Preservation of the biomedical literature: an overview

The National Library of Medicine began to preserve its collection many years ago. This article presents a brief review of NLM's early conservation and microfilming programs, and describes the current activities of the library's new Preservation Section. Also mentioned are the complementary efforts of NLM staff who are involved in research into electronic imaging and the campaign to increase the use of alkaline paper in medical and scientific publishing. Goals of the National Preservation Plan for the Biomedical Literature are summarized and a report on progress in implementing the plan is provided. Results of the preservation needs assessment described in the accompanying article by Kirkpatrick are briefly analyzed. Recent efforts of the Commission on Preservation and Access, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Research Libraries Group, and several international associations are described in terms of their potential benefit to preservation of the biomedical literature. The need to monitor new preservation technologies and preserve materials in audiovisual and electronic formats is emphasized. It is argued that with enough coordination, cooperation, and willingness among health sciences libraries to share the costs, the goal of preserving all of the important biomedical literature can be accomplished.     

Enhancing postgraduate supervision through a process of conversational inquiry

This paper argues for, outlines and begins to evaluate a process of building a critical and reflective community of postgraduate supervisors who can develop their supervision practice through reflective conversations, with the sharing of best practice and reference to research-based evidence. In 2009, the initiative of the Postgraduate Supervisors' Conversations was set up through the collaboration of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Postgraduate) and the Teaching Development Unit at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. This initiative was designed to complement the compulsory workshops for postgraduate supervisors that are intended to provide foundation skills. We aimed to create a professional development opportunity that could meet institutional requirements as well as enhance supervisors' capacity to manage the ongoing interpersonal and academic complexity of the supervision process and its dynamic character. This paper outlines the rationale for the Postgraduate Supervisors' Conversations, describes its implementation and discusses the implications of an initial evaluative focus-group discussion with attendees.     

Deafness and attention in deaf children

The study shows the differences between hearing parents and deaf instructors interacting with deaf children and directing their attention. Data were collected at home and at a service for special needs in Bristol, England. The mother or instructor was asked to play naturally with the child with the toys provided. When the child's attention was focused during their play, the mother or instructor had to try to direct the child's attention to each of the toys. The results suggest that both groups (mothers and instructors) were effective in directing attention to objects not in the immediate area of play; however, hearing mothers were more successful than deaf instructors.     

Emerging Technologies: E-Textbooks,One Piece of the Puzzle

The Internet has not only brought about a new technological era, but also seen the introduction of a number of emerging technologies such as e-textbooks. However, the slow acceptance of e-textbooks is an issue of concern. The objective of this study is to investigate students’ perceptions and use of e-textbooks. Data was collected by using a self-completion questionnaire and a focus group discussion. The results showed that the two major obstacles identified in literature in adopting e-textbooks, access to electronic devices and the lack of computer skills, were not an issue of concern in this study. Unfortunately, the results of this study show that although students are positive about e-textbooks, this positive attitude does not necessarily result in high usage. This has real implications for academics, as the challenge will be to encourage students to try out e-textbooks by incorporating this as part of a pedagogical model, whilst providing safeguards against academic risks.     

Encouraging IT students to get serious about assignment writing: evaluation of a Web-based initiative

Traditionally, students attending university have received support for their assignment writing within a face-to-face framework. Academic writing support delivered via the Internet needs to be rendered in very subject-specific terms for the resource to be perceived as valuable. This paper reports on a project involving writing support staff and a computer science subject leader to develop and evaluate a Web-based academic skills tutorial. The tutorial sought to provide online learning support for interpreting an information technology (IT) assignment topic, extracting information from sources, and integrating the material into a report with the support of online lexical tools. The evaluation sought to determine whether the students found the resource helpful, if improvements were still required, and what implications there were for integrating the resource with subject teaching. Students perceived most value in those sections of the resource that provided them with examples and models, and least in those that required them to engage in interactive activity.     

A More Diverse Circle of Friends

In this study the authors explored the social inclusiveness of classrooms with culturally competent teachers who were identified both by their participation in in-service diversity training and by principal nomination. The design of this study is quantitative, using a one-way ANOVA to analyze whether students (N = 125) in classrooms with teachers identified as culturally competent are more inclusive in their mutual friendships than students (N = 117) in classrooms with untrained teachers at the same schools. Sociometric questionnaires were used to collect data on mutual friendships. In the social psychological research mutual friendships are considered to be a strong indicator of less social distance between diverse social groups. Findings from the sociometric questionnaire suggest that students with culturally competent teachers, also referred to as culturally responsive teachers in the literature, have broader and more diverse social networks than students in classrooms with teachers that were not trained.     

Minds, Brains, and Education: Part II. Responding to the Commentaries

The present authors wrote a paper on cognitive neuroscience (i.e., Byrnes and Fox, 1998) that spawned a number of commentaries. In the present paper, they respond to these commentaries. Using a theme-based approach, they reveal an emerging consensus regarding the educational relevance of neuroscientific research.     

Cognitive and motivational profile shape predicts mathematical skills over and above profile level

The interpretation of subtest profiles from intelligence testing remains popular among many practitioners who use subtest performance to draw diagnostic conclusions, in spite of criticism by some researchers, who point to the low reliability and predictive validity of subtest scores in predicting achievement outcomes. Prior research outlines two approaches to the study of subtest variation: the examination of interindividual variation in specific cognitive domains or subtests as compared to a standard sample, and the examination of intraindividual strengths and weaknesses, regardless of overall level. The present study seeks to add to knowledge in this field with data from 567 children ages 5 to 10 years who exhibit meaningful subtest variation on a new test of intellectual abilities. Results from the present sample point to statistically significant utility, with small to medium effects, of intraindividual cognitive and motivational profile shape over and above profile level in predicting mathematical skills. We discuss implications for school psychological and educational assessment research.     

Comment and reflection

Each paper in this section explores aspects of the classroom environment that promote creativity. While the commonalities might appear to end there, there emerges at least one unifying theme. The lesson to be learned is that motivation plays a central role in the creative process. It all boils down to a question of control. Students must be allowed to gain a certain degree of autonomy. Recommendations are offered to teachers wishing to shape a classroom situation conducive to creativity. In addition, suggestions are made as to how my colleagues and I might learn from one another. No single investigative or theoretical orientation can carry the day. Attention must be paid to all aspects of the classroom environment if researchers and educators are to make substantial strides in fostering students' creativity.     

Teacher behaviors that foster creativity

The literature on teacher behaviors that influence the development of creative abilities in children was reviewed. A historical overview of the concept of creativity within an educational context served to highlight the importance of the role of the teacher in providing the type of classroom environment that is conductive to creative learning. Teachers who show a humanistic philosophical orientation, have developed their own creative competencies, and implement specific creative methods and techniques in their classroom are more effective in enhancing students' creative abilities than teachers who follow more traditional instructional approaches.