Knowledge and utilization of the United States National Library of Medicine's biomedical information products and services among African health sciences librarians

The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) has the largest collection of biomedical information products and services in the world. Little is known of the extent to which librarians in sub-Saharan Africa are aware of and use these resources. The study's aim was to assess knowledge and frequency of use of NLM's biomedical information products and services among African librarians. Forty-three of the 50 delegates at the 11th biannual Congress of the Association of Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA) participated in the study. The findings showed that participants' knowledge of NLM information products and services was low and that there is a need for increased awareness and training in the use of NLM's information products and services in order for users on the African continent to effectively benefit from them.     

Im perfect tools for a difficult job: colposcopy, 'colpocytology' and screening for cervical cancer in Brazil

The quasi-totality of social scientists who studied screening for cervical tumours identified such screening with a single method: the Pap smear (exfoliative cytology). This article explains that this method was not valid everywhere. The history of screening for cervical cancer in Brazil displays an alternative method for detecting cervical malignancies: a direct observation of the cervix with a specific instrument--the colposcope. The development of this method in Brazil in the 1940s and 1950s reflected a complex mixture of professional interests, government policies, and regional, local and charitable initiatives. While the use of colposcopy for cervical tumour screening was phased out in the 1970s and 1980s, the long lifespan and widespread diffusion of this method illuminates the irreducible contingency of specific developments in science, technology and medicine. Seen from the vantage point of Brazil, the Western model for preventing cervical malignancies no longer appears self-evident Alternative choices might have led to the development of different material and visual cultures of medicine, stimulated different patterns of medical specialization and division of medical labour, produced different links between malignancies, women, gynaecologists, epidemiologists and public health experts, and shaped different health policies.     

Gender ratio and cognitive profiles in dyslexia: a cross-national study

The purpose of this study was to analyze possible gender-related differences in the prevalence of dyslexia. A cross-national comparison of Spain and Guatemala was conducted. Both countries speak the same language but have a different standard of living and educational level. A second purpose of this study was to analyze the cognitive profile of Guatemalan and Spanish males and females children with dyslexia. The log-linear analysis indicated that the number of dyslexics detected was different across the countries but there were no differences as a function of gender. Similarly, there were no significant or meaningful differences between dyslexic males and females in the cognitive processes involved in reading. Therefore, gender differences do not appear to be characteristic of developmental dyslexia.     

The quality of teaching staff: higher education institutions’ compliance with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance—the case of Portugal

In recent years, initiatives for the improvement of teaching quality have been pursued both at European and national levels. Such is the case of the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) and of legislation passed by several European countries, including Portugal, in response to European policy developments driven by the Lisbon Strategy and the Bologna Process. This paper is concerned with the institutional level implementation of European and national policies which target the quality of teaching staff. It reports on the findings of a study conducted in order to analyse if Portuguese higher education institutions are taking measures to improve and assure the quality of teaching staff in compliance particularly with the ESG. Findings suggest that this compliance is only partial. Although mechanisms exist for the selection, recruitment and appraisal of academics, other instruments and measures meant to continuously improve teaching staff quality, such as institutional support for skills development, pedagogic training, material infrastructure and motivation strategies, such as awards and recognition, are still incipient.     

Caregiver’s Mind-Mindedness in Early Center-based Childcare

Recent studies suggest that mind-mindedness is an important element of caregiver–child interactions in family and childcare context. This study investigated caregivers’ mind-mindedness in a nationally representative Dutch sample and its relation with structural quality factors (i.e., group size, caregivers’ education and work experience, group type, and situation) and caregivers’ interactive skills. Participants were 99 caregivers recruited in 50 childcare centers. Mind-mindedness was assessed with observations during free-play and lunch situations in infant, preschool, and mixed-age groups (0–4-year-olds). Caregivers’ appropriate and nonattuned mind-related comments were coded as individual (over/toward one child) or group related (over or toward more than one child). Caregivers’ interactive skills were assessed using the Caregiver Interaction Profile (CIP) scales. Research Findings: Caregivers generally refer to children’s desires, thoughts, and emotions in about 10% of their verbal interactions, with a low incidence rate of nonattuned comments (< 1%). Mind-mindedness was found to be significantly associated with structural quality characteristics and caregivers’ interactive skills. Caregivers with greater interactive skills produced fewer individual and more group appropriate mind-minded comments in mixed-age groups. Practice or Policy: We discuss the relevance of mind-minded comments at individual and group level for the future study of mental-state talk in early childhood education and care.     

Early Evidence of Modular Templates Used to Draw Human Figures on Mural Paintings: The Etruscan Tomba degli Scudi in Tarquinia

ABSTRACT

During recent conservation work carried out on the Etruscan mural paintings in the Tomba degli Scudi, (Tarquinia, 4th C. BCE), the study of the execution techniques led to an amazing discovery: human figures were composed using templates of single body parts. In the Tomba degli Scudi, the perfect overlap of limbs, chests, and heads was confirmed after processing rectified photogrammetric images of the wall paintings with photo editing software. The study also highlighted that such templates were probably made of rigid material and each one had three different sizes, in order to represent the hierarchical organization of the painted characters. In the past, scholars have demonstrated that templates were used to realize a number of Etruscan wall paintings. However, they had reported that only whole figures were reproduced. The notion that such templates consisted of single anatomical parts purposely created to portray figures in different poses never occurs in their studies. In fact, the use of modular templates, also called patroni and antibola, is acknowledged only from the Middle Ages onwards both in western and eastern art. Earlier evidence had never been found. This article aims to predate the use of modular shapes by about ten centuries, thus changing our knowledge of technologies whose tradition spans from the Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Consequently, a new approach to the study of transfer techniques of preparatory drawings in Etruscan wall paintings is established. Furthermore, this article shows that, as in the Middle Ages, the size of such templates was scaled up or down to create hierarchies among the painted characters.     

Mainstreaming Information Literacy Skills Into a Social Enterprise Environment

The need for the integration of information literacy (IL) into the world of social enterprise (organizations that apply market-based strategies to achieve a social purpose) is critical for like organizations providing workforce development services to disabled populations. The skill set associated with IL is vital to the success of this population to achieve economic self sufficiency. Disability Program Navigators trained in information sciences and placed into community-based One Stop Career Centers can serve as the gatekeepers for, and trainers on, the multiple resources available to support this goal. This article examines an exciting new program model that charts the course for expanding collaborative IL and social enterprise pilots nationwide.