bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Election Coverage - New Directions for Public Broadcasting
Authors: de Vreese Claes H.
Published: March 2007

Previous research has suggested that public broadcasters in Europe have traditionally approached and covered election campaigns in a cautious and reactive way, often adhering to the official party agendas. Based on interviews, newsroom observations and content-analytic indicators, the 1998 national and 1999 European election campaign coverage of the Dutch public broadcaster was investigated. Newsroom observations and interviews with reporters and news executives revealed an increasingly proactive and selective editorial approach to election campaigns. The analyses showed that the two elections were approached similarly, but given different priority in the news. The content analysis showed a decrease in the amount of election coverage and a more analytic and interpretative journalistic spin on election stories compared to earlier elections. The implications of the results are discussed in the light of changes in political communication and the increasingly competitive environments in which public broadcasters are challenged to operate.
Myths of Media and Audiences
Authors: Schoenbach Klaus
Published: March 2007

Some of our strongest ideas about media and their audiences are myths - simple, but plausible and poetic, explanations of the world: the defenceless audience, the `disappearance of childhood', the `plug-in drug' and the hyperactive media user of the future, to name just a few. Typically, they have often not stood the test of reality but are widely believed. They even have real - good and bad - consequences for our everyday lives: they inspire laws to protect the audience against the bad influence of mass media; they cause people to spend fortunes on new media technology; they lead to blaming the media for not changing the world for the better. Myths seem to be necessary: the `super codes' behind the myths of media and audiences are Manichaeic views of human nature that reconcile us with the world of our senses and help integrate society.
Crime News: The Fascination of the Mundane
Authors: Dahlgren Peter
Published: March 2007

This article firstly presents a brief summary of a study done on the crime coverage in eight Swedish dailies over a twelve-month period. The article then asks why such material holds readers' interests, and this leads to a methodological discussion of interpretive analysis. An important feature of news texts, their thematic infrastructure, is seen as a key to their `transcontextual' character. This allows the meaning of the stories to be readily transposed from the public world to one or more of the many microcosms which constitute the everyday lives of newspaper readers.
Structural Equation Models for the Analysis of the Agenda-Setting Process
Authors: Hügel Rolf , Degenhardt Werner , Weiss Hans-Jürgen
Published: March 2007

Agenda setting is the most prominent concept in the analysis of media effects in election campaigns. In a secondary analysis, contingent conditions of political agenda setting (need for orientation, interpersonal communication, issue-specific sensitivity) were tested against direct exposure and content effects of newspapers and television. The results of a series of structural equation models consistently support the audience effects model of agenda setting. Media agenda setting in an election campaign was primarily restricted by media characteristics. For an `obtrusive' issue (social security), no media effect was found. Instead, issue sensitivity is a strong (indeed the only) predictor of awareness of this issue. For an `unobtrusive' issue (foreign affairs), media agenda setting is shaped by interpersonal political communication. Newspaper agenda setting is dependent upon a high degree, television agenda setting upon a low degree, of interpersonal communication about politics.
Studying Viewers' Reception of Television Programmes: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations
Authors: Höijer Birgitta
Published: March 2007

This article discusses some theoretical and methodological questions pertaining to qualitative reception research. There is a need to problematize both the gathering of reception data, which is mostly a business of interviewing techniques, as well as the data analysis. Concerning the latter it is necessary to develop systematic methods for analysing interview transcripts. Underlying methodological considerations are theoretical assumptions about the reception process, about verbal communication and about the general, specific or social nature of the phenomena studied. The article presents a method for studying viewers' reception in a cognitive perspective. Theoretical and methodological considerations in each phase of a study, that is, the interview phase, the analysis phase and the result phase, are discussed.
Language and Culture as Ultimate Barriers? An Analysis of the Circulation, Consumption and Popularity of Fiction in Small European Countries
Authors: Biltereyst Daniël
Published: March 2007

Television fiction is traditionally seen as the most problematic programme category with respect to dependency on foreign television material. This is especially true for television stations in Third World and small countries in general. Imported, mostly US, fiction plays a prominent role in the total programming schedule and also appears to enjoy popular success. This combination of material dependency and public approval is now a widely discussed topic in cultural debates on the protection of the indigenous identity in many countries and regions. However, very few programme flow studies have been conducted connecting systematically data on the supply and the consumption of (fiction) programmes. This article provides an international comparative study of the import flows and the (quantitative) consumption of fiction in thirteen small European countries and regions (twenty-six stations). It argues that there are noticeable differences in the supply and preferences of the importing countries. Linguistic and cultural proximity is an extremely strong generator of these differences and thus functions as a main protagonist in directing the regional television flows within Western Europe.
Between Trust and Suspicion: How Political Journalists Solve the Dilemma
Authors: Mancini Paolo
Published: March 2007

This article deals with the news gathering activity of Italian political journalists. Their interaction with information sources develops within a framework of constant ambivalence between trust and suspicion. Political journalists resolve this ambivalence through a problem-solving activity which implies a phase of negotiation with politicians and then a discussion with colleagues to verify their interpretation of the situation. From this derives a model of journalism which is strongly interpretative and closer to commentary than to news reporting. After a discussion of the theoretical and methodological basis, the article highlights the Italian environment — the places, routines and roles — within which the political journalism is carried out.
Problems of Minority Language Broadcasting: Gaelic in Scotland
Authors: Cormack Mike
Published: March 2007

As regionalization and ethnic differentiation reassert their importance on the European political scene, the provision of minority language broadcasting becomes an increasingly contentious issue. The 1980s saw the birth of television stations broadcasting in Welsh, Basque and Catalan, and the 1990s are likely to see more demands for such linguistic recognition. This article seeks to explore some of the problems associated with minority language broadcasting by examining one particular case: the development of Gaelic television in Scotland. A major increase in Gaelic broadcasting is currently underway. After first experimenting with a very low level of cultural programming, then of some current affairs and educational programming, the range is now being extended into light entertainment. Despite the increasing internationalization of the media, current trends towards regionalization and cultural fragmentation suggest that the outlook for such minority language media may not be as black as was once assumed, although there are clearly problems associated with such minority broadcasting.
Regional Television in Europe
Authors: Garitaonandía Carmelo
Published: March 2007

The majority of European administrations have been undergoing a so-called process of regionalization which has led particularly to the regionalization of public television. There are some European countries whose public television has traditionally been based on regionalized broadcasting systems because of linguistic criteria (Belgium and Switzerland) or political criteria (the German Länder and Spanish Autonomous Communities). During the 1980s, this process coincided with the development of private TV stations in Europe, which multiplied the number of national and local TV channels. Thus, the process of regionalization has decelerated and even some regional public television systems have changed their regional television policies and tried to reduce expenses by centralizing their networks.
Picturing the Landscape: Die Grune Insel
Authors: Bell Desmond
Published: March 2007

In this paper we examine how our images of the landscape are framed in and through the media practices involved in tourist promotion. Through a case study of the selling of Ireland as a holiday destination for the German tourist market, we explore the processes of cultural translation and intertextuality which link traditions of landscape painting, photoart and the contemporary tourist brochure. We argue that communication analysis can play a key role in the critical study of tourism.
Ethics as a Vehicle for Media Quality
Authors: Belsey Andrew , Chadwick Ruth
Published: March 2007

Given the connection between the media and democracy, the question of media quality is important. A recurring theme is the distinction between positive and negative aspects of media quality: what is required and what is prohibited. The legal route to media quality is considered and accepted as necessary, but not sufficient. It needs to be supplemented by the ethical route, understood as a competence to deploy ethical consideration in professional practice. The idea of ethical standards being provided by a code of practice is considered, and the (British) Press Complaints Commission's Code is examined as an example. The conclusion is that codes have their limitations but overall the ethical route is indispensable, although in need of further exploration.
The Ethics of Journalism and Democracy
Authors: Encabo Manuel Nuñez
Published: March 2007

Since freedom of information for proprietors, publishers and journalists in the mass media is not unlimited, it is necessary to safeguard its rights but also demand its duties, thus making freedom and responsibility compatible. The Council of Europe points out that proprietors, publishers and journalists have a duty to consider information not as a merchandise but as a fundamental citizen's right — that is to say, that citizens can demand truthful information and ethical opinions. Being exposed to pressure from both public authorities and influential companies, journalists need special protection. The mass media has a decisive role in the development of democracy and public opinion. However, it must not usurp the proper functions of the public authorities nor pretend to represent public opinion because that would be an attempt to act like public authorities yet without having either the representation or the necessary democratic controls. In order to help the media fufil its aim of providing reliable information and ethical opinions, the Council of Europe considers it necessary for the mass media to exercise self-control through proprietors, publishers and journalists submitting voluntarily to deontological codes. As far as the deontic codes are concerned, their influence and prestige can only be maintained if they contain declared ethical principles, mechanisms of self-control and sanctions.
The Voluntary Sector in a Changing Communication Environment
Authors: Deacon David
Published: March 2007

Debates about the sociology of news production have recently been influenced by two emerging research trends. The first has focused attention on the power of news sources to pre-structure news and current affairs, the second has addressed the influence of non-official institutions in the news creation process. Drawing on research into communication activity in the British voluntary sector, this article discusses these new trends and provides extensive empirical data on the media strategies and objectives of a large and varied collection of voluntary organizations. The discussion also relates these findings to important contextual developments that are transforming the communication environment of these non-official agencies.
Who's Afraid of Infotainment?
Authors: Brants Kees
Published: March 2007

Many authors in Europe and the USA claim that commercialization and competition in broadcasting lead to a downgrading of political information and, even worse, to a crisis in political communication highlighted by the increasing reliance of television news media on entertainment formats. The justification for this `infotainment scare' is put to the test by an overview of research on politics in television news in a number of (Northern) European countries, a first-hand research project on the campaign communications in the 1994 elections in the Netherlands, and a discussion of the implicit and explicit assumptions the scare is based on.
Economic Globalization, Crisis and the Emergence of Chinese Business Communities in Southeast Asia
Authors: Yeung Henry Wai-chung
Published: March 2007

Globalization tendencies have fundamentally transformed the nature and organization of business communities in Southeast Asia. Chinese business communities in East and Southeast Asia have been playing a leading role in the regional economy through the extensive interpenetration of capital flows and business networks. Through their cross-border investments and global trade networks, these Chinese business communities have also facilitated the rearticulation of mainland China into the global economy. The recent Asian economic crisis, however, has seriously undermined the social and institutional foundations of Chinese business communities in Southeast Asia. At the discursive level, Chinese business communities are beginning to come to terms with a much more realistic conception of globalization as a set of contested processes creating both threats and opportunities. In material terms, Chinese business communities increasingly recognize the limits to their `home' country-based accumulation strategies and turn to globalization as an alternative growth strategy. The emergence of Chinese business communities in Southeast Asia cannot therefore be conceived as an indigenous evolutionary process of social and institutional change. Rather, it should always be seen as contingent upon such critical external processes as globalization.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF CONSUMPTION
Authors: Cheal David
Published: March 2007

It is argued here that a post-Marxist constructionist sociology of consumption is desirable for three reasons. Firstly, the liberal theory of `economy and society' designates consumption as falling on the `society' side, with material processes belonging to `the economy'. Problematic consequences of this separation are illustrated with reference to difficulties in the social scientific measurement of poverty. Secondly, the Marxist subsumption of consumption under production neglects the independent influence of distribution and circulation. Finally, Baudrillard's claim for a pure sphere of consumption driven by symbolic media overlooks the contribution that human work, such as shopping, makes to consumption. It is claimed that what is needed now is a constructionist sociology of consumption, that can show how the possibility to consume is an outcome of the everyday practices of social life. A model of the social construction of consumption is proposed, and it is described with special reference to issues of gender division.
The History of the British Sociological Association
Authors: Platt Jennifer
Published: March 2007

The British Sociological Association (BSA) was founded when British sociology was very small, but it grew rapidly as higher education expanded, and many BSA activities responded to this. Membership has always been open. In the 1950s, younger members wanted more professionalization, and founded a separate group for `professional sociologists'; this soon became a section of the BSA, and then was closed as no longer needed. Other groups too which had felt their interests required independence have been absorbed. The professionalizing group took over the leadership, only to be challenged in turn by the women's movement; this made gender issues salient, and led to a policy of gender equality. The politicized period of the late 1960s and 1970s, student unrest, and governmental attacks on the social sciences, created many issues which involved the BSA. Internally, policy was egalitarian on several fronts; some senior men objected to this. Activities have grown considerably, and include journals, conferences, codes of practice, study groups, an academic press and a summer school; recently it has also often been necessary to represent sociology in relation to governmental initiatives for higher education. The external environment is now quieter and the discipline has become older and more established, but despite increased professionalization the BSA remains egalitarian and inclusive.
CHINESE WORKERS' HIGH EXPECTATIONS OF ENTERPRISE MANAGERS
Authors: Jianhua Lu
Published: March 2007

In China workers' high expectations of their enterprise managers are not based on personal choise, but are the result of their involuntary heavy dependence on their employers. This is reflected in a whole set of systems within enterprises, which have serious drawbacks for production relations, including the managers' extended authority over workers' occupational and non-occupational lives, workers' decreased opportunities and expectations of their own participation in the business of the enterprises. Consequently, workers' level of initiative in production activities is reduced and the positive significance of work is diminishing in their lives.
MEAD'S MULTIPLE CONCEPTIONS OF TIME AND EVOLUTION: THEIR CONTEXTS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR THEORY
Authors: Strauss Anselm
Published: March 2007

Mead's views of time are inextricably linked with his conceptions of evolution. Besides an abstract scheme and a content scheme bearing on evolution, at least nine temporal themes appear in Mead's writings: 1) evolution as an enduring, continual process; 2) control over the future course of human evolution; 3) evolution as a developmental process; 4) evolution as emergent, open-ended, continuous; 5) evolution, freedom, the future, and continuity with the past; 6) evolution as a moral process; 7) evolution as the increasing enlargement of the scope of moral social consciousness; 8) evolution as increasing social differentiation, complexity and integration; 9) evolution: emergence of the novel, time as process and perspective. These themes are differentially in focus with various publications, depending on the substantive issue being addressed. The themes may not be mutually consistent, but hang together in terms of Mead's total philosophical argument about evolution and civilisational progress. All of Mead's topical discussions are embedded in a temporal-evolutionary context.
The McDonaldization Thesis:
Authors: Ritzer George
Published: March 2007

The issue addressed here is whether the spread of rationalization, or what I have termed `McDonaldization', is inexorable. That issue is examined spatially and temporally. Spatially, what we are witnessing is the increasingly global dissemination of rationalization, much of it emanating from the United States. The temporal growth is discussed from the point of view of the expansion of McDonaldization to birth and before and death and beyond; rationalization is coming to contain the entire life course (and more). Evidence of expansion does not, of course, necessarily mean that growth is inevitable. There are some hopeful social developments and there are some things that individuals can do, but it is difficult at this point to envision anything powerful enough to stem the tide in the direction of rationalization.
Epistemological Aspects of Clinical Sociology
Authors: Bouilloud Jean-Philippe
Published: March 2007

Clinical sociology, as a sociology of the Lebenswelt, the lifeworld, is difficult to analyse through the categories of traditional epistemology, oriented towards the study of natural sciences. Therefore, it has been unable to take into account the specificity of sociology, often considered as unscientific from the justification point of view. The point is that sociology, and specifically clinical sociology, develops a specific link with its subject, unlike the natural sciences. Sociology is a science for us and about us, and it takes charge of the problems that belong to the actuality of the social world. Because of this, sociology is not a mere physics of the social world, nor a simple history of the contemporary world. It is concerned with the expectations of society, and the whole history of sociology demonstrates this. Therefore, classical approaches such as critical rationalism or even the sociology of science have to be completed by a specific analysis of this double link between clinical sociology and society: following the works of Gadamer, Habermas and Jauss, and through a phenomenological approach, it is what we propose under the name of epistemology of reception.
Discourses of Globalization
Authors: Robertson Roland , Khondker Habib Haque
Published: March 2007

It is argued that the word `globalization' has become so fuzzy and used with such a variety of different meanings that a general theory of globalization must acknowledge and incorporate various discourses. The most prominent current usage of the term `globalization' is undoubtedly associated with the global expansion of the market form of economy. There are specific reasons why the economistic understanding of globalization has, at least in the short run, gained widespread acceptance. This has occurred in spite of the much longer employment of the term in sociological discussion. The main discourses which are discussed in this article are regional; disciplinary; ideological and political; and gender specific. The general thrust of the article is to reject the reductionism of particularistic discourses, while recognizing their significance.
"Go Slow" or Crash: Education, Society, and New Technologies in Francophone West Africa
Authors: Akindes Simon Adetona
Published: March 2007

The history of computers is embedded in military research and training. Its increased role in education to access and exchange information, and to connect teachers, parents, and community, has not diminished its potential for military or industrial intelligence. Therefore, computers have deep political, social, and cultural implications for countries with no control over software and hardware production. In francophone West Africa, computer adoption is very slow. This article establishes the extent to which computers are used in education and research and critically examines some of the challenges their adoption poses. Drawing arguments from cultural critics concerned with the quality of our lives, it argues that the present slow pace of their adoption may be more of a blessing than a disadvantage if they cannot promote diverse literacies, indigenous forms of knowledge, and local cultures, and if they cannot help break the scientific isolation of those countries.
Relation of Social Support and Self-Esteem to Problem Behavior:
Authors: Moran Benjamin L. , DuBois David L.
Published: March 2007

Relations of social support and self-esteem to problem behavior were investigated among 347 young adolescents. Using structural equation modeling, three models were evaluated: a mediational model in which social support is related indirectly to problem behavior via intervening effects on self-esteem, a mediated and direct effects model in which social support has a direct relation to problem behavior in addition to an indirect linkage via self-esteem, and a direct effects model in which the relation of social support to problem behavior is not mediated by self-esteem because of the lack of an independent effect of esteem on problem behavior. The best fitting model was the mediated and direct effects model. In general, social support and self-esteem predicted less involvement in problem behavior. However, after taking into account variance shared with a general self-esteem construct, unique variance in peer self-esteem predicted greater problem behavior.
News Media and Politicization: American Youth 1969-1975
Authors: Jones Ruth S.
Published: March 2007

This study analyzes change in news media usage among thirteenand seventeen-year-old students, compares TV, radio, and newspaper attention levels, and considers changes in news topics of interest to teenagers during the Vietnam-Watergate era. The data are from national surveys conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 1969 and 1975. By 1975, American youth of both age groups watched less TV news, listened to less radio news, and read fewer newspapers than their age counterparts six years earlier. Although news media usage decreased during this period, those who used the news media in 1975 were as likely to recall news topics of interest as media users in 1969. Few students use more than one medium to obtain political news but no single source dominates their attention. Cross-sectional analysis indicates that news media usage is only weakly related to levels of political awareness. Among the three media considered, the linkage is strongest between TV news and information levels.
Effects of Instructional Organization on Students' Transition Success
Authors: Ward Beatrice A. , Mergendoller John R. , Tikunoff William J.
Published: March 2007

The Junior High School Transition Study examined the ways in which classrooms were organized for instruction in grade six in six elementary schools and in grade seven in the junior high school attended by students from these elementary schools. Six elements of instructional organization were investigated: (1) content of instruction, (2) group size and composition, (3) division of labor, (4) student control, (5) evaluation, and (6) student advancement. In combination, these elements describe the activity structure within which instruction takes place in a classroom. Findings suggest that, across the various subject matter areas, students were required to deal with less diverse and less complex activity structures in grade seven than in grade six. The greatest diversity of structures was observed in self-contained grade six classrooms. Even though the activity structures were similar across subject areas and teachers in grade seven, students who experienced a greater variety of activity structures in grade six were more successful in their transitions to junior high school than students who came from elementary schools where similar structures were used across the subject areas.
North Carolina Middle School Teachers Rate their Preservice Programs and their First Year of Teaching
Authors: Gretes John A. , Queen J Allen , Daguano Karen
Published: March 2007

This article is based on a survey given to first year middle grade teachers in North Carolina. Four hundred and sixty-six responded to the survey which investigated their pre-service programs in relation to their first year of teaching. Comparisons are made between responses of middle grade teachers and teachers at other levels. When asked what could have been added to their college program to make it more valuable, middle school teachers identified survival skills and more field experiences earlier in their academic experiences. They also reported feeling less than adequate in working with learning disabled and gifted and talented students. As a group they identified their student teaching and methods courses as the most valuable aspects of their preservice programs.
The Measurement of Identity: Reliability of Constantinople's Inventory of Personality Development
Authors: Hepworth Jeri
Published: March 2007

This paper considers the reliability of a much referenced measure of identity, Constantinople's Inventory of Personality Development. Al- though Constantinople indicated only moderate acceptability of the reliability of the instrument, a review of literature indicates that later researchers utilizing the measure generally did not report independent reliability estimates. This paper reports reliability estimates, computed for the identity subscales with a sample of undergraduate students, which suggests caution in the use of this measure for identity research. Discussion includes the implications of this methodological issue for future identity research.
Early Adolescents' Perceptions of Peer Pressure
Authors: Brown B. Bradford , Lohr Mary Jane , McClenahan Eben L.
Published: March 2007

To examine the nature of peer pressures perceived by early adolescents, 373 students in grades 7-12 were asked to indicate, on a 12-item index, the degree and direction of peer pressures they perceived from friends and acquaintances, and to describe their personal attitudes and behavior in areas corresponding to index items. Analyses revealed that peers were seen as encouraging misconduct less than other types of behavior. Females reported stronger peer pressure than males toward conformity (to peer norms) and social involvement, but the genders did not differ in perceptions of misconduct or pro-adult pressures. Associations between perceived pressures and personal attitudes or behavior were significant but modest, and sometimes were mediated by gender or grade level. Findings are discussed in light of previous research on conformity and Newman and Newman's postulates concerning early adolescent identity development.
The Perceived Quality of Leisure Experiences among Smoking and Nonsmoking Adolescents
Authors: Smith Edward A. , Caldwell Linda L.
Published: March 2007

The leisure experiences of 1,407 smoking and nonsmoking adolescents were contrasted with respect to their perceived quality. Leisure attitudes and behavior were measured with regard to both the adolescents' general approach to free time and their most common use of free time. Compared with nonsmokers, adolescents who smoked during their most common leisure activity were found to be more bored, and less challenged; they felt less competent and evaluated their performance more severely. Similarly, a general pattern of cigarette smoking over the previous year was associated with a general percepton of leisure time as having produced boredom, anxiety, a feeling of low compentence, and less challenge. Smokers and nonsmokers, however, were equally aware of leisure opportunities. These findings indicated that adolescents who smoke find their leisure time to be qualitatively less fulfilling than do nonsmoking adolescents.
Family Financial Stress, Parental Support, and Young Adolescents' Academic Achievement and Depressive Symptoms
Authors: Clark-Lempers Dania S. , Lempers Jacques D. , Netusil Anton J.
Published: March 2007

This study investigated the relationship among family financial stress, parents' emotional-affective support for their children, and academic achievement and depressive symptoms in 105 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders from farm and nonfarm families. ANOVA results indicated that parents from farm families reported higher levels of family financial stress and of depression than parents from nonfarm families. While multiple regression analyses did not reveal a relationship between family financial stress and maternal or paternal levels of emotional-affective support for their adolescent children, or between family financial stress and the adolescents' academic performance, they did show that family financial stress as reported by parents was strongly related to adolescents' reports of depressive symptoms.
Maternal Employment and Parent-Child Relations in Families of Seventh Graders
Authors: Paulson Sharon E. , Koman Joseph J. , Hill John P.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of maternal employment status and maternal satisfaction with employment status on closeness between parents and their seventh-grade children. Effects on family activities and family rules were studied with consideration given to their possible mediating influences on closeness. Results revealed that sons reported greater closeness with fathers when mothers were employed and daughters reported greater closeness with parents when mothers were not employed or were employed part time. Mothers reported greater closeness to sons when they were employed, but reported greater closeness to daughters when they were not employed or were employed part time. Fathers reported no differences in closeness to either sons or daughters regardless of maternal employment status. Maternal employment status had no effects on activities or rules. Maternal satisfaction with employment status had little effect on closeness and had no effect on activities or rules.
The Relation of Parental Employment and Contextual Variables with Sexual Permissiveness and Gender Role Attitudes of Rural Early Adolescents
Authors: Wright David W. , Peterson Lori Reckling , Barnes Howard L.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the relationships between parental employment variables, mediating contextual variables, early adolescent's permissive sexual attitudes and behaviors, and gender role traditionalism among 128 rural adolescents. Permissive sexual attitudes were related to permissive sexual behavior, but neither was related to gender role traditionalism. No relationship was found between mothers' employment and adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors. Similarly, the sexual attitudes, sexual behaviors, and traditionalism of the adolescents in this sample were not related to the employment variables of their parents, regardless of whether these variables were examined in bivariate or multivariate fashion. Adolescents' ages and perceptions of peer pressure were both positively related to sexual permissiveness, although these relationships appeared to be mediated by general parent-adolescent communication and parentadolescent communication about human sexuality. The only communication variable related to an occupational variable was communication with father, which was positively correlated with fathers' occupational status.
Physical Attractiveness and Psychosocial Functioning among Early Adolescents
Authors: Lerner Richard M. , Lerner Jacqueline V. , Hess Laura E. , Schwab Jacqueline , Jovanovic Jasna , Talwar Rachna , Kucher Joseph S.
Published: March 2007

Male and female adolescents who differed in physical attractiveness (PA) were also expected to differ in peer and parent relations, classroom behaviors, and self-perceptions, with adolescents higher in PA expected to score more favorably than those lower in PA. To test these expectations, sixth graders from the Pennsylvania Early Adolescent Transitions Study were longitudinally assessed at the beginning, middle, and end of sixth grade. Across time, adolescents who saw themselves as competent were rated similarly by their teachers and had better peer and parent relations than was the case with the adolescents who saw themselves as less competent. As expected, PA was associated with these differences. Within and across time, adolescents higher in PA tended to have more favorable ratings than did adolescents lower in PA. The stimulus information value of PA for cuing a stereotype regarding attractiveness is discussed.
Parental Predictors of Boys' Self-Restraint and Motivation to Achieve at School
Authors: Wentzel Kathryn R. , Feldman S. Shirley
Published: March 2007

This longitudinal study examined child-centered and inconsistent parenting practices and parental expectations for children's academic attainment in early adolescence as predictors of midadolescents'self-restraint and motivation to achieve in high school. A sample of 64 boys, 64 mothers, and 48 fathers was followed from the boys' early to midadolescence. Findings from regression analyses indicated that parenting practices and parental expectations during early adolescence were not independent predictors of school motivation when sons' self-restraint in midadolescence was taken into account. However, consistent parenting practices and mothers' expectations for sons' academic attainment in early adolescence were related to sons' motivation to achieve during high school in part by way of sons' self-restraint. These findings were robust when controlling for the potentially confounding effects of parents' socioeconomic status. The role of parents in influencing adolescents' motivation to achieve is discussed.
Effects of Pubertal Status and Conversation Topic on Parent and Adolescent Affective Expression
Authors: Montemayor Raymond , Eberly Mary , Flannery Daniel J.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between adolescent pubertal status and the expression of positive and negative affect by parents and adolescents. Parents and adolescents were observed during pleasant and unpleasant conversations. Data were obtained from 85 mother-father-adolescent families who participated in this laboratory study. Four findings emerged. First, the expression of negative affect by both mothers and fathers significantly increased as adolescents physically matured Second, parent and adolescent positive affect did not significantly change as a function of pubertal status. Third, few parent-adolescent dyad differences were found for parent expression of negative affect, although increases in adolescent negative affect occurred mainly with mothers, especially for daughters. Fourth, parents and adolescents were more positive toward each other in pleasant conversations and more negative in unpleasant conversations. Results were discussed in terms of recent theorizing and research on parent-adolescent relations. The relevance of models of the structure of affect to the study of affective expression also is discussed.
Psychometric Evidence of Intellectual Growth Spurts in Early Adolescence
Authors: Andrich David , Styles Irene
Published: March 2007

A tantalizing idea indicated by both qualitative psychological research and brain research is that intellectual growth includes spurts. Intellectual growth spurts have been difficult to confirm quantitatively because of the lack of a constant unit of measurement for an intellectual variable applicable across different ages and because of problems in conducting longitudinal studies. This article reports quantitative evidence of an intellectual growth spurt during early adolescence by combining (a) modern psychometric modeling that permits transforming discrete responses of persons to test-items into formal measurements, (b) computerized testing with the Raven progressive matrices, and (c) a longitudinal study over 5 years involving 201 students of both genders and from homogeneous socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. No gender differences in the magnitude or the timing of these differences were found although the spurt for girls were clearer than those for boys. The significance of this evidence for educational decisions made during early adolescence is noted, especially in relation to educational assessment and placement.
Domain Specificity and Habits of Mind
Authors: Matthews Dona J. , Keating Daniel P.
Published: March 2007

A study of diversity in high-level competence was conducted with 122 students identified as academically gifted, in Grades 6, 7, and 8. Data collection involved psychological self-report measures, as well as nine high-ceiling assessments in three domains of functioning. The results of data analyses were inconsistent with a linear single-scale model of intelligence (e.g., intelligence quotient), but supported the efficacy of a three factor solution: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical and Social. Further, the data indicated that specialization and generalization develop in tension with each other, yielding coherent patterns of competence and personality, consistent with a model that views competence as arising from developmental histories that may be captured as habits of mind. Recommendations were made pertaining to education, most particularly taking diversity in patterns of high-level development into account, and considering the Social domain an important domain of intellectual growth at early adolescence.
The Case for Using Live Cases: Shifting the Paradigm in Marketing Education
Authors: Kennedy Ellen J. , Lawton Leigh , Walker Erika
Published: March 2007

The rapidly changing nature of the workplace and the composition of the current generation of students call for new paradigms for delivering business education. Teaching, once largely a teacher-centered, product-based activity, is becoming increasingly student centered and process based. However, this approach raises significant problems for students, faculty members, clients, and institutions. The authors use an example of an interdisciplinary exercise in which students from both marketing and entrepreneurship courses were paired to develop marketing plans for small-business owners. Students derived significant benefits from this process-focused experience, such as development of skills in creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and so on. The authors highlight issues that must be addressed and a range of solutions in order to facilitate this paradigm shift in ways that benefit all of those involved.
The Competitive Case Presentation and Critique Training Method
Authors: Gunn Bruce
Published: March 2007

This structured case method provides marketing students at advanced stages of learning with the authority/responsibility for carrying out the case presentation critique, and peer evaluation.
Students are Important Consumers: Assessing Satisfaction in a Higher Education Context
Authors: Conant Jeffrey S. , Brown Jacqueline Johnson , Mokwa Michael P.
Published: March 2007

Satisfaction assessment is a vital dimension of strategic marketing consciousness and practice. Yet the study of student satisfaction in higher education is underdeveloped. This empirical study tests, and demonstrates, the utility of the disconfirmation perspective of consumer satisfaction as a theoretical foundation and method for evaluating student satisfaction within the context of an MBA program.
The Construct Validity of Teaching Behavior Evaluation Methods: A Multitrait-Multimethod Analysis
Authors: Lammers M. Bruce , Kirchner Don F.
Published: March 2007

The construct validity of five different methods of assessing five separate teaching behavior traits was examined in the framework of a S x 5 multitrait-multimethod matrix. The results indicated that videotape rating methods produced convergent and discriminant validity coefficients which were greater than or equal to those derived from the more traditional peer and student rating methods.
The Mass Lecture Section: An Individualized Approach to Instructional Design
Authors: Anderson Carol H.
Published: March 2007

A process is described for course development and individualization of instruction in heterogeneous mass sections of introductory marketing courses containing 250-300 students. An overview of instructional methods and materials is presented, including individualized modules for use by students in a Self Instruction Center. Student responses to instructional materials are reported.
Women Marketing Students and the Service Economy: A New Majority
Authors: Stern Barbara B.
Published: March 2007

Women marketing students, nearly the majority, are likely to work in services: 84% of all women and most mangers and entrepreneurs are in service industries. Business programs' responses to women students include course development and nonsexist language. A women-related resource appendix for educators is included.
The Use of Importance-Performance Analysis for Improving the Quality of Marketing Education: Interpreting Faculty-Course Evaluations
Authors: Ortinau David J. , Bush Alan J. , Bush Robert P. , Twible Jacquelyn L.
Published: March 2007

The article focuses on demonstrating how importance-performance analysis can serve as an easily applied technique for reducing the difficulties in translating faculty-course performance results into meaningful actions. A specific faculty-course evaluation example which uses an extended version of the technique is offered. Important insights are presented regarding the modified technique's impact on making strategic quality improvement1 decisions for marketing education.
A Closer Look at Manuscript Reviewing in Marketing
Authors: Beatty Sharon E. , Bandyopadhyay Souimava , Chae Myung-Su , Tarasingh Pola S.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the manuscript review process in marketing. For both empirical and nonempirical manuscripts, significance of contribution and conceptual rigor were found to be the most important criteria in the reviewing process. The most critical characteristic of a reviewer is the ability to recognize a manuscript's potential and suggest ways to maximize its contribution.
The Death of Immortality: Births, Deaths and Metamorpheses in the U.S. Federal Bureaucracy 1933-1982
Authors: Peters B. Guy , Hogwood Brian W.
Published: March 2007

Kaufman's research on the "immortality" of public organizations has led us to believe that the population of organizations in government is very stable. The research reported here finds Kaufman's work to have some serious flaws. With a different data base and different methodology, the findings are that there was a great deal of change in the U.S. federal government in the period of 1933 to 1983.
Organizational Learning and Public Policy: Towards a Substantive Perspective
Authors: Ventriss Curtis , Luke Jeff
Published: March 2007

The concept of organizational learning has gained increasing attention as an important approach to administrative theory and practice. This article examines some of the major models of organizational learning and argues that these different approaches, to one extent or another, have obscured the importance of learning's substantive meaning as applied to public policy and public affairs in general. We propose an approach called substantive learning which challenges public administrators to reflect upon the intended and unintended outcomes of policies in an intersectoral environment.
The Impact of Quality of Life on Recruitment and Retention of Key Personnel
Authors: Glaser Mark A. , Bardo John W.
Published: March 2007

Business retention and expansion are pointed to in the literature as being more effective economic development policy in comparison to business recruitment. The ability of a business to attract and retain this nucleus of key personnel is critical for remaining competitive. The quality of life of an area is considered to be an important ingredient for the attraction and retention of key personnel. Public sector investments in quality of life not only make the community a more attractive place to live but also contribute indirectly to economic prosperity. In this article the input from chief executive officers in over 700 businesses in Wichita, Kansas, are examined to determine the value of 10 quality-of-life attributes for attraction or retention of key personnel. Input from 6 classes of business are examined, and important differences in the quality-of-life values of key personnel are discovered. The first major conclusion is that targeting by business type is an important consideration for local economic development policy. A second conclusion is that local schools are not necessarily the key ingredient for recruitment and retention of key personnel. Well-developed community spirit building and entertainment opportunities are, in many cases, the greatest lure. Finally, effective economic development action will require cooperation between public and private sectors.