The impact of action learning: what difference are we making in the world?

Involvement in a number of action-learning programmes and associated development opportunities has led the Professional Development Centre Limited to question the relevance of a strict adherence to the ‘rules’ of action learning as described by Reg Revans. A deliberate focus of one such programme to a financial services organisation offered some insights into the challenges of introducing action learning into the field. Pressures on organisations of time and business expedients might make them believe that action learning is too slow a technique to offer real rewards. However, elements of the action-learning story do resonate in the workplace, key concepts that appear to ‘stick’ are listening, questioning and equality. The utilisation of these skills enhances leadership and organisational development and can still provide a useful set of actions to aim for. This is especially true in problem solving and the way in which respect and equality can re-create a different environment or development space.     

5. Journalism

MANUFACTURING THE FUTURE: A HISTORY OF WESTERN ELECTRIC by Stephen B. Adams and Orville R. Butler (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999—$34.95, ISBN 0–521–65118–2, 270 pp., photos, appendices, notes, bibliographic essay, index)

HITLER'S AIRWAVES: THE INSIDE STORY OF NAZI RADIO BROADCASTING AND PROPAGANDA SWING by Horst J. P. Bermeier and Rainer E. Lotz (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997—price not given, ISBN 0–300–06709–7, 368 pp., photos, notes, appendices, sources, index, compact disc inside back cover)

HOWARD AIKEN: PORTRAIT OF A COMPUTER PIONEER by I. Bernard Cohen (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press “History of Computing,”; 1999—$34.95, ISBN 0–262–03262–7, 329 pp., photos, appendices, source notes, index)

COMMUNICATION, COMMERCE AND POWER: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF AMERICA AND THE DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITE, 1960–2000 by Edward A. Comor (New York: St Martin's Press, 1998—price not given, ISBN 0–312–21071‐X, 253 pp., notes, bibliography, index)

THE GREAT RADIO SOAP OPERAS by Jim Cox (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999—$55.00, ISBN 0–7864–0589–9, 331 pp., photos, credits, appendices, annotated bibliography, index)

INFORMATION AGES: LITERACY, NUMERACY, AND THE COMPUTER REVOLUTION by Michael E. Hobart and Zachary S. Schiffman (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998—$29.95, ISBN 0–818–5881‐X, 301 pp., photos, notes, bibliographic essay, index)

ENIAC: THE TRIUMPHS AND TRAGEDIES OF THE WORLD'S FIRST COMPUTER by Scott McCartney (New York: Walker, 1999—price not given, ISBN 0–8027–1348–3, 262 pp., photos, notes, bibliography, index)

MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD: A GUIDED STUDY by Thomas K. Simpson (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press “Masterworks of Discovery: Guided Studies of Great Texts in Science,”; 1997—prices not given, ISBN 0–8135–2362–1 hard, 0–8135–2363‐X paper, 440 pp., diagrams, selected readings, bibliography, index)

THE BRITISH LIBRARY GUIDE TO PRINTING: HISTORY AND TECHNIQUES by Michael Twyman (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999—$19.95, paper, ISBN 0–8020–8179–7, 88 pp., further readings, illustrations, index)

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRINTED WORD IN EARLY AMERICA: COLONISTS’ THOUGHTS ON THE ROLE OF THE PRESS by Julie Hedgepeth Williams (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press “Contributions to the Study of Mass Media and Communications, No. 55,”; 1999—$65.00, ISBN , 0–313–30923‐X, 298 pp., bibliography, index)     

General Communication

COMMUNICATION AS CULTURE: ESSAYS ON MEDIA AND SOCIETY by James W. Carey (Winchester, MA: Unwin Hymen [formerly Allen & Wnwin], 1989—$12.95, paper, ISBN 0-04-445064-8, with a clothbound version available)

CHALLENGING GENDER VALUES edited by Pamela J. Creedon (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1989—$16.95, paper, ISBN 0-8039-3448-3)

PROGRESS IN COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, VOLUME DC edited by Brenda Dervin and Melvin Voigt (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1989—$49.50 to institutions; $29.50 personal, ISBN 0-89391-474-6)

THE INFORMATION SOCIETY: ECONOMIC, SOCIAL & STRUCTURAL ISSUES edited by Jerry L. Salvaggio (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989—$24.95, ISBN 0-8058-0103-0)

MEDIA, SPORTS & SOCIETY by Lawrence A. Wenner (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989—$14.95, paper, ISBN 0-8039-3244-8, with a clothbound edition available)

THE GLOBAL VILLAGE: TRANSFORMATIONS IN WORLD LIFE AND MEDIA IN THE 21ST CENTURY by Marshall McLuhan and Bruce R. Powers (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989—$29.95, ISBN 0-19-505444-X)     

Just Enough of a Good Thing: Indications of Long-Term Efficacy in One-Shot Library Instruction

Website attributions were measured as one way of evaluating the efficacy of the “one-shot” library session. Survey results indicated support for single session information literacy instruction in that participants exposed to a librarian classroom visit reported that they would be significantly more likely to have used library databases, checked out a book, asked a librarian for help, and to predict that they would ask a librarian for help at a later time. Results also indicated that students who reported a classroom librarian visit may have engaged in more systematic or complex processing to evaluate websites in that they considered more attributes and took less time to make better judgments about the quality of sources.     

Celebrating the Past,Creating the Future: 50 Years of Community College Research

The Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008. This article summarizes the establishment of the Council and sets it in the context of the development of the community college movement. Highlights of research conducted by CSCC members to address contemporary issues facing community colleges are described. A summary of insights offered by members during a 2008 plenary session, research presented at the 50th annual conference, and key community college leaders are described in the context of the historical evolution of community college research and future directions.     

From Community College to Four-Year Institution: A Model for Recruitment and Retention

Increasing Numbers, Connections, and Retention in Science and Engineering (INCRSE) was funded with the goal of increasing the quantity, quality, and diversity of undergraduate students pursuing and obtaining degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs at West Texas A&M University (WTAMU). A major objective of INCRSE was to recruit STEM transfer students from regional community colleges (CC) and to provide academic and social support necessary for retention of these students. The INCRSE CC recruitment and retention model involved (a) strengthening relationships between faculty at WTAMU and regional CCs; (b) inviting CC faculty and staff to developmental workshops at WTAMU; (c) improving advising for transfer students at CCs and WTAMU; and (d) developing articulation agreements between WTAMU and regional CCs. Because INCRSE was funded in fall 2006, the number of CC STEM transfers enrolled at WTAMU increased from 214 to 253, an increase of 18%, while overall enrollment of CC transfers to WTAMU declined 3.5%. The number of new CC STEM transfers increased 22% from 92 in the 2006–2007 to 112 in 2008–2009 academic years. WTAMU's first-year retention of STEM transfers increased from 57% in 2006–2007 to 68% in 2007–2008, far surpassing the WTAMU first-year retention of traditional freshmen in the STEM fields by almost 30%. While all components of the model were important, much of the success can be attributed to improved relationships between WTAMU and CC faculty.     

Research on Early Childhood Teacher Education: Evidence From Three Domains and Recommendations for Moving Forward

It is essential that a solid research base be established to provide a foundation that will enable the field of early childhood teacher education to examine whether, for whom, and in what ways teacher education matters. The purpose of this article is to review several important domains in early childhood teacher education to illustrate the characteristics, key features, and significant gaps in current research, and to identify the kinds of research that are most needed to enhance the impact of early childhood teacher education. We conclude by identifying five crosscutting research priorities and describing what is needed to create a supportive environment that produces—and implements—early childhood teacher education research.