Health answer quality evaluation by librarians,nurses, and users in social Q&A

Health information consumers and patients increasingly take an active role in seeking health information online and in sharing their health problems and concerns in online support groups and social media venues. However, they may risk being influenced by unreliable and misleading information in such environments, as no intermediaries monitor the quality of this information. This study focuses on evaluating the quality of health information exchanged in one of the social media venues, by investigating how librarians, nurses, and users assessed the quality of health answers in Yahoo! Answers, a social question-and-answering (Q&A) service. Through statistical analysis differences among the three participant groups, how the background characteristics influenced their assessments, and the relationships between characteristics of the content of answers and quality evaluation criteria were each considered in detail. Librarians and nurses shared similar ratings of answer quality, but had differences in their level of medical knowledge and the types of services they offer, resulting in minor differences across criteria. Users perceived the quality of health answers in social Q&A to be higher than librarians and nurses for almost all criteria. Depending on the sources of information presented in health answers, librarians, nurses, and users gave different quality assessments. Implications exist for research into and practice of evaluating the quality of health information, which need to address both search and domain expertise along with the sharing of socioemotional values preferred by users.     

When Disaster Strikes: Opportunities for Community and Institutional Renewal at Elliot Lake Public Library

On June 23, 2012, the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario, collapsed suddenly, killing two people, injuring many more, and destroying many of the community’s services, including the public library. After describing the events leading up to, during, and following the destruction of Elliot Lake Public Library, I discuss five opportunities for community and institutional renewal that are not currently being realized by the library. The destruction of the library need not be an entirely negative experience but, rather, a catalyst for refocusing the library’s role and improving its services and facilities in order to better meet the changing information needs of the community.     

The Role of Competitive and Cooperative Norms in the Development of Deviant Evaluations

The present study examined how peer group norms influence children's evaluations of deviant ingroup members. Following the manipulation of competitive or cooperative norms, participants (children, M_age = 8.69; adolescents, M_age = 13.81; adults, M_age = 20.89; n = 263) evaluated deviant ingroup members from their own and the group's perspective. Children rated cooperative deviancy positively and believed their group would do the same. Adolescents and adults believed that their group would negatively evaluate cooperative deviancy when their group supported a competitive allocation strategy. Reasoning varied based on norm and participants’ agreement with deviancy. Understanding an ingroup may not be favorable toward a cooperative deviant in a competitive context is a developmental challenge requiring the coordination of social and moral norms.     

A Look at the Anatomy Educator Job Market: Anatomists Remain in Short Supply

In 2002, a widely publicized report projected an anatomy educator shortage based on department chairpersons' perceptions. Now, 17 years later, the question lingers: “Does an anatomy educator shortage persist and, if so, how severe is the shortage?” Trends in the number, type, and fill rate of anatomy educator job openings were explored by analyzing job posting in the United States over the past two years. A survey was distributed to leaders of anatomy-related departments in the United States, Canada, and European Union. Most departmental leaders who responded (65% or more) from the United States/Canada (n = 81) and the European Union (n = 52) anticipate they will have “moderate” to “great” difficulty hiring anatomy educators in gross anatomy, histology, and embryology over the next five years. Within the United States, the number of anatomy educator job postings at medical schools more than doubled from at least 21 postings in 2017 to 52 postings in 2018. Twenty-one percent of postings between 2017 and 2018 were never filled. While the number of anatomy educator openings within the United States/Canada is perceived to remain in a steady state for the next five years, the European Union estimates a five-fold increase in the number of openings. Departmental leaders prioritize anatomy educator applicants who have teaching experience (mean ± SD = 4.64 ± 0.84 on five-point Likert scale), versatility in teaching multiple anatomy disciplines (3.93 ± 1.07), and flexibility in implementing various teaching pedagogies (3.69 ± 1.17). Collectively, these data suggest the shortage of anatomy educators continues in the United States/Canada and the European Union.     

INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE: Vygotskian Perspectives in Early Childhood Education: Translating Ideas into Classroom Practice

This special topic issue of Early Education and Development is devoted to Vygotskian and/or CHAT (Cultural Historical Activity Theory) perspectives on early childhood education. Although the ideas of Soviet developmental/educational psychologist, Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), and those of his followers, are now central theoretical grounding within the field of early childhood education (Berk & Winsler, 1995; Bodrova & Leong, 1996; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997), it is still often a challenge understanding and implementing Vygotskian and neo- Vygotskian ideas in early childhood classrooms. Perhaps this is due to the fact that many of the central constructs within this tradition (i.e., scaffolding, zone of proximal development...) have often been conceptualized and empirically examined at the one-on-one, adult-child level, rather than at the level of classroom processes. Or perhaps the inherent conceptual and methodological complexities of socio-cultural, historical, and semiotic analyses become an obstacle to effective integration of scholarship and practice in this area. Indeed, Vygotskian theory forces us to think about not only the child and his or her current activities, but also about the child's history of previous experiences, the cultural backdrop and meaning that such activities have for the child, the social context in which that particular activity occurs in the classroom, the structure of the larger classroom context and the opportunities afforded by the available tools and cultural artifacts to be found there, and the way that teachers and other children "mediate" children's experiences in the classroom via social interaction and language use. Clearly, it is difficult in both theory and practice to think about and coordinate these multiple levels, but it is certainly worth the time and effort to do so. The goal of this special issue was to compile a selection of both empirical and theoretical papers that would help toward that effort and make a significant contribution to advancing early childhood policy, practice, and applied developmental science by both informing, and learning from, practice in early childhood settings. Although the subtitle for this issue, "Translating Ideas into Classroom Practice," might appear to suggest the existence of a unidirectional path from theory to practice, the Vygotskian dialectical perspective and contemporary applied developmental science in general views theory and practice as being inseparable, intimately intertwined, with each informing the other and both evolving dynamically together over time.     

Evidence on the Performance of Canada/Europe Co-productions in Television and Film

International co-production has become an increasingly important mode for television programs and film. In this paper we report the results of a survey on partner perceptions of performance in Canada/Europe co-productions. In particular we examine whether expectations that the general experience is positive and that Canadian and European partners have similar assessments of the level of performance, are justified. Our survey evidence does support the hypothesis that in total the experience is positive. However, it appears this is only the case because a good creative artistic performance more than outweighs a less than satisfactory total project recoupment. The hypothesis that Canadian and European partners have similar perceptions of performance is not borne out. Generally, Canadian partners seem more satisfied than European, particularly French.     

The rise and fall of choice in Richmond, California

The public school choice plan implemented in Richmond, California in 1987 through 1990 received much favorable publicity at the time, but in 1991 the school district filed for bankruptcy. This paper describes the choice plan and the events leading up to the financial collapse. It also presents trend data on student absenteeism, dropout rates, test scores and school desegregation. There is no evidence that the choice plan produced any improvement in these outcomes. At the same time, the district's financial failure is not necessarily attributable to the choice plan itself, but rather to the imprudent manner in which it was implemented.