Proclaiming Library Worth in a Program Prioritization Process at a Mid-Sized Public University

Abstract

In an economic climate when colleges can no longer presume that legislators see institutions of higher learning as tacit public goods, institutions around the country are facing budget cuts. This article presents a case study of the experience of a mid-sized public state university and its Library in a budget crisis undergoing a university-wide program prioritization process. The authors review the process of writing three reports on the Library’s value, along with the approach to engaging staff in the process including a retreat. This article raises questions about what every library should consider assessing and provide tools for libraries navigating similar terrain.     

A meta-cognitive approach to doping in sports: The effects of thought validation on attitudes related to doping

ABSTRACT

To better understand doping-related attitude change, it is important to consider not only the amount of thinking (i.e., elaboration) done by message recipients, but also the favourability of their thoughts in response to the proposal, as well as the perceived validity in their thoughts. The main goal of the present study was to analyse the effects of a meta-cognitive process (i.e., thought validation) on attitudes related to doping. Thus, we randomly assigned participants to read a message either against or in favour of legalising several doping behaviours. Participants listed their thoughts regarding the proposal and indicated the perceived validity in their thoughts, then reported their attitudes. As hypothesised, the message against legalisation elicited more unfavourable thoughts and attitudes than the message in favour of legalisation. Most relevantly, the effects of the message direction on attitudes were greater for participants with higher (vs. lower) levels of thought validity. Furthermore, consistent with the thought validation process, results revealed that thought favourability was a better predictor of attitudes for participants with higher (vs. lower) perceived thought validity, indicating that perceiving one’s thoughts as valid plays an important role in persuasion. These findings provide novel insights for research and interventions regarding doping in sports.     

Learner Characteristics that Influence the Treatment Effectiveness of Early Literacy Interventions: A Meta‐Analytic Review

The purpose of this article was to systematically review the available research on learner characteristics that influence the treatment effectiveness of early literacy interventions. Meta‐analytic procedures were applied to a total of 30 studies that met the inclusionary and exclusionary criteria. Mean average effect sizes were computed for seven primary learner characteristic categories: (1) rapid naming, (2) alphabetic principle, (3) phonological awareness, (4) problem behavior, (5) memory, (6) IQ, and (7) demographic. The primary learner characteristics that influenced the treatment responsiveness of early literacy interventions were, in order of magnitude, rapid naming, problem behavior, phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, memory, IQ, and demographics. With the exception of the demographic category, the obtained effect sizes for the primary learner characteristics were moderately large. The demographic primary learner characteristic (i.e., disability, ethnicity, grade‐level status) of children was not statistically (p < 0.05) distinct from zero. The findings, limitations, and future research needs are discussed.     

美国科技编辑概况

在美国 ,科技编辑是一个逐渐被认可的领域。美国的科技编辑们在什么环境下工作 ?他们做什么 ?有什么样的教育背景 ?用什么样的体例手册和其他资源 ?有什么组织为他们服务 ?他们对哪些话题和事件有职业兴趣 ?文章描述了美国科技编辑的概况 ,着重说明上面这些问题。本文的写作在很大程度上依赖于我为科技编辑委员会的期刊《科技编辑》做编辑的经验。本文中 ,“科学”具有广泛的含义 ,包括医学及其相关领域。的确 ,在美国许多科技编辑是医学编辑。　　 工作环境和工作类型在美国 ,有各种各样的媒体雇佣科技编辑 ,这些媒体包括杂志、图书、大众…     

Graduate Programs That Prepare Educational Measurement Specialists

What are typical requirements in graduate measurement programs? How d o programs in measurement and research methods differ?