It's Not Easy Trying to be One of the Guys: The Effect of Avatar Attractiveness,Avatar Sex,and User Sex on the Success of Help-Seeking Requests in an Online Game

Interactions in online environments are influenced by many of the same gender and sex-role stereotypes that people use in offline interactions. However, less research has examined systematically how the traits of an avatar and the avatar's user interact to influence stereotypical responses in virtual spaces. A field experiment manipulated avatar attractiveness, avatar sex, user sex, and favor difficulty to measure responses to a requested favor across 2,300 interactions in an online game. Attractive avatars received more help than less attractive avatars, but female users received less help than male users when represented by avatars that were less attractive or male.     

Idea Generation and Exploration: Benefits and Limitations of the Policy Delphi Research Method

Researchers use the policy Delphi method to explore a complex topic with little historical context that requires expert opinion to fully understand underlying issues. The benefit of this research technique is the use of experts who have more timely information than can be gleamed from extant literature. Additionally, those experts place researchers in a specific moment, thus increasing the possibility of capturing change over time. One limitation of the policy Delphi is the difficulty in developing an accurate initial questionnaire to start the process. The purpose of this article is to identify benefits and limitations of this research method. Kathy K. Franklin is Associate Professor of Postsecondary and Private Sector Leadership at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), Franklin received her B.S. from the University of Alabama, M.B.A. from Middle Tennessee State University, and her Ed.D. from ETSU. Jan K. Hart is Assistant Director of the Medical Sciences Library at the University of Arkansas Medical School. Hart received her B.A. from the University of Kansas, M.L.S. from the University of Denver, and her Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock.Franklin and Hart study diverse research methodologies in the exploration and confirmation of theory.     

Effect of Prior Information on String Length Estimates

This article describes an activity through which students collect data and explore ways to display them through graphs and charts. It also motivates various summary measures for location, spread and shape. Finally, it gives an introduction to concepts of validity, reliability and unbiasedness.     

Academic calendar change impact on enrollment patterns and instructional outcomes

A study of 10 universities in two states was completed to determine the impact of a change from the quarter to the semester calendar on enrollment patterns and instructional outcomes. A decrease in average student credit hour load and an increase in the percentage of students withdrawing from courses were observed after institutions changed to the semester calendar system.Presented at the 23rd Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Toronto, May 1983.     

Schools in China and Canada

编者按：Brad曾来中国做过几年“教书匠”。对中国的教育现状有一定了解。那么,在这位“加拿大老外”的眼中。两国的学校究竟有何异同？能分出高下吗？     

Virtually Unpacking Your Backpack: Educational Philosophy and Pedagogical Praxis

In this autoethnographic, conceptual philosophical reflection, the author inquires: Can my students and I, in a technologically mediated virtual space, harness the work of philosophy of education scholars to engage in a shared experience of (re)considering paths to sensitivity to diversity for equity and equality? The author engages the reader in a theoretical hike through a philosophical argument for attending to philosophical theories of education. She focuses on the work of Jane Roland Martin regarding sensitivity and cultural (mis)education and draws heavily on the scholarship of Barbara Thayer-Bacon regarding relational “(e)pistemologies,” constructed thinking, and democratic community. After examining her own practices, the author contends that in the reality of the growth of online education, she is tentatively optimistic that educators can facilitate authentic examination of educational practices in the light of theoretical work and push beyond superficial engagement to lasting transformative growth for the sake of equitable student achievement.