Young people’s civic attitudes and practices: England’s outcomes from the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) - Research Report DFE-RR060

"ICCS is a large-scale study of pupil knowledge and understanding, dispositions and attitudes, which is administered across 38 countries worldwide. The results presented in this summary are based upon England’s national dataset, with reference to international- and European-level findings, and to findings from the IEA Civic Education Study (CIVED), which took place in 1999." - Background

Mr. Brown [Or a Study of Death As All The Rage]

Pages 81-9

Portrait of Lonliness as a carousel in the Off-Season

pages 12-1

For Supper

page 4

Social Media and Selection: How Does New Technology Change an Old Game?

Research indicates employers use social media, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to make decision regarding would-be employees. A scarce amount of academic research specifically examines the decision-making processes employers use when using social media to select the best job applicant for the job. This study focuses on how social media impacts hiring processes, investigating the impact of political attitudes expressed on social media impact managers’ evaluations of how “hireable” job candidates are. This study also examines how individuating information, also known as job-related information, presented on social media influences employer decisions to hire job candidates. To test the research model, an experimental design was used. Three separate political conditions were used to test how applicant attitudes about legalizing marijuana, the Affordable Healthcare Act and gun control laws, as well as high and low levels of individuating information, displayed on Facebook and LinkedIn profiles affect hireability evaluations. Whether social media platform influences decision-making was also tested. Structural Equation Modeling, a combination of path analysis and factor analysis, was employed to test the model relationships. Our results indicate a number of significant relationships, including relationships between similarity, liking, and hireability in all three conditions, individuating information and hireability, with moderating effects of social media platform proving significant in some political conditions as well

“On Here, I’m Team Jacob: Exploring Feelings of Belongingness in Virtual Communities

Virtual communities have become important for enthusiasts to meet, share, and express their affection for a wide range of products, ideas, and brands. While virtual communities have been studied previously, the literature is lacking a perspective on virtual communities surrounding products, ideas and brands that users are embarrassed to admit they care about (that is, that they have a negative public affiliation towards), but that nonetheless are a representation of the user’s identity (brand congruity). This study presents a research model positing that, within a virtual community environment, feelings of negative affiliation and brand congruity will influence users’ feelings of belonging to the virtual community, and negative public affiliation will also moderate the relationship between brand congruity and belongingness. Our results indicate significant relationships between negative public affiliation and brand congruity with feelings of belongingness. Our study has implications for the field, as well as for practitioners

Some Challenges and Guidelines for Conducting Multi-Level Modeling in Information System Research

To date, few IS researchers have made use of multi-level modeling in their studies. This is unfortunate because organizational processes often span multiple levels of the organization. As such, multi-level modeling (MLM) has the potential to enhance our understanding of how IS can be deployed and used effectively in organizations. To this end, this paper reflects on the use of MLM in IS research. We illustrate the pertinent issues and challenges involved by describing how the widely used organizational level construct “Assimilation” will change conceptually and operationally if it is extended to the interorganizational level. Based on our analysis we conclude that while MLM is not a panacea, or appropriate for all research questions, identifying and including higher-level constructs in IS research models offers rich opportunities for IS research

The Strategic Problem of Information Security and Data Breaches

This paper considers the strategic uncertainties and impacts created by high-profile data breaches and discusses the unique strategic problem presented by information security breaches for organizational executives. Based on theory regarding strategic uncertainties, we develop a framework depicting a strategic perspective on breaches within and outside the firm. Then, within the major categories outlined by the framework, this research evaluates instances of 17 public disclosures of high-profile data breaches over the past four years. Based on our discussion of these 17 cases, we identify six major issues complicating strategic decision-making regarding security breaches and discuss guidance for managers

The Impact of Digitisation Projects on the Work of Local Historians

Background: the methodology of historical research depends on a commitment to reporting and record keeping based on investigation of primary and secondary sources. This dependence on finding and assessing the reliability of information sources presents particular challenges to designers of information retrieval software intended to support historical research. Aim: this paper reports the results of a questionnaire distributed as the first phase of a research project intended to assess the information needs of historians working with original and/or digitised primary resources. We have been particularly interested in the work of “local” historians working with archives of local newspapers and with image collections that are in the process of being digitised. The prim ary aim at this stage was to discover whether these historians have a preference between original or digitised resources and to understand the reasons behind any preferences. In the longer term we aim to apply what we have learned to the development of a model of information seeking behaviour that can be used to guide the design of information retrieval applications supporting local historical research. Method: an online survey was distributed to historians in 43 universities in the UK. Results: The results show that historians make an interesting distinction between their preference for working with original documents and the greater “usefulness” of digitised resources. Conclusions: Historical research presents a number of unique challenges. Further research is needed into the unique aspects of the local historian’s information seeking behaviour. An important focus for this research will be the design of archival information retrieval systems that address these unique requirements