Measuring Trust in the Press in a Changing Media Environment

The only long term trend data on trust in the American press comes from the General Social Survey (GSS). The erosion of trust in the press as measured by the GSS indicator is indisputable, but its implications for the functioning of American democracy depend on what, precisely, is being measured. In this study we use an experimental design embedded in a representative national probability sample to shed light on what people are thinking of when they say they trust or distrust the American press. Are they thinking about the sources they themselves use for news? The sources that are most popular with the population at large? An average of all possible media sources? We find that individuals express much greater trust in the press when they are asked to consider specific news sources than when they are asked to evaluate a generic news media. Our results suggest that an accessibility bias combined with the proliferation of news sources in recent years may lead individuals to think of distrusted sources when asked to answer generic media trust questions. We therefore argue that different measurement strategies are needed to successfully address trust in the press in the current news environment.     

A ripple that ruffled feathers: an appreciation of 30 years of Michael Rosen's poetry for children

This article is a personal appreciation and analysis of the poetry of Michael Rosen. Drawing on his work over 30 years, the article argues that at the heart of Rosen's work is a passionate belief in aesthetic, political and personal emancipation. Included in the pleasure that his work evokes, is a challenge to a number of preconceived notions about childhood, literature, relationships and living. He questions how children see adults and how adults see children, and with a breathtaking honesty, the whole world of children's literature and its impact on conceptualisations of children is put in the foreground. The article examines Rosen's use of autobiography in his poems, his groundbreaking use of free verse in children's literature and his relation to modernity.     

General Issues about Assessment of Competence

In simple terms, competency‐based assessment is the assessment of a person's competence against prescribed standards of performance. Thus, if an occupation has established a set of, say, entry‐level competency standards, then these prescribe the standards of performance required of all new entrants to that occupation. Competency‐based assessment is the process determining whether a candidate meets the prescribed standards of performance, i.e. whether they demonstrate competence.

It is probably a truism that there is no such thing as a process of assessment that is without its critics. Whatever efforts are made to improve an instance of assessment, someone is bound to be unhappy with the process. Competency‐based assessment is therefore at a particular disadvantage since it is both new and unfamiliar to many people. This has meant that competency‐based assessment has aroused numerous and varied worries and objections from many quarters. In the process of researching assessment methods of professions in Australia, as the prelude to writing a guide on competency‐based assessment (Gonczi et al., 1993) the authors identified a number of worries and objections. Competency‐based assessment: (a) only assesses what is trivial or superficial; (b) is inherently unreliable in that it involves inference; (c) is inherently invalid, (d) represents a departure from traditional proven methods of assessment; (e) neglects the importance of knowledge; (f) focuses on outcomes to the neglect of processes; (g) relies on professional judgement, and hence is too subjective; (h) vainly tries to assess attitudes. This paper discusses each of these worries and objections and shows that none of them is decisive. While each of them points to an important issue about competency‐based assessment, the discussion will show that in each case a well‐designed competency‐based assessment system can overcome the worry or objection.     

喷墨drupa——还没有到来

在最近的drupa展上．主要技术讨论都在关注超高速喷墨数码印刷机．以及它们对现有的静电复印技术类的数码印刷机和目前胶印所占地位所产生的影响。喷墨打印机应用在桌面打印,图形、标牌领域已经有一段很长的时间,但是,本届drupa还是第一次让我们看到很多不同的供应商提供高速喷墨连续纸的印刷机。那么．这会产生怎样的影响呢？     

An idealized self or the real me? Predicting attraction to online dating profiles using selective self-presentation and warranting

Online daters construct their profiles to attract potential partners and viewers’ assessments are based on the content of dating profiles. However, little is known about the mechanisms or nature of the associations that connect variations in profile content to outcomes. This study examined the presence of selective self-presentation (SSP) and warranting content as predictors of viewers’ impressions and intentions to act on dating profiles. A national sample of online daters (N?=?316) provided their impressions and intended outcomes after viewing manipulated dating profiles. Results indicate that high levels of SSP decrease intentions to act on a dating profile because users find these profiles to be less socially attractive, whereas profiles with high warranting value increase positive outcomes by eliciting trust.     

Examining the World’s Game in the United States: Impact of Nationalized Qualities on Fan Identification and Consumption of the 2014 FIFA World Cup

To explore the role of media consumption as it relates to impressions of one’s nation, data were collected using a nationally generalizable sample of 979 American citizens over 6 different collection points before, during, and after the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Results showed a relationship between 4 nationalized qualities (patriotism, nationalism, smugness, and internationalism) and amount of World Cup media consumption. However, these reported qualities fluctuated very little over time, indicating that nationalized qualities are very hard-wired for most individuals, likely serving more as predictors of sports media consumption than effects of it. Relationships were also found between nationalized qualities and levels of fan identification toward the U.S. Men’s National Team. Conclusions related to applications to social identity theory and several other potential influences are articulated.     

Turning points in a qualitatively different social space: young adults’ reflections of alternative provision

There is a wealth of evidence suggesting that after being marginalised and excluded from school young people who attend Alternative Provision settings report positive relationships and experiences of learning. There is however very little research which explores the longer term outcomes of attending this sort of provision. Retrospective life history interviews were undertaken with 18 young adults in their early to mid-20s who had attended Alternative Provision in England. Interviews focused on schooling, exclusion, attending Alternative Provision and the impact of this on what they had done since leaving school up to their present situation. Analysis showed that the experience of attending Alternative Provision frequently constituted a turning point in a young person’s life story. This was due to the qualitatively different kind of social space experienced there.     

The Development of Selective Copying: Children's Learning From an Expert Versus Their Mother

This study tested the prediction that, with age, children should rely less on familiarity and more on expertise in their selective social learning. Experiment 1 (N = 50) found that 5‐ to 6‐year‐olds copied the technique their mother used to extract a prize from a novel puzzle box, in preference to both a stranger and an established expert. This bias occurred despite children acknowledging the expert model's superior capability. Experiment 2 (N = 50) demonstrated a shift in 7‐ to 8‐year‐olds toward copying the expert. Children aged 9–10 years did not copy according to a model bias. The findings of a follow‐up study (N = 30) confirmed that, instead, they prioritized their own—partially flawed—causal understanding of the puzzle box.     

Computing in the curriculum: Challenges and strategies from a teacher’s perspective

Computing is being introduced into the curriculum in many countries. Teachers’ perspectives enable us to discover what challenges this presents, and also the strategies teachers claim to be using successfully in teaching the subject across primary and secondary education. The study described in this paper was carried out in the UK in 2014 where teachers were preparing for the mandatory inclusion of Computing into the curriculum. A survey was conducted of over 300 teachers who were currently teaching Computing to elicit their perspectives on challenges and strategies. From the analysis of the data, extrinsic and intrinsic challenges were identified for both teachers and students. In addition, a variety of pedagogical strategies were recommended by teachers from their own practice. In categorising approaches taken by teaching to support students five key themes emerged: unplugged type activities, contextualisation of tasks, collaborative learning, developing computational thinking, and scaffolding programming tasks. Further investigation could support whether these strategies can alleviate the challenges of teaching and learning of Computing for students and teachers. In particular developing student resilience in Computing is seen as a challenge while not many strategies are suggested. The results of this study will be useful for teachers who are new to the teaching of Computing.