The Impact of the National Endowment for the Arts in the United States: Institutional and Sectoral Effects on Private Funding

This paper examines the impact of the National Endowment for the Arts on private donations to the arts. The aim of the analysis is to assess whether public funding generates a crowding effect on private giving. We distinguish between institutional and sectoral crowding phenomena and discuss their possible implications.We used both a qualitative approach and an econometric model to estimate the effect of NEA introduction and appropriations on donations. Our results suggest that at the institutional level NEA grants do not generally induce donations to recipients while at the sectoral level appropriations and private giving are independent. The introduction of the agency appears to have caused a decrease in donations.     

Writing and Publishing in a Blended Learning Environment to Develop Students’ Scholarly Digital Ethos

The explosive growth of clinical psychology literature has made it difficult for anyone to get a comprehensive overview of the field. Clinical psychology handbooks help alleviate this problem by providing a thorough survey of the discipline. Despite their utility for both students and librarians, no literature reviews of handbooks in clinical psychology currently exist. The present study seeks to fill this gap by selectively reviewing handbooks currently available, as well as a few "classics."     

Against the grain: Reading for the challenges of collaborative digital humanities pedagogy

ABSTRACT

This article provides a critical review of the past five years of literature in digital humanities pedagogy and faculty-librarian collaboration, commingled with reflections on personal practice, which extend findings from the literature. Faculty-librarian partnerships in DH pedagogy reflect a rapidly evolving area of engagement calling for expertise in teaching, subject knowledge, scholarly communication, digital technologies, and DH research methodologies. Although there is a rapidly expanding body of literature on these partnerships, the challenges of the work tend to be minimized. This article expands upon commonly encountered difficulties, and it points to potential solutions and best practices.     

NEETs in Spain: an analysis in a context of economic crisis

This article presents the research results from a study that was conducted on Spanish youths aged 25–29 years who are neither in employment nor education and training (NEET). Their characteristics were analysed as well as the differential aspects in relation to people who are in employment, education or training. A typology of NEETs was also established based on their availability for and attitude towards employment, and the similarities and differences between the diverse subgroups were analysed. A mixed methodology was used: a quantitative perspective, which enabled a statistical and regression analysis using data that were obtained through questionnaires, and a qualitative perspective based on a biographical interview, which made it possible to focus on perceptions and processes. The results enable us to identify the common characteristics of the NEET population as well as the perceptions and determining factors of the three typologies.     

The evolution of socio-economic disparities in literacy skills from age 15 to age 27 in 20 countries

This study contributes to the literature by examining the evolution of socio-economic disparities in literacy skills between age 15 and 27. It uses combined cross-sectional data from the Programme for International Student Assessment and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies in 20 countries and adopts a synthetic cohort approach. In the article we examine if there are differences in the evolution of socio-economic disparities in literacy between the teenage years and young adulthood among high-achieving students (90th percentile) and among low-achieving students (10th percentile) and compare differences across education systems. We used parental education as an indicator of socio-economic status. Findings indicate that on average, disparities in literacy skills observed at age 15 widen by 15% of a standard deviation by age 27. Such increase is determined by a more pronounced growth in achievement among individuals with tertiary educated parents than among individuals whose parents did not complete tertiary education. The increase in socio-economic gaps between age 15 and 27 is more pronounced among low-achieving students. The group that improves the most between age 15 and 27 is low-achieving individuals with tertiary educated parents. We find that socio-economic differences in educational attainment, NEET status and use of skills at home and in the workplace explain a large part of socio-economic disparities in literacy achievement among young adults. Although countries with above-average disparities at age 15 tend to also display above-average disparities at age 27, we identify differences across countries.     

Five-year longitudinal evaluation of quality of life in a cohort of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) generally has a favorable outcome. Thyroid disease, treatments, stress, and comorbidity can compromise health-related quality of life (QoL) and indirectly weigh upon the outcome. From 2004 to 2008, we evaluated QoL longitudinally in 128 DTC subjects. During scheduled examinations, subjects were asked to undergo a semi-structured psychiatric interview and five rated inventories. The same examination was conducted in 219 subjects after surgery for benign thyroid pathology. Low scores represent a better QoL. DTC and control subjects were similar in terms of age, male/female ratio, concomitant psychopharmacological treatments, and frequency of psychiatric diseases. In DTC subjects, Billewicz scale (BS) scores showed an increasing trend over time, especially among females. The ad hoc thyroid questionnaire (TQ) scores were similar in both groups and did not change over time, but at the end of the study ad hoc TQ and BS were significantly related. Ad hoc TQ scores were also related to age on entry to the study. In both male and female DTC subjects, Hamilton’s tests for anxiety (HAM-A), but not for depression (HAM-D), showed an improving trend. At the end of the study, HAM-A and HAM-D scores were comparable to those of the control group. HAM-A and HAM-D were both positively correlated with the stage of cancer and the time between diagnosis and treatment. Only HAM-D correlated with age on entry to the study. Kellner symptom questionnaire (KSQ) item scores were higher in DTC subjects than in controls. The change over time in the items including anxiety, somatization, depression, and hostility was significant. Somatization and hostility were more significantly reduced in DTC females than in DTC males. Hostility scores were significantly lower in DTC subjects than in controls at the end of the study. Somatization and depression were significantly related to staging on diagnosis and age on entry to the study. Our study confirms a wide variation of illness perception in DTC subjects, which is generally unrelated to the favorable clinical follow-up of the disease. Psychological evaluation during long-term follow-up improved QoL scores, which reached the same levels noted in subjects with a history of thyroid surgery for benign thyroid pathology. Our data indicate that special attention should be paid to QoL in older DTC subjects and those with more severe staging on diagnosis.     

Supporting Student Success in the First-Year Experience: Library Instruction in the Learning Management System

This article discusses how the Library and Office of Institutional Research at a public college measured the relationship of an online information literacy module in the learning management system with student success metrics in a first-year experience course. Specifically, the authors examine the relationships of an online instruction module, online module completion status, library use sessions, and student success metrics, such as semester grade point average (GPA), one-year retention, and academic standing. The results suggest that students who participated in the online information literacy module had better student outcomes than those that did not participate in the module. Research assignment grade and library use sessions are found as significant predictors of student semester GPA and one-year retention, controlling for high school GPA, student characteristics, and utilization of student support services. Practice implications are discussed.     

Individually Weighted-Average Models: Testing a Taxonomic SEM Approach Across Different Multidimensional/Global Constructs Because the Weights “Don’t Make No Nevermind”

From the time of William James, psychologists have posited individually importance-weighted-average models (IWAMs) in which weighting specific attributes by individual measures of importance improves prediction of the global outcome measures. Because IWAMs cause much confusion, we briefly review a general taxonomic paradigm and structural equation models for testing IWAMs, and demonstrate its application for 2 simulated and 3 diverse “real” data applications (multidimensional measures of self-concept, quality of life, and job satisfaction). Consistent across the real data applications and previous research more generally, there is surprisingly little support for IWAMs when tested appropriately. In these diverse tests of IWAMs we integrate new approaches such as exploratory structural equation modeling (SEM), alternative approaches to constructing latent interactions, application of bifactor models, modeling method and item-wording effects, and the juxtaposition of model evaluation in relation to goodness of fit (typically used in SEM studies) and variance explained (typically used in multiple regression tests of IWAMs).