The quiz program: A network television staple

The quiz program has received considerable comment in recent weeks, so this article by Patrick E. Welch is particularly appropriate at this time. The article is based upon a chapter in Mr. Welch's PhD. dissertation, “The Development of Audience Participation Programs on Radio and Television Networks Through the Season of 1956–57.”;     

Freedom of information in the U.K.: a progress report

Last year the author wrote about the U.K.’s plans to embrace Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation after a quarter of a century of campaigns for such legislation by the Labor Party. The Bill has now been presented to Parliament and has been amended by government to meet some objections. It is still widely criticized, however. The FOI Bill is also one of several measures that relate to openness in contemporary aspects of British government.     

The relationship of individualism–collectivism and self-construals to communication styles in India and the United States

This study investigated the high-/low-context communication construct in terms of individualistic and collectivist values and self-construals. European American students studying in the United States and Indian students studying in India rated 80 communication statements, 29 self-construal statements and 34 value (individualism/collectivism) statements to examine cultural differences in each construct. As expected, Indians rated themselves as more collectivistic, having more interdependent self-construals, and preferring silence and indirect communication than Americans. Contrary to prior theorization, Indians also rated themselves as more dramatic and more individualistic. Several other expected differences were not apparent in this study. These findings show complex subtleties that defy simple definition by the common rubrics or generalizations of individualism/collectivism, self-construal, or high- and low-context behaviors.     

Insights From an Evaluability Assessment of the U.S. Forest Service More Kids in the Woods Initiative

We conducted an evaluability assessment of the U.S. Forest Service's “More Kids in the Woods” internal grant initiative based on a review of 26 funded proposals, the creation of logic models, and a survey of project leaders. Evaluations of the initative are warranted because it has clear outcome objectives, is implemented as intended, and results suggest plausible benefits associated with providing underserved youth with outdoor experiences. Findings also point to the types of evaluations that will be useful and add to the limited literature on environmental grant programs as well as environmental educators’ evaluation interests, practices and perceived competencies.     

Season of birth and school success in the early years of primary education

Several studies have reported significant relationships between children’s season of birth and measures of their academic success (i.e., the ‘season of birth effect’). Whereas most of these studies were cross‐sectional, the current study uses growth curve modelling to analyse longitudinal data on 3,187 children in Flemish primary education. The results indicate season of birth effects on both grade retention and mathematics achievement during the first two years of primary school. Because the Flemish cut‐off date is 31 December, children born in the fourth quarter (October‐November‐December) invariably are among the youngest in their grade age group. Almost 20% of these children were found to have been retained or referred to special education by the end of Grade 2, whereas for children born in the first quarter (January‐February‐March), this was only 6.34%. First quarter‐born children also showed moderately higher mathematics achievement at the start of first grade. During the next two school years, this achievement gap between children born in the first and the fourth quarter narrowed significantly. Finally, differentiated instruction was not found to be related to the decrease of the season of birth effect.     

Older Adults' Acceptance of Information Technology

This study investigated variables contributing to older adults’ information technology acceptance through a survey, which was used to find factors explaining and predicting older adults’ information technology acceptance behaviors. Four factors, including needs satisfaction, perceived usability, support availability, and public acceptance, were found using factor analysis. According to older adults’ self-reported scores, the factors of needs satisfaction and support availability are relatively more important among the four factors. According to linear regression results, the factors of needs satisfaction and perceived usability are significantly related to use intention of information technology.