ACED IT: A tool for improved ethical and moral decision-making

Numerous examples of unethical organizational decision-making highlighted in the media have led many to question the general moral perception and ethical judgments of individuals. The present study examined two forms of a straightforward ethical decision-making (EDM) tool (ACED IT cognitive map) that could be a relatively simple instrument for organizations to improve the moral and EDM of its members. Results revealed that participants utilizing either form of ACED IT were more likely to identify a moral dilemma than were control participants. Additionally, participants in the modified condition responded differently to the situation. Implications and other findings are discussed.     

Plotting Confucian and disability rights paradigms on the advocacy–activism continuum: experiences of Chinese parents of children with dyslexia in Hong Kong

This study represents an initial effort to understand the advocacy journey of Chinese parents of children with dyslexia in Hong Kong. Qualitative methods involving individual and group interviews were used to solicit detailed recount and perceptions of the experiences of 25 parents. Findings revealed a largely sequenced three-stage journey of parental advocacy: (1) parents’ emotional adjustment which involved self-blame and sorrow; (2) parents moving on to advocacy which comprised home-life adjustments, acquisition of knowledge about dyslexia, and seeking support through parent networks; and (3) parents advancing from advocacy to activism with increased knowledge about dyslexia and their conscious integration of Confucian and disability rights paradigms as strategies to interact and negotiate with authorities. This unique approach offers a conceptual framework for examining the interplay of dual or multiple cultural values affecting parent advocates’ actions. Their growth as advocates and activists affirmed the conceptualisation of the advocacy–activism continuum.     

Electronic reading and digital library technologies: understanding learner expectation and usage intent for mobile learning

Mobile information technology is changing the education landscape by offering learners the opportunity to engage in asynchronous, ubiquitous instruction. While there is a proliferation of mobile content management systems being developed for the mobile Web and stand-alone mobile applications, few studies have addressed learner expectations and usage intent in consuming digital documents from online content providers and digital libraries with specific emphasis on formal instruction. Understanding usage intent and actual usage of a mobile learning agent as a result of ease of use and usefulness of mobile devices will be addressed in this study. A research framework for instructional technology usage is proposed to help better articulate critical success factors in implementing formal learning using a mobile device, specifically an electronic reader or a tablet computer.     

IDENTIFYING STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE: SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ PRACTICES AND PERCEPTIONS

From its inception as a disability category in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, serving students under the special education category Emotional Disturbance (ED) has been a challenging task for school psychologists. In particular, the vague and ambiguous federal definition has created an environment in which inconsistent assessment practices and decision making are almost inevitable. In this study, we examined school psychologists’ (N = 214) assessment practices when determining initial eligibility for ED, as well as their perceptions regarding the language contained within the federal ED definition. Findings indicated that although school psychologists recognize the need for a multimethod, multisource assessment model when ED is a classification consideration, in many instances, their actual assessments are missing commonly recommended sources of data for making eligibility decisions, including classroom observations; parent, teacher, and student interviews; and behavior rating scales. The results from the study provide a useful overview of school psychologists’ assessment practices and are couched within the questions and confusion that have surrounded the federal ED definition since its codification into law.     

“Everyone rolls up their sleeves and mucks in”: Exploring volunteers’ motivation and experiences of the motivational climate of a sporting event

Research examining volunteer motivation and satisfaction has been criticised for the limited explanation of the cognitive and social processes that may underpin the proposed relationships among motivation, satisfaction, performance and retention (Costa, C.A., Chalip, L., Green, B.C., & Simes, C. (2006). Reconsidering the role of training in event volunteers’ satisfaction. Sport Management Review, 9(2), 165–182.; Cuskelly, G., Hoye, R., & Auld, C. (2006). Working with volunteers in sport. Theory and practice. London: Routledge.). Self-determination theory (SDT) (Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.; Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2000a) has proven useful in both for- and not-for-profit domains (e.g., Baard, P.P. (1994). A motivational basis for consulting with not-for-profit organizations: A study of church growth and participation. Consulting Psychology Journal, 46(3), 19–31.; Deci, E.L., Connell, J.P., & Ryan, R.M. (1989). Self-determination in a work organisation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74(4), 580–590.; Hollembeak, J., & Amorose, A. J. (2005). Percevied coaching behaviors and college athletes’ intrinsic motivation: A test of self-determination theory. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 17(1), 20–36.) and appears particularly suited to understanding volunteer motivation. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.). Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine sport event volunteers’ motivation and experiences of the motivational climate at a large sport event using self-determination theory. The participants were volunteers at the NZ Master's Games held biannually in Dunedin, NZ. They participated in focus group interviews in which their experiences as volunteers at the event were discussed. In general, the findings support tenets of self-determination theory. Participants reported intrinsic motivation toward volunteering but also forms of extrinsic motivation toward some volunteer tasks. With regard to the motivational climate, volunteers experienced support for their autonomy, and felt that their competence and sense of relatedness were fostered. These findings suggest that SDT is a viable framework for examining volunteer motivation.     

Investigating Academic Success Factors for Undergraduate Business Students

Student academic performance is of major interest to all stakeholders of higher education institutions. This study questions whether or not statistical analysis of information that is readily available in most universities' official records system can be used to predict overall academic success. In particular, this study is an attempt to understand factors that affect academic success for business students by examining gender, age, ethnicity, and performance in two required core knowledge courses as predictors of academic success for a large sample of undergraduate students at a Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited business school. The results suggest that student performance is significantly related to some basic demographic variables, but the strongest predictors of overall academic success are the grades the students receive in core knowledge courses that are typically taken in the earlier semesters of business students' plans of study.     

Objectives in educational drama

RHETORIC IN THE MIDDLE AGES: A HISTORY OF RHETORICAL THEORY FROM ST. AUGUSTINE TO THE RENAISSANCE. By James J. Murphy. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1974; pp. xiv+395. $15.75.

ETHICS IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION. By Richard L. Johannesen. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1975; pp. viii‐163. paper $3.95.

PERSPECTIVES ON COMMUNICATION IN SOCIAL CONFLICT, Gerald R. Miller and Herbert W. Simons (Ed.), Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice‐Hall, 1974; pp. 257. $10.50.

DEBATE: A DIGEST OF PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES AND QUESTIONS. Vol. 2. 1972–73. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1974; pp. 586+xxviii. £10.00 (incl. post.).

THE EDUCATION OF BLACK PEOPLE: TEN CRITIQUES, 1906–1960, BY W. E. B. DUBOIS. Edited by Herbert Aptheker. Amherst: The Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 1973; pp. xii+171. $10.00.

THE CORRESPONDENCE OF W. E. B. DUBOIS: VOLUME I. Edited by Herbert Aptheker. Amherst: The Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 1973; pp. xxv+507. $20.00.

BLACK PROTEST: ISSUES AND TACTICS. By Robert C. Dick. Contributions in American Studies, Number 14. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1974; pp. 338. $12.95.

MONTAIGNE'S DECEITS: THE ART OF PERSUASION IN THE ESSAIS. By Margaret McGowan. Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press, 1974; pp. viii+207. $9.00.

LANGUAGE AND PUBLIC POLICY. Edited by Hugh Rank. Urbana, Ill.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1974; pp. xvi+248. Paper $4.95.

PROBLEMS IN INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND CENSORSHIP. By A. J. Anderson. New York and London: R. R. Bowker Company, 1974; pp. xxii+195. $10.95.

LANGUAGE AWARENESS. Edited by Paul Escholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1974; pp. xvi+270. Paper $3.95.

THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE IN THE 70's. Edited by Herman Estrin and Donald Mehus. San Francisco: Boyd and Fraser Publishing Co., 1974; pp. xvi+353. Paper $5.95.

FILM AND REALTY: AN HISTORICAL SURVEY. By Roy Armes. Baltimore: Penguin Books, Inc., 1974; pp. 254. Paper $1.95.

THE RHETORIC OF FILM. By John Harrington. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1973; pp. vii+175. Paper $2.95.

THEORIES OF FILM. By Andrew Tudor. New York: The Viking Press, 1973; pp. 168 Paper $3.25.

SOCIAL SCIENCES AS SORCERY. By Stanislav Andreski. New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1972; pp. 238. $3.95.

DRAMAS, FIELDS, AND METHAPHORS: SYMBOLIC ACTION IN HUMAN SOCIETY. By Victor Turner. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. 1974. pp. 309. $16.50.

FROM REVOLUTION TO RAPPROCHEMENT: THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN, 1789–1900. Charles S. Campbell. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, Inc., 1974; pp. xi/225. $9.25.

ENGLAND'S MISSION: THE IMPERIAL IDEA IN THE AGE OF GLADSTONE AND DISRAELI 1868–1880.C. C Eldridge. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of north carolina press,1973; pp xvii/288.$10.95

LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK; THE MAKING OF A LIBERAL IMPERIALIST 1774–1839. By John Rosselli. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974; pp. 384. $15.00.

RUSSELL AND MOORE: THE ANALYTICAL HERITAGE. By A. J. Ayer. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971; pp. x+254. $8.75.

PERSUASION AND HEALING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PSYCHOTHERAPY. By Jerome D. Frank. (Second edition) Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973; pp. xx+378. $12.50.

EXPERIENCE IN ACTION: A PSYCHOMO‐TOR PSYCHOLOGY. By Albert Pesso. New York: New York University Press, 1973; pp. iv+263. $9.75.

HUMAN COMMUNICATION: THEORETICAL EXPLORATIONS. Edited by Albert Silverstein. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, 1974; pp. vii+264, $12.50.

CONTINGENCY APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP. Edited by James G. Hunt and Lars L. Larson. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1974; pp. xix+227. $10.00.

THE ANALYSIS OF SUBJECTIVE CULTURE. By Harry C. Triandis in association with Vasso Vassiliou, George Vassiliou, Yasumasa Tanaka, and A. V. Shanmugam. New York: Wiley‐Interscience, 1972; pp. xii+383. $1925.

THE EARLY WINDOW: EFFECTS OF TELEVISION ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH. By Robert M. Liebert, John M. Neale, and Emily S. Davidson, New York: The Pergamon Press, Inc., 1973; pp. 193. $9.50; paper $6.50.

RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING IN EASTERN EUROPE. By Burton Paulu. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1974; pp. viii‐592. $22.95.

ANCIENT LITERARY CRITICISM: THE PRINCIPAL TEXTS IN NEW TRANSLATIONS. Donald A. Russell and Michael Winterbottom (eds). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972; $16.50

CLASSICAL AND MEDIEVAL LITERARY CRITICISM: TRANSLATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS. Alex Preminger, O. B. Hardison and Kevin Kerrane (eds.). New York: Frederick Unger, 1974; pp. xiii plus 527. $22.50.

ARISTOTLE'S DEDUCTION AND INDUCTION: INTRODUCTORY ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS. By Wayne N. Thompson. Amsterdam: Rodopi N.V., 1975; pp. 114. paper $8.00.

SPEECH IN THE ENGLISH NOVEL. By Norman Page. London: Longman, 1973; ("English Language Series,” #8); pp. xiv+172. $10.00; paper $550.

ORAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS. Compiled and edited by Ellen M. Meckler and Ruth McMullen. New York and London: R. R. Bowker Company, 1975; pp. viii+344. $29.50.

POPULAR IMAGES of POLITICS: A TAXONOMY By Dan D. Nimmo. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice‐Hall, 1974; pp. iii+184. $7.95; paper $3.50.

ON SOCIETY AND SOCIAL CHANGE. By Karl Marx, with selections by Friedrich Engels. Edited by Neil J. Smelser. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973; pp. xli+ 206. $11.00.

TRAVELS IN COMPUTERLAND: OR INCOMPATIBILITIES AND INTERFACES. By Ben Ross Schneider, Jr. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison‐Wesley Publishing Company, 1974; pp. vii+244. Paper $5.95.     

CASE Tools: Constructivism and its Application to Learning and Usability of Software Engineering Tools

Software Engineering is a new discipline aimed at the improvement of the production of large, quality software systems. Interest in CASE tools has grown because of the important role they play in supporting the software development process. Studies show these complex and sophisticated tools have a positive impact on quality and productivity but they have been slow to be adopted by industry; this is partially explained by the difficulty of learning to use the tool.