Online peer review: perceptions in the biological sciences

An experiment in online peer review was carried out by the Royal Society, on the journal Proceedings: Biological Sciences. Authors were asked to provide Acrobat PDF files and uploaded them using a web interface. Referees were provided with a URL that gave access to the paper and entered their report into an online form. Almost 50% of the authors contacted used the online method and referees greeted the method with enthusiasm. Editorial staff found the online system easier than expected and were keen to continue its use.     

Ten Years of Peer‐Reviewed Articles in Counselor Education: Where,What, Who?

Although counselor educators may be called on to justify publication venues, authorship order, and types of articles for purposes of promotion and tenure, there are few sources of data regarding norms for publication in counselor education. The current study examined peer‐reviewed publication venues, article types, and authorship order of 317 faculty members who were employed by 49 doctoral programs in counselor education accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. The study reviewed 1,547 articles published between January 1997 and December 2006. Results are presented, and implications for counselor education are discussed.     

Combining history of medicine and library instruction: an innovative approach to teaching database searching to medical students

Library faculty members at the Health Sciences Library at the LSU Health Shreveport campus offer a database searching class for third-year medical students during their surgery rotation. For a number of years, students completed "ten-minute clinical challenges," but the instructors decided to replace the clinical challenges with innovative exercises using The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus to emphasize concepts learned. The Surgical Papyrus is an online resource that is part of the National Library of Medicine's "Turning the Pages" digital initiative. In addition, vintage surgical instruments and historic books are displayed in the classroom to enhance the learning experience.     

An Experiment in Self-Monitoring Amongst Tutors at the Open University: the Mr Dummy scheme

Problems of grade unreliability are common to all institutions, but standardization is vital when the scores of several hundred students, involving many markers, count for credit. This article describes the context of continuous assessment at the Open University and an experiment which involves all the markers on one course comparing their grades with each other and with those of the course team.     

The Impact of First‐year Education Practicum and Study on Preservice Teachers: a West Australian perspective

The pressure to improve preparation programs for teachers increasingly is evident in Australia, UK and the US. At Curtin University, the Faculty of Education is interested in the way in which preservice students perceive the teaching role and how these perceptions alter during their undergraduate experiences. First year undergraduates in the Faculty of Education were asked early in the year to give short written comments, in an informal situation, to the question “What is teaching?” At the end of their first year the same students were then asked “How have your ideas about teaching changed, and what influenced those changes?” An analysis of students’ responses showed considerable changes in their views of the profession with the single most important factor in the change being the first practicum. Also many of the student teachers’ views were expressed in strongly emotional terms. This paper reports the findings of the first year of a three year project planned to continue mapping students’ conceptions of teaching.     

News coverage of abortion between Roe and Webster: Public opinion and real‐world events

Based on agenda‐setting research, this study focused on the links between media coverage, real‐world indicators, and public opinion about abortion. We conducted a content analysis of coverage of the abortion issue in two prestige newspapers, The New York Times and the Washington Post, between two key Supreme Court rulings. We hypothesized that amount of coverage would (a) increase during election years, (b) be related to number of abortions performed, and (c) be related to public opinion about abortion rights. We found mixed support for our hypotheses. Abortion coverage did peak during election years but was not related to the number of abortions performed, and was related negatively to public acceptance of abortion rights.     

Combining History of Medicine and Library Instruction: An Innovative Approach to Teaching Database Searching to Medical Students

Library faculty members at the Health Sciences Library at the LSU Health Shreveport campus offer a database searching class for third-year medical students during their surgery rotation. For a number of years, students completed “ten-minute clinical challenges,” but the instructors decided to replace the clinical challenges with innovative exercises using The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus to emphasize concepts learned. The Surgical Papyrus is an online resource that is part of the National Library of Medicine's “Turning the Pages” digital initiative. In addition, vintage surgical instruments and historic books are displayed in the classroom to enhance the learning experience.     

Improving and Communicating Workforce Skills: A Regional Initiative

The demand for improved workplace skills in the U.S. is rapidly rising, and U.S. industries, employees, and educational systems are struggling to respond. This paper describes the Skills Advantage program, an effort led by employers and facilitated by Kirkwood Community College to address regional employment needs. This work-ready certificate program allows emerging, traditional, and incumbent workers to communicate their skills and skill levels to employers in relationship to the requirements of the workplace. Regional training organizations and community agencies can help improve the capability of the regional workforce by integrating Skills Advantage-related skills instruction to existing programs.     

Play therapy in elementary schools

Because the child's world is a world of action and activity, play therapy provides the psychologist in elementary‐school settings with an opportunity to enter the child's world. In the play therapy relationship, toys are like the child's words and play is the child's language. Therefore, children play out their problems, experiences, concerns, and feelings in a manner that is similar to the process of talk therapy. This article provides practical information for developing a play therapy program, a discussion of the skills needed by the psychologist, how to involve parents and teachers in the treatment process, and a review of impressive effect sizes found in play therapy research studies. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

University faculty and administrator responses to job strains

This study reports the relationships between job strain and several quality of life (QOL) indicators for a group of university faculty and administrators. The QOL indicators were in the domain of job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and health. Variables presumed to moderate the relationship between job strain and QOL were tested for their ability to buffer the strain effects. Analyses were carried out on faculty's and administrators' responses. The strong correlations obtained have both theoretical and practical consequences. Intervention strategies are discussed.