Makeover TV: Selfhood,Citizenship, and Celebrity

A survey conducted in McAllen, Texas, a largely Hispanic area, examined whether exposure to Spanish-language cable news had an agenda-setting effect. Results show that level of exposure was associated with agenda-setting effects for Spanish cable news, but perceived media credibility and media reliance were not related to the strength of agenda-setting effects. Exposure, credibility, and reliance were also not associated with agenda- setting effects for English-language newscasts-perhaps because English speakers had more news options in the survey area.     

The role of assertiveness,personal control,and participation in the prediction of nurse Burnout

The research reported here considered a critical problem facing today's hospital: burnout and commitment of nurses. A review of the literature revealed that nurse communication, particularly participation or collaboration in patient care decisions, had rarely been considered in models of nurse commitment. A model was proposed in which nurse participation and assertiveness were key predictors of emotional exhaustion, commitment and intent to remain, and the theoretical construct of personal control was used as a moderating variable in predicting these outcomes. The model was tested on a sample of nurses from a large hospital Results were generally supportive of the proposed model. Implications of the model for theory were discussed in terms of the role of personal control and the importance of nurse assertiveness, and applications for nurse and physician training were considered.     

When Off-Campus Means Virtual Campus: The Academic Library in Second Life

ABSTRACT

This article discusses how a library's consistent policy of accessibility and foresight positioned itself to serve its students, faculty and staff in the virtual world of Second Life. Always ahead of the technological curve, this library has been the front-runner in providing services to distance learners via text messaging, “chat,” e-mail, and telephone services and via its laptop librarian project across the campus. It now is poised and ready to provide service in Second Life. Collaboration between the library and teaching faculty culminated in the creation, development, and furnishing of a library in Second Life, an environment that gives new meaning to “off-campus” learning. Without marketing, but as a visible presence, the Second Life library was able to attract both off-campus guests and affiliated students and faculty and even participated in campus-wide projects. This experiment has enjoyed the support of both the university and library administration.     

The Lived Experience and Training Needs of Librarians Serving at the Clinical Point-of-Care

This study examines the emotional experiences and perceptions of librarians embedded into clinical care teams and how those perceptions affect their training and preparation needs. Qualitative research methodologies were applied to textual data drawn from focus groups (n = 21), interviews (n = 2), and an online survey (n = 167), supplemented by quantitative survey data. Phenomenological results show librarians experience strongly affective responses to clinical rounding. Important factors include personal confidence; relationships with team members, patients, and families; and the stressful environment. Analysis of librarians’ perceived educational needs indicates that training must address specialized subjects including medical knowledge, clinical culture, and institutional politics.     

Advancement in higher education: the role of marketing in building philanthropic giving

This paper empirically explores ways in which marketers of higher education can contribute to the important task of cultivating alumni philanthropy. Advancement professionals understand that philanthropy is influenced by wealth and affinity. As marketers, we anticipate that our contribution resides with investments in building affinity. Using survey data that measure the affinity of alumni of a large US university who have been commercially screened to reveal individual wealth, this paper provides empirical evidence of the relative contributions of affinity and wealth to giving. Logistic regression analysis reveals that affinity has a greater impact on predicting the likelihood of giving than other variables, including prior giving and wealth. Important to marketers, this study emphasizes the importance of building affinity and also uncovers obstacles to affinity formation. This information can be used to bridge and repair alumni relationships with their alma mater and inform segmented marketing communications to foster alumni enthusiasm for giving.     

The impact of multimedia cases on preservice teachers' learning about literacy teaching: A follow‐up study

Abstract

Using surveys and interviews as a data set, this study explored the influence of multimedia cases in preservice literacy methods courses by following a set of preservice teachers into their first years of teaching. Analysis of the survey and interview data yielded three salient themes. First, respondents reported that their methods courses had positively influenced their teaching. Second, respondents reported several factors (e.g., active involvement during class time, the enthusiasm of the instructor) as influential in their recall of course content. Third, respondents reported that the use of the multimedia cases influenced their learning, both during their teacher education program and in their current teaching. This follow‐up study offers insight into the connections teachers make between their teacher education programs and their later teaching and serves as an impetus for future research into the potential benefits of using multimedia cases as a way to situate preservice teacher learning in real problems.     

Restoring order: Interpreting suicide through a Burkean lens

This Burkean analysis of suicide notes argues that suicide is motivated by an innate human desire for “Order.” The notes analyzed in this study were composed by individuals who portrayed their lives as filled with much chaos and pain. In Burke's words, they viewed their lives as highly disordered. Their final communiques indicate that they saw suicide as a way to overcome the tremendous feelings of guilt and/or shame associated with that disorder. In a smaller number of cases, the deceased suggested that suicide allowed them to transcend their painful circumstances, thereby allowing them to avoid the assignment of guilt or shame. As the rhetoric of suicide notes reveals, suicide functions as an agency by which their authors believe a sense of “control” can be reestablished and, ultimately, “Order” restored to their worlds.     

Equity and Advocacy Expectations of Culturally Diverse Families’ Participation in Special Education

The authors contend that the equity and advocacy expectations imbedded in the legal mandate for parent participation in the special education decision-making process directly contradict the hierarchy of professional status and knowledge on which the positivist paradigm of professionalism is based, and are also in conflict with the values held by many families from culturally diverse backgrounds, contributing to low levels of participation and advocacy. They argue the need for professional education to incorporate opportunities for professionals to identify the cultural assumptions imbedded in the field of special education towards more balanced and effective collaboration.