E‐mail communication in workplace romantic relationships

This study examined workplace romantic relationship partners’ e‐mail practices and perceptions. Results suggest that the relationship may play an integral role in determining participants' uses and perceptions of e‐mail Workplace romantic couples used e‐mail as frequently as face‐to‐face communication to interact with romantic partners and rated it as both rich and important Participants used e‐mail for both work‐related and social tasks. In addition, participants used business e‐mail addresses for communicating with relational partners and perceived that few organizational policies existed regarding its use. Theoretically, these findings suggest the importance of studying the relationship as a factor that affects e‐mail practices and perceptions. Practically, results indicated that e‐mail may present an additional channel for enhancing communication and connectedness in workplace romantic relationships, and that organizations may need to reflect more carefully about policies concerning e‐mail use in the workplace.     

Reconceptualizing and Reexamining Suspense as a Predictor of Mediated Sports Enjoyment

Suspense is a driving force behind media entertainment consumption. However, previous explorations of the role of suspense in the enjoyment of mediated sports have not fully relied upon the richness of research from other genres. The current study seeks to correct this oversight by using the lens of fictional drama to reconceptualize and reexamine suspense as a factor in the enjoyment of sports programming. A total of 161 participants viewed and rated 1 of 7 men's basketball games. The results suggest that a measure of the unfolding nature of suspense is a stronger predictor of mediated sports enjoyment than those used previously.     

The assessment of severely intellectually disabled students

In 1995 it became mandatory to establish individual educational plans (IEPs) for children with special educational needs in the Swedish compulsory school. On the basis of the pupils' needs, such a plan should contain information about the pupils' school situation and performance, the class, teaching etc. The aim of this article was to study how special educational needs are defined and described and what support measures the school is suggesting, using IEPs from a sample of Swedish compulsory schools. Our study is based on an analysis of IEPs for pupils with special educational needs in the nine‐year compulsory school in a municipality in northern Sweden. A strategic selection of three compulsory schools was made and we restricted the study to grades 3, 6 and 9. The method used to analyse the IEPs was content analysis. Using different theories within the field of special education and disability studies, we have tried to discern to what extent the problems described, and the proposed measures (intervention), are related to predetermined theoretical models of disability and special needs education. Our analysis indicates that difficulties are predominantly attributed to the pupils' shortcomings and individual characteristics, and the same holds for the recommended measures. Another interesting finding is that a number of the plans were established without involving the parents, and many of them did not even know that their child had an IEP. Finally, we discuss our findings in relation to different research traditions within the field of special education.     

The influence of teaching experience and professional development on Greek teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion

On the assumption that the successful implementation of any inclusive policy is largely dependent on educators being positive about it, a survey was undertaken into the attitudes of Greek teachers to inclusion. The 155 respondents were general education primary teachers drawn from one region of Northern Greece, with a proportion deliberately selected from schools identified as actively implementing inclusive programmes. The analysis revealed positive attitudes towards the general concept of inclusion but variable views on the difficulty of accommodating different types of disabilities in mainstream classrooms. Teachers who had been actively involved in teaching pupils with SEN held significantly more positive attitudes than their counterparts with little or no such experience. The analysis also demonstrated the importance of substantive long‐term training in the formation of positive teacher attitudes towards inclusion. The paper concludes with recommendations for developing critical professional development courses that can result in attitudinal change and the formulation of genuinely inclusive practices.     

The Efficacy of Multimedia Modules for Teaching Basic Literacy-Related Concepts

Researchers have found that teacher preparation programs are not universally preparing teacher candidates in concepts associated with the alphabetic principle. Yet, the majority of students with reading disabilities or who struggle with beginning reading have difficulty with phonology and concepts associated with the alphabetic principle. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a series of multimedia modules on participants' (N = 76) knowledge and skills related to early reading instruction. The multimedia modules covered basic literacy concepts primarily related to phonology and phonics. Results from the experimental, control-group design indicated that the modules were successful in teaching foundational literacy constructs to participants. Thus, multimedia modules may be a promising avenue for providing instruction for teacher candidates. Additional research, however, is needed to ensure mastery of knowledge and to evaluate how principles of effective instruction can guide multimedia module use by teacher educators.     

The Psychological Basis for the Identification of Physical Environmental Parameters in the Development of Early Cognitive Competence1,2

Abstract:Ulvund, S. E. 1981. The Psychological Basis for the Identification of Physical Environmental Parameters in the Development of Early Cognitive Competence. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 25,125‐140. A theoretical analysis focussing on the identification of physical environmental parameters in the development of early cognitive competence is presented. Referring to cognitive competence as a collective term of cognitive behavior as considered by Piaget (1952) and Hunt (1965), a theoretical frame of reference based on Brunswik's (1955) unit and Wohlwill's (1973) conceptions of the environment as a source of stimulation versus the environment as a context for behavior, is discussed. It is further suggested that different variants of the optimal stimulation hypothesis, combined with a transactional model of development (Sameroff, 1975a), form a highly relevant psychological basis for the identification of physical environmental parameters. Some implications for coming research are suggested.     

Reconciliation—a rhetorical concept/ion

What is reconciliation? A source of historical puzzlement and contemporary controversy over how to make history, this question asks after those words which constitute a beginning (again), that moment in which endless cycles of conflict give way to the hope for “unity in difference.” Concerned with the dynamics of its operation, the present essay contends that reconciliation is a rhetorical concept, a performance and norm of rhetorical practice that transcends violence less than it turns its historical justification toward mutual oppositions that call for(th) the character (ethos) of understanding. A challenge to both the logic and politics of identity, an opposing and relating of that which is held to be exclusive, reconciliation is thus difficult to define. From a reading of the concept's history, I investigate this definitional puzzle through consideration of how the substance of reconciliation appears within its potential, the capacity to open a time for expression, invent the grounds for speech-action, and abide in the risks that attend the power to name. To make new in relation, reconciliation's promise demands significant faith in the works of words.     

Education in Time of War: George Johnson and the Commission on American Citizenship of the Catholic University of America

Times of war are times of crisis for theologians and educators. This article examines how Msgr. George Johnson, the vice president of the Religious Education Association and the most prominent Catholic educator in the 1930s and 1940s, dealt with the ethical and educational issues surrounding U.S. involvement in the Second World War. It argues that Johnson skillfully balanced the demands of patriotism with that of critical citizenship and commitment to Catholic theological and educational principles.     

Interpreting differences between the United States and New Zealand university students’ engagement scores as measured by the NSSE and AUSSE

Press releases concerning the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) results warn that university students in Australia and New Zealand are less engaged than their peers at United States institutions. Such warnings about student engagement and interactions then become targets for improvement on Australasian universities’ strategic plans. In considering New Zealand university students’ survey responses, we examined AUSSE and the US National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data for 2009 and 2010 with respect to all items that load on the five scales these instruments share. We argue that most of the observed differences in responses, response distributions and subsequent scale scores can be attributed to differences in educational pathways and cultures between the USA and New Zealand. Consequently, considerable caution in these trans-Pacific comparisons is warranted, particularly when formulating policy and practices to improve student engagement in New Zealand based on methods that have been employed in different educational contexts.