Are you a budding academic writer?

Academic writing can seem a daunting prospect although with the right support and information it can be more achievable than you think. In this first set of editorial comments of 2016, editors from all sections of the Health Information and Libraries Journal outline the origins of the individual section of the journal which they oversee and highlight some of the things you might want to consider when thinking of submitting your writing for publication.     

Big Data – What is it and why it matters

Big data, like MOOCs, altmetrics and open access, is a term that has been commonplace in the library community for some time yet, despite its prevalence, many in the library and information sector remain unsure of the relationship between big data and their roles. This editorial explores what big data could mean for the day‐to‐day practice of health library and information workers, presenting examples of big data in action, considering the ethics of accessing big data sets and the potential for new roles for library and information workers.     

ROLAND BARTHES AND THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM OF ETV

Semiological and structuralist analysis of a schools television programme reveals a hidden curriculum underlying the manifest content. The educational implications of the “hiddenness” are discussed. Basic semiological and structuralist methodology is introduced.     

TEACHING ABOUT LOVE

ABSTRACT:  After a brief discussion of the concept of love and contemporary attitudes towards it, the article examines previously unpublished findings about children's ways of thinking about love, using evidence drawn from a research project on the developing sexual values of 9 and 10 year-old children. Love features extensively in their discussions and appears central to their worldview. They are aware of some of the complexities of love, and would value opportunities to discuss it further. The article concludes with a discussion of current inadequacies and future possibilities in schools' provision.     

A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effectiveness of information and communication technology (ICT) on the teaching of spelling

Recent Government policy in England and Wales on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools is heavily influenced by a series of non‐randomised controlled studies. The evidence from these evaluations is equivocal with respect to the effect of ICT on literacy. In order to ascertain whether there is any effect of ICT on one small area of literacy, spelling, a systematic review of all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was undertaken. Relevant electronic databases (including BEI, ERIC, Web of Science, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Library) were searched. Seven relevant RCTs were identified and included in the review. When six of the seven studies were pooled in a meta‐analysis there was an effect, not statistically significant, in favour of computer interventions (Effect size = 0.37, 95% confidence interval =–0.02 to 0.77, p = 0.06). Sensitivity and sub‐group analyses of the results did not materially alter findings. This review suggests that the teaching of spelling by using computer software may be as effective as conventional teaching of spelling, although the possibility of computer‐taught spelling being inferior or superior cannot be confidently excluded due to the relatively small sample sizes of the identified studies. Ideally, large pragmatic randomised controlled trials need to be undertaken.     

Maltreatment of children in The Netherlands: an update after ten years

Governmental consultation and advice on child abuse and neglect in the Netherlands started in 1972 as a two-year experiment with four offices for "confidential doctors" in four major cities of the country. After these two experimental years, a governmental institute for prevention of child abuse and neglect was organized. Over the ensuing decade the number of offices increased to ten, covering the whole country. The State Department of Welfare, Public Health, and Environment collected data from the confidential doctors and their coworkers every year. This study compares the data of the first year 1974 with those of 1983 in order to detect changing patterns over a 10-year period. The major changes are as follows: a threefold increase in cases, an extraordinary increase in cases of emotional maltreatment, an increase in detection of child fatalities but decrease in severity of physical abuse. Sexual abuse was hardly recognized in 1974 but gradually was recognized more frequently during the study decade and accounted for an alarming 7.2% of detected cases of maltreatment in 1983. No change was found in the social conditions of the family and the identity of the perpetrators--primarily fathers and/or mothers. A decrease was noted in the percentage of married parents. The increased percentage of single parents was primarily represented by mothers alone. An increase in the numbers of victims residing at home and a decrease in the need for children's homes as a temporary or permanent residence is attributed to aftercare. The discrepancy between the results of this voluntary notification system in the Netherlands and the results of a mandatory reporting system as used in the U.S.A. is still very high. The hope is that the government will decide to make reporting of maltreatment mandatory for everyone.     

Memories of reward events and expectancies of reward events may work in tandem

A common assumption is that expectancies of reward events in instrumental tasks are established on the basis of Pavlovian conditioning. According to the tandem hypothesis, tested in the four runway investigations reported here employing rats, memories of reward events may serve as the conditioned stimuli eliciting expectancies. In Experiments 1–3, rats were trained under a schedule of partial reward (P), which did not produce increased resistance to extinction, and subsequently shifted to consistent reward (C). According to the tandem hypothesis, the shift to the C schedule should result in increased resistance to extinction if, as hypothesized, under the P schedule the memory of reward, S^R, came to elicit the expectancy of nonreward,_EN. This hypothesis was confirmed under a variety of conditions. It was shown that increased resistance to extinction could not be attributed to the P schedule alone, to the rats receiving two schedules, P and C, to stimuli other than S^R eliciting E_N, or to the rats forgetting reward-produced memories when expecting nonreward (Experiment 4). It was shown that the tandem hypothesis could explain the divergent findings obtained in prior studies employing a shift from P to C as well as in the present study.     

The psychological significance of secondary sexual characteristics in nine- to eleven-year-old girls

82 9-11-year-old girls were seen in order to study the onset of puberty as represented by breast and pubic hair growth. Girls filled out self-report scales, mothers rated their daughters' breast and pubic hair development using schematic representations of the Tanner stages, and height was measured by a nurse practitioner. Breast growth, but not pubic hair growth, was expected to be associated with a positive body image, positive peer relationships, superior adjustment, and the rating of adult roles as important (marriage, children, and careers). These expectations were confirmed for all but the adult role measures. Controlling for pubic hair growth did not alter the findings for breast development. Associations with height also were examined. Height was linked to superior adjustment and career importance. These findings are discussed in terms of possible roles that different pubertal events may play in the self-definitions of young adolescents as well as the meaning of various physical changes to the girl and to others.