Testing Lesniaski's Revised Brief Test

In 2004, Lesniaski revised White's Brief Test methodology for smaller academic libraries that lack sufficient subject specialist librarians to perform the brief tests as originally proposed by White. As a part of regular collection development, Cowles Library implemented Lesniaski's Brief Tests on the print monograph collection. While primarily a review of Lesniaski's methodology, this article also discusses how the Brief Tests were used for improved collection evaluation and maintenance.     

JournaIism

MAKING NEWS by Martin Mayer (New York: Doubleday, 1987—$18.95)

BAD NEWS AT BLACK ROCK: THE SELL-OUT OF CBS NEWS by Peter McCabe (New York: Arbor House, 1987—$17.95)

SHARED VULNERABILITY: THE MEDIA AND AMERICAN PERCEPTIONS OF THE BHOPAL DISASTER by Lee Wilkins (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987—$29.95)

SELLING SCIENCE: HOW THE PRESS COVERS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY by Dorothy Nelkin (New York: Freeman, 1987—$16.95)

COMMUNICATING POLITICS: MASS COMMUNICATIONS AND THE POLITICAL PROCESS edited by Peter Golding, et al. (New York: Holms & Meier, 1986 $35.00/17.50)

MAGAZINES: A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THEIR ANALYSIS, WITH ANNOTATIONS AND STUDY GUIDE by Fred K. Paine and Nancy E. Paine (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1987—$62.50)

THE TRAINING AND HIRING OF JOURNALISTS by Lee B. Becker, et al. (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1987—$29.50)

ETHICAL JOURNALISM by Philip Meyer (New York: Longman, 1987—$18.95, paper)     

Cross-cultural examination of test anxiety among US and Singapore students on the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E)

In the present study, the similarity of the factor structure of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) and cultural and gender differences in test anxiety were examined in a sample of 1322 US and Singapore elementary students. The similarity of the factor structure of the TAS-E, a measure of test anxiety, was examined to determine whether the same test score interpretation could be made across culture and gender. Coefficient of congruence and salient variable similarity index values indicated that the pairs of matched factors (Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Concerns, Task Irrelevant Behaviour, Worry and Total Test Anxiety factors) of the TAS-E were similar across culture and gender. Results of a 2?×?2 ANOVA and 2?×?2 MANOVA with follow-up ANOVAs revealed that Singapore males scored higher than US males and US females scored higher than Singapore females on the TAS-E Total Test Anxiety scale and the Physiological Hyperarousal subscale. Singapore males also scored higher than US males on the TAS-E Worry subscale. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

On the potential for using immersive virtual environments to support laboratory experiment contextualisation

This paper explores the hypothesis that embedding a laboratory activity into a virtual environment can provide a richer experimental context and hence improve the understanding of the relationship between a theoretical model and the real world, particularly in terms of the model's strengths and weaknesses. While an identified learning objective of laboratories is to support the understanding of the relationship between models and reality, the paper illustrates that this understanding is hindered by inherently limited experiments and that there is scope for improvement. Despite the contextualisation of learning activities having been shown to support learning objectives in many fields, there is traditionally little contextual information presented during laboratory experimentation. The paper argues that the enhancing laboratory activity with contextual information affords an opportunity to improve students’ understanding of the relationship between the theoretical model and the experiment (which is effectively a proxy for the complex real world), thereby improving their understanding of the relationship between the model and reality. The authors propose that these improvements can be achieved by setting remote laboratories within context-rich virtual worlds.     

Techniques used by primary school pupils in drawings during science activities

Conclusion It is apparent from the data that pupils use a wide variety of techniques to aid the clarity of their drawings and that they are able to discriminate between them. The data support the value of the teaching method used, where drawings were used as the principal means of communication between the children. The study has shown how, without any teacher instruction on drawing techniques, the children have been able to identify and adapt ones which they see as meeting their requirements. The study has established one teaching method which, following further investigation, could be presented to teachers as a useful strategy during science lessons.     

“Stop! You didn't read who wrote It!”: The concept of author

Virginia Lowe has lectured in both children's and English literature at several Australian teachers' colleges and is currently a school librarian. She has published a monograph,Adult Book Child, and several articles on books and young children.     

Information Technology and Gender. Problems and Proposals

The paper examines the possible reasons why there is a gender bias towards males studying computing at secondary school level. The authors have surveyed recent research in the area of information technology (IT) and gender, highlighted some of the major areas for discussion and made a number of recommendations for improving classroom practice. The recommendations are arranged under five headings: access to the curriculum; course design; teachers' attitudes and teaching styles; language; assessment issues; and the role of technology. The aim is to alert teachers to the importance of considering how gender bias is being perpetuated, and then to examine how practice can be improved. The recommendations follow the example already set by the Association for Science Education in the United Kingdom, and note the work done in Scotland by the General Teaching Council in addressing gender as a key issue. Although the discussion focuses upon the Scottish context and in particular the development of computing studies, many of the points apply equally well to the introduction of IT as a cross‐curricular theme at both the primary and secondary stages. This is particularly relevant as IT is a significant development within the 5‐14 Programme in Scotland and mirrors innovation in the area of IT in England and Wales.     

全球化与技能发展:来自南部非洲的启示

与西方工业化国家和太平洋地区的新工业化国家相比，全球化的技能发展对于像卢旺达和坦桑尼亚这样的低收入国定来说，其内涵是不同的。在高收的发达国家，关于全球化与技能发展的文献资料很多；而在像卢、坦这样的低收入国家，这类资料极为有限。既使有，也是建立在非理论化的基础之上的。而且这些资料一致认为，对于低收入国家而言，全球化的内涵是相通的。这就完全排除了两国对外关系结构上的差异。另外，人们在理解上还存在误区，即认为全球化给一个国家内部不同的社会群体、不同的经济领域所带来的发展机遇是相似的。事实上全球化的意义不是等同的，它代表了一个国家的决策者们在平衡本国各方利益和需求时经过协调所达成的一系列的共识。     

Intellective Functioning and Strategy Use in Children with Insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus

The cognitive development of children with either early or late onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) was investigated with tasks measuring intellectual ability, memory, and academic progress. In addition, children's perceptions of their competence and parents' perspectives on family functioning and their children's behavior were compared. It was found that children with IDDM scored within the normal range on standardized measures of intelligence and academic performance but evidenced some school difficulties, as reflected in subscale performance as well as in their need of remedial education services. Further, evidence was found to suggest deficiencies in children's use of strategies to organize and recall information, particularly for those with early onset of disease. Children's perceived self-competencies and parents' reports of family functioning were strikingly similar across groups. However, parents of those children whose illness began prior to age 5 reported their children to have poor attention spans and difficulty completing tasks.