中国信息产业如何面对21世纪的挑战

数据库产业是现代化信息产业的基础，本文分析国内数据库和信息服务业与国外的差距，建议开发国家级的综合性大型数据库，扩大数据库的覆盖面，保证数据库质量。作者认为，我国应将数据库生产和数据库检索服务分家，由信息服务部门对数据库进行高质量的增值处理，同时建立配套的文献源服务体系。我国以ＩＮＴＥＲＮＥＴ为基础的信息服务技术起步并不算晚，应该尽快培养一批跨世纪的信息人才，首先建立我国信息服务业在亚洲的领先地位，缩小与发达国家间的差距。     

Creativity in a cooperative group setting

This study was to determine whether cooperative small groups would stimulate creativity of fith and sixth grade students more than an individualized learning environment. Student aptitudes for creative and academic work were assessed on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Verbal Form A), analysis of student created electrical circuit diagrams, and a batteries and bulbs prediction test. A measure of student perceptions was also used to indicate any changes in attitudes toward the science activity and learning environment. A posttest control group design was used with 11 I fifth and sixth grade students. Half of the population worked by themselves, while the other half (experimental) worked in a student-structured environment on the same science activity which involved creating as many different types of electrical circuits from a given set of batteries and bulbs as possible. An overall conclusion is that fifth and sixth grade students working within small cooperative groups can be more creative as measured by a figural creativity test with electrical circuits than students working alone. The implication of this study is that small cooperative groups as well as individualized groups should be used in elementary science classes when creativity is one of the instructional objectives.     

From Skepticism to Scholarship: Learning and Living Self-Study Research in a Doctoral Seminar

Teacher education doctoral seminars can provide a space for students to collaborate, reflect and support each other as they transition from teacher to teacher educator. These spaces also provide a forum for the learning of new research methodologies. This collaborative self-study chronicles how one group of doctoral students learned self-study research and fostered a scholarly identity in a doctoral seminar focused on learning about teacher education practices through self-study research. The participants shared autobiographies, journals, and critical summaries of assigned readings, and they questioned each other’s understanding and development in the context of their shared experiences. Through this process, they overcame concerns regarding self-study as they developed their understanding of the components of self-study research and accepted their new role as self-study researchers. This study provides insights into the benefits of using doctoral seminars as a space to develop a scholarly identity and for using that space as a source of investigation. Implications for similar communities are also discussed.