Making a difference? Measuring the impact of an information literacy programme for pre-registration nursing students in the UK

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether an information literacy programme for pre-registration nursing students at a UK higher education institution is effective in developing their skills and confidence: examines students' skill levels, factors affecting their confidence, and relationships between skills, confidence and demographic characteristics. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used: pre- and post-tests to measure changes in students' skills and self-assessed confidence levels after two key sessions in their first semester (n = 29); semi-structured interviews to explore factors affecting confidence (n = 5). RESULTS: Findings demonstrated positive impacts on skills and confidence. Key areas of skill development included: identifying journal articles, selecting search terms and evaluating website quality. Factors affecting confidence included: successful 'mastery' experiences in searching for information and the programme itself, especially small-group sessions, handouts and staff support. Evidence on links between skills, confidence and demographic factors was inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated the programme's effectiveness and identified areas for development, including the need to help students understand the relative merits of search engines and other sources. Evidence has contributed to a change in departmental policy, making attendance at sessions mandatory. Further studies have been recommended.     

信息通信技术用户的类型

1调查结果概要 ·8％的美国人是参与性网络及移动设备的深度使用者。 ·另外23％的美国人是务实技术的接受者——他们使用高科技工具紧跟社会网络并有效率的工作。     

未来的新兴职业

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Microwave-assisted synthesis, anticonvulsant activity and quantum mechanical modelling of N-（4-bromo-3-methylphenyl） semicarbazones

Objective： To study the effect of halo substitution on disubstituted aryl semicarbazones on the anticonvulsant potential and model the activity based on quantum mechanics. Methods： A series of twenty-six compounds of N^4-（4-bromo-3-methylphenyl） semicarbazones were synthesized and evaluated for the anticonvulsant activity in the maximal electroshock seizure （MES） and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole （scPTZ） seizure threshold tests. Some potential compounds were also tested in the subcutaneous strychnine （scSTY） and subcutaneous picrotoxin （scPIC） seizure threshold tests. The synthesized compounds were tested for behavioral impairment and CNS （central nervous system） depression in mice. Quantum mechanical modelling was carried out on these compounds to gain understanding on the structural features essential for activity. Results： Some compounds possessed broad spectrum anticonvulsant activity as indicated by their effect in pentylenetetrazole, strychnine, picrotoxin and maximal electroshock seizures models in resemblance to other aryl semicarbazone derivatives reported earlier. The higher the difference in HOMO （highest occupied molecular orbital） and LUMO （lowest unoccupied molecular orbital） energy levels was, the greater was the activity profile. Conclusion： The pharmacophoric requirements for compounds to exhibit anticonvulsant activity that includes one aryl unit in proximity to a hydrogen donor-acceptor domain and an electron donor have been justified with the molecular orbital surface analysis of the synthesized compounds.     

Genetic analysis of fruit shape traits at different maturation stages in sponge gourd

The fruit shape is important quantitative trait closely related to the fruit quality. However, the genetic model of fruit shapes has not been proposed. Therefore, in the present study, analysis of genetic effects for fruit shape traits （fruit length and fruit perimeter） in sponge gourd was conducted by employing a developmental genetic model including fruit direct effects and maternal effects. Analysis approaches of unconditional and conditional variances were applied to evaluate the genetic behavior of fruit shape traits at economical and physiological maturation times. The results of variance analysis indicated that fruit length and fruit perimeter were simultaneously affected by fruit direct genetic effects and maternal effects. Fruit direct genetic effects were relatively more important for fruit shape traits at whole developmental period. The gene expression was most active at the economical maturation stage （1-12 d after flowering） for two shape traits, and the activation of gene was mostly due to direct dominance effects at physiological maturation stage （13-60 datter flowering）. The coefficients due to different genetic effects, as well as the phenotypic correlation coefficients, varied significantly between fruit shape traits themselves at various maturation stages. The results showed that it was relatively easy to improve fruit shape traits for industrial purpose by carefully selecting the parents at economical maturation stage instead of that at physiological maturation stage.     

Teachers' education, classroom quality, and young children's academic skills: results from seven studies of preschool programs

In an effort to provide high-quality preschool education, policymakers are increasingly requiring public preschool teachers to have at least a Bachelor's degree, preferably in early childhood education. Seven major studies of early care and education were used to predict classroom quality and children's academic outcomes from the educational attainment and major of teachers of 4-year-olds. The findings indicate largely null or contradictory associations, indicating that policies focused solely on increasing teachers' education will not suffice for improving classroom quality or maximizing children's academic gains. Instead, raising the effectiveness of early childhood education likely will require a broad range of professional development activities and supports targeted toward teachers' interactions with children.     

Improbable or impossible? How children reason about the possibility of extraordinary events

The present study investigated the development of possibility-judgment strategies between the ages of 4 and 8. In Experiment 1, 48 children and 16 adults were asked whether a variety of extraordinary events could or could not occur in real life. Although children of all ages denied the possibility of events that adults also judged impossible, children frequently denied the possibility of events that adults judged improbable but not impossible. Three additional experiments varied the manner in which possibility judgments were elicited and confirmed the robustness of preschoolers' tendency to judge improbable events impossible. Overall, it is argued that children initially mistake their inability to imagine circumstances that would allow an event to occur for evidence that no such circumstances exist.     

Locus and nature of perceptual phonological deficit in Spanish children with reading disabilities

The aims of this study were (a) to determine whether Spanish children with reading disabilities (RD) show a speech perception deficit and (b) to explore the locus and nature of this perceptive deficit. A group of 29 children with RD, 41 chronological age-matched controls, and 27 reading ability-matched younger controls were tested on tasks of speech perception. The effect of linguistic unit (word vs. syllable) and type of phonetic contrast (voicing, place and manner of articulation) were analyzed in terms of the number of errors and the response time. The results revealed a speech perception deficit in Spanish children with RD that was independent of the type of phonetic contrast and of linguistic unit.