One for Nine Ten: Cataloging for Consortia Collections,a UC model

ABSTRACT

In January 2000, the University of California created the Shared Cataloging Program (SCP). Based at the University of California, San Diego, the SCP is a “centralized cataloging model” for the California Digital Library consortium collections. This article will take an evolutionary look at the perpetual challenges of sustaining a consortial cataloging model and highlight the efforts of the SCP in the ongoing quest to eliminate the redundancy of efforts by centralizing the optimization of cataloging efficiency.     

Practice makes better? A study of meditation learners in a classroom environment

The study investigates the effect of length of meditation history on various factors, namely learning motivation, learning outcome and classroom climate. Data were collected from working adult learners (n = 450) attending meditation classes in two large cities in Taiwan. The investigation categorized learners based on meditation experience, namely <1 year, 1–3 years, 4–6 years, 7–10 years and >10 years. The study investigated how experience affects learners in their perception of motivation, learning outcome and classroom climate, using one‐way ANOVA and post‐hoc analysis. Results showed a non‐linear ordered response—longer meditation experience does not in all cases increase benefits gained from meditation. A follow‐up group discussion with learners identified learning fatigue as a possible factor for the non‐linear results. In addition, through canonical correlation analysis, the study also showed that learning motivation and classroom climate is strongly correlated with learning outcome. The paper concludes with a discussion of results.     

Teacher Education Objectives: A Survey of Student Views

This article is a summary of the Survey of Teacher Education Objectives: The Views of Diploma in Education Students published as a monograph in 1982. A report of the previous study was published in 1981 and a summary of the report appeared in Vol. 4 No. 1 of this Journal.     

Gender differences in factors associated with how parents communicate with school in Korea

The authors explored different factors that were associated with mothers' and fathers' choice between two forms of parent–school communication: school briefing sessions and parent–teacher conferences. A total of 585 parents—295 mothers and 290 fathers from different households—who had at least one child enrolled in middle school in Korea were surveyed. Analytic results indicated that there were gender differences in how mothers and fathers were motivated to communicate with school. More educated and affluent mothers who positively assessed their child's academic achievement but were less confident in the child's ability and dissatisfied with the school-provided information were more likely to communicate with the school, whereas fathers were influenced by the employment status of their wives and communication with the child. Perception of positive child–teacher relationship predicted both mothers' and fathers' engagement in communication. Based on the findings, the authors discuss ways to promote parental involvement in communication with school.     

Sense through the wall system development and design considerations

This paper presents system design challenges and issues with sensing through walls at different standoff distances and wall types. Efforts for developing sense through the wall (STTW) systems, such as those undertaken by the US Army Technology Objective (ATO) program, aim at providing the soldier with situational awareness information before breaching a building in a military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) environment. STTW capabilities also support law enforcement and search and rescue applications. Since 2002, extensive evaluations of STTW technologies, most notably those performed by the Communications Electronics, Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate (I2WD), have been made to determine which technology could be the most viable solution. After conducting comprehensive studies, I2WD initiated several Phase I efforts and Phase II efforts. The purpose behind both efforts was to develop various STTW technology demonstrators under a 5 year ATO. Many lessons learned during the development of Phase I systems were incorporated into the considerations for Phase II developments. This paper discusses design challenges and issues with sensing through walls at different standoff distances and wall types through lessons learned and results from modeling and simulations performed by the Army Research Laboratory.     

Conceptions of learning science among high school students in Taiwan: a phenomenographic analysis

Educators and psychologists have evidence that students’ conceptions of learning have a profound influence on the learning process, and thus are related to learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper was to explore the conceptions of learning science held by 120 Taiwanese high school students. The interview data gathered from these students, analysed by a phenomenographic method, revealed seven categories of conceptions of learning science, including: learning science as memorizing, preparing for tests, calculating and practising tutorial problems, the increase of knowledge, applying, understanding, and seeing in a new way. The educational contexts or curricular programmes in which these high school students enrolled also played a role in their conceptions of learning science. This study finally proposed a framework to describe the variations of the conceptions of learning science, consisting of the following features: the forms of knowledge acquisition, motivational orientations, and standards of evaluating learning outcomes. How to change students’ unfruitful conceptions of learning science was also discussed.     

Global and National Imaginings: Deparochialising the IBDP English A1 Curriculum

In this paper, I argue for the deparochialising of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) English A1 curriculum where teachers as curriculum-makers would critically assess text choice and where students have the opportunities to make critical readings and engage in conversations about issues raised by the text. Through the case study of the implementation of one English A1 curriculum in a Singapore school, I demonstrate the possibilities for a cosmopolitan literature curriculum that is attentive to both the global and the local.     

Accuracy of Pedometer in Walking and Running

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to examine the accuracy of mechanical pedometers in walking and running. Groups of 20 volunteer subjects were used in each experiment. In experiment 1, subjects wore 4 identical pedometers on the waist during six 1-mile walks on a motor driven treadmill, two at each of 3 speeds: 2, 3, and 4 mph. Experiment 2 required subjects wearing 5 pedometers to perform two 1-mile walks at their own pace under each of two different conditions: (1) on a 400 meter track and (2) along a jogging path over a measured mile. These subjects also completed two 1-mile runs at their own pace over the same measured mile course. In both experiments, a two-way ANOVA with replicates showed significant effects of subjects, condition (speed), and subjects-condition interaction. Test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from ?0.13 to 0.81. Results of these studies indicate that the ability of the mechanical pedometer to measure distance is inconsistent. The findings indicate that pedometers are more accurate for some individuals than others. Also their accuracy varies with the speed of walking and is different for walking compared to running.