Transforming the early years in England

The goal of this paper is to explore the design and implementation of early years educational policy in England in the period 1997–2004. First to be described are the innovations in policy (i.e. the promise), followed by the ‘evidence base’ for new policy (i.e. the research), the delivery of new services (i.e. the achievement), and finally the tensions and gaps which remain (i.e. the shortfall). The paper will focus on evidence concerning expansion of services and on the benefit of early years education on children’s development. It is argued that early years education in England has been transformed through the following: integration of education and care at local and national level, the introduction of the Foundation Stage Curriculum 3–6 years and its birth–3 years supplement, and the firm focus on families as well as children in the delivery of services. There are, however, gaps and tensions to be resolved before the overall vision can be achieved.     

Crime & Elder Abuse: An Integrated Perspective by Brian K. Payne

The problem of reducing withdrawal and enhancing the lives of nursing home patients and other elderly members of society becomes more serious as the number of aged increases. Declines in the ability of elderly may be attributable, in certain cases, to disuse of intellectual capacities. Social reinforcement through reading activities has been proposed as a means of enhancing the performance of the aged and relieving the pain of social deprivation. In order to investigate this hypothesis, two reading groups were formed in a 100‐bed convalescent home; each group met for 6 weeks for 45 minutes. Short stories of high interest were read and discussed. Patients appeared to appreciate and enjoy the sessions. Problems of conducting similar programs were discussed and further research suggested.     

Classroom management of situated group learning: A research study of two teaching strategies

Although peer-based work is encouraged by theories in developmental psychology and although classroom interventions suggest it is effective, there are grounds for recognising that young pupils find collaborative learning hard to sustain. Discontinuities in collaborative skill during development have been suggested as one interpretation. Theory and research have neglected situational continuities that the teacher may provide in management of formal and informal collaborations. This experimental study, with the collaboration of the science faculty in one urban secondary college, investigated the effect of two role attribution strategies on communication in peer groups of different gender composition in three parallel Year 8 science classes. The group were set a problem that required them to design an experiment to compare the thermal insulating properties of two different materials. This presents the data collected and key findings, and reviews the findings from previous parallel studies that have employed the same research design in different school settings. The results confirm the effectiveness of social role attribution strategies in teacher management of communication in peer-based work.     

Fixed Fields Coded Data for Geo-Related Information in the MARC21 Structure: A Discussion on the Possible Expansion of Coded Data Elements to Improve Machine Manipulation and User Discovery

Patrons of map collections often have specific, geographically-based, requests for maps and the information they provide. Map librarians can often meet these needs through personal knowledge of the scope of their collections. For larger collections, this method is unsustainable. This article, therefore, seeks to begin a discussion on how coding could be used to expand the ability of our patrons’ online information seeking methods to meet their information needs.     

如何让你的生活井然有序

Feeling the urge to get organized? While a daily to-do list is a proven tool to run your home and schedule, it's also important to abide by a list of not-to-do's, freeing up time for things that matter-family, friends and fun.