A cross-national mixed-method study of reality pedagogy

This mixed-methods cross-national study investigated the effectiveness of reality pedagogy (an approach in which teachers become part of students’ activities, practices and rituals) in terms of changes in student perceptions of their learning environment and attitudes towards science. A questionnaire was administered to 142 students in grades 8–10 in the Bronx, New York City and Dresden, Germany. The questionnaire combines learning environment scales from the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey and the What Is Happening In this Class? Questionnaire with attitude scales from the Test of Science-Related Attitudes. Student interviews were used to support questionnaire findings. Quantitative data analyses revealed that reality pedagogy had a greater impact on students in the Bronx than in Dresden, with qualitative data clarifying differences in how reality pedagogy was enacted in each geographic area. Overall, our findings add to the body of evidence concerning the effectiveness of reality pedagogy as an approach to teaching and learning science across a variety of contexts.     

Variables related to career commitment,mastery motivation,and level of career aspiration among college students

The authors wish to express appreciation for the statistical help provided by James Wardrop and Ya-Mei Chen; and for the support provided by the Bureau of Educational Research and the Campus Research Board, University of Illinois. Also several persons helped with the development of the measures and data collection including Carole Ames, Mary Z. Anderson, Cindy Glidden, Fu-lin Y. Lee, Kirsten Peterson, and Barbara Powell. Requests for reprints may be addressed to the first author at the Educational Psychology Department, University of Illinois, 1310 South Sixth St., Champaign, IL 61820.     

Relationship between perceived levels of classroom individualization and science-related attitudes

Relationships between perceived levels of classroom individualization and science-related attitudes were explored for a sample of 712 junior high school science students. Five dimensions of perceived individualization (personalization, participation, independence, investigation, and differentiation) were measured with the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), while seven distinct attitudes were measured with the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the set of individualization variables accounted for a significant increment in end-of-year attitude scores, beyond that attributable to corresponding beginning-of-year attitude scores, for four of the seven attitudes considered. Significant associations between an individual individualization variable and an attitudinal dimension were positive in all cases. The study also provided support for the reliability and validity of the ICEQ and TOSRA and for their general usefulness in science education research.     

Burkean transcendence and ultimate terms in rhetoric by and about James Watt

The essay examines some Burkean theory to show how governments should rhetorically manage the distribution of scarce resources. Interior Secretary James Watt's rhetoric is shown to be flawed because it is based on dialectical rather than ultimate frames of acceptance, and because his persona is inconsistent with his rhetoric.     

Mass Media

Robert C. Toll's On with the Show: The First Century of Show Business in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976---$19.95)

Edwin Fisher, et al., eds. The Art in Cartooning: Seventy-five Years of American Magazine Cartoons (New York : Scribner's, 1975---$14.95)

Vaughncille Molden's Telecommunications and Black Americans: A Survey of Ownership, Participation and Control (Center for Development Technology and Program in Technology and Human Affairs, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. 63130-48.50, paper)

Working Papers in Culture and Communication (Department of Anthropology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. 19122-- $2.00, paper)     

Library project management in a collaborative web-based working environment

This paper discusses the emerging paradigm of project management performed in a web-based working environment. It highlights how project management and its associated features are strongly linked to fulfilling quality and value criteria for customers, and it examines how collaborative working environments can greatly reduce the administrative burden of managing large projects, especially and almost paradoxically, when resources are limited. Specifically, the paper examines the application of a project management methodology (PRINCE2) together with the use of a collaborative web-based working environment over a number of pilot projects at Leeds University Library. It describes the pilot phase of a library management decision to run a series of major Library projects using project management methodology, while continuing to run other projects through the existing locally developed planning mechanisms and describes the pitfalls of these latter alternatives, less sophisticated project management tools, and describes the main issues that this change in practice has brought to light. It draws preliminary conclusions about the effectiveness of this change in practice in one of the UK's largest academic libraries.     

Predicting financial success of motion pictures: The '80s experience

This study explores the factors related to success in the motion picture industry and found that familiarity with actors, characters, and story, as well as kudos from reviewers and industry association, are key factors. The authors argue that increasing control by the marketing side of the industry is leading to sequelization, imitation, and higher demand for popular stars in response to the rise in the number of competitors and new exhibition technologies.