An assessment of methodological options for investigating the development of persuasive skills across childhood

This study compared two fundamentally different approaches to assessing the development of persuasive skills in children: asking them to generate messages versus having them select from preformulated messages or strategies. Also investigated was the approach of asking children to indicate their rationale for choosing a particular message. Using criteria of showing a developmental progression with age and positive correlation with social cognitive measures presumed to be relevant to persuasive skills, the present study suggests more success with message generation than with selection of preformulated messages. Elicitation of the rationale may prove a useful supplement to either of the former approaches.     

The impact of alternative approaches to comforting,closeness of relationship,and gender on multiple measures of effectiveness

The impact of 6 approaches to comforting (suggesting a diversion, expressing optimism, providing an external account, offering assistance, explaining the perspective of the offender, and a combination of the first 5), attributed to either a good friend or a casual acquaintance, was assessed for 2 situations by 394 students. Distressed individuals responded to comforting messages along two dimension: feeling less upset and feeling demeaned, with some indications that yet a third dimension (appreciating the concern of the comforter) may exist. The message that combined elements from the other 5 approaches yielded generally the most positive responses, but responses to specific message approaches varied with situation and dimension of response. Messages from good friends were more successful than those from casual acquaintances in helping the distressed individual to feel less upset.     

Freshman Overconfidence and Library Research Skills: A Troubling Relationship?

This study focuses on the relationship between freshman college students’ self-reported confidence level in library research and their actual library research skills. A demographic survey and skills test were administered to 377 freshmen at East Carolina University in their first-semester English composition classes. The article addresses two research questions: What is the correlation between freshman students’ self-reported confidence level and tested skills? Do other factors such as age, gender, high school grades, or previous library instruction have an impact on students’ confidence level or skills? Results examine implications for library instruction.     

Using Syllabi to Determine the Core Journal and Monographic Literature in Doctoral Finance Programs

Using course syllabi from 66 active Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited doctoral programs, the investigators determined a core journal and monographic collection in doctoral finance programs. The results are compared to previous studies, such as that of Corrado and Ferris (1997), and implications for collection development and liaison librarians are considered.     

Factors Influencing the Adoption of HD Radio™ by Local Radio Station Managers

A sample of 114 radio stations measured attitudes toward the adoption of HD Radio? and found that stations that have gone digital were motivated the most by 2 of 5 identified factors: image enhancement and programming considerations. The lesser factors were competition, revenue, and cost. The study also examined the relation between risk and survival. The data confirmed the importance of managerial attitudes toward disruptive technologies and their relation to image, programming, and competition.     

The relationship between leg preference and knee mechanics during sidestepping in collegiate female footballers

This study examined the relationship between leg preference and knee mechanics in females during sidestepping. Three-dimensional data were recorded on 16 female collegiate footballers during a planned 45° sidestep manoeuvre with their preferred and non-preferred kicking leg. Knee kinematics and kinetics during initial contact, weight acceptance, peak push-off, and final push-off phases of sidestepping were analysed in both legs. The preferred leg showed trivial to small increases (ES = 0.19–0.36) in knee flexion angle at initial contact, weight acceptance, and peak push-off, and small increases (ES = 0.21–0.34) in peak power production and peak knee extension velocity. The non-preferred leg showed a trivial increase (ES = 0.10) in knee abduction angle during weight acceptance; small to moderate increases (ES = 0.22–0.64) in knee internal rotation angle at weight acceptance, peak push-off, and final push-off; a small increase (ES = 0.22) in knee abductor moment; and trivial increases (ES = 0.09–0.14) in peak power absorption and peak knee flexion velocity. The results of this study show that differences do exist between the preferred and non-preferred leg in females. The findings of this study will increase the knowledge base of anterior cruciate ligament injury in females and can aid in the design of more appropriate neuromuscular, plyometric, and strength training protocols for injury prevention.     

Alleviating the Policy Paradox through Improved Institutional Policy Systems: A Case Study

Institutional policies and policy systems are vital to the well-being of institutions of higher education. While many institutions dedicate time and resources to the development of key policies, the establishment of a well-designed and well-functioning policy system is often neglected. We refer to the discrepancy between the importance of institutional policy systems and the lack of time and resources devoted to them as the policy paradox. This article chronicles Utah Valley University’s policy improvement initiative as a guide for institutions of higher education interested in improving institutional policy systems.     

Using lotteries to evaluate schools of choice: Evidence from a national study of charter schools

This paper draws on data and experiences observing and analyzing school lotteries from the National Evaluation of Charter School Impacts (Gleason et al., 2010) to describe the challenges associated with lottery-based research. In that study, covering 36 charter middle schools in 15 states, we found that charter schools did not affect student achievement or behavior on average, although there was substantial variation across schools. In this paper, we discuss the prevalence of oversubscribed charter schools at the time the study was conducted (the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 school years), which was lower than commonly reported. We then describe how the sample of schools that participated in the study compared to all other charter middle schools nationwide, to provide some insight into the generalizabilty of findings from lottery-based studies. In general, oversubscribed charter schools were more likely to be located in urban areas and serve a higher-achieving population of students than those without excess demand. We also describe common features of school lotteries and waitlists, and examine implications of these features for a school's ability to support a lottery-based study. Finally, we summarize lessons learned for conducting lottery-based research on charter schools, drawing on our observations of the schools’ lotteries and analysis of the data from these lotteries.