The Plugged-in Reference Librarian: Who Do We Think We Are?

In recent years, academic reference librarians often find themselves working in closer proximity to computer workstations, labs, and information commons. They are spending a greater portion of their time assisting library users with the vast array of software and hardware used to access library resources. This study examines whether an increased demand for technological knowledge and proficiency is reflected in job expectations for academic reference librarians. Researchers compared randomly chosen academic reference librarian job advertisements from 1999 to those from 2011, examining both job responsibilities and candidate qualifications. Results were mixed, with some variables gaining prominence but others declining. There was no apparent increase in demand for technological skills and responsibilities overall.     

Access to Business Research Resources Through Academic Library Websites: A Survey

This study is an examination of access to business research resources through academic library websites, including research databases, catalog services, research guides, and business librarians. The websites of 114 academic libraries serving top business programs in the United States were studied. Results reveal a wide range of access to business research databases among the schools studied (anywhere from 11 to 100 business databases available). More than 95% of the schools provided business research guides, and nearly all schools provided at least some contact information for business librarians.     

The use of genograms in educational psychology practice

This article explores the application of the genogram in educational psychology (EP) practice. It provides a brief overview of the historical and theoretical development of the genogram. It then reviews and critiques some of the current literature regarding clinical application of the genogram in casework with children and adolescents and their families. Finally, it provides a case example of the application of the genogram, as an assessment and intervention tool in EP practice, highlighting its strengths and limitations.     

Full- Versus Part-Day Kindergarten for Children With Disabilities: Effects on Executive Function Skills

Responding to a robust body of literature suggesting that children’s early educational experiences are critical, policymakers have implemented and expanded the provision of full-day kindergarten (FDK) in recent decades. Most studies have focused on the effectiveness of FDK on child academic assessments or test scores, but none have examined FDK and the link to executive function skills. Moreover, little work exists on the effectiveness of FDK for children with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to build on these incipient lines of research by estimating the effect of FDK on the executive function skills of children with disabilities. Drawing on data from a nationally representative sample of children with disabilities (n = 2,120) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011, we find significant positive effects of FDK on working memory (SD = 0.14) and cognitive flexibility (SD = 0.14) for children with disabilities in kindergarten. Despite significant immediate effects, the benefits of FDK rapidly fade by the end of 2nd grade. Practice or Policy: Policy implications and directions for future research are addressed.     

Do the Youth Olympic Games promote Olympism? Analysing a mission (im)possible from a local youth perspective

On the basis of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), we assess if and how the youth in the communities of the YOG host cities have been influenced concerning their perception of the Olympic values (OV) and the Olympic movement (OM). Special attention of the study is paid to the analysis of intervention mechanisms which the local youth underwent (e.g. attending the YOG on-site, participating in school programmes). Our study was conducted among 1004 adolescents living in the host region three years after the Innsbruck 2012 YOG had been staged. Our analyses extend the corresponding literature by (1) showing that the YOG and the involvement of the local youth in such an event have the power of creating an interest in the OM and its events, but do not have the power to influence the young citizens’ perception of the OV significantly; (2) illustrating that the perception adolescents have of the OV depend mainly on their socio-demographic background, their a priori interest in sports events, social capital (norms, institutional trust) and the extent to which the youngsters follow the event in the different media; and (3) corroborating the hypothesis that intervention programmes (e.g. school programmes) for promoting (Olympic) values and ideals should not be single, obligatory and isolated activities. We conclude that it is not surprising that the International Olympic Committee has reformulated the goals for the YOG in the Olympic Agenda 2020, as some goals relating to the promotion of the OV might have been a mission impossible.     

Building an online academic learning community among undergraduate students

Online learning communities are frequently created for higher education students; however, these are most often designed to cater to a particular unit or subject. In an effort to strengthen the Bachelor of Arts course at the University of New England, the author sought to create an online space that would promote an interdisciplinary and collegial dialogue among their broad on- and off-campus student cohort. This paper examines the building of an academic community among a large and diverse group of undergraduate students on a Moodle platform. The paper tracks the development of the multi-layered portal from the initial stages of planning to the indicators of strong engagement taken up by students, and eventually leading to the creation of similar portals across the university. In examining this process this paper highlights the shared desire by distance education students and academics for authentic and personal higher education participation regardless of the students’ location.