Measuring the quality of governmental websites in a controlled versus an online setting with the ‘Website Evaluation Questionnaire’

The quality of governmental websites is often measured with questionnaires that ask users for their opinions on various aspects of the website. This article presents the Website Evaluation Questionnaire (WEQ), which was specifically designed for the evaluation of governmental websites. The multidimensional structure of the WEQ was tested in a controlled laboratory setting and in an online real-life setting. In two studies we analyzed the underlying factor structure, the stability and reliability of this structure, and the sensitivity of the WEQ to quality differences between websites. The WEQ proved to be a valid and reliable instrument with seven clearly distinct dimensions. In the online setting higher correlations were found between the seven dimensions than in the laboratory setting, and the WEQ was less sensitive to differences between websites. Two possible explanations for this result are the divergent activities of online users on the website and the less attentive way in which these users filled out the questionnaire. We advise to relate online survey evaluations more strongly to the actual behavior of website users, for example, by including server log data in the analysis.     

Psychosocial aspects in the German unification process

Articles

Psychosocial aspects in the German unification process     

Principles in the use of experiential learning as a source of prior knowledge

The importance of experience and experiential learning is investigated in this report. An attempt is made to chart this concept and attention is paid to the manner in which experience can be measured and be used within the system of higher education. Since distance education attracts many mature adults with experiential learning, an indication is given of the direction that developments should take within Dutch higher education, and in the Open University in particular, in order to make an optimal use of this experience.     

Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Children Who Use AAC in Italian Primary Schools

ABSTRACT

Early Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) interventions in school environments aim to support the development of the communication skills of children with complex communication needs. Goals of this study were to analyse the teachers’ attitudes towards children using AAC in primary schools in Italy and their perceptions of the barriers and the benefits of using AAC. Two groups of teachers, those with and without AAC experience, responded to an online survey. The five scales of the Teacher Attitude Scale (TAS) questionnaire and two open-ended questions were used to compare the attitudes and the perceptions between the groups of teachers. Results showed that there was a significant difference among the two groups for two of the five scales of the TAS questionnaire. Both groups reported similar barriers and benefits and indicated the use of AAC as being the main barrier. In conclusion, having experience with children who use AAC in class impacts the teachers’ perceptions of their own abilities and the teachers’ perceptions of the abilities of the children.     

Books received

Reviews

Books received     

The impact of higher education on adult students in Australia

This article is part of a study of the impact of higher education on aspects of the employment of a national sample of adult students (25 and over) who enrolled in higher education in Australia in 1978. The study shows that from the point of view of employment these adult students drew much benefit from their higher education. Females tended to benefit more than males. A further article in a later issue will consider for the same group the impact of higher education on the person.     

看张爱玲的《对照记》

张爱玲的《对照记》对照的是形象（照片）与个人身世的真实，因此她用文字来解释心得。《对照记》本身有很强的“后设性”，对《对照记》的解读，则是“后设”的“后设”。从《对照记》中所列的相当可观的张爱玲祖父祖母一代人的照片中，可以解读出她的怀古幽思，她所怀念的就是她祖父母这一代的人物和生活方式，这自觉或不自觉地展露了她的历史怀旧意识。《对照记》中没有张爱玲与父亲或母亲的合影，也没有她父母亲的合影，这些照片的缺失使《对照记》创设了一股幼时的失落感或被遗弃的情境，呈现出“褪了色”的苍凉。张爱玲自己的照片在全书中有30多幅，她的姿态在“镜花水月”式的美学意境中制造了一种神秘感。张爱玲“传奇”不仅是她的文字，也是她的形象造成的。