.00; order in the United States from Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, N.J.).

Ina Bertrand and Diane Collins, GOVERNMENT AND FILM (Sydney: Currency Press, 1982- A$14.95).

John Tulloch, LEGENDS OF THE SCREEN: THE NARRATIVE FILM IN AUSTRALIA, 1919-1929 (Sydney: Currency Press, 1981—A$19.95) (order from The Currency Press, 87 Jersey Road, Woollahra NSW 2025).

Roy Armes, THE FILMS OF ALAIN ROBBE-GRILLET (Amsterdam: John Benjamins B. V., 1981) (order in the United States from John Benjamins North America, Inc., One Buttonwood Square, 202, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130—$25.00).

Bruce F. Kawin, FAULKNER'S MGM SCREENPLAYS (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1982—$32.50/14.95).

Peter Rollins, HOLLYWOOD AS HISTORIAN: AMERICAN FILM IN A CULTURAL CONTEXT (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1983—no price given, paper).

Susan Myrick WHITE COLUMNS IN HOLLYWOOD: REPORTS FROM THE GWTW SETS (Mercer, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1982—$14.95).

Frank Beaver of the University of Michigan: ON FILM: A HISTORY OF THE MOTION PICTURE and DICTIONARY OF FILM TERMS (both New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983—no price given).     

Learning approaches and lecture attendance of medical students

There are arguably many factors that affect the way a student learns. A recent report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA) on student academic experience in the UK states that class size is an important factor in the quality of the student experience and that smaller class sizes provide greater educational benefit than the delivery of lectures. This article assesses research related to lectures, lecture attendance of medical students and their learning approaches in higher education outside the clinical setting. A questionnaire and focus groups were employed to gather quantitative and qualitative data. The results show that students value lectures in the curriculum alongside other teaching and learning methods.     

Understanding children's epistemic beliefs in elementary education

Research shows that the beliefs individuals hold about knowledge and knowing (epistemic beliefs) influence learning approaches and outcomes. However, little is known about the nature of children's epistemic beliefs and how best to measure these. In this pilot study, 11 Australian children (in Grade 4 or Grade 6) were asked to ‘draw, write and tell’ about their epistemic beliefs using drawings, written responses and interviews, respectively. Drawings were analysed, with the majority of children depicting external, one-way sources of knowledge. The written statements and interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis, showing that children predominantly described knowledge acquisition as processes of task-based learning. Interviews also enabled children to describe a wider range of views. These results indicate that the methodological combination of ‘draw, write and tell’ allowed for a deeper understanding of the children's epistemic beliefs which holds implications for future research.     

Effects of group reflection variations in project-based learning integrated in a Web 2.0 learning space

A Web 2.0 environment that is coupled with emerging multimodal interaction tools can have considerable influence on team learning outcomes. Today, technologies supporting social networking, collective intelligence, emotional interaction, and virtual communication are introducing new forms of collaboration that are profoundly impacting education. In this study, an empirical analysis was conducted on a Web 2.0 learning space designed to promote and support project-based group learning. Three different group reflection (GR) methods (i.e., self-reflection, GR, and instructor-supported reflection) were implemented for a micro community of undergraduate students completing a team project. Findings from this study suggest that promoting and supporting ‘deep learning’ through GR is essential for team project learning in a Web-based community. In addition, effective instructor intervention is a crucial component leading to better group performance. In terms of group learning evaluation rubrics, structural equation modeling revealed that the level of activeness in online contributions may not be as important as the evidence of collective reflection and critical thinking in team learning scenarios.     

What happened to the Open University : Briefly

This paper provides an external, international assessment of The Open University, United Kingdom. It questions whether The Open University of the early 1970s is dead and perhaps — in the context of the current emphasis on open learning — invites staff of other open universities throughout the world to anticipate their future five or ten years hence.     

在群体创造性学习运化动力中修炼身心能量

组织机械认知论和知识管理学领域中的一个关键问题是：在什么条件下领导和群体创造性学习运化动力的能量可以持续和增长,又如何在实践群体内部及不同实践群体之间,开发这种增加集体认知能力和知识创造力的动力？通过近期挪威北海上的一个石油井架极有创新的设计过程,运用元极理论阐明这个问题。     

Development of an instrument to measure Faculty’s information and communication technology access (FICTA)

The phenomenon of “digital divide” is complex and multidimensional, extending beyond issues of physical access. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure a range of factors related to digital divide among higher education faculty and to evaluate its reliability and validity. Faculty’s Information and Communication Technology Access (FICTA) scale was tested and validated with 322 faculty teaching in public and private sector universities. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation confirmed an 8-factor solution corresponding to various dimensions of ICT access. The 57-item FICTA scale demonstrated good psychometric properties and offers researchers a tool to examine faculty’s access to ICT at four levels – motivational, physical, skills, and usage access.     

Charting the elements of pedagogic frailty

Background: The concept of pedagogic frailty has been proposed as a unifying concept that may help to integrate institutional efforts to enhance teaching improvement within universities by helping to maintain a simultaneous focus on four key areas that are thought to impede development. Purpose: The variation in internal structure of the four dimensions of pedagogic frailty and the links that have been proposed to connect them are explored here through the analysis of interviews with academics working in a variety of disciplinary areas. Methods: The application of concept map-mediated interviews allows us to view the variable connections within and between these dimensions and the personal ways they are conceptualised by academics working across the heterogeneous university context. Results: The data show that academics conceptualise the discourse of teaching in various ways that have implications for the links that may be developed to integrate the elements within the model. Conclusions: Whilst the form and content of the maps representing dimensions of the pedagogic frailty model exhibit considerable variation, it is suggested that factors such as academic resilience and the explicit use of integrative concepts within disciplines may help to overcome some of the vulnerabilities that accompany pedagogic frailty. The data also raises questions about the links between factors that tend to be under individual control and those that tend towards institutional control.