The Introduction of Computer‐based Testing on an Engineering Technology Course

The current situation in higher education is one of increasing student numbers with a decreasing unit of resource. To help cope with this situation lecturers are exploring the possibility of using non‐traditional methods in some aspects of their work. One possibility is to apply new technology in the assessment of students. This paper presents a controlled comparison between traditional paper‐based tests and those using a computer. It is concluded that the new technique is acceptable to students and produces results with no deterioration in their validity; it also has great potential for the saving of staff time.     

Helping new science teachers with phone assistance for teachers of science (PATS)

This material is based upon work supported in part by a grant from the Southwestern Bell (SBC) Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the SBC Foundation.     

Zero tolerance: A new enemy of academic freedom?

Recent provincial government policy proposals related to university governance and substantive and procedural autonomy has had the effect on Ontario university faculty members of throwing the cat among the pigeons. The policy proposals were based on an articulated need for zero tolerance of various forms of harassment, in the first instance voiced by interest groups representing gender, race, political affiliation, sexual orientation and a number of other concerns, and consequently transformed into a provincial government position by politicians.As the province is the main funding agency for universities, the threat to a number of aspects of university integrity is a real one. However, there appears to be much more at stake than a simple threat to the fair treatment of different minorities in the university setting. Such proposals, if articulated as formal policy, have the potential to erode those very elements around which universities have been created and for which universities continue to exist, namely, substantive and procedural autonomy and academic freedom.While in no way denying the rights of minority groups or humans in general as espoused by changing norms in a representative democracy, this article addresses the controversy, defines the freedoms at stake and extrapolates upon the implications of their erosion.     

The Bedlam Academy

This article explores the polemical presentation of Oxford, the royalist capital between 1642 and 1646, in parliamentarian newsbooks. It argues that the novel seriality of the form offered opportunities for constructing political identities and identifying enemies through strategies of repetition and echoing within and across parliamentarian news media. Discussion of Oxford in these news titles suggests ways in which seriality helped establish and elaborate anti-royalist discourses by repeated reference to the corrupted centre of royalist politics. Sustained attention given to Oxford in weekly newsbooks built up a cumulative and complex picture of the city, and by extension royalism more broadly, as variously mired in Catholicism, subject to the damaging influence of female and foreign rule, riven by deviant sexualities, and possessed of a form of collective madness. The composite image of Oxford built up across parliamentarian news media helped construct a journalistic shorthand in which ‘Oxford’ came to denote a wealth of polemicised meanings readily accessible to comparatively humble readers. The article thus argues for a better recognition of the ways in which civil war news authors adopted the opportunities of serial publication for the elaboration of novel political stereotypes.     

Considering FERPA requirements for library patron databases within a consortial environment

This case study examines patron record privacy and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) within a consortial environment. FERPA requirements were examined, as well as college and library policy and procedure. It was determined that information in library patron records is directory information and, under most circumstances, does not need FERPA protections. However, the needs of the confidential student, who requests confidentiality of all information, including directory information, were identified as not having been addressed. Reed Library adjusted policy and procedures to meet the needs of the confidential student and fulfill FERPA requirements.     

Validating English Language Proficiency Assessment Uses for English Learners: Academic Language Proficiency and Content Assessment Performance

States use standards‐based English language proficiency (ELP) assessments to inform relatively high‐stakes decisions for English learner (EL) students. Results from these assessments are one of the primary criteria used to determine EL students’ level of ELP and readiness for reclassification. The results are also used to evaluate the effectiveness of and funding allocation to district or school programs that serve EL students. In an effort to provide empirical validity evidence for such important uses of ELP assessments, this study focused on examining the constructs of ELP assessments as a fundamental validity issue. Particularly, the study examined the types of language proficiency measured in three sample states’ ELP assessments and the relationship between each type of language proficiency and content assessment performance. The results revealed notable variation in the presence of academic and social language in the three ELP assessments. A series of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses also revealed varied relationships among social language proficiency, academic language proficiency, and content assessment performance. The findings highlight the importance of examining the constructs of ELP assessments for making appropriate interpretations and decisions based on the assessment scores for EL students. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Using Cloud-Based Software to Build an Interlibrary Loan Survey Databank

As an assignment for the Reference and User Services Association and as part of the American Library Association Emerging Leaders Program, the authors created a databank to house the results of a large-scale interlibrary loan staffing survey. After examining the pros and cons of several software solutions, the authors decided to use a Web-based database product, Dabble DB. The paper discusses the scope, outcomes, and value of the Reference and User Services Association interlibrary loan survey, the development of the authors’ project plan, and recommendations for the use of cloud-based database products in library operations.     

Communications activities of Wisconsin farm families in wintertime

Documents at the Dwight Eisenhower Library reveal the existence of a secret television planning board which advised the candidate during the presidential campaign of 1952.