Mobilising interpretive capital with teachers for transformation of school grounds in Kenya

This paper reports on findings from a recent collaborative participatory action research study that involved a group of teachers from two Kenyan schools in a review and development of interpretation resources and materials. It focuses on an engaging process between teachers and non-formal educators in which interpretive capital (the tools and skills of interpretation) were socially constructed, shared and made available for the transformation of school grounds to foster environmental learning. The concept of 'mobilising interpretive capital' has been applied to describe the process of generating theoretical and practical accounts of the symbolic capital within non-formal education organisations. Social construction and circulation of interpretive capital for transformation of school grounds as discussed in this paper highlights that interpretation is a learning process in which meaning is created jointly in a specific context. The teacher-centred approach adopted in this study provides an example of how research design decisions may contribute to environmental education praxis, social transformation and change.     

Longitudinal Trajectories,Social and Individual Antecedents,and Outcomes of Problematic Internet Use Among Late Adolescents

Given the detrimental effects associated with problematic internet use (PIU) and the need to better understand its nature and evolution, the present study examined the development of PIU in a sample of 1,750 adolescents (aged 16–19) from Finland over a 3-year period. We documented the social (loneliness, perceived maternal and paternal behaviors) and individual (sex) antecedents, as well as the outcome implications (depressive symptoms, substance use, academic achievement) of PIU trajectories. Outcomes also predicted PIU trajectories. Latent curve modeling revealed an initially moderate, and subsequently decreasing trajectory of PIU. PIU was predicted by loneliness, paternal neglect, maternal care, depressive symptoms, and being male. In turn, PIU trajectories predicted increases in depressive symptoms and substance use, but decreases in academic achievement.     

Evaluating student allocation in the Portuguese public higher education system

This paper characterizes and evaluates the student allocation in the Portuguese public higher education system. It describes the supply and demand sides of the system by looking at the numerus clausus across areas of study and institutions, institutions’ degree of diversity, and performance and adjustment indicators based on students’ revealed preferences. Performance indicators quantify the adequacy between demand and supply, across institutions and fields of study, and gauge the performance of public higher education institutions in the competition for candidates. Adjustment indicators allow us to predict the potential impact of changes in higher education regulations on student allocation and its stability. According to these indicators, such changes could result in an expansion for some institutions and fields of study, whereas other institutions might face a reduction.

Analysis of a multifaceted interactive pedagogy program in an upper limb anatomy course: A time series study

Many new methods have contributed to the learning of anatomy, including several interactive methods, increasing the effectiveness of educational programs. The effectiveness of an educational program involving several interactive learning methods such as problem-based learning and reciprocal peer teaching was researched in this study. A quasi-experimental before–after study on three consecutive groups of second-year students at the Grenoble School of Medicine was conducted. The lectures were replaced by an educational program based on the problem-based learning method and reciprocal peer teaching. The first session was dedicated to reading clinical cases illustrating the medical concept, so that the learning objectives for the second session could be set. Then, after viewing digital courses, the second session was dedicated to a synthetic presentation by the students themselves, followed by an interactive summary with the teacher. The analysis of 630 students showed a significant increase in the theory test results for those who took part in the intervention: 9.71 versus 9.19 (β = 0.57, P = 0.036). Moreover, satisfaction was high after the intervention (mean = 4.5/5), and when comparing the two pedagogical approaches the students showed a clear preference for the program implemented with the concepts highlighted such as interactivity, in-depth work, group work, and autonomy. A multifaceted interactive pedagogy program could have a significant impact on the results of the theoretical concepts presented and on satisfaction as well as increased investment by students in learning anatomy.     

Journalism

OVER THE WIRE AND ON TV: CBS AND UPI IN CAMPAIGN '80 by Michael J. Robinson and Margaret A. Sheehan (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, with distribution by Basic Books, 1983---$24.95)

TELEVISION AND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, edited by Martin Linsky (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/Washington, D.C.: Heath, 1983---$19.95)

COMPUTERS AND POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS: A LOOK AT TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL CHANGE by Thomas E. Baker (Harvard Program on Information Resources Policy, 200 Aiken, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138---price not given, paper)

SPLIT VISION: THE PORTRAYAL OF ARABS IN THE AMERICAN MEDIA, edited by Edmund Ghareeb (American-Arab Affairs Council, 1730 M St., N.W., Suite 411, Washington, D.C. 20036---$12.95/6.95)

WAR, PEACE &; THE NEWS MEDIA: PROCEEDINGS, edited by David M. Rubin and Ann Marie Cunningham (Department of Journalism, New York University, New York, N.Y. 10003---price not given, paper)     

International

THE VOICE OF AMERICA: FROM DETENTE TO THE REAGAN DOCTRINE by Laurien Alexandre (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1989—no price given, ISBN 0-89391-465-7)

VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDERS IN THE THIRD WORLD edited by Douglas A. Boyd, Joseph D. Straubhaar and John A. Lent (New York: Longman, 1989—price not given, ISBN 0-8013-0196-3)

SPACEBRIDGES: TELEVISION AND US-SOVIET DIALOGUE edited by Michael Brainerd (University Press of America, 4720 Boston Way, Lanham, MD 20706—$13.50, paper, ISBN 0-8191-7433-5, with a hardback also available)

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCE edited by Mereroo Jussawalla, Tadayuki Okuma, and Toshihiro Araki (New York: Praeger, 1989—$39.95, ISBN 0-313-26326-4)     

Circular formation control for cooperative target tracking with limited information

This paper addresses the problem of encircling and tracking a moving target with a fleet of unicycle-like vehicles. A new control law is developed to steer the vehicles to an evenly spaced formation along a circumference, the center of which tracks the motion of the target. The strategy proposed relies only on the relative positions of the agents with respect to the target, expressed in the local frame of each vehicle. The absolute position, velocity and acceleration of the target are unknown. Additionally, the robustness of the proposed control law in the presence of external disturbances is analyzed. Communication among agents is used to maintain the vehicles equally spaced in the circular formation. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategies.     

R&D subsidies & external collaborative breadth: Differential gains and the role of collaboration experience

External collaboration breadth is important for firms to acquire the knowledge needed to innovate. In this paper, we combine cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Spanish Panel of Technological Innovation Survey (PITEC) to examine the indirect impact of R&D subsidies on firm external collaboration breadth. We contribute to understanding of the indirect impacts of R&D subsidies by first providing strong evidence of an economically significant average positive impact of R&D subsidies on firm external collaboration breadth. Second, our results advance understanding of the differential impacts of R&D subsidies by revealing the vast heterogeneity of the impact at the firm level, where approximately only half of treated firms experience a positive collaboration impact from R&D subsidies, while the remainder experience no impact or a negative effect. Finally, we advance understanding of the characteristics explaining the differential impact of R&D subsidies on external collaboration breadth by utilising the organisational learning literature to demonstrate the important role of firm collaboration experience.     

Assessing Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Students with Mental Health Disorders in 16 Postsecondary Institutions in Quebec

The number of students with mental health disorders (MHDs) in postsecondary institutions is increasing. Teachers’ attitudes are among the main factors that influence these students’ academic success. Unfortunately, their attitudes are little studied, in part because of lack of validated scales. Therefore, this article has two purposes: (1) analyse the construct validity of new scales assessing teachers’ attitudes, as well as existing scales without an established construct validity; and (2) report the correlations between the variables assessed in these scales, with a special focus on two variables: (a) teachers’ negative attitudes; and (b) the measures offered to students by teachers. The participants are 232 teachers from 16 French and English CEGEPS in Quebec, Canada. The questionnaire includes three scales created by the research team and three scales from the Mental Illness Awareness Survey. Correlational and factor analyses were conducted. The scales present good construct validity. Four variables were associated with the two variables of interest: confidence in one’s ability to convince a student to seek help; familiarity with MHDs; knowledge and understanding of MHDs; favourable perception of the accommodations offered by adapted and psychosocial services. Based on these results, strategies are proposed to improve teachers’ attitudes.