Examining the influence of other-efficacy and self-efficacy on personal performance

This research examined the relative effects of other-efficacy and self-efficacy beliefs in relation to individual performance within a cooperative dyadic setting. Pairs of female participants (M(age) = 20.08, SD = 1.93) performed three practice trials on a dyadic dance-based videogame. Other-efficacy and self-efficacy beliefs were then manipulated through the provision of bogus feedback regarding each pair member's coordination abilities. Following the administration of this feedback, pairs performed a final trial on this dance-based task. The results revealed a main effect for other-efficacy, such that participants in the enhanced other-efficacy conditions outperformed those in the inhibited other-efficacy conditions on this task. A main effect for self-efficacy was not observed. Furthermore, there was no evidence of an interaction between other-efficacy and self-efficacy. The results of this study suggest that other-efficacy may supersede the effects of self-efficacy in supporting personal performance within cooperative relational contexts.     

Picturing natural girlhoods: nature,space and femininity in girls’ school promotions

This paper furthers a discussion about the ways in which idealised versions of gender permeate the aesthetic presentation and impression management strategies of elite private schools. Specifically, we consider how the written text, layout and images used in 12 Australian private girls' school prospectuses function in constructing discourses of ‘natural’ femininity. Far from being merely factual sources of information, we see school prospectuses as strategic texts that idealise and commodify gendered subjectivities that are likely to appeal to the perceived clientele of a particular school. Drawing on feminist and poststructuralist theoretical frames and utilising social semiotic techniques, we analyse how these promotional texts align the feminine subject with nature and the natural world. This alignment serves the dual function of constituting femininity as naturally beautiful, fragile, passive and vulnerably at-risk, while at the same time ameliorating such risk through more empowered (yet constrained) notions of interconnectedness. The tensions between such contradictory discourses of traditional and neoliberal femininity create impossible subject positions for girls, as in order to succeed with one version of femininity, they must simultaneously fail at another.     

Communicating Campus Sexual Assault: A Mixed Methods Rhetorical Analysis

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a mixed methods rhetorical analysis of a data set of news reports on campus sexual assault. A macro-level qualitative analysis of narratives combined with micro-level quantitative content analysis of verb voice offers insight into how news media shapes perceptions of power, blame, and agency in reporting. These findings offer implications for how public actors discuss campus sexual assault and implications for the teaching and practice of research methods in technical communication.     

Get to Know Your Librarian: How a Simple Orientation Program Helped Alleviate Library Anxiety

Library orientations do their part to familiarize students with information literacy, and how the library fits within university life. But what if an orientation could give a student a strong introduction to their academic librarians? Research in academic libraries has noted that library anxiety remains a continual problem among current students. Valparaiso University librarians created the Get to Know Your Librarian program, which sought to make librarians accessible. Using humor and casualness, incoming students were “introduced” to librarians through a series of fun facts. This simple program was successful in helping alleviate incoming students’ library anxiety before their first semester.     

ePortfolios and Reflective Practice for Food Science Students

The study investigated students’ perceptions and attitudes toward the use of ePortfolios for reflective practice as a learning and teaching strategy. A mixed‐method approach was applied to the study in a first‐year food science unit, at a regional Australian university. Data were generated via 3 sources, in order to provide the evidential basis for the investigation, including: a mixed method survey, access to student's exam results, and students’ ePortfolio reflections. The findings identified 3 key positive aspects. First, a variety of assessment methods was key to enhancing the overall learning of 1st‐year food science students. Second, ePortfolio reflective writing can be a key aspect for improved student engagement. Finally, structured ePortfolio sessions can help food science students consolidate knowledge, while also allowing them to encounter new ideas related to food science theory and develop technical knowledge. However, technological issues with using an ePortoflio can cloud the value of the reflective task for some students. Recommendations are made for how to better support and implement reflective practice using ePortfolios to enhance the learning of food science students.     

Regulating readers' bodies: a discourse analysis of teachers' body talk

In this paper, we report findings from a discourse analysis study of reading instruction in eight primary/elementary school classrooms in the United States. Drawing upon discursive psychology, we specifically examined 96 hours of reading comprehension instruction, with a focus on how teachers talked about the body during the instruction and noted how this gave rise to particular constructions of what it means to be a ‘good’ reader and/or learner. We discuss two patterns from the analysis of our data, including: (1) emphasized versus embedded physical control as essential to being a ‘successful’ reader, and (2), implicit physical control and freedom as essential to literacy learning and to students' identities as readers. We conclude by highlighting implications, with a focus on student identity.     

“Taking Good Care of Our Health”: Parent-Adolescent Perceptions of Boundary Management About Health Information

Family members’ communication about health has a significant impact on issues of obtaining social support, avoiding stigma, and seeking and receiving appropriate medical treatment and care. A Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theoretical perspective was used to analyze 85 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with parents and one of their adolescent children in 40 families. Findings reveal intergenerational motivations and strategies for managing individual and collective privacy boundaries around health information and the consequences of this management for individuals and families. Motivations include protecting personal privacy, preventing stress, and soliciting social support. Strategies for boundary management include humor and topic avoidance. Implications for future research in the areas of privacy management, health, and family relationships are discussed.