Buying-out teaching for research: the views of academics and their managers

This paper reports on the practice of buying-out teaching to create time for research. A study was carried out, at a regional university in Australia, with academics in receipt of research grant funds (and therefore with the means to buy out teaching), Heads of School, and the Deputy Vice Chancellors responsible respectively for research and for academic matters. We found that while eligible academics did buy out teaching by employing casual staff, most of them worried about the potential effects on teaching quality and students’ learning. Heads of School were more sanguine about possible effects on teaching. Decision making by academics about whether to buy out teaching, and by Heads of School about whether to allow it in particular cases, took account of a number of factors. Some teaching activities were seen as higher-risk than others for buying-out. It was uniformly recognised by all parties that buying-out did not result in complete relief from the teaching activity that was bought out; a great deal of time and energy needed to be invested by the academic in making appropriate arrangements and monitoring the quality of work undertaken by the casual staff. The paper suggests that clearer policies need to be instituted in this area; academics were unsure what buying-out was allowed or acceptable, and would benefit from more discussion of the practice.     

Redefining Information Literacy to Prepare Students for the 21st Century Workforce

Information literacy instruction–a set of skills taught in order to identify and find the information needed to solve a problem—traditionally follows a formalized academic model. It assumes information skills can be applied universally and learned individually. However, this approach does not correspond to the social and specialized learning practices in the workforce. This article presents an argument for faculty and librarians to collaborate and redefine information literacy guidelines using specific disciplinary requirements while incorporating non-formal and informal workplace learning practices. This approach would better prepare students for the social and collaborative learning required in a 21st century workforce environment.     

Motion pictures

THE FILMS OF MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI by Peter Brunette (New York: Cambridge University Press “Cambridge Film Classics,”; 1998—$49.95/paper price not given, ISBN 0–521–38085–5 hard, 0–521–38992–5 paper, 186 pp., selected bibliography, filmography, notes, photos, index)

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN: NEW ESSAYS ON THE WESTERN edited by Edward Buscombe and Roberta E. Pearson (London: British Film Institute, 1998—$60.00/22.50, ISBN 0–85170–660–6 hard, 0–85170–661–4 paper, 218 pp., chapter notes, photos, color advertising plates, index)

REPRESENTING THE WOMAN: CINEMA AND PSYCHOANALYSIS by Elizabeth Cowie (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997—$18.95 paper, ISBN 0–8166–2913–7 hard, 0–8166–2913–7 paper, 397 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

TRACKING KING KONG: A HOLLYWOOD ICON IN WORLD CULTURE by Cynthia Erb (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press “Contemporary Film and Television Series,”; 1998—$24.95, paper, ISBN 0–8143–2686–2, 238 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, index)

IMAGES OF THE PASSION: THE SACRAMENTAL MODE IN FILM by Peter Fraser (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998—$65.00/22.95, ISBN 0–275–96464–7 hard, 0–275–96465–5 paper, 201 pp., bibliography, filmography, chapter notes, photos, index)

DOCUMENTING THE DOCUMENTARY: CLOSE READINGS OF DOCUMENTARY FILM AND VIDEO edited by Barry Keith Grant and Jeannette Sloniowski (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1998—$27.50, paper, ISBN 0–8143–2639–0, 488 pp., film and video distributors’ address list, chapter notes, general bibliography, index)

HOLLYWOOD RENAISSANCE: THE CINEMA OF DEMOCRACY IN THE ERA OF FORD, CAPRA, AND KAZAN by Sam B. Girgus (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998—$59.95/paper price not given, ISBN 0–521–62388‐X hard, 0–521–62552–1 paper, 258 pp., index, chapter notes, filmography, B&W photos)

IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN: CONTEMPORARY FEMALE FRIENDSHIP FILMS by Karen Hollinger (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998—$47.95/18.95, ISBN 0–8166–3177–8 hard, 0–8166–3178–6 paper, 275 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

INDIGENOUS AESTHETICS: NATIVE ART MEDIA AND IDENTITY by Steven Leuthold (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998—$35.00/16.95, ISBN 0–292–74702–0 hard, 0–292–74703–9 paper, 238 pp., bibliography, filmography, photos, index)

PASSPORT TO HOLLYWOOD: HOLLYWOOD FILMS, EUROPEAN DIRECTORS by James Morrison (Albany: State University of New York Press “SUNY Series in Postmodern Culture,”; 1998—$65.00/21.95, ISBN 0–7914–3937–2 hard, 0–7914–3938–0 paper, 310 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

EDISON MOTION PICTURES, 1890–1900: AN ANNOTATED FILMOGRAPHY by Charles Musser (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998—$75.00, ISBN 1–56098–567–4, 720 pp., illustrations, bibliography, indexes for film titles, personal and corporate names, subjects, and locations)

THE FILMS OF JOHN FRANKENHEIMER: FORTY YEARS IN FILM: JOHN FRANKENHEIMER TALKS ABOUT HIS LIFE IN THE CINEMA TO GERALD PRATLEY by Gerald Pratley (Bethlehem, PA: Lehigh University Press, 1998—$55.00, ISBN 1–900541–40–8, 294 pp., photos, film credits, index)

SAVAGE CINEMA: SAM PECKINPAH AND THE RISE OF ULTRAVIOLENT MOVIES by Stephen Prince (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998— $35.00/18.95, ISBN 0–292–76581–9 hard, 0–292–76582–7 paper, 282 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

FOR THE LOVE OF PLEASURE: WOMEN, MOVIES, AND CULTURE IN THE TURN‐OF‐THE‐CENTURY CHICAGO by Lauren Rabinovitz (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998—$49.00/19.00, ISBN 0–8135–2533–0 hard, 0–8135–2534–9 paper, 233 pp., film index, bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

REALITY TRANSFORMED: FILM AS MEANING AND TECHNIQUE by Irving Singer (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998—$25.00, ISBN 0–262–19403–1, 216 pp., notes, photos, index)

THE NEW HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY by Anthony Slide (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998—$55.00, ISBN 0–8108–3426‐X, 267 pp., resource libraries and institutions addresses, index)

FRAMING LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA: CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES edited by Ann Marie Stock (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press “Hispanic Issues, Vol. 15,”; 1997—$47.95/18.95, ISBN 0–8166–2972–2 hard, 0–8166–2973–0 paper, 269 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

MODES OF REPRESENTATION IN SPANISH CINEMA edited by Jenaro Talens and Santos Zunzunegui (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press “Hispanic Issues, Vol. 16,”; 1998—$54.95/21.95, ISBN 0–8166–2974–9 hard, 0–8166–2975–7 paper, 346 pp., chapter notes, index)

WORKING GIRLS: GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN POPULAR CINEMA by Yvonne Tasker (New York: Routledge, 1998—hardcover price not given/$19.99, ISBN 0–415–14004–8 hard, 0–415–14005–6 paper, 234 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, filmography, photos, index)

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NOVELS INTO FILM edited by John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh (New York: Facts on File, 1998—$48.00, ISBN 0–8160–3317‐X, 522 pp., filmographies, references, appendices including biographical sketches of authors, selected bibliography, index)

GUIDE TO AMERICAN CINEMA, 1930–1965 by Thomas R. Whissen (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press “Reference Guides to the World's Cinema,”; 1998—$79.50, ISBN 0–313–29487–9, 389 pp., appendixes, bibliography, index)

ALLEGORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT: AESTHETICS AND POLITICS IN MODERN BRAZILIAN CINEMA by Ismail Xavier (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997—$54.95/21.95, ISBN 0–8166–2676–6 hard, 0–8166–2677–4 paper, 285 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)     

The Relation Between Media Content Evaluations and Political Disaffection

A probability sample of 592 Washington state voters during the month prior to the 1996presidential election was used to assess registered voters 'levels of involvement, confidence in the media's representations of reality, and political disaffection. Perceptions of incompleteness were associated with amplified feelings of cynicism. Perceptions of oversimplification were associated with increased negativism but were also associated with increased involvement. The results suggest that perceptions of oversimplification in the news contribute less to public disaffection than perceptions of unrepresentativeness. We argue that some skepticism of the news should be considered healthy rather than worrisome.     

Images of Injury: Graphic News Visuals’ Effects on Attitudes toward the Use of Unmanned Drones

In this study, sanitized coverage of the United States’ use of military drone strikes in foreign countries is pitted against more graphic news images in an experimental setting to determine effects on attitudes toward the use of U.S. military drones. In addition, multiple news exposures are tested to determine whether individuals can become emotionally inured to such coverage, even when images are more graphic. Key results find those who viewed graphic news visuals did not show evidence of desensitization after repeated viewing and expressed higher levels of concern regarding drone use but not reduced support for U.S. drone policy.     

Who talks how to their kids about TV: A clarification of demographic correlates of parental mediation patterns

A random telephone survey (N = 255) of Washington state parents of children between the ages of 2 and 17 assesses parents’ reported patterns of interaction with their children regarding television, along with parental viewing habits and perceptions of television content. Demographic differences in mediation and coviewing patterns, as well as parental attitudes toward television, are explored, and explanations for these differences are considered. It is concluded that education is a weak predictor of mediation levels, single parents do not differ from dual parents in attitudes about television, and that the negative relationship of income to positive mediation and use of television as a babysitter is related more to overall viewing patterns and environmental constraints, rather than to attitudinal differences. It is suggested that demographics hold little value jar explaining why and how parents hold particular attitudes or engage in particular behaviors relevant to television and parenting.     

To Hope or to Know: Coping with Uncertainty and Ambivalence in Women's Magazine Breast Cancer Articles

Breast cancer is one of the most feared diseases in contemporary Western society. Popular women's magazines are important sources of information about and orientation to the disease. The current study applies problematic integration theory in an interpretive analysis of all breast cancer articles appearing in five top-circulating women's magazines between 1997 and 2002. In so doing, the study illuminates two major challenges (uncertainty and ambivalence) and several imperfect approaches to coping constructed in this discourse (simplification, information-seeking/provision, affect management, trusting intuition, sustaining hope, and metaphoric reframing). These results have several clear and important practical implications and highlight a major and largely untried direction for future research.