Labouring to Learn: Students'Debt and Term Time Employment in Belfast

This paper presents the results of a survey into the labour market experiences of 363 undergraduate students in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at Queen's University, Belfast. The first pan of the paper will look at the debate surrounding the introduction of the Student Loans Scheme and the associated abolition of welfare benefit entitlements. The second pan of the paper will present the findings of the survey. Particular reference will be made to the financial situation facing undergraduate students and the extent to which term-time employment presents a solution to their monetary problems.     

Predicting,Explaining, and Preventing Children's Reading Difficulties

Several decades of research have made it clear that by the time children enter school they already vary widely in their reading-related knowledge and skills. How well do these differences predict differences in reading acquisition? What can they tell us about the causes of reading disabilities? How might these research findings be used to reduce the number of children who have difficulty learning to read? Answers to such questions are fundamental for designing early interventions for children at risk. In this paper, we summarize what has been learned so far, and discuss what directions need to be taken in future research so as to provide fuller answers.     

Now is the time: Book publishing in Russia

A unique combination of circumstances has created opportunities for foreign publishers to invest in Russia. A hunger for books, an unsettled distribution system, availability of publishing personnel, and low costs have created a good environment for entering the marketplace. But it is not a chance for quick profits. Leonard Shatzkin has been involved in the production and manufacture of books since 1945. He is the author ofIn Cold Type: Overcoming the Book Crisis and since 1979 has been a consultant to publishers throughout the world.     

The liberal arts college and adult continuing education: A rationale

Discussion concentrates on feasibility of private liberal arts college involvement with adult and continuing education. Evidence of need is provided by national and local surveys. Basic model is that developed by Saint Mary's College, Winona, Minnesota, which sponsors an Employee Learning Program with support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Experiences of the exploratory period indicate positive support from college administration and faculty, increasing response to course offerings (life-coping skills and personal enrichment), cautious involvement by business and industry, and meager interest from organized labor. The program continues to define the model in its second year of operation.     

Predicting Employee Turnover from Friendship Networks

Employees (n=40) at a fast-food restaurant were surveyed about characteristics of their position and their level of satisfaction. Employees were then asked to report with whom they regularly communicated inside and outside the workplace and to indicate how close they were to employees with whom they were linked. Employee turnover was measured after three months had elapsed. A goal of the research was to replicate a model of employee turnover that predicts employees more central in their social network to be less likely to leave, and to test a social support explanation of the centrality model. The results indicated that employees who reported a greater number of out-degree links with friends were less likely to leave. The number of in-degree links with friends did not significantly predict turnover, and neither did network links with peers. Friendship prestige, measured by the number of in-degree links, was strongly correlated with relational closeness and amount of time spent with employees outside the workplace.     

Effects of environmental novelty on filial behavior in imprinted ducklings

Environmental novelty was manipulated in imprinted ducklings by varying the illumination level of the experimental apparatus. Bright illumination disrupted filial behavior in subjects that had received little prior exposure to the imprinting object, with approach being suppressed more when the object was stationary than when it was moving. In subjects with prolonged prior imprinting exposure, bright illumination enhanced filial behavior. These effects can be understood if one assumes that environmental novelty has an energization effect while also eliciting responses that are incompatible with filial behavior.     

Dream the Impossible Dream: A Case Study of U.S. Federal Website Accessibility Standards Compliance at Seton Hall University Libraries

This case study examines the process of meeting Web Accessibility compliance in a United States academic library for a medium sized University. This process was prompted by the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education, and resulted in the execution of a Voluntary Resolution Agreement (VRA). In addition to the process the author describes what a VRA is and the common component parts therein.     

Efficient online index maintenance for contiguous inverted lists

Search engines and other text retrieval systems use high-performance inverted indexes to provide efficient text query evaluation. Algorithms for fast query evaluation and index construction are well-known, but relatively little has been published concerning update. In this paper, we experimentally evaluate the two main alternative strategies for index maintenance in the presence of insertions, with the constraint that inverted lists remain contiguous on disk for fast query evaluation. The in-place and re-merge strategies are benchmarked against the baseline of a complete re-build. Our experiments with large volumes of web data show that re-merge is the fastest approach if large buffers are available, but that even a simple implementation of in-place update is suitable when the rate of insertion is low or memory buffer size is limited. We also show that with careful design of aspects of implementation such as free-space management, in-place update can be improved by around an order of magnitude over a naïve implementation.     

The Potential to Develop a Career in Science: Young Women's Issues and Their Implications for Careers Guidance Initiatives

An exploratory study of career decision-making was conducted with young women in science, engineering, and technology programs in colleges, universities, and technical institutes. The participants described issues impacting on their continuation in their programs such as educational policies, levels of financial support, and the degree of gender equity expected and encountered. Difficulties with financial resources, institutional policies, and combining studying and working roles were recurrent themes. Family members and other role models and educational and work experiences were important influences in career decision-making. Recommendations for counselling to enhance the undergraduate experience and directions for future research are outlined.