Mentoring support and the professional development of beginning teachers: a Chinese perspective

For a long time, there has been a tradition in China of experienced teachers helping beginning teachers. This empirical school study investigates the kinds of support that are provided by eight dyads of mentoring teacher and first‐year secondary school teachers in Guangzhou of southern China and the major factors affecting mentoring support. In addition, this research focuses on the professional development of first‐year teachers in areas of subject knowledge, student, teaching and classroom management. The findings reveal that mentors provide four forms of support: provision of information, mutual lesson observation, collaborative lesson preparation and discussion in the office. Factors affecting mentoring support include teaching workload, grade and subject, style of mentor–protégé interactions, relationships between mentor and mentee, incentives for the mentors, and collegial culture in the case study schools. It is notable that there are positive and negative developments perceived by the protégé and the foci of mentoring tend to be the teaching of content rather than curriculum and pedagogy.     

Electronic portfolios in grades one,two and three: a cautionary tale

Some electronic portfolios (EPs) developers are proposing that EPs are suitable for implementation in primary education (i.e. kindergarten to grade three). Yet, empirical research evaluating the implementation and efficacy of EPs used in primary school settings at both the teacher and the student level is scarce. In this research, the authors attempted to implement EPs in grades one, two and three (approximate ages 6 through 8). EPs were reviewed to make the EP selection and in-depth collaborative planning with the teachers ensued. The main challenges for teachers and students were at the user interface level. Results from this cautionary tale suggest that implementation of EPs in primary education may be premature. While much potential exists in EPs, it has yet to be realised. Recommendations for improving EPs are suggested.     

Effects of tactile stimulation and gross motor movement on cognitive learning: A test of Montessori's muscular movement theory in the college classroom

Research investigating the management styles of male and female supervisors is mixed. In an effort to clarify this research, the present study examined the interaction effect of gender of supervisor and gender of subordinate on perceived mentoring. Results revealed the least amount of mentoring occurred between female supervisors and female subordinates, but the greatest mentoring took place between female supervisors and male subordinates. Results were explained in terms of managerial experience and the double‐bind of female managers. These findings challenge the traditional advice that female subordinates should seek female supervisors.     

Primacy of Broadcast News: A Mediation Analysis of Recall,Attitudes, and Voting Intentions

This study examines how the order and proportion of scene valence within a television news story influence viewers' processing of political information. The results of the study, based on structural equation modeling and Sobel's mediation analysis, suggest that, in a news story about a political candidate, positive information on the candidate is recalled better if he or she is praised at the beginning of the story and then criticized at the end than if he or she is criticized first and praised later. In addition, there was a strong proportion effect. Stories with a high proportion of positive scenes were more likely to increase the participant's recall of positive information and induce his or her favorable attitudes and voting intentions than those with a low proportion of positive scenes.     

The Triple-Play Bundle Strategy of Cable and Telephone Companies in the Current U.S. Telecommunications Market

Abstract

The development of Internet Protocol technology and the Federal Communications Commission's competition-promoting policy have brought about triple-play offering services that combine video, voice, and data services in a single package at a discount rate for telecommunication consumers. As cable and telephone industries offer similar bundles, the price competition promise to increase, which may lead to thinner profit margins. That companies bundle services despite the fact that selling 3 services independently at regular prices would bring greater benefits to the companies is referred to as the “prisoner's dilemma.”

In this situation, a company commits a “one minimum and one maximum” strategy to prevent its existing consumers from switching over to its competitors and to attract new consumers. Using data regarding the triple-play bundle from 69 U.S. cities, this study reveals that both cable and telephone industries minimize price differentiation for the triple-play offering. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that both industries maximally differentiate in the video service category compared to the other 2 services in the triple-play bundle: voice and data.     

State–press relations revisited: a case study on how American media portray the post-war Vietnam

This study revisited the state–press relations theory by analyzing the coverage of Vietnam over the 30 years between 1980 and 2009 in two leading American news magazines, Time and Newsweek . A contribution of this research is its context of the long-term and volatile relationship between these two countries. Despite progress in the diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam, the portrayal of Vietnam in US media remained unchanged. This finding indicates that American media do not always support the US government's political stance when covering international news. It suggests a new direction for future research applying this theory.