Academic Libraries and Autism Spectrum Disorder: What Do We Know?

This paper examines the rising rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children in the United States (1 in 59), and explores the role academic libraries can play in helping college students with ASD. A literature review of how different types of libraries (school, public, academic) support students with ASD indicates research in this area in general is lacking. Findings point to lack of adequate training and awareness for librarians and staff, resources, services and spaces are universal challenges. Several initiatives that academic libraries and librarians may consider in helping students with ASD are identified and described.     

Custodians of silences? School principal perspectives on the incidence and nature of homophobic bullying in primary schools in Ireland

The research reported in this paper sought to determine the level of awareness among school principals in primary schools in Ireland where homophobic bullying is concerned. International research has previously shown that school leaders as animators of school climate are often lacking in their responses to this type of bullying [Walton, G. 2004. “Bullying and Homophobia in Canadian Schools: The Politics of Policies, Programs, and Educational Leadership.” Journal of Gay and Lesbian Issues in Education 1 (4): 23–36; Pizmony-Levy, O., and J. G. Kosciw. 2016. “School Climate and the Experience of LGBT Students: A Comparison of the United States and Israel.” Journal of LGBT Youth 13 (1–2): 46–66; Taylor, C. G., E. J. Meyer, T. Peter, J. Ristock, D. Short, and C. Campbell. 2016. “Gaps Between Beliefs, Perceptions, and Practices: The Every Teacher Project on LGBTQ-Inclusive Education in Canadian Schools.” Journal of LGBT Youth 13 (1–2): 112–140]. We sought to ascertain whether school principals in Ireland have had experience of dealing with this type of bullying, whether they believe it is a significant issue and what they perceive their role to be in relation to addressing homophobic bullying. The research focused on the views of school principals because of the critical role they play in policy implementation and school organisation. The research revealed that one in every two school principals had responded to homophobic bullying and that these same principals did not always consider the use of homophobic pejoratives to constitute homophobic bullying. The paper points to the need for further education and training for school leaders on the topic of homophobic bullying otherwise their perspectives will contribute to the many silences that surround this topic in primary schools in Ireland.     

Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of assessments: A review and a study into the ability and accuracy of estimating the difficulty levels of assessment items

In today's higher education, high quality assessments play an important role. Little is known, however, about the degree to which assessments are correctly aimed at the students’ levels of competence in relation to the defined learning goals. This article reviews previous research into teachers’ and students’ perceptions of item difficulty. It focuses on the item difficulty of assessments and students’ and teachers’ abilities to estimate item difficulty correctly. The review indicates that teachers tend to overestimate the difficulty of easy items and underestimate the difficulty of difficult items. Students seem to be better estimators of item difficulty. The accuracy of the estimates can be improved by: the information the estimators or teachers have about the target group and their earlier assessment results; defining the target group before the estimation process; the possibility of having discussions about the defined target group of students and their corresponding standards during the estimation process; and by the amount of training in item construction and estimating. In the subsequent study, the ability and accuracy of teachers and students to estimate the difficulty levels of assessment items was examined. In higher education, results show that teachers are able to estimate the difficulty levels correctly for only a small proportion of the assessment items. They overestimate the difficulty level of most of the assessment items. Students, on the other hand, underestimate their own performances. In addition, the relationships between the students’ perceptions of the difficulty levels of the assessment items and their performances on the assessments were investigated. Results provide evidence that the students who performed best on the assessments underestimated their performances the most. Several explanations are discussed and suggestions for additional research are offered.     

Developmental financial institutions as technology policy instruments: implications for innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging economies

Developmental financial institutions (DFIs) in emerging economies regularly assess new technology platforms to support their investments in new ventures, established firms, and technology institutions (TIs). Their financing decisions are guided by national priorities such as achieving technological self-reliance. By providing attractive financing options and related support, DFIs are well placed to consciously channel finance into designated priority technology areas. To better understand DFI roles, we conducted multiple interviews with participants affiliated with DFIs, firms and TIs in India. From data gathered from these interviews and secondary data on DFIs in emerging economies, we develop a preliminary framework to suggest that DFIs, when proactive in making technology assessments, form an important link between developing a firm’s absorptive capacity and building a nation’s innovative capacity. Also, DFI financing facilitates new venture creation in the context of underdeveloped capital markets prevalent in emerging economies. To illustrate these roles, we consider technology support programs of DFIs in India and their role in the information technology (IT) industry.     

Coping mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and academic achievement

Research examining the relationships between performance measures of emotional intelligence (EI), coping styles, and academic achievement is sparse. Two studies were designed to redress this imbalance. In each of these studies, both EI and coping styles were significantly related to academic achievement. In Study 1, 159 community college students completed the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping scales. Collectively, the coping variables significantly mediated the relationship between EI and grade point average (GPA) for Emotion Perception, Emotion Facilitation of Thought and Emotion Management (but not for Emotional Understanding). Problem-focused coping was the only single significant mediator, mediating the relationship between emotion management and GPA (but not other branches and GPA). In Study 2, 293 middle school students completed the Situational Test of Emotion Management for Youths (STEM-Y) and scales measuring the same three coping strategies. In this study, the coping variables again significantly mediated the relationship between emotion management and GPA. Once again, problem-focused coping was a significant mediator. Collectively, these results suggest that better educational outcomes might be achieved by targeting skills relating to emotion management and problem-focused coping.     

The Effects of Self-Efficacy,Motivation to Transfer,and Situational Constraints on Transfer Intentions and Transfer of Training

An important dimension of training effectiveness relates to how well skills learned during training are transferred to the workplace. The current study examines the effects of several individual characteristics (Self-efficacy, Motivation to Transfer, Training Reactions, Goals for Transfer, and Commitment to Transfer Goal) and Situational Constraints on perceived Transfer Success. LISREL VII (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1989) was used to determine the fit of a mediated effects model of how the variables would affect transfer success. Self-efficacy and Motivation to Transfer were found to be significantly related to transfer intentions (Goal for Transfer and Commitment to Transfer Goal), while Goal for Transfer and Commitment to Transfer Goal were positively related to Transfer Success. The implications of these results for maximizing the transfer of training are discussed.