Mandate for change: merging acquisitions and cataloging functions into a single workflow

In 2001, The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Libraries cataloging and acquisition units merged to become a larger totally integrated department, renamed Bibliographic Services. Historically, acquisitions and cataloging functions were managed separately, although initial pre-order cataloging procedures were in place since late 1993. Prior to the merger in 2001, cataloging staff selected and exported MARC records in advance of the ordering functions performed exclusively by acquisitions staff. Library administrative personnel, concerned with the persistent lag time from receipt of the order card to actual receipt of the item, mandated change. After implementing new procedures and streamlining workflow, a sample analysis of productivity and fill rates for two fiscal years, before change and after, demonstrated significantly that cataloging at point of order is desirable in providing faster delivery of new materials.     

Professional Development Programs for Elementary Science Teachers: An Analysis of Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs and a Professional Development Model

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

The Future of English

This article begins with a brief résumé of three selected texts which have, in different ways, been influential in setting the agenda for thinking about the long‐term future of English. Discussions held at the 1999 NATE conference in a ‘Future of English’ commission were a response to a challenge by Gunther Kress (1995) to try to say what English is for. The working definitions which were achieved are used as a basis for beginning to consider, rather more briefly and tentatively, how the content of English should be defined, what progression would look like in the proposed curriculum, how it should be assessed and what the implications would be for teachers. Finally, the article puts forward some suggestions for a strategy which would aim to ensure that the challenge for a radical review of the English curriculum is addressed in time for 2005.     

A meta-analysis of the relationship of child sexual abuse to HIV risk behavior among women

OBJECTIVE: This study is a meta-analysis of the literature exploring the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and HIV risk behavior among women. Four outcome variables were tested: unprotected sex; sex with multiple partners; sex trading; and adult sexual revictimization. METHOD: Forty-six studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis, and separate meta-analyses were performed for each of the four dependent variables described above. RESULTS: Using the correlation coefficient r as an effect size estimate, results indicate an average effect size of .05 for the unprotected sex meta-analysis (N = 16 studies), .13 for the sex with multiple partners meta-analysis (N = 23 studies), .12 for the sex trading meta-analysis (N = 23 studies), and .17 for the adult sexual revictimization meta-analysis (N = 21 studies). We conducted a test of three potential moderator variables (source of sample, definition of CSA based on type of contact, and definition of CSA based on maximum age of victim). Results did not support the hypothesis that these three variables explain a significant amount of variability in effect sizes with one exception: Studies that define CSA more broadly to include adolescent victims (e.g., victims up to 17 years of age) had larger and more homogenous effect sizes for the sex trading meta-analysis than those that defined CSA as having occurred at younger ages. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a small positive relationship between CSA and subsequent HIV risk behavior among women that varies as a function of how CSA and HIV risk behavior are operationalized.