Interactional Influence in the Structuring of Media Use in Groups Influence in Members’Perceptions of Group Decision Support System Use

The aim of this study is to examine the ways in which individuals’perceptions of media use are influenced by others. Traditional theories of media use have proposed that perceptions of media use are shaped by individuals’demographic characteristics and the media's characteristics. However, three recent theories—critical mass theory, social influence model of media use, and adaptive structuration theory—suggest that individuals’perceptions of media emerge as a result of their interaction with others in their social network. Results from a longitudinal study of 30 group decision support system (GDSS) groups and 25 non-GDSS groups over a 3-week period indicate that interactional influence was a better predictor of individuals’perceptions of media use than were individuals’demographic characteristics or characteristics of the media.     

THE INFLUENCE OF A READING AND WRITING CURRICULUM ON TRANSFER LEARNING ACROSS SUBJECTS AND GRADES

This study examined the influence of an innovative reading and writing curriculum on the expository writing and content learning of middle grade students. In Study One, students of teachers who were highly knowledgeable of the curriculum design wrote significantly better essays than students of less knowledgeable teachers. In Study Two, students transferred knowledge and strategies learned in the innovative curriculum to the writing of geography essays throughout the school year. Study Three found that 21% of the variance in the text-based content of Grade 8 social studies essays could be accounted for by text structure knowledge acquired in Grade 7.