Secondary transition experiences for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASCs)

This research explored the views and experiences of key stakeholders regarding inclusion into secondary phase schooling for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASCs). Six Year 6 pupils met the criteria for admission to a mainstream secondary school with attached specialist provision for ASCs. Three pupils transferred to this school, whilst three transferred to their local mainstream secondary school. Qualitative methodology was used to collect views and experiences both before and after transition. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and data analysed using a form of thematic analysis. Emerging categories and themes provided several indicators for good practice regarding the transition of this group of pupils. Further study will establish the consistency of these factors within other contexts and settings.     

Assessing the effects of a work-based antipoverty program for parents on youth's future orientation and employment experiences

The impacts of New Hope, a 3-year work-based antipoverty program to increase parent employment and reduce poverty, on youth ages 9-19 (N = 866) were assessed 5 years after parents left the program. New Hope had positive effects on the future orientation and employment experiences of boys, especially African American boys. Compared to boys in control group families, boys in program group families were less cynical about work, less pessimistic about their employment prospects, and more involved in employment and career preparation. They also worked for longer periods during the school year than did control group boys. Comparable effects were not found for girls. The developmental significance of the findings, possible processes that led to the impacts, and the policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Critical Pedagogy in HIV-AIDS Education for a Maya Immigrant Community

In this article the authors discuss how the perspectives of Paulo Freire were instructive in addressing the challenges of HIV-AIDS education in Guatemalan Maya immigrant communities with minimal formal education and literacy. The forging of a community-based, collaborative, educational program offers several implications for effective teaching and learning among marginalized communities.     

‘Somewhere over the rainbow’: global projections/local allusions in Tears of the Black Tiger/Fa thalai jone

Abstract

When director Wisit Sasanatieng’s retro cowboy flick Fa thalai jone (2000 Wisit, Sasanatieng. 2000. Tears of the Black Tiger (Fa thalai jone)  [Google Scholar]) became the first Thai film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2001, under the English‐language title Tears of the Black Tiger, Thai cinema seemed to have truly ‘gone international’. This paper examines the striking disparity, however, in the reception of the film by local and global audiences, to the extent that Fa thalai jone and Tears of the Black Tiger might arguably be understood as two discrete and divergent cinematic texts at the level of viewer signification. For Western critics, ‘Tears…’ is unquestionably a piece of postmodern filmmaking, awash with surface aesthetic appeal, intertextual richness and an apparently unrelenting obsession with style that is seemingly devoid of an original reference point. Fa thalai jone, by contrast connotes distinct meanings for Thai audiences, who are more fully attuned to the original references the film pursues and able to read the aesthetic appeal it has to offer in a framework beyond that of the dominant ‘force field’ of interpretation that postmodernism has come to be in the West. Instead Fa thalai jone offers a homage to Thailand’s cinematic past, posing as a ‘genuine Thai film’ (phaphayon thai thae) and comprehended in terms of an alternative dominant force field of meaning, that of traditionalism and reverence for the past. This paper examines the ways in which Tears of the Black Tiger/Fa thalai jone straddles two alternative interpretive positions in an accomplished move on the part of the director to pursue the globally focused aspirations of modern Thai cinema while remaining idiosyncratically faithful to local sensibilities.     

Insights and opinions of readers of the Journal of the Medical Library Association

The Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) conducted a readership survey in 2020 to gain a deeper understanding of our readers, their reading habits, and their satisfaction with JMLA''s content, website functionality, and overall quality. A total of 467 readers responded to the survey, most of whom were librarians/information specialists (85%), worked in an academic (62%) or hospital/health care system (27%) library, and were current Medical Library Association members (80%). Most survey respondents (46%) reported reading JMLA articles on a quarterly basis. Over half of respondents (53%) said they used social media to follow new research or publications, with Twitter being the most popular platform. Respondents stated that Original Investigations, Case Reports, Knowledge Syntheses, and Resource Reviews articles were the most enjoyable to read and important to their research and practice. Almost all respondents reported being satisfied or very satisfied (94%) with the JMLA website. Some respondents felt that the content of JMLA leaned more toward academic librarianship than toward clinical/hospital librarianship and that there were not enough articles on collection management or technical services. These opinions and insights of our readers help keep the JMLA editorial team on track toward publishing articles that are of interest and utility to our audience, raising reader awareness of new content, providing a website that is easy to navigate and use, and maintaining our status as the premier journal in health sciences librarianship.

The Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA), in tandem with the Medical Library Association (MLA), periodically conducts readership surveys to gauge how well the journal meets the needs and desires of its readers. However, much time has passed and many changes have occurred since our last readership survey was published in 2013 [1]. These changes include our transition from a largely print-based to an almost fully digital mode of publication, more extensive reliance on providing access to supplemental materials to improve the rigor and reproducibility of research findings, and the use of social media to share and stay abreast of new scholarly works. Therefore, we conducted a readership survey in 2020 to obtain a more current understanding of our readers, their reading habits, and their satisfaction with JMLA''s content, website functionality, and overall quality.The survey was implemented using Qualtrics and consisted of sixteen closed- and open-ended questions (Appendix A). The survey invitation was distributed on July 6, 2020, through MLA email listservs and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), JMLA''s Twitter account, and an announcement on the JMLA website. Recipients were encouraged to forward the invitation through other communication channels as appropriate. The survey was closed on July 20, 2020.     

Supporting the Spectrum Scholarship Program: perspectives from the Northern California and Nevada Medical Library Group

The immediate past presidents and current president of the Northern California and Nevada Medical Library Group write to raise awareness of the American Library Association Spectrum Scholarship Program, share their approach to supporting Scholars in their region, and encourage Medical Library Association (MLA) chapters and MLA at large to build stronger infrastructures to support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color librarians who are in school and recently graduated.     

Exploring alternative assessments for signing deaf candidates

Attitudes to sign languages or language policies are often not overtly discussed or recorded but they influence deaf young people's educational opportunities and outcomes. Two qualitative studies from Scotland investigate the provision of British Sign Language as accommodation in public examinations. The first explores the views of deaf pupils and staff about the official system for face-to-face interpretation of exam papers. The second investigates a centrally translated digital paper with embedded video questions. Discussion focuses on contrasts between the USA and UK approaches to accommodations, raising issues of standardized technical terms in signed languages, the right to respond in sign, and candidate choice.