Bibliotherapy for mental health service users Part 1: a systematic review

Aims and objectives: UK health policy advocates a patient‐centred approach to patient care. Library services could serve the rehabilitation needs of mental health service users through bibliotherapy (the use of written, audio, or e‐learning materials to provide therapeutic support). Part 1 of a two part article describes a systematic review of the evidence for the effectiveness of bibliotherapy in mental health services. Methods: The systematic review of the literature used Cochrane guidelines, together with an overview of evaluations of bibliotherapy initiatives, and assessments of the needs of adult mental health service users for rehabilitation support. Results: The evidence strongly suggests that library‐based interventions and the provision of information could be beneficial for service users and economical for the health service in assisting treatment of a range of conditions. At present, public libraries in the UK are developing basic bibliotherapy services. Conclusions: Librarians, including librarians working for the health service, might provide more sophisticated bibliotherapy services, but the evidence to guide delivery is limited.     

准备好应用网络教育的明日教师（上）

全球网（www.World Wide Wde)对教育系统的潜在冲击几乎是无限的。然而，如果我们的教师不具备适当的应用网络的知识和技能，实现的冲击会比可能的要小。证据表明，我们的教师需要培训，以便能够有效利用强大的在线资源，培养我们的孩子在数字社会中自我发展的能力。本文的目的在于探讨基于网络的教学对教师教育计划的冲击。     

The formative and summative uses of a Professional Development Portfolio: a Maltese case study

The paper examines the rationale and the uses of portfolios in initial teacher education. This rationale is then applied to explore the development and implementation of the Professional Development Portfolio (PDP) as an integral part of the initial teacher education programme offered by the Faculty of Education, University of Malta. The paper considers the responses of students and lecturers to this mode of assessment; in particular, how the tensions between the formative and summative functions of portfolios were experienced and responded to at institutional level. The paper is the result of the debates and discussions among the three authors. Deborah Chetcuti and Grace Grima were directly involved in the development of the assessment innovation, Patricia Murphy was a visiting academic and external examiner during the period.     

Can nightmares become sweet dreams? Peer review in the wake of a systemwide administrative mandate

In 1993, the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte enacted a mandate requiring peer evaluation of teaching, including class-room observation, for non-tenured faculty. Participants involved in the AAHE Peer Review Project feared the mandate would taint efforts to introduce faculty to collegial approaches to the peer review of teaching. As reported here, negative fallout from the mandate has been balanced to some degree by the positive effects of having a required evaluation system. Departmental culture shaped peer review activities undertaken in the first year and may have ultimately overshadowed effects of the mandate on the project.Deborah M. Langsam is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. A mycologist specializing in aquatic fungi, Langsam earned her baccalaureate degree from Brooklyn College, M.A. from the City University of New York, and her Ph.D. in botany from Duke University. She is also a winner of the NCNB Award for Teaching Excellence, serves as the UNCC campus project coordinator for the AAHE Peer Review of Teaching project, and has led numerous workshops on teaching portfolios. Philip L. Dubois is Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A political scientist, Dubois earned his baccalaureate degree at the University of California at Davis and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He assumed his current position at UNCC in 1991, after having served fifteen years in faculty and administrative posts at University of California-Davis.     

The quality and frequency of mother-toddler conflict: links with attachment and temperament.

The goal of this study was to examine the links among attachment, child temperament, and the quality and frequency of mother-toddler conflict. Sixty-four mothers and children took part in a series of laboratory tasks when the child was 30 months of age and an audiorecorded home observation when the child was 36 months of age. All episodes of conflict were identified from the videotapes/audiotapes, transcribed, and coded for conflict strategies, resolution, and themes. Mothers also completed measures of attachment security and child temperament. Concurrent attachment security was related to the quality of mother-toddler conflict (including resolution, justification, and compromise) at both periods but not to the frequency of conflict. In addition, aspects of child temperament (i.e., negative reactivity and activity level/impulsivity) were related to both the quality and the frequency of mother-toddler conflict.     

Introducing teaching cases with face-to-face and computer-mediated discussion: Two multi-classroom quasi-experiments

Two studies were conducted in multisection introductory child and adolescent development classes to determine effects of introducing abbreviated teaching case studies that were then discussed either in face-to-face or online formats. Students receiving teaching case studies in either format in both classes showed improved ability to critically analyze probe and final cases compared to control participants. Both case study groups in the child development class also showed increased application of psychological concepts in analyzing new cases. No differences in course knowledge were expected as a function of condition and none were found. Hypothesized case-related increases in efficacy for teaching also were not observed. Results were interpreted as supporting a case analysis approach in educational psychology classes and use of online methods for presentation and discussion of abbreviated cases.     

Co-constructors of data,co-constructors of meaning: Teacher professional development in an age of accountability

This research examines how engaging teachers in collaboratively constructing situated assessments enhances teacher professional development, fosters meaningful shifts to practice, and supports productive conceptions of accountability. We conducted case studies of six teachers engaged as partners in investigating new approaches to assessing and fostering literacy. Findings suggested that supporting teachers to generate, interpret, and act upon assessment data within instructional change cycles assisted them in monitoring student performance, grounding instructional decisions in data, and enacting changes to practice. We also document how collaboratively constructing assessments with teachers supported conceptions of accountability considered meaningful by individuals adopting differing socio-political perspectives.     

Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Comparison of Two IRTree Models to Investigate the Impact of Full Versus Endpoint-Only Response Option Labeling

In this study, we examined the results and interpretations produced from two different IRTree models—one using paths consisting of only dichotomous decisions, and one using paths consisting of both dichotomous and polytomous decisions. We used data from two versions of an impulsivity measure. In the first version, all the response options had labels; in the second version, only the endpoints were labeled. Based on past research, we hypothesized that the endpoints would be selected more frequently in the endpoint-only labeled condition, and the midpoint response option would be selected more frequently in the fully labeled condition. Results from the two models (dichotomous and polytomous) were similar and indicated that our hypotheses were partially supported—specifically, there was no consistent pattern in terms of which condition saw a higher frequency of midpoint response selection. However, our hypotheses regarding extreme responding in the endpoint-only labeling condition were supported.     

Scientists as consultants to industry in a developing country: An analysis of their roles and economic effectiveness

Twenty-six consultant-assisted development projects were studied within the pharmaceutical industry in Israel. They were selected at random; some were successful and some were not. The work of the academic scientific consultants has been closely followed. It was found that their task is more to respond to the problems of management than to introduce new ideas. The academic consultant's main contribution was the transfer of existing published knowledge in a format applicable to practice. In addition, however, the consultant had to supply know-how on and supervision of work carried out within the academic institutions, utilizing the resources of the latter which are much more sophisticated than those of the industry of a developing country. The economic value of consultancy in coupling university and industry is also estimated. It was shown that in a developing country - where the size of the pharmaceutical industry is relatively small - the task of the consultant is more than that of an expert specialist: he is a valuable instrument of communication, information and implementation as well.