Classroom Compliance Gaining: All About BAT's

The ultimate goal of teachers is to produce learning in their students. This can be done through cognitive and/or affective learning. In most cases, to achieve this learning, students must comply to the teacher’s requests. Student compliance does not automatically happen, it requires specific strategies and techniques. There are many factors that affect student compliance, including the type of behavior alteration techniques and behavior alteration messages the teacher uses (BATs and BAMs), the type of power the teacher uses, misbehavior and resistance from the student, the student’s locus of control, situational factors, and the experience of the teacher.

Perhaps the most important of these factors are the teacher’s use of Behavior Alteration Techniques and their use of power. Behavior Alteration Techniques (BATs) have frequently been used in past studies on compliance-gaining in the classroom. BATs are techniques used by a source, in an attempt to influence the behavior of a receiver. These are power based strategies that have been isolated and studied as a significant means of classroom management. Researchers have found twenty-two different BATs. Each of these twenty-two BATs contains its own message, better known as a behavior alteration message (BAMs). These BATs and BAMs are the results of many studies on power in Randall P. Gonyea Chapter 1: Introduction 2 the classroom. Researchers Kearney, Plax, Sorensen, and Smith have argued that most of the BATs could be categorized as either pro-social or anti-social. Pro-social BATs include those messages that are designed to be helpful and beneficial to students. These techniques will encourage students, promote cooperation, and reflect traditional reward-based power. In all, there are eleven pro-social BATs; some of which include reward from others, altruism, peer modeling, and teacher feedback.

On the other hand, anti-social BATs refer to those strategies that promote competitiveness, exclude students, undermine students' self-esteem, and reflect traditional punishment-based power. In all, there are seven anti-social BATs; some of which include punishment from teacher, punishment from others, guilt, and legitimate-teacher authority. Teachers reporting on which form of BATs they use in classroom situations is sketchy at best. Social desirability bias in response may play a role in this assertion. Teachers believe that they employ more pro-social techniques in class. They also believe that their colleagues use more anti-social methods with their classes. Students are more willing to comply when teachers employ pro-social techniques in the classroom. There was a general reluctance to comply with teacher request when anti-social BATs were chosen. A study by McCroskey, Richmod, Plax, and Kearney found that the perceptions of teachers and students are somewhat different in relation to which BATs are used the most.

Teachers reported themselves as using a greater number of BATs than Randall P. Gonyea Chapter 1: Introduction 3 students perceived them using, and teachers also perceived their particular use of BATs more favorably than students did. This study also found that the particular BATs teachers used depended greatly on their previous communication training. Finally, the study found that students reported no difference in positive BAT usage between trained and untrained teachers, but BATs that were negatively associated with learning were reported to be used more by untrained teachers. This shows a difference in the compliance gaining techniques of new and experienced teachers. Another study by Plax, Kearney, McCroskey, and Richmond looked at the effects of BAT use and teacher immediacy on students’ affective learning. They came up with five hypotheses:

1.      Student affective learning would be affected by the way they perceived the BATs.

2.      Student affective learning would also be affected by the teacher’s nonverbal immediacy.

3.      Teacher BAT usage was related to teacher immediacy.

4.      BATs and immediacy should be able to predict student affective learning.

5.      They devised two models to test whether BATs or immediacy were more predictive of student  affective learning.

The results of this study confirmed every hypothesis. Their analyses showed that immediacy was a better predictor of student affective learning than BAT use.

REFERENCES:

Boster, F. J. (1988). Comments on the utility of compliance-gaining message selection tasks. Human Communication Research, 15, 169-177

Boster, F. J. & Stiff, J. B. (1984). Compliance-gaining message selection behavior. Human Communication Research, 10, 539-536.

Richmond & J. C. McCroskey. Power in the Classroom: Communication, Control, and Concern. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, (pp. 85-100).

Kearney, P., Plax, T. G., Richmond, V. P., & McCroskey, J. C. (1984). Power in the classroom IV: Alternatives to discipline. In R. N. Bostrom (Ed.), Communication yearbook, 8, 724-726.

Levenson, H. (1974). Activism and powerful others: Distinctions within the concept of internal-external control. Journal of Personality Assessment, 38, 377-383.

McCroskey, J. C., Fayer, J. M., Richmond, V. P., Sallinen, A., & Barraclough, R. A. (1996). A multi-cultural examination of the relationship between nonverbal immediacy and affective learning. Communication Quarterly, 44, 297-307.

Product Placement

A product placement is the inclusion of a product, brand name or the name of the firm in a movie for increasing memorability of the brand and instant recognition at the point of purchase. It is an advertising technique in which the companies pay a fee or provide service in exchange for a prominent display of their product. Product placement appears in plays, film, television series, music videos, video games and books. It occurs with the inclusion of a brand's logo in shot, or a favorable mention or appearance of a product in shot. This is done without disclosure, and under the premise that it is a natural part of the work. Most major movie releases today contain product placements. The most common form is movie and television placements and more recently computer and video games.

The first film to feature product placement was Wings (released in 1927), the first film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. It contained a plug for Hershey's chocolate. In other early media, e.g. radio in the 1930s and 1940s and early television in the 1950s, programs were often underwritten by companies. "Soap operas" are called such because they were initially underwritten by consumer packaged goods companies such as Procter & Gamble or Unilever. Sponsorship still exists today with programs being sponsored by major vendors such as Hallmark. Incorporation of products into the actual plot of a TV show is generally called "brand integration". The earliest example of product placement in a computer or video game occurs in the 1984 game Action Biker for KP's Skips crisps. Video games, such as Crazy Taxi feature real retail stores as game destinations. However, sometimes the economics are reversed and video game makers pay for the rights to use real sports teams and players. Today, product placement in online-video is also becoming common. Online agencies are specializing in connecting online-video producers, which are usually individuals, with brands and advertisers.

            As a form of covert marketing communication tool, the practice of placing branded products within films for commercial purposes has gained popularity among marketers and brand managers. At the same time, the popularity of this practice increases concerns and discussions of public well-being from various groups such as public policy makers, consumer interest groups, regulatory agencies, and consumers. By employing a survey with a sample of 3,340 nonstudents, a current study provided by Blonde and Roozen that shoes a more accurate picture of attitudes towards product placement in films. Overall findings suggest that consumers are overall positively disposed toward product placement, do not see a need for regulation, and have a tendency towards neutrality regarding several of the practice’s facets.

The research results indicate that consumers are aware about product placement being a method of advertising. They are influenced by the placements and have bought products that had been placed in movies and other media. Thus product placement seems to have gained acceptance as a form of advertisement and can be continued to be used. Also, most do not feel that product placements are irritating and interrupting the flow of the movie. People are generally expressing a positive attitude toward product placement and are influenced by it. A conclusion drawn from the research was that products placed prominently in films were better recognized than those placements placed subtly within the context of the film. Another aspect closely considered in this research was the effect product placements have on the realism of the film. The research shows that product placements in films are a viable alternative to traditional forms of advertising. The reason for this is that product placement (especially prominent product placements) is readily recognized by viewers. Product placements therefore offer numerous benefits to the marketer in terms of reach and diminishing cost per viewer. Product placement is an immense field of research within which much is yet to be discovered.

REFERENCES:

Blonde, Kristin and Irene Roozen (2007), “An Explorative Study of Testing the Effectiveness of Product Placement compared to 30-second TV-Commercials” for the 6th International Marketing Trends Congress, Paris 26-27 January 2007

D’Astous A & Chartier F,(2000). “A study of factor affecting consumer relations and memory of product placement in movies”, Journal of current issues and research in advertising, 22(2):31-40.

Gupta PB, Balasubramanian SK, Klassen ML (2000). “Viewers’ Evaluations of Product Placement in Movies: Public Policy Issues and Managerial Implications”. Journal of current issues research in advertising 22(2):41-52.

Morton C, Friedman M (2002). ““I Saw It In The Movies”: Exploring the Link Between Product Placement Beliefs and Reported Usage Behavior”. Journal of current issues research in advertising 24(2):33-39.

Van der Waldt, DLR (2005). “The role of product placement in feature films and broadcast television programmes: an IMC perspective.” Communicare. 24 (2): 1-16. December.

Issues with the Internet: Socially and Legally

Few would disagree that the Internet has become an important part of the daily life in American society. Its use is often taken for granted by the estimated 50 million Americans now online. Many Americans use the Internet to stay in touch with friends and family or to make new friends through chat rooms. While the Internet provides unlimited opportunities for meeting others, these opportunities can be both useful and dangerous.

One of the more direct ways that the Internet facilitates social meetings is through online dating services. Online dating makes it easy for busy or isolated people to meet others with similar interests. According to Jupiter Research, "in 2003 more than 17 million people viewed online personal ads and more than 2 million paid for a personal ad." Moreover, many people have met and married through online dating services. For conversation and companionship without romance, the Internet provides opportunities for people to discuss hobbies and shared interests. Fantasy football, stamp collecting, books, and politics are only a few topics one can chat about online. In fact, the sole function of some Web sites is to provide a forum for discussion. The politically minded have opportunities to discuss politics in Internet chat rooms. Many sites provide a forum for people to debate and even to organize to protest a government action or to show support for a candidate or cause.

The Internet also provides help for those seeking support or comfort: For those grieving the loss of a loved one, for instance, Legacy.com offers guest books where grief-stricken families may read condolences left by friends or family members from far away. These guest books also serve as meeting places where bereaved visitors connect and share their tragedies.

Although the Internet offers a variety of useful ways for people to connect with others throughout the world, it can also be dangerous or just unpleasant because some people use it as a tool for deception. For example, some users lie about their background, marital status, and physical condition on Internet dating sites. In fact, the once meteoric growth in online dating has begun to flatten out, with many people choosing not to renew their membership.

Unfortunately, the Internet can also be used by the unscrupulous to prey upon the unsuspecting in violent ways. Pedophiles lie in wait in children's or teens' chat rooms, sometimes luring them to meet in person. Once a child has taken the bait, he or she is often kidnapped, abused, or raped. Pedophiles and sexual predators are not the only threats on the Internet. Racists and hate groups also use Web sites and discussion groups to spread their message of hate to young people. Jupiter Research shows that "in 2001 there were an estimated twenty-eight hundred hate group Web sites encouraging violence and hatred toward people of color, Jewish Americans, and gays."

Another group of dangerous sites is those that encourage the development of mental illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia, and self-mutilation. These sites offer tips to young women and teens for successfully starving or hurting themselves and provide positive reinforcement for such behavior. These sites also contain chat rooms or message boards on which these unhealthy users learn further ways to hurt themselves.
Many praise the Internet as a tool that offers nearly unlimited information at the click of a mouse. However, given the dangers of the Internet described above, users need to exercise caution and self-control.

As the Internet has continued its emergence from a research network to a largely for-profit enterprise, commercial owners of World Wide Web (web) sites have concentrated much of their efforts on searching for revenue models that allow them to profit from Internet dealings. This commercialization of the Internet has raised challenges for the law in at least two ways. First, "the search for a profit-generating revenue model has challenged the customs or 'netiquette' that effectively ruled the Internet when it was dedicated to research" (Jupiter Research). The question for the law is whether those customs should constitute the legal rule in a commercial environment. For example, the web was built for the purpose of enabling hypertext capabilities, allowing one site to hyperlink (link) to and access another. In this way, users could make sense of the great mass of data contained on the Internet. Linking was both accepted and encouraged when the Internet was a research network. However, on the commercial Internet, some site owners have contended that before employing a link, the linking site must seek permission from the web site to which it wishes to link.

The second challenge to the law lacks a similar frame of reference to netiquette. As new technologies have emerged allowing even more manipulation of data than that anticipated when the Internet was established, commercial site owners have attempted to limit the use of such technologies by others, particularly when such use impacts revenue. The issue for the law in this context is how to address this new conduct without any guidance from netiquette and under legal principles designed for a physical rather than cyber world. For example, technology that allows framing of other sites is a relatively recent innovation, lacking any established netiquette to provide some insight in conducting the legal analysis. A number of commercial site owners have objected to the framing of their sites, contending that such framing effectively misappropriates their content.

The legal answer is by no means clear and commentators hold widely diverging opinions. It is likely also that different courts will arrive at different results. It will probably be some time before the law is unified, offering consistent, predictable solutions.

Hyperlinking and framing are just two of the Internet practices which plaintiffs are challenging. Neither is clearly illegal under existing legal doctrine, nor is it clear that either should be. The uncertainty of the current public law of copyright and trademark may lead parties to seek redress under the private law of tort. If misappropriation claims are unsuccessful under a Second Circuit view of the world, plaintiffs might try to use a cause of action like trespass to limit unauthorized access. Additionally, parties may attempt to order their relationships using the private law of contract to set the terms of access and use of a site. Thus, even if hyperlinking and framing were to survive challenges under the intellectual property statutes, they may be actionable under private law. The question of the relationship between the public and private law is likely to play an important role in deciding the shape of the Internet, regardless of whether the particular conduct involved is hyperlinking, framing, or some technology not yet developed.

Sources:
Jupiter Research, Fencing Cyberspace: Drawing Borders in a Virtual World, 82 Minn. L. Rev. 609 (2001).

Computer Hackers: Friends or Foes?

Thanks to the media, the word "hacker" has gotten a bad reputation. The word summons up thoughts of malicious computer users finding new ways to harass people, defraud corporations, steal information and maybe even destroy the economy or start a war by infiltrating military computer systems. While there's no denying that there are hackers out there with bad intentions, they make up only a small percentage of the hacker community.

A hacker was originally called a programmer in the mid-1960s, which is primarily someone who hacked out computer code. According to internet expert Jonathan Strickland, "hackers were visionaries who could see new ways to use computers, creating programs that no one else could conceive. They were the pioneers of the computer industry, building everything from small applications to operating systems." In this sense, people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were all hackers -- they saw the potential of what computers could do and created ways to achieve that potential.

A unifying trait among these hackers was a strong sense of curiosity, sometimes bordering on obsession. These hackers prided themselves on not only their ability to create new programs, but also to learn how other programs and systems worked. According to Strickland, "when a program had a bug, or a section of bad code that prevented the program from working properly, hackers would often create and distribute small sections of code called patches to fix the problem. Some managed to land a job that leveraged their skills, getting paid for what they'd happily do for free."

As computers evolved, computer engineers began to network individual machines together into a system. Soon, the term hacker had a new meaning -- a person using computers to explore a network to which he or she didn't belong. Usually hackers didn't have any malicious intent. They just wanted to know how computer networks worked and saw any barrier between them and that knowledge as a challenge.

The main resource hackers rely upon, apart from their own ingenuity, is computer code. While there is a large community of hackers on the Internet, only a relatively small number of hackers actually program code. Many hackers seek out and download code written by other people. There are thousands of different programs hackers use to explore computers and networks. These programs give hackers a lot of power over innocent users and organizations -- once a skilled hacker knows how a system works, he can design programs that exploit it.

I would like to expand on why malicious hackers use these programs that were discussed in the lecture:
·  Log keystrokes: Some programs allow hackers to review every keystroke a computer user makes. Once installed on a victim's computer, the programs record each keystroke, giving the hacker everything he needs to infiltrate a system or even steal someone's identity.
·  Hack passwords: There are many ways to hack someone's password, from educated guesses to simple algorithms that generate combinations of letters, numbers and symbols which was discussed during our lecture. The trial and error method of hacking passwords is called a brute force attack, meaning the hacker tries to generate every possible combination to gain access.
·  Infect a computer or system with a virus: Computer viruses are programs designed to duplicate themselves and cause problems ranging from crashing a computer to wiping out everything on a system's hard drive. A hacker might install a virus by infiltrating a system, but it's much more common for hackers to create simple viruses and send them out to potential victims via email, instant messages, Web sites with downloadable content or peer-to-peer networks.
·  Gain backdoor access: Similar to hacking passwords, some hackers create programs that search for unprotected pathways into network systems and computers. In the early days of the Internet, many computer systems had limited security, making it possible for a hacker to find a pathway into the system without a username or password.

One might not suspect that the art, or scourge, of computer hacking was created at one of the havens for technological excellence. Strickland mentions that at MIT, (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), "a group of students developed the technique and borrowed their name from the 'hackers' of the late 1800s who found amusement in pranking the emerging telephone companies. Getting their laughs and skills from hacking and cracking into primitive computers and exploiting the Arpanet (predecessor to the internet), they created a novelty that would become the target of federal crackdown in years to come." To define hacking in short, we can say that an artistic criminal offense of breaking into another remote system without the owner's consent for the purpose of stealing information is what is hacking.

In 1999, security software became widely known by the public, and with the release of new Windows programs, which were littered with security weaknesses, they became successful because of necessity. This fraudulent act of computer hacking is perhaps the major problem, confronting the rapidly expanding population of Internet users today, with the systems still trying to battle online hackers.

Sources:
Strickland, Jonathan.  "How Hackers Work"  29 October 2007.  HowStuffWorksOnline.com. <http://computer.howstuffworksonline.com/hacker.htm>  15 November 2010