The Aftermath of Hurtful Events: Cognitive,Communicative, and Relational Outcomes

Relational satisfaction and stability following discovered incidents of relational betrayal were investigated. Predictions from Social Exchange Theory, specifically Rusbult's Investment Model, were tested along with the effects of communication strategies. Participants (N = 155) completed a questionnaire about a recalled betrayal. Inconsistent with the investment model, relational satisfaction was the best predictor of relational stability. Generally, the more committed and invested the offender, the more likely the reported use of communication repair strategies. The likelihood of apologies, accepting responsibility, and promising change also increased with the severity of the betrayal. Only promising change was related to post-betrayal relational satisfaction.     

Letters to the editor

This study examines editorial photography in nine major erotica magazines to determine how pictures vary as a function of the social class, gender and sexual preference of the intended readership. The analysis reveals that upwardly‐mobile, heterosexual men are treated to idealized images, whereas working‐class, heterosexual men are presented with more mundane yet highly‐sexualized images. Heterosexual women are provided with photographs of nude males in a low‐sexual context. Magazines for homosexual men present images, except for gender, very similar to those created for upwardly‐mobile, heterosexual men. These patterns are discussed from a functionalist perspective to show how erotica magazines contribute to social‐order maintenance.     

Sex and Gender Similarities and Differences in Communication Values in Same-Sex and Cross-Sex Friendships

This study extends research on sex differences and similarities in communication values by examining (a) the influence of sex of friend on ratings of functional communication skills in same-sex and cross-sex friendships, (b) the moderating role of friend's sex in sex differences in evaluations, and (c) the mediating role of psychological gender in sex differences in communication values. Participants (144 men and 148 women) rated the importance of communication skills for either same-sex or cross-sex friends. Results indicate that, although men's and women's ratings of communication skills are similar, participant sex, gender, and sex of friend do exert some influence.     

Evidence for the Validity of a Social Connectedness Scale: Connectors Amass Bridging Social Capital Online and Offline

One of the key characteristics of effective opinion leaders is that they are highly connected; they know many people and have numerous weak-tie relationships. Two studies were conducted that found evidence consistent with construct validity. The first (N = 35 and N = 57) found that connectors knew more people from a randomly selected list of names. A second study, with two surveys, was created (N = 561 and N = 189) such that the connectedness scores of some of the subjects in the first survey could be linked to how many subjects knew them in the second. Results indicated that those with higher connection scores were more likely to be known by others. Moreover, in the second survey, measures of Facebook use and bridging social capital were found to be associated substantially with connector scores.     

Students' Perceptions and Communicative Management of Instructors' Online Self–Disclosure

Computer-mediated communication has become one of the many teaching strategies used to enhance students' cognitive and affective learning. What happens, however, when instructors use the Internet for personal purposes, such as staying in touch with friends and sharing gossip? This study investigated how college students perceive and communicatively manage their instructors' private information after viewing these profiles. An interpretive analysis of 21 interviews with college students confirmed previous research regarding student perceptions of instructors' self-disclosure, and students reported the information online impacted their communication with the instructor in various ways. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.     

Investigating Relations Between Facebook Use and Social Capital Among College Undergraduates

This article examines relations between Facebook® (FB) use and social capital among 530 undergraduate students. The results demonstrated that using FB habitually was associated with gains in online bridging and offline network capital. This study also examined 2 motivations for using FB: the motivation to socialize with others and the motivation to improve one's status. Results showed that using FB for sociability reasons was associated with increased online bridging and bonding. Using FB more for status than for sociability was not associated with decreased online bridging and bonding. Finally, the results provided evidence of the sociability motivation mediating the relationship between FB habit and online bridging and bonding. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Behind the scenes of music education in China: a survey of historical memory

This study explores how the government of mainland China values Chinese nationalism as a component of its historical memory and traces its relationship with music education from the twentieth century to the global age within broader social contexts. In a rapidly commercializing and modernizing China, nationalism remains the main driving force shaping Chinese music education, while historical nationalism and familial relationship have been reinforced by the current regime's educational socialization. Love for country and family and an emphasis on nationalism and Confucianism are the pragmatic tools employed by Chinese authorities to maintain their primacy in and power over education, particularly song teaching.     

Tutors Talking

Paul Black and Dylan William. Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment Beta Copley and Barbara Forryan. Therapeutic Work with Children and Young People M. Blamires, C. Robertson and J. Blamires. Parent–Teacher Partnership M. Flekkoy and N. Kaufman. The Participation Rights of the Child Hertfordshire County Council. Drugsense: A Multimedia Resource for Drug Education A. Faupel, E. Herrick and P. Sharp. (eds) Anger Management: A Practical Guide     

Managing the Change From On-Site to Online: Transforming ESL courses for teachers

In Canada, all regular K-12 teachers face the challenge of teaching both native and non-native English speaking students. Consequently, working with students who use English as a second language (ESL) has become everybody's business, irrespective of whether they are teaching language or mathematics, at elementary or secondary levels. As a result, it is essential for in-service teachers to gain knowledge and develop skills in working with ESL students. Teaching English as a second language (TESL) courses have been delivered traditionally at the Faculty of Education at Queen's University through on-site training and with opportunities for working with ESL students. These courses, however, are now delivered online to teachers in different locations across the province and even in other parts of the world. This paper addresses the challenges of converting the on-site courses to an online format.     

Questioning the crisis account: a review of evidence for increasing polarization in schools

This paper reconsiders three sources of evidence that have been presented to suggest that polarization of pupils both between and within schools is increasing, thus creating an increasingly divided system of 'winners' and 'losers'.The project from which this paper emerges has shown, in an analysis over ten years of all schools in England and Wales, that schools are becoming more mixed in terms of their social composition in many respects. Despite this reasonably comprehensive evidence, it has been argued by others that polarization is taking place below the level of the indicators used in our analysis (polarization by stealth), or thatwhile school compositions may be converging, school outcomes are definitely diverging, both within and between schools. The primary evidence presented for these three arguments is reviewed here, and it shows that none of the objections has any serious empirical foundation as yet. Of course, evidence may emerge in the future, and so the paper concludes by suggesting a few ways in which research in this area might proceed.