Digital information evolution: the AIDS Library experience

The AIDS Library evolved out of consumer health activism in response to the need for the latest HIV information, materials, and technology. In 1998, staff implemented a microcomputer-based integrated automated library system with Web publishing capability to link catalogs, databases of Philadelphia regional services, online publications, and fact sheets. The Web site, , became "live" December 1, 1998. History leading to its development and future plans are presented.     

The Effects of User-fee Policy on Attendance Rates among Kenyan Elementary Schoolchildren

What happens when a government cannot meet its obligation to provide universal primary education and enhance the quality of education for all of its citizens? The present study examines the interactions among stakeholders in the user-fee policy in primary education in Kenya. It seeks to show how this policy has affected attendance rates and drop-out rates among elementary schoolchildren. It reveals that, in addition to limiting access and contributing to attrition, user-fees significantly contribute to absenteeism. The study also exposes the dire situation of economically vulnerable citizens who do not have the resources which they need to ensure private education for their children. It concludes that together the government and household-level economic weaknesses have made it virtually impossible to attain the goal of education for all in Kenya.     

Developing a comprehensive model of risk and protective factors that can predict spelling at age seven: findings from a community sample of Victorian children

The paper reports on a study designed to develop a risk model that can best predict single-word spelling in seven-year-old children when they were aged 4 and 5. Test measures, personal characteristics and environmental influences were all considered as variables from a community sample of 971 children. Strong concurrent correlations were found between single-word spelling and single-word reading while expressive language and, to a lesser extent, receptive language were less strongly correlated. Predictors of single-word spelling at ages 4 and 5 were dominated by child-related factors such as letter knowledge, a history of speech impairment and expressive language along with maternal word reading ability. Based on the strength of the predictive factors identified at both age 4 and 5, our results provide initial support for using a targeted model for screening pre-schoolers at risk of not mastering spelling in a timely manner.