Focused Activities and the Development of Social Capital in a Distributed Learning “Community”

This study examined the development of individual social capital in a distributed learning community. Feld's theory of focused choice predicts that the formation of network ties is constrained by contextual factors that function as foci of activities. In our research, we examined how group assignment and location could function as such foci to influence the development of individual social capital in a distributed learning community. Given that networks with different content flows may possess different properties, we examined two different types of networks—task-related instrumental networks and non-task-related expressive networks. A longitudinal research design was used to evaluate the evolution of networks over time. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 32 students enrolled in a distributed learning class. The results show strong support for Feld's theory. While serving as foci of activities to organize social interactions, both group assignment and geographic separation can also function to fragment a learning community.     

The Anti-Black Order of No Child Left Behind: Using Lacanian psychoanalysis and critical race theory to examine NCLB

During a period in which institutions have been refashioned to meet the demands of a complex social and political economy, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has helped to alter the public educational system. As scholars and researchers examine the material effects of NCLB, efforts to improve the educational system and its effects must also explore the relationship between policy and racial ideologies including discursive fantasies. This article examines the relationship between NCLB and racial fantasies of Black youth as problematic others in order to help education reform scholarship and advocacy examine the violence of NCLB.     

Learner support: The critical link in distance education

This study evaluates the OklahomaTelevised Instruction System, through an analysis of the student support services to include the resources available to the learner, the communications process characterized by the co‐ordination services provided among the on‐campus and distance sites, and the communication process characterized by the mechanical and electronic transfer of information. The study also compares the attitudes and performance of the participating on‐campus and distance students.     

The Hong Kong Behaviour Checklist for Primary Students: Developing a brief dyslexia screening measure

The authors report on the development of a brief dyslexia screening measure based on revising the 65-item Hong Kong Behaviour Checklist of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing. Teachers’ ratings of 1063 primary students aged 6–14 years on the behaviour checklist provided data for its psychometric evaluation using traditional measurement and Rasch measurement model analyses. Rasch scaling suggested that the revised 36-item checklist could be regarded as a unidimensional scale that assesses global dyslexic dysfunction, and receiver operating characteristics analysis suggested that a score of 18 could be an optimal cut-off score when it is used as a dyslexia screening measure. The validity of this revised checklist was supported by its substantial and significant correlations with external measures of literacy and cognitive skills. Implications of the findings for the use of adaptive testing to provide an effective procedure for screening are discussed.     

Improving Quality and Efficiency of Postpartum Hospital Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of an evidence-based, streamlined, education process (comprehensive education booklet, individualized education plan, and integration of education into the clinical pathway) and nurse education to improve the quality and efficiency of postpartum education during hospitalization. A one-group pretest–posttest design was used to measure the quality of discharge teaching for new mothers and efficiency of the education process for registered nurses before and after implementation of an intervention. Results indicated that a comprehensive educational booklet and enhanced documentation can improve efficiency in the patient education process for nurses.     

Communication practices as unobtrusive control: An observational study

This paper reports a study that examines naturalistic communication as concertive control. The paper argues that, while the theoretical perspective considers communication in the powerful role of controlling organizational decision making, research efforts have not, for the most part, examined communication practices. Results of an interpretation of communication interaction observed during organizational meetings identify several communicative practices that are interpreted as unobtrusive control practices. First, premises are articulated and reiterated during meetings. Second, leaders simultaneously reinforce and appeal to organizational premises. Third, as premises are articulated and reiterated, leaders' metacommunication suggests that the premises are being drawn from the members. Fourth, members participate in this process through interactive decision‐making rituals. A more complex interpretation is offered to enrich the understanding of concertive control. Specifically, instances of concertive control also operate as bureaucratic control and simple control. Limitations of concertive control are discussed. Results indicate that premises may be negotiated or not accepted. Finally, in one example, the success of concertive control creates a reversal in control roles.     

Developing Student Character: Community College Professors Who Share Power

This phenomenological study examined the definitions, values, and experiences of seven community college professors who have tried to promote student character development by sharing some of their power in the classroom. Power sharing is a participative gesture, and participative teachers can encourage students to become more engaged in their own learning processes. This participative style of teaching may develop into a partnership between students and teachers. This requires students to make decisions, be responsible for their learning, and work collaboratively with others. Through the practice and habit of making decisions, students may be able to promote their own character development. To facilitate this development, these faculty members focused on awareness, care, student engagement, group dynamics, academic integrity, a welcoming environment, and a sharing attitude. The essential theme of developing character emerged from my reflections of the data gathered from the face-to-face interviews. Five structural themes included diversity, self-identity, commitment, sacrifice, and becoming.