Evaluation of a school‐based sex education programme delivered to Grade Nine students in Canada

The effectiveness of a multidimensional Canadian sex education programme was evaluated using 240 Grade Nine students. The intervention was offered by representatives from various community groups and involved instructional classes on anatomy/physiology of the reproductive system and sexually transmitted infections, a video and group discussion on healthy relationships, a form of ‘peer education’ and discussion on teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, as well as a parent workshop and newsletter on teen sexuality. Respondents in the intervention and control groups completed a self‐administered questionnaire at baseline and one month after the programme. Compared with the control group, students in the intervention group showed positive changes in the areas of knowledge, sex‐role attitudes, sexual interaction values, and the perception that birth control is important. These results suggest that a collaborative effort of outside professionals from various community organisations and involvement of ‘peer educators’ to provide sexual health education in Grade Nine high school classes may be a useful strategy.     

Process and progress: working with born-digital material in the Wendy Cope Archive at the British Library

This article considers the processing of the born-digital archive of the English poet Wendy Cope, deposited at the British Library in 2011. Using the Cope Archive as a template, the authors set out a six-part workflow to acquire, preserve, process and make it accessible. The Cope Archive, which contains several types of digital media, presented various problems. The authors, however, were able to successfully apply their workflow and outline the various software and methods used at each stage. They conclude that, though each born-digital archive presents a unique set of issues, the proposed workflow is a successful framework that would be applicable to most.     

Learning how to teach unfamiliar subjects: developing training on writing for publication and presentation of research for health libraries

Academic librarians with teaching responsibility have traditionally delivered training in discovering and organising information. However, in recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on supporting researchers through all stages of the research lifecycle. While librarians are ideally placed to provide training in writing for publication and presentation of research, very few in the United Kingdom appear to be doing so. However, there are clear benefits to teaching these subjects. Based on feedback from faculty on user needs, the University of Cambridge Medical Library’s training programme was expanded to include training and support in the publication and presentation of research outputs. This article recounts the process by which the new courses were developed, and the techniques used by the library’s teaching staff to gain understanding of conventions and requirements of forms of written communication with which they were unfamiliar. It also evaluates the impact of the new courses, discusses next steps and provides advice for other librarians wishing to develop similar courses. D.I.     

I blame the mother: educating parents and the gendered nature of parenting orders

There has been an increasing focus from policymakers, academics and journalists on parents as the source of their child's anti-social behaviour both in and outside of the formal school setting. One intervention proffered is the parenting order. The language of parenting orders and parenting interventions obscures a distinct truth, that parenting orders are really mothering orders. This paper draws on findings generated during interviews with 26 parents attending a parenting education programme in a city in the north of England. This paper explores the gendered nature of parental education, in that the overwhelming majority of parents ordered by the courts to attend parenting classes are women. The paper explores mothers' experiences of receiving coercive parenting education, examines the reasons why mothers were given parenting orders and explores the nature of these mothers' relationships with their child's school.     

Museums and Technology: Being Inclusive Helps Accessibility for All

This paper explores accessibility issues for museums in the context of growing dependence on technology. The background of these issues is described, along with the evolution from physical access to digital access—for example, via the Web—and, increasingly, mobile technology. The authors are people with different disabilities and they describe personal experiences, giving a sense of the various barriers and benefits that are involved. The aim of this paper is to provide museums with a disabled person's point of view, which could help in inspiring improvements for the future. Often the task is one of understanding as much as financial constraints, since many solutions can be implemented at little additional cost.