Tocqueville in Cyberspace: Using the Internet for Citizen Associations

Political theorists like Alexis de Tocqueville have long recognized the importance of citizen associations for the practice of democracy. Through participation in associations, citizens both receive an education in public affairs and create centers of political power independent of the state. Essential to participation in an association is participation in a forum, a communication space that allows for many-to-many communication in which citizens can "treat of public affairs in public" (Tocqueville, 1945, p. 109). Participation in forums suffers from numerous barriers, however, such as the need to meet in one common place, the need to meet at one common time, and the potentially high costs of participation. Online forums on the Internet avoid many of these barriers, and thus they hold the promise of facilitating the formation and operation of citizen associations. This was confirmed in 1995 by the experiences of a Boston-based citizen association, the Telecommunication Policy Roundtable-Northeast (TPR-NE). TPR-NE's uses of the Internet suggest that online forums may allow associations to be more responsive, more robust, and able to unite more members.     

A meta‐analysis of school‐wide positive behavior support: An exploratory study using single‐case synthesis

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) for behavioral problems was included in the 1997 Individuals With Disabilities Education Act reauthorization, reflecting the increased implementation and strengthening empirical evidence for PBS in schools. Whereas PBS can be used reactively, its flexibility has led to a popular comprehensive school‐wide model used for prevention. School‐Wide Positive Behavioral Support (SWPBS) has been used across a variety of school environments and various demographics and has been evaluated using a variety of different outcome measures. The authors conducted a meta‐analysis of SWPBS research spanning 16 years and 20 articles. Specifically, single‐case studies were evaluated using a regression‐based procedure. Results show promising early trends in the data across dependent variables with a need for further research in specific areas. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Exploring Innovative Entrepreneurship and Its Ties to Higher Educational Experiences

The purpose of this paper was to explore innovative entrepreneurship and to gain insight into the educational practices and experiences that increase the likelihood that a student would graduate with innovative entrepreneurial intentions. To this end, we administered a battery of assessments to 3,700 undergraduate seniors who matriculated in the spring of 2007; these students attended one of five institutions participating in this study. Results showed that, after controlling for a host of personality, demographic, educational, and political covariates, taking an entrepreneurial course and the assessments faculty use as pedagogical strategies for teaching course content were significantly related to innovation intentions. Implications for higher education stakeholders are discussed.     

Education to Promote Positive Attitudes About Aging

ABSTRACT

This longitudinal study examined what a one-time intervention about aging does to the attitudes of high-school students toward aging. Early findings from the study support previous research that indicates ageist attitudes formed in early childhood become difficult to change as children reach adolescence. This research further supports the need for aging education to begin in early childhood.     

QuickDOC: an interlibrary loan department in a microcomputer

Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a critical service in most libraries and one that may consume much staff time. QuickDOC, a software program written by a medical librarian, has been designed to expedite and organize the process of requesting loans, keeping records, and preparing reports on ILL activity. The software communicates with DOCLINE, the automated ILL and referral system of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and simplifies the management of all borrowing and lending, regardless of how requests are transmitted. QuickDOC's creator is very responsive to suggestions from users and continues to enhance the capabilities of this excellent software package.