A Review of “Reference Reborn: Breathing New Life Into Public Services Librarianship”

No abstract available for this article.     

Career development: Implications for providers of career services in higher education

Only recently have theorists and practitioners begun to consider and investigate the applications of developmental psychology to the delivery of career services. While there are several conceptual approaches to understanding the process of career development in general, the focus of this paper will be limited to the under-standing of career development in a college age population. In addition, the practical implications generated by this conceptual understanding will be discussed especially as they relate to the delivery of career services in higher education.     

The Process and Impact of the Infant/Toddler Credential as Professional Development: Reflections from Multiple Perspectives and Recommendations for Policy

Early childhood educators worldwide all strive to improve the quality of care and education for young children through sustainable pathways. One such pathway is professional development (PD). In the United States, ongoing PD has been recognized as critical to enhancing practitioners’ professional competence. Situated within the broader context of early childhood professional development systems, this study examined the New Jersey Infant/Toddler Credential (NJITC) as a case of PD. Specifically, we evaluated the effectiveness of the NJITC as PD by investigating its process as well as impact on the participating practitioners’ professional growth and practice from multiple perspectives: written reflections from a course instructor and a childcare center director; survey reflective responses from 12 practitioners; and informal conversations with childcare center directors, course instructors, field supervisors, and practitioners. The findings revealed that having the NJITC coursework offered through an onsite PD model and supported by a state-based scholarship program provided much needed incentives to encourage participation. It also resulted in improved professional growth and practice among the participating practitioners. However, it is only to the extent that the infant/toddler practitioners continue to engage in continuous PD beyond the ITC coursework will they be able to keep themselves abreast of the state of knowledge and best practices from which to further enhance their professional competence. In light of the process and impact of the NJITC on practitioners’ acquisition of specialized knowledge, skills, and dispositions to effectively work with infants and toddlers, implications and recommendations for policy are discussed.     

Occupational stress among university administrators

The fit between the university administrator's motivational style and the type of job demands was analyzed as a contributing factor in developing occupational stress. Data were provided on a questionnaire by 575 deans, associate deans, and chair-persons. Three motivational styles and types of job demands were measured using instruments derived from Porter's motivational theory. Correlational data indicated that misfit was related to perceived work stress and the perception of poor coping ability. The perception of poor coping ability was correlated with stress-related illnesses. There was also an association between misfit and consideration to change jobs. The findings supported the person-environment fit model of occupational stress. Implications for controlling occupational stress among university administrators are included.     

A Qualitative Metasynthesis of Consultation Process Research: What We Know and Where to Go

ABSTRACT

Qualitative metasynthesis (QM) is a research methodology that permits the meaningful integration and interpretation of qualitative research. This study applies a QM approach combined with constructivist grounded theory methods, bolstered by several features of research credibility, to examine the state of consultee-centered consultation (CCC) and related relational, process-oriented school consultation research. A systematic search and retrieval process including two rounds of appraisal resulted in a final sample of 38 relevant studies from 1995 to 2014. Data analyses included two stages of coding/theme development. Integrated themes suggest a number of considerations regarding consultation implementation including: system-level factors; consultation structure; consultee voice, social-emotional support, and learning; ecological orientation and cultural responsiveness; and consultation training. Future research priorities stemming from these themes are identified and elaborated upon, as are future applications for QM in educational research.     

Parents’ reading history as an indicator of risk for reading difficulties

Children from families whose members have reading impairments are found to be poorer performers, take less advantage of instruction, and require more time to reach the reading level of children whose relatives are good readers. As a family’s reading history may not be available, a self-report of reading abilities is used to identify children’s background. In this paper, we explored the contribution of phonological, literacy, and linguistic abilities and reported parental reading abilities to predict reading achievement at the end of the school year in a Spanish sample. Children who were starting to read were assessed in a variety of oral language, phonological, and literacy tasks at the beginning and end of the school year. Parents filled out a self-report questionnaire about their reading abilities. Their answers were used to assign children to good or poor reader parent groups (GRP vs PRP). A logistic and ROC analysis were used to assess the variables’ discriminative capability, considering literacy scores at the end of the year as a measure of reading achievement. GRP children obtained higher scores than PRP children did. Performance on tasks of rapid naming assessment (RAN) letters (78.6%), Word Reading (75.7%), and Deletion (75.6%) were the most accurate predictors of children’s reading achievement. IPRA showed slightly lower accuracy (73.8) than did the behavioral measures and as high specificity as RAN letters (96.2%), similarly to the percentages found in previous studies. Although behavioral measures were shown as the best predictors, parents’ self-reports could also provide a quick estimation of family risk of difficulties in literacy acquisition.     

Sign language comprehension: the case of Spanish sign language

This study aims to answer the question, how much of Spanish Sign Language interpreting deaf individuals really understand. Study sampling included 36 deaf people (deafness ranging from severe to profound; variety depending on the age at which they learned sign language) and 36 hearing people who had good knowledge of sign language (most were interpreters). Sign language comprehension was assessed using passages of secondary level. After being exposed to the passages, the participants had to tell what they had understood about them, answer a set of related questions, and offer a title for the passage. Sign language comprehension by deaf participants was quite acceptable but not as good as that by hearing signers who, unlike deaf participants, were not only late learners of sign language as a second language but had also learned it through formal training.     

Overeducation among European University Graduates: a comparative analysis of its incidence and the importance of higher education differentiation

The incidence of overeducation in eight European countries is here assessed by means of multiple indicators. With the exception of Spain, the results reveal that overeducation is a minor risk amongst European tertiary graduates. Yet, the contrast between different indicators reveals the existence of an overeducation of a moderate kind in countries with high rates of tertiary attainment (Norway, Finland and Netherlands). Our results also reveal the importance of higher education differentiation for understanding the risk of overeducation. Graduates from humanistic fields, bachelor courses and vocational colleges are more exposed to overeducation, though their disadvantage varies cross-nationally.     

Effect of bike-fit in the perception of comfort,fatigue and pain

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of different bike positions on the perception of fatigue, pain and comfort. Twenty cyclists underwent three tests that involved cycling for 45 min at their individual 50% peak aerobic power output while adopting different positions on the bike. Participants performed the cycling tests adopting three positions defined by two parameters (knee flexion angle [20°, 30°, 40°] and trunk flexion angle [35°, 45°, 55°]) in random order. Angles were measured using a 2D motion analysis system during cycling and applying Fonda’s correction factor. Perceptions of comfort, fatigue and pain were reported before the end of each test. The combination of 40° knee flexion and 35° trunk flexion was perceived as the most uncomfortable position. Moreover, greater knee flexion had a negative effect on trunk comfort, accompanied by greater levels of fatigue and pain perception in the anterior part of the thigh and knee. In conclusion, cyclists perceived the most comfortable position to be when the saddle height was within the recommended knee angle (30° calculated from the offset position or 40 ± 4.0° of absolute value). Upright trunk was found to be the most comfortable position for recreational cyclists, where aerodynamics is not so important. Cyclists’ bike perceptions should be taken into account when it comes to choosing the most beneficial position, since this can play a role in injury prevention and enhance cycling performance.