bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding the Link Between Urban Form and Nonwork Travel Behavior
Authors: Handy Susan L.
Published: March 2007

Planners are increasingly turning to land use policies as potential solutions to transportation problems in metropolitan areas, yet little evidence exists to support the belief that such policies can be effective in reducing automobile dependence This paper presents a framework for researching the link between urban form and travel behavior in which urban form is evaluated in terms of the choices available to residents Case studies of four neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area, two "traditional" and two "modern," use this framework to explore the link between urban form characteristics and patterns of shopping travel The results suggest that certain policies may help provide alternatives to driving, but that their effectiveness in reducing total travel will be at least partially offset by the range of choices available to residents in metropolitan areas
San Francisco Bay Area Edge Cities: New Roles for Planners and the General Plan
Authors: McGovern Patrick S.
Published: March 2007

Edge-city development on the urban fringe of U.S. metropolitan centers has provoked heated debate over metropolitan policy. This article reports on qualitative research of two edge cities in the San Francisco Bay Area Walnut Creek and San Ramon investigating the empirical issues of their growth and analyzing the broader issues of metropolitan planning. I specifically examine the roles of California general plan law and local land use planners in the development of the two edge cities, where planners used the general plan as early as the 1950s to set aside areas of each community for economic diversification. This study finds that the California General Plan law failed to provide regional coordination for edge city growth, particularly on issues of transportation, infrastructure, housing, and environmental quality. In addition, it finds public land use planners took a proactive role in maintaining long-term visions, forming relationships with developers and becoming involved in the physical planning of these new urban centers. The larger issues raised by these case studies are the uncoordinated metropolitan impacts of edge-city development under a state-mandated, locally implemented, general plan, along with the shift of public planners from their traditional regulatory role to consensual roles with developers.
What's Under the Bed? City, Pasta, or Commie: Reflections on Teaching American Students in Italy
Authors: Goldsmith William W
Published: March 2007

This paper reports on the author's experience teaching urban studies and planning to 20 North American undergraduates in Rome. For these students, the contrasts between the U.S. city and the European city provided great intellectual stimulation and outweighed the cultural contrasts. The experience of seeing and using the benefits of social democracy, or its still functioning remnants, was powerfully impressive. The students developed a sensitivity to their urban surroundings. Worked into writing requirements, their observations brought them to new and sharper perceptions about city life in the United States.
Attitudes toward “Illegal” Immigration into the United States: California Proposition 187
Authors: Lee Yueh-Ting , Ottati Victor , Hussain Imtiaz
Published: March 2007

In the mid-1990s, Proposition 187 in California, directed primarily toward Mexican immigrants, tended to deprive “illegal” immigrants of welfare benefits, education, and all but emergency medical care. It also attempted to facilitate their deportation. By describing Mr. Carlos Suarez as a presumed illegal immigrant from Mexico, Study 1 showed that prejudice against Mexicans and concern about threat to the U.S. economy served as unique predictors of attitudes toward Proposition 187 and illegal immigrants. Study 2 demonstrated that respondents’ ethnicity, prejudice against Mexicans, economic concern, and commitment to legal obedience all served as unique predictors of attitudes toward illegal immigrants and Proposition 187.
Effects of Latino Acculturation and Ethnic Identity on Mental Health Outcomes
Authors: Gamst Glenn , Dana Richard H. , Der-Karabetian Aghop , Aragón Myriam , Arellano Leticia M. , Kramer Terry
Published: March 2007

The relationships among client-therapist ethnic match, client age group, client acculturation, ethnic identity, and generation level and their effect on client global assessment of function (GAF), total mental health visits, and costs were examined with a sample of 204 Latino adult and child community mental health clients. Acculturation was measured using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II), and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) served as the measure ofethnic identity. The adjusted findings indicated that GAF outcomes declined for Anglo-oriented Latino clients who reported low ethnic identity. These results are discussed in light ofa Multicultural Assessment Intervention Process Model (MAIP) that helps guide service delivery to community mental health consumers.
The Myth of Macho Dominance in Decision Making Within Mexican and Chicano Families
Authors: Cromwell Ronald E. , Ruiz Rene A.
Published: March 2007

The patriarchal Hispanic family structure characterized by macho dominance in marital decision making is a myth which prevails in social science literature. This myth, which is perpetuated and disseminated through impressionistic essays, is very compatible with the "social deficit" model of Hispanic family life and culture. Our conclusion—based on an intensive analysis of four major studies on marital deci sion making within Mexican and Chicano families—is that the available data fail to substantiate the hypothesis of Mex ican and/or Chicano male dominance in marital decision making.
A Client Satisfaction Scale Suitable for Use with Hispanics?
Authors: Roberts Robert E. , Attkisson C. Clifford , Stegner Bruce L.
Published: March 2007

Data from a large-scale survey of community health center clients were analyzed to assess how a measure of client satisfaction operates when used with different ethnic populations. The eight-item version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) is a measure of general satisfaction with services which was developed to provide a brief, standard assessment procedure suitable for use in a wide variety of service settings. Based on the results of this survey, the CSQ-8 seems to operate about the same, whether administered to Anglos, blacks, persons of Mexican descent, or persons of other Hispanic origin. Whether the criterion was internal consistency reliability, central tendency, dispersion, item intercorrelation, or missing values, there were essentially no differences among the four ethnic groups, suggesting that the CSQ-8 is a measure of general satisfaction with services suitable for use with a variety of client populations, including Hispanics.
MMPI (Spanish Translation) in Puerto Rican Adolescents: Preliminary Data on Reliability and Validity
Authors: Diaz Joseph O. Prewitt , Nogueras Juan A. , Draguns Juris
Published: March 2007

The MMPI was translated into Puerto Rican Spanish, adapted on the basis of back-translation and judgment of local experts, anld applied to three groups of adolescents in Puerto Rico between the ages of 15 and 18: 321 female and 194 male normal high-school students; 18 female and 104 male clients at several Mental hlealth Centers; and 90 female and 58 male high school studenlts who lhad returned to Puerto Rico from the United States. Kuder-Riclhaidsoni 20 reliabilitv coefficients for the 3 validity anid 10 cliniical scales rainged fromIn .54 to .88. The mental health-center gIroup was foundl to differ from the two high school groups on all clinical scales except D and Hy. There were only three significant differenices between migrant and non-imigrant high school stdents. A few sex and age differenices also appeared, but were 1)oth less consistent and less pronouinced than those between mnental health centers and high school suibjects. These results are initerpretecl as providing preliminar-y inidicationis of clinical tutility of' the presenit tranislationi of the MNIPI with adolescents in Petirto Rico.
The Health Beliefs of Mexican, Mexican American and Anglo American Women
Authors: Castro Felipe G. , Furth Pauline , Karlow Herbert
Published: March 2007

The health-illness beliefs in five health domains as related to level of acculturation were examined in 102 Mexican, Mexican American, and Anglo American women. The five health domains examined were Mexican folk beliefs, hot-cold theory of illness beliefs, beliefs of responsibility and control over own health, cardiovascular disease beliefs, and stress-illness beliefs. The question of interest was whether less acculturated Mexican women as compared with more acculturated and Anglo women have a significantly different conceptual system of health-illness beliefs in these five domains. A different health belief schemata in these less acculturated women might function as a barrier to their acceptance of and compliance with biomedical treatments. The Mexican-origin women expressed mild acceptance of Mexican folk beliefs, a moderate acceptance of hot-cold beliefs and a strong acceptance of biomedical beliefs (cardiovascular and stress-illness beliefs). The less aculturated women reported having a somewhat lower sense of responsibility and control over own health as characterized by a greater acceptance of powerful external agents, God, chance, the doctor, as determinants of health outcomes. These results suggest that Mexican-origin.women have a dual system of belief which tends to weaken but not disappear with increasing acculturation. This dual system however would not appear to interfere with their ability to accept and comply with prescribed biomedical health regimens.
The Suinn Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS-E) for Hispanic Elementary School Students
Authors: Suinn Richard M. , Taylor Susan , Edwards Ruth W.
Published: March 2007

The Suinn Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, Elementary Form (MARS-E) is described with a sample of 105 Hispanic students. These elementary school students were from six public schools. The test is composed of 26 items that measure anxiety in specific life activities. Results indicated that the MARS-E scores are correlated with scores on a mathematics test, the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT). Similarities in the average level of mathematics anxiety were found between Hispanics and the normative non-Hispanic group, but Hispanics scored lower on the SAT achievement test. Additional normative information is also provided to enable others to continue research with the MARS-E.
A Note on the Relationship between Acculturation and Socioeconomic Status
Authors: Negy Charles , Woods Donald J.
Published: March 2007

Studies investigating the acculturation of Hispanic-Americans often overlook socioeconomic status (SES) as an important correlate with acculturation. This study examined the relationship between acculturation and SES among a group of Mexican-American college students. A significant positive relationship was found between acculturation and SES even when SES was inferred via different indicators. The importance of accounting for SES when examining acculturation is discussed.
Educating Gifted Hispanic Children and Their Parents
Authors: Strom Robert , John Alieen , Strom Sirley , Strom Paris
Published: March 2007

Gifted education programs typically underrepresent children fron minority and lowincome backgrouds. Uncommon screening measures were used to ideify an equity sampe of 68 potentially gifted youngsters who would participate in a sunwnerinstiuie. he instrudon offered to these preschool and prinary grade students was a ed bya karning conponentfortheirparents. A common and &fferentiated curricuin wa developed for Anglo and Hispanic parents based on their expressed tions regarding child development. Findings show that schools can serve commuitis better when opporuitiesfor growth are prvided to parents as well as their children.
Cultural Sensitivity in Family Therapy Gone Awry
Authors: Martinez Kenneth J.
Published: March 2007

The concept of cultural sensitivity has been written about extensively in the literature. It has evolved into a caricatured concept that has led to stereotypic overgeneralizations of entire ethnic populations. This article proposes a macrosystem model of viewing ethnic minority families that takes into consideration the sociocultural and spiritual contexts with which most families of color present. Recommendations for graduate school curricula and internship training programs to include substantive culturally responsive training and supervision are made.
Hispanic Women in Texas: An Increasing Portion of the Underclass
Authors: Firestone Juanita M. , Harris Richard J.
Published: March 2007

This research analyzes datafrom the 1980and 1990 CurrentPopulation Surveyfiles and attempts to determine whether human capital or cultural explanations provide a viable frameworkfor understanding the experience of Hispanic women in Texas. The authors' results suggest that the low income and high rates ofpoverty experienced by these women result from structural changes in the family and in the labor market rather than from individual deficiencies (lack of "human capital") or any value system associated with Hispanic culture.
Becoming "Hispanic": Secondary Panethnic Identification among Latin American-Origin Populations in the United States
Authors: Jones-Correa Michael , Leal David L.
Published: March 2007

Contemporary debates on Latino panethnicity assert that this identity is either cultural or instrumental in nature. The article looks at respondents'use ofprimary and secondary ethnic identifications to answer two questions: First, how substantial is panethnic identification among Hispanics? Second, what is the nature of Latino panethnicity? Using data from the Latino National Political Survey, the authors find that Hispanic ethnicity is neither simply instrumental nor cultural. Instead, Latino panethnicity is a complex phenomenon, differing not only by a range of demographic characteristics but also among those using panethnicity as a primary or secondary identification. These findings suggest that one needs to think about panethnicity as part of a constellation of individuals'multiple identifications and that individuals may manage these identities in very different ways.
The Role of Acculturation in Wife Assault
Authors: Jasinski Jana L.
Published: March 2007

Existing research has demonstrated that Hispanic Americans as a group exhibit some of the highest rates of violent behavior toward theirspouses. Evidence exists, however; that suggests that these rates vary by Hispanic group identification (e.g., Puerto Rican, Mexican, Mexican American, Cuban). One explanation for these ethnic differences suggests that they may be a result of the process of acculturation. It is also possible that variations in rates of wife assault attibuted to differences in acculturation level may be caused by differences in measures of this concept. This study used the 1992 National Alcohol and Family Violence Survey, a national sample of 1,970 persons, to examine the role of acculturation in both minor and severe wife assault as well as the impact of using different indicators of acculturation. Generational status was the only measure of acculturation that consistently predicted wife assaults; however; ethnic-group differences remained after controlling for differences in acculturation level.
Celebrating the Future of Chicano Psychology: Lessons from the Recent National Conference
Authors: Velasquez Roberto J. , Arellano Leticia M. , Padilla Amado M.
Published: March 2007

There have been five significant gatherings of psychologists interested in Chicano psychology. The authors summarize the events surrounding the first four meetings on Chicano psychology to provide a context for discussing the most recent national conference on Chicano psychology, which took place 16 years after the last such meeting. A historical overview of previous conferences and key events is provided. In presenting a summary of the most recent conference on Chicano psychology, the goal was to preserve a written record for future generations of scholars interested in the intellectual developments and persons involved in the field of Chicano psychology. Lessons learned from this last conference and the personal reflections of the authors on the meaning of the conference also are supplied in this report.
Drinking among U.S. Hispanics: A Multivariate Analysis of Alcohol Consumption Patterns
Authors: Treno Andrew J. , Alaniz Maria L. , Gruenewald Paul J.
Published: March 2007

This article explores the relationship between various demographic measures and alcohol consumption patterns among U.S. Hispanics, using data collected as part of the 5-year project, Preventing Alcohol Trauma: A Community Trial, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In particular, it addresses the impact of gender, age, and other exogenous measures on four drinking pattern measures: drinker status (current drinker versus abstainer), drinking frequency, average drinks per occasion, and variance in drinking patterns. The article applies a series of models originally developed by Gruenewald and colleagues concerning a subsample of the project’s phone-survey Hispanic subsample. Results indicate that although consumption patterns for U.S. Hispanics are similar to those in the general population, they differ in a number of important respects. Specifically, being divorced or separated, as opposed to single, appeared to elevate drinking levels. Additionally, males in their 30s, as opposed to in their 20s, appeared at greatest risk for problematic consumption patterns. The implications of these differences for the health of U.S. Hispanics are noted.
Does Holistic Assessment Predict Writing Performance?
Authors: HAYES JOHN R. , HATCH JILL A. , SILK CHRISTINE M.
Published: March 2007

This study addressed the question, “How consistently do students perform on holistically scored writing assignments?” Instructors from 13 introductory writing classes at two colleges were asked to provide essay sets written by their students in response to the three to five most important writing assignments in their classes. In all, 796 essays were collected from 241 students. The study drew on a pool of 15 experienced judges to evaluate the essays. Each essay set was scored holistically and independently by 6 of the judges who either ranked or graded the essays in the set. All papers written by a particular student were scored by the same judges. Pairwise correlations of the scores assigned to each essay set were computed for each judge and then averaged across judges. The average of these correlations was 0.16, indicating very low consistency of holistically scored student performance from essay to essay. This result suggests that drawing conclusions from one or even a few writing samples is problematic.
Learning about Writing from Reading
Authors: BEREITER CARL , SCARDAMALIA MARLENE
Published: March 2007

Three studies investigated the knowledge gained by students, ranging from grade 3 to graduate level, from exposure to single examples of literary types. Types were suspense fiction, the journalistic restaurant review, and an invented fictional genre. Students of all ages showed evidence of some pick up of rhetorical knowledge, although of limited complexity. The learning process involved is distinguished from that involved in more gradual learning from exposure to literary models.
Understanding and Comprehending
Authors: FREEDMAN SARAH WARSHAUER , CALFEE ROBERT C.
Published: March 2007

Schools should be instructing students in formal thought and expression—what we call “comprehending”—rather than in everyday or “home” thought and language—what we call “understanding.” In this essay we suggest general changes in the standard reading and writing curricula. Finally, we examine the language of writing instruction, in college-level individual writing conferences, to take a close look at issues involved in implementing the curricula for higher and lower achieving students.
Expanding Roles for Summarized Information
Authors: RATTERAY OSWALD M.T.
Published: March 2007

At least seven types of summaries have emerged in common usage, especially during the past 250 years. They may be classified as either sequential summaries that retain the original order in which information was presented or synthesizing summaries that alter this sequence to achieve specific objectives. Each type of summary developed in response to challenges facing professions, government, business, and ordinary citizens-all of whom have sought to absorb increasing quantities of information being generated in a society that is becoming more complex. This taxonomy offers a definition and brief history for each of the seven techniques, describes the growth of corporations or other organizations that can be considered leading practitioners, and comments on the potential continuing role for each type of summary. The article also focuses on several contemporary issues that will affect future research, classroom writing instruction, and information management in modern computerized offices.
The Myth of the Attention-Getting Opener
Authors: HASHIMOTO I.
Published: March 2007

Although textbooks emphasize the importance of attention-getting introductions, such devices are hard to explain and hard for students to recognize. Perhaps even more important, such an emphasis may suggest to students a vastly oversimplified view of the reading process.
Appealing Texts
Authors: DURST RUSSEL , LAINE CHESTER , SCHULTZ LUCILLE M. , VILTER WILLIAM
Published: March 2007

This study analyzed the persuasive essays of high school juniors and seniors to determine the specific rhetorical and linguistic features that contributed to raters' holistic judgments about the overall quality of the essays. Essays written by a random sample of an ethnically, socially, and economically diverse population of high school writers were analyzed using an array of rhetorical and linguistic measures: overall quality, use of a five-paragraph structure, coherence, three types of persuasive appeals, and sentence-level errors. The relationships between the variables and the holistic scores were examined using a correlation analysis. A forward stepwise regression analysis was also used to estimate the amount of variance contributed by each variable. Results indicate that use of logical appeals, five-paragraph structure, coherence, and number of words were strongly correlated with the overall quality ratings.
Transforming Texts
Authors: SPIVEY NANCY NELSON
Published: March 2007

This article considers the complex processes involved in readers' and writers' construction of textual meaning: how people construct meaning from texts through reading and for texts through writing. Building meaning through reading entails organizing, selecting, and connecting. Readers use previously acquired knowledge to operate on textual cues, organizing mental representations that include material they select from the text and connect with material they generate. This constructivist characterization of the reading process extends also to literate acts in which people are writers as well as readers, those acts in which they compose texts by drawing from textual sources. To meet their discourse goals, writers perform textual transformations associated with the operations of organizing, selecting, and connecting as they appropriate source material for uses in different communicative contexts. They dismantle source texts and reconfigure content they select from these sources, and they interweave the source material with content they generate from stored knowledge. The article describes the kinds of transformations that occur through reading and writing, and proposes a way to think about tasks that invite writers to transform extant texts. Theoretical issues are raised, and suggestions are made for further research.
The Composing Process for Computer Conversation
Authors: MURRAY DENISE E.
Published: March 2007

Computer conversation provides a writing context in which both process and product are mediated via the computer terminal and the product is semipermanent. This 8-month study of the use of computer conversation by an IBM project manager and his colleagues identifies the cognitive and contextual strategies used to accommodate this particular task environment. When planning, writers chose among the available communication media, changed goals in a shifting rhetorical context, and organized parallel processes. When translating, they remembered the text constructed thus far and the knowledge shared with the reader and chose surface structures ad hoc to fit the technology. When reviewing, they revised with the goal of comprehensibility and evaluated writing-in-production against incoming information. This particular writing process illustrates the cognitive consequences of context for writing.
Ramus, Visual Rhetoric, and the Emergence of Page Design in Medical Writing of the English Renaissance
Authors: TEBEAUX ELIZABETH
Published: March 2007

The evolution of page design to improve the readability of technical writing can be traced to improvements in typography and also to the influence of Peter Ramus. Ramus's logic used bracketed outlines to show the relationships among ideas within larger concepts. Used by legal writers and Puritan theologians to analyze concepts, Ramist method was also used by English physicians who sought to create medical texts that could be easily read and remembered by students and practitioners. Texts that used Ramist method illustrate their writers' awareness of the importance of making information visually accessible by use of white space, headings that reveal hierarchies of ideas, and bracketed dichotomies and partitions to reveal content for selective reading.
Teaching Writers to Anticipate Readers' Needs
Authors: SCHRIVER KAREN A.
Published: March 2007

This study evaluated a method for teaching writers to anticipate readers' comprehension needs. The method, called reader-protocol teaching, involves asking writers to predict readers' problems with a text and then providing them with detailed readers' responses (in the form of think-aloud protocol transcripts) to illustrate how readers construct an understanding of the text. Writers in five experimental classes critiqued a set of ten poorly written instructional texts and then analyzed the protocol transcripts of readers struggling to comprehend these texts. Writers in five control classes were taught to anticipate the reader's needs through a variety of audience-analysis heuristics and collaborative peer-response methods. Pretests and posttests were used to assess improvements in experimental and control writers' ability to anticipate and diagnose readers' comprehension problems. Pretest and posttest materials were expository science texts. Writers taught with the reader-protocol teaching method improved significantly more than did writers in control classes in the number of readers' problems they accurately predicted. In addition, in contrast to writers in control classes, writers taught with the reader-protocol method significantly increased in their ability to (a) diagnose readers' problems caused by textual omissions, (b) characterize problems from the reader's perspective, and (c) attend to global-text problems. Moreover, writers' knowledge of audience acquired in one domain (instructional text) transferred to another (expository science text).
The Effects of Written Between-Draft Responses on Students' Writing and Reasoning about Literature
Authors: NEWELL GEORGE E.
Published: March 2007

Although studies of writing and literary understanding have demonstrated the value of analytic essay writing for enhancing story understanding, these studies have focused on student's initial interpretations without considering the effects of a teacher's support and direction. The purpose of this study was to explore how 9th- (n = 6) and 11th- (n = 6) grade students reformulated and extended their initial written analyses of two short stories through revisions fostered by two different kinds of between-draft written comments. After revising initial drafts in two response modes (directive and dialogue), the students wrote paragraph-length responses to posttest questions of story understanding. Results indicated significant (p < .05) main effects for response condition and grade level, with the dialogue condition enhancing story understanding more than the directive condition, and the 11th graders attaining higher posttest scores than the 9th graders. Data from composing-aloud protocols revealed that the dialogue condition supported the students' reformulation of their own interpretations constructed in the initial drafts, while the directive condition seemed to shift the students away from their own initial interpretations of the stories.
“Just Girls”
Authors: FINDERS MARGARET J.
Published: March 2007

Drawing from a year-long ethnographic study that follows four early adolescent girls (two sets of self-proclaimed best friends and their larger circle of girlfriends) from May of their sixth-grade year through the completion of seventh grade, this article examines how (a) focal students comply with and resist official institutional expectations, (b) participation in the classroom is influenced by the underlife present within the school, and (c) one's membership within groups regulates literate practices. The author argues that students' performances within the classroom cannot be free from sociopolitical tangles. As newcomers to junior high, these girls had limited ways in which to assert identity or seek power. Literacy proved a tangible means by which to document social allegiances, claim status, and challenge authority. In conclusion, this study challenges many of the commonly held assumptions about appropriate pedagogy for adolescents.
Writing from Primary Documents
Authors: YOUNG KATHLEEN McCARTHY , LEINHARDT GAEA
Published: March 2007

Developing academic literacy involves learning valued content and rhetoric in a discipline. Within history, writing from primary documents to construct an evidenced interpretation of an issue requires students to transform both background and document knowledge, read and interpret historical documents, and manage discourse synthesis. The authors examine the potential of the Advanced Placement Document-Based Question as constructed and presented by an exemplary teacher to engage students in historical reasoning and writing. The authors analyzed how five students responded to four document-based questions over a year, tracing how organization, document use, and citation language indicate the degree to which writers transformed and integrated information in disciplinary ways. Students moved from knowledge telling (listing period and document content as discrete information bits) to knowledge transformation (integrating content as interpreted evidence for an argument). Students had difficulty learning to handle the complex layers of the task. The authors discuss how instruction might mediate this complexity and promote academic literacy.
Embodied Knowledge
Authors: SAUER BEVERLY
Published: March 2007

This article examines the highly specific problems of roof support in coal mines to construct a theoretical framework that describes how texts represent information that is embodied, sensory, and uncertain. As this analysis suggests, workers in risky environments may follow instructions and still fail as situations change. Engineering and management approaches also may fail unless they reflect the kinds of embodied sensory information decision makers need to assess risk in local contexts. This analysis then raises ethical questions about (a) textbook notions of instructions as systematic procedures designed to produce predictable outcomes, (b) limits of particular types of information as signs or indexes of risk, (c) the role of generalized knowledge in uncertain environments, (d) the role of texts in representing knowledge that is sensory and uncertain, and (e) the locus of responsibility for safety if knowledge exists outside of written texts.
Students' Thinking and Writing in the Context of Probability
Authors: JOHNSON TODD M. , JONES GRAHAM A. , THORNTON CAROL A. , LANGRALL CYNTHIA W. , ROUS AMY
Published: March 2007

In response to the need for studies that focus on learning and writing in mathematics, this study examined changes in students' probabilistic thinking and writing during an instructional program that emphasized transactional writing in a problem-solving context. Although correlations between probabilistic thinking and writing levels at the end of the study were not significant, students did make significant gains in both probability reasoning and writing. Analysis of target students' journals revealed that their writing incorporated both writing symbols and mathematical symbols. These symbols were more complementary for those students whose writing increased to the higher levels during instruction. Moreover, this growth appeared to be promoted by the teacher herself, who systematically sought verbal explanations of solutions and written interpretations of diagrams and numerical patterns.
Ethos Versus Persona
Authors: CHERRY ROGER D.
Published: March 2007

Commentary: When “Ethos Versus Persona” was published in 1988, I was aware that these constructs easily transcend their ancient roots and that their richness and complexity have wide-ranging implications for contemporary rhetorical analysis and criticism. But I had no idea I was exploring concepts that would prove useful a decade later in understanding the political and legal travails of President Bill Clinton. As of this writing (March 1998), the president of the United States is caught in a firestorm of controversy surrounding alleged sexual improprieties and possible illegal acts (perjury, subornation of perjury, obstruction of justice). The national media are operating at a fever pitch to supply instantaneous information and analysis. And the American public, even if they might want to, cannot escape the deluge.

By all accounts, the president's approval ratings should be sinking like a rock. Yet commentators from all sides of the political spectrum are astounded that his ratings have soared to an all-time high. At the heart of this conundrum is the question of character and how audiences (or readers or voters) judge character. High-minded conservative pundits such as George Will are railing that this presidency has become so tawdry that, for the sake of national integrity, it must be terminated. Mr. Will apparently subscribes to the (decidedly modernist) theory that a person must not just seem good but be good in order to be credible. But do the approval ratings suggest that the American people have adopted the more postmodern (but also ancient amoral) view that politics is not just about appearances - it is appearances? Maybe. Or has the public - perhaps subscribing to Will's ontology after all - concluded that the taciturn special prosecutor, Kenneth Starr, has employed questionable tactics in obtaining evidence and that, by comparison, the president's character does not seem so bad after all? Regardless of what theories may or may not be reflected in public opinion polls, have the president and his handlers been successful (thus far) in maintaining his image as a credible figure? Or is it just the economy, stupid?

“Ethos Versus Persona” does not provide answers to these questions, of course. But it might yield some interesting ways to think about rhetoric and presidential politics as we close out the century. In any event, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Washington and its players for a months-long morality play enacting the tensions that energize ethos and that become even more apparent in any juxtaposition of ethos and persona. I could not have written a better or more timely script myself.
Adult Academic Achievement in Relation To Formal Education and Age
Authors: Sharon Amiel T.
Published: March 2007

An attempt was made to determine whether there are substantial numbers of adults whose academic achievement is equivalent to that of a representative sample of college students. The test scores of 43,877 military personnel on the General Examinations of the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) were analyzed in rela tion to previous formal education and age. Depending on the test, from 12 to 27 percent of the servicemen who have not studied beyond the high school level scored as well as the average college sophomore. A significantly positive relationship was found between formal college education and academic knowledge. The pattern of the level of academic achievement in different disciplines changed as a function of age. Knowledge of humanities, social sciences, and history improved with age while achievement in mathematics and natural sciences declined.
The Development and Use of a Dropout Prediction Scale
Authors: Boshier Roger
Published: March 2007

The development of two instruments to predict and diagnose drop out are described. The first, Personality and Educational Environ ment Scales (PEES) is based on a theoretical model developed from Carl Rogers self concept theory. Also described are the items, format, factor structure, and application of a 23 item Semantic Differential type Dropout Prediction Scale (D.P.S.). Data gathered from participants in two New Zealand adult education institutions demonstrate the predictive power of the D.P.S. The most powerful predictions are obtained from the use of two forms of the D.P.S. and a simple discrepancy scoring method. Implications of D.P.S. findings for adult education processes are discussed.
Differences Between Content Conformity and Visual Conformity
Authors: Long Huey B.
Published: March 2007

The study of conformity has examined a variety of variables over the years. H. T. Moore's 1921 study and studies through the mid-1930s were generally based on content-centered stimuli. Asch and Sherif introduced a new dimension through their studies which used a neutral stimulus. As a result, through the past three decades much of the work in the area of conformity has followed Asch's design. During the entire period there does not appear to have been much interest in studying conformity using both content and visual stimuli. This study was designed to determine the differ ences between conformity behavior when Ss were presented con tent and visual stimuli. The results indicated: 1. that conformity may be higher on content stimuli than visual stimuli; 2. there was no significant difference in conformity between the two kinds of content used in the study; 3. there was no significant relationship between age and either criterion variable; 4. there was significant negative correlation between I.Q. and overall conformity (on both criterion variables); 5. there was a significant negative correlation between SAT scores and overall conformity; and 6. there was a significant negative correlation between SAT scores and content conformity.
Reasons for Participation in Adult Education Courses: a Multivariate Analysis of Group Differences
Authors: Morstain Barry R. , Smart John C.
Published: March 2007

Recent research studies on the reasons which individuals have for participating in adult education courses have primarily focused on the development of survey instruments. Little or no data regard ing group differences in expressed reasons have been reported. The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand upon an earlier New Zealand study which employed the Education Partici pation Scale. The EPS was administered to 611 students enrolled in adult education courses at one college in the U. S., and the obtained factor patterns were judged to be similar when compared with those obtained in New Zealand. Mean scores on the derived EPS dimensions for various age-sex groups exhibited noticeable variation and step-wise discriminant analyses produced significant results (p<.01) in determining the parameters of group differences in expressed reasons for participation.
Costs and Benefits of Delayed High School Completion
Authors: Dhanidina Lutaf , Griffith William S.
Published: March 2007

This investigation assessed participant perceptions of the costs and benefits of earning a GED high school equivalency certificate. Job and occupationally-related motivations for enrollment pre dominated. Participants generally assumed that earning the certifi cate would increase their income approximately five percent and that additional education would yield an additional increase of ten percent. Opportunity costs of $658.00 overshadowed the cash costs of $25.72. Regression analyses revealed that current income is a better predictor of anticipated future earnings than are age, antici pated schooling, anticipated occupation and salary increase for 1968-1971, collectively. Most participants planned to pursue fur ther education following acquisition of their equivalency certificate. Longitudinal research on a large scale will be required to test the economic and occupational assumptions of American adults en rolled in GED preparatory programs.
Adult Educators and Politics
Authors: Griffith William S.
Published: March 2007

Adult educators who are interested in increasing the extent and variety of learning experiences provided to the public have sought to achieve this goal by innovative programming and an entrepreneurial approach to funding. If major expansion is to occur in the provision of adult education, it can only be brought about on a large scale by legislative action. To bring about favor able legislation it will be necessary for adult educators in their various organizations and associations to learn to work together so that a concerted effort can be mounted to educate legislators and the public regarding the benefits of an increase in adult edu cation opportunities.
The Adult Performance Level Program: a Serious and Deliberate Examination
Authors: Griffith William S. , Cervero Ronald M.
Published: March 2007

The Adult Performance Level Program and the tests which it has produced are the results of efforts initiated and supported by the U. S. Office of Education to improve the teaching and test ing of adults enrolled in Federally supported adult basic educa tion programs. This article examines the claims of the developers, identifies the theoretical problems which previously have been glossed over, scrutinizes the technical aspects of the development, and finally, evaluates the role of the U. S. Office of Education in these efforts.
Toward a Theory of Learning How To Learn
Authors: Smith Robert M. , Haverkamp Kay K.
Published: March 2007

Analysis of the literature suggests that adult educators and adult learners have much to gain from a clearer conceptualization of a theory of the nature and implications of learning how to learn—a concept that involves the adult's having, or acquiring, the knowledge and skill essential to learning effectively in whatever (learning) situation he encounters. The concept can be shown to have relevance for successful programming and learning in the three major modes: learning on one's own, collaborative learning, and institutional learning. This study (1) explores problems of definition, (2) describes both learning style and training-organized activity for helping the adult to achieve competence in learning— as dimensions or interrelated sub-concepts of learning how to learn, (3) identifies needed research and (4) suggests that the success or failure of programs and learning episodes is often determined by the way in which the implications of this concept are taken into account.
Adult Education Legislation in Portugal
Authors: Long Huey B. , Phillips William K.
Published: March 2007

This report summarizes the recent legislation related to adult education in Portugal. The following areas of legislation are considered: (a) the educational system in general, (b) development of the administrative structures for administering adult education, (c) basic education courses for adults, (d) popular libraries, (e) support for adult education activities, and (f) the National Plan for Literacy and Basic Education for Adults. It is concluded that Portuguese legislation emphasizes adult education as an instrument of change and goes well beyond the regulatory function.
Interlocking Systems of Power, Privilege, and Oppression in Adult Higher Education Classes
Authors: Tisdell Elizabeth J.
Published: March 2007

This qualitative comparative case study was guided by a feminist-materialist theoretical framework, and examined how power relationships predominantly based on gender but including race, class, and age were manifested in higher education classrooms of adult students. Two master's level counseling classes were chosen for the study, one was taught by a male professor and the other by a femal professor. The predominant means of data collection were audiotaped participant-observations of the classes; interviews and document analysis were additional sources of data. Data were analyzed according to the constant comparative method. Major findings of the study are: (a) students who benefit from interlockng systems of privilege have more power in the classroom; (b) the male professor tended to exert more control than the female professor; and (c) middle-aged women with more education tend to be more participatory, at least in classes where affective forms of knowledge are valued.
Intercultural Competency: A Transformative Learning Process
Authors: Taylor Edward W.
Published: March 2007

Intercultural competency is an adaptive capacity based on an inclusive and integrative world view which allows participants to effectively accommodate the demands of living in a host culture. Resea cultural competency over the last 25 years has ted to focus on identifying characteristics of participants indicative of successful intercultural experiences. Little if any research has approached the concept of intercultural competency from a learning perspective tat is, how participants learn to become interculturally competent The field of adult eda offers transformative learning theory that seems to partially explain this process. This study had a two-fold purpose: (a) to delineate the learning process of intercultural competency, and (b) to explore the theory of perspective transformation as a possible explanation for the learning and changes participants experience. The design of the study was qualitative, involving in-depth interviews with 12 interculturally competent participants. Analysis of the data resulted in a model illustrating the learning process of becoming interculturally competent The second part of the study revealed that Mezirow'stheoryofperspectivetransformationpartiallyexplainstheleaningprocess of intercultural competency. While both models share similar properties, this research extends our understanding of the theory of perspective transformation, particularly in the area of critical reflection.
A Survey of Graduate Adult Education Programns and Thie Adult Learning and Development Curriculum
Authors: Harrison Carolyn
Published: March 2007

Eighty-three programs were randomly selected from a population of 105 Adult Education programs listed in Peterson's Guides (1992) to complete a telephone survey questionnaire about program demographics and the nature of and emphasis on adult learning and development curricula. Demographic data revealed an alarming number of adult education program eliminations and the increased use of adjunct faculty. Substantially all surveyed institutions listed one or more required or elective courses in the area of adult learning and development, even though some educators were unaware of the existence of the Standards for Graduate Programs in Adult Education (Commission of Professors of Adult Education, 1986).