Test statements judged to be repeated were rated as relatively true whether the statements were indeed new, repeated, or contradictory. Further, an increment in credibility occurred even when students were informed that statements were repeated. It was concluded that this effect is probably due to recognition, not repetition. (Author/CP)

Contends that D.L. Kirkpatrick's model for evaluating training courses can be adapted to evaluating products and services. Outlines how this can be done. States that measuring client and user satisfaction and performance can provide proof of technical communication's quality and value. (PA)

Stresses the importance of showing students a reason for learning writing skills, not just a "because." Argues that credibility is everything and that proving this is crucial to successfully producing writers who can not only write, but care about their writing. (RAE)

Finds that, with experienced reporters, news content was most powerfully shaped by journalists' own orientations toward key source qualities, with the most influential variables being source credibility, source assessibility, and time pressure. Finds that pressures from within the newsroom also affected source selection. (SR)

Reviews issues surrounding ethical determinations of the credibility of online materials. Highlights include the volume of Web material; the self-sustaining nature of the Internet; the speed of growth and dispersion of information available; recognizing credible sources; and defining credibility, including timeliness and comprehensiveness. (LRW)

The use of evaluation to examine and improve the quality of teaching and courses is now a component of most universities. However, despite the various methods and opportunities for evaluation, a lack of understanding of the processes, measures and value are some of the major impediments to effective evaluation. Evaluation requires an understanding…

This article investigates factors that motivate participants in learning and training activities to transfer skills, knowledge and attitude from the learning setting to the workplace. Based on training transfer theories hypothesized by Holton (1996), one of the major theories that affect an organization's learning is motivation to transfer theory.…

This paper examines the effective deployment of conversational agents in virtual worlds from the perspective of researchers/practitioners in cognitive psychology, computing science, learning technologies and engineering. From a cognitive perspective, the major challenge lies in the coordination and management of the various channels of information…

In this paper we ask whether individuals decide that people are generally trustworthy or untrustworthy by extrapolating from their experiences in localized interactions or whether a more fixed predisposition drives assessments of trustworthiness. These two contrasting theoretical perspectives on generalized trust can be translated into empirically…

Princeton University Press recently published the American moral philosopher Harry Frankfurt's book "On Bullshit", which quickly made the New York Times best seller list. Originally published in the journal "Raritan" in 1986, Frankfurt's book has been heralded as an important theoretical development in the study of what he (and society)…

Students in a large human development course rated the accuracy of 50 developmental claims. Half of the claims were specifically embedded in the course content, but the remaining claims were not addressed in the course. Students also identified the major information source for each developmental claim rated. From the beginning to the end of the…

A conversational approach is developed to explain the ubiquitous presence of rumors, urban legends, and gossip as arising from their conversational properties rather than from side effects of cognitive processing or "effort after meaning." It is suggested that the primary function of telling rumors, gossip, and urban legends is not to impart…

This paper uses evidence from focus groups with consumers in England to consider how consumers understand and evaluate a range of proxies or intermediary organisations that offer assurance about food and consumer products, particularly voluntary certification schemes. This addresses the current concern in developed economies about providing…

This article presents an interview with Eric Barela, a K-12 school district internal evaluator who conducted the Title I Best Practices study for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Research and Planning Division (formerly known as the Program Evaluation and Research Branch). In this interview, the author focuses not only on the…

In this article, the authors examine the effects of style of dress, forms of address, and gender of the stimulus person on business students' perceptions of professors' attributes. Student participants (125 women, 132 men) rated the stimulus person on indexes of attractiveness, trustworthiness, credibility, and likeability. Style of dress and form…