Describes a study that investigated the quality of interlibrary loan services in Canadian public libraries from the library's and the user's perspectives and then compared results. Measures of interlibrary loan performance are reviewed; an alternative conceptualization of service quality is discussed; and SERVQUAL, a measure of service quality, is…

Examines differences between undergraduate distance-learning students and traditional students in terms of their motivation, wants, and what they receive from their educational experience. The differences between the two groups was found to be small. The major difference was that distance-learning students are more satisfied with what they receive…

Presents a theoretical framework for understanding mass media news influence; explores the concepts of agenda setting, priming, framing, asymmetrical selection, binary oppositionalism, and institutional hegemony in a survey of literature in journalism and communications; and outlines a teaching strategy that highlights one news event and compares…

Investigates the effects of three formats of computer-based homework and paper-based homework, on the achievement, retention, attitudes, and time-on-task of lower secondary school students. Students who completed drill-and-practice homework scored higher on a test right after the treatment and 12 weeks later. Implications for how teachers can help…

The story of John Henry provided the setting for sixth-grade class to participate in a John Henry Day of mathematics experiments. The students collected data from experiments where students competed against machines and technology. The student analyzed the data by comparing two box plots, a box plot of human data, and a box plot of machine or…

This paper reports on a study that compared the practice of corporal punishment in ten basic schools in the Greater Accra District in Ghana. Five of the ten schools were designated as inclusive project schools (IPS) and the other five as non-inclusive project schools (NIS). The primary purpose was to find out if the inclusive project schools were…

Various researchers have recently challenged "contingent" models of managerial and leadership effectiveness, arguing that logic suggesting the universality of manager and supervisory leader behaviors is compelling, although there is sparse empirical evidence to support this view. A comparative study of the findings from three previous…

The current study examined special education teachers' ratings of the usefulness of strategy microanalytic assessment (SMA) (i.e., self-regulation, strategy use) and standardized norm-referenced assessment information (SNRA) (i.e., cognitive and academic skills). Ninety-six participants separately rated the frequency with which SMA and SNRA are…

This quantitative study compared the instructional effects of two web-based animation strategies against static graphics by high and low prior knowledge participants. One strategy used animation to gain attention; the second to gain attention and provide elaboration. Participants were 111 college student volunteers. Two-way multiple analysis of…

Contemporary theories of learning postulate one or at most a small number of different learning mechanisms. However, people are capable of mastering a given task through qualitatively different learning paths such as learning by instruction and learning by doing. We hypothesize that the knowledge acquired through such alternative paths differs…

Over the last 15 years, surveys in a range of English-speaking countries, from North America and the United Kingdom, to New Zealand and Australia, have consistently shown that employers rank oral and written communication skills as highly as or more highly than any technical or quantitative skills. However, in New Zealand there has been very…

In this article, the authors report on two international case studies that used comparable applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and were undertaken in comparable academic areas and levels of study. In the two cases, the authors explored faculty resistance to the use of ICTs for teaching and learning in higher…

This study investigates features of interaction between children that are linked to the development of understanding of mind, and asks whether these associations are evident across different relationships. Comparisons are made of the naturally occurring conversations in a sample of 43 4-year-old children, each observed with a sibling and with a…

Workplace assessment (WPA) of New Zealand's National Qualifications Framework (NQF) competencies has become a significant alternative pathway for vocational adult education. This article reports on a research project which compares stated intentions for workplace assessment with evidence of its practical realization. The perceptions of the…

Background: This study investigated the occurrence, cross-informant agreement, 1-year stability, and context characteristics of externalizing behaviors in 12-month-old children, as compared to 24- and 36-month-olds. Method: In a general population sample of 786 12-month-olds, 720 24-month-olds, and 744 36-month-olds, the CBCL/1 1/2-5 was obtained…