Ethical issues in a study of Internet use: uncertainty, responsibility, and the spirit of research relationships

In this article we explore ethical issues arising in a study of home Internet use by low-income families. We consider questions of our responsibility as educational researchers and discuss the ethical implications of some unanticipated consequences of our study. We illustrate ways in which the principles of research ethics for use of human subjects can be ambiguous and possibly inadequate for anticipating potential harm in educational research. In this exploratory research of personal communication technologies, participants experienced changes that were personal and relational. These unanticipated changes in their way of being complicated our research relationships, testing the boundaries of our committment to the principle of trustworthiness and forcing us to reevaluate our responsibilities.     

Body image, figure rating, and body mass index of girls enrolled in health, physical education, or athletics classes

The aim was to examine associations among body-image, figure rating, and Body Mass Index of seventh grade girls who chose health, physical education, or athletics classes. Measurements were taken prior to and following the course. Class choice was significantly related to body-image satisfaction but not to figure rating or Body Mass Index. Research is needed to examine inaccurate self-perception of fatness in underweight girls, whether there is a higher risk for eating disorders for students in athletics and physical education classes, whether the curriculum is effective with students in physical education and athletics, and why girls who chose the health class began with higher body-image satisfaction than those in physical education or athletics, even though their Body Mass Index and figure-rating size did not differ.     

Persuasive intent as a determinant of phonemic choice

The present study investigates the effect of persuasive intent upon the use of phonemic features. It is predicted that subjects will use different percentages of phonemic features in the two experimental conditions defined as nonpersuasive and persuasive. A computer analysis technique for the quantification and analysis of the feature frequencies is theoretically and methodologically developed. Significant condition effects for voiced, low, and rounded features are observed. Significant sex effects are observed for the coronal feature. The results are interpreted as consistent with the notion of phonemic choice.An earlier version of this article was presented to the 65th annual meeting of the Speech Communication Association, San Antonio, November 1979.