Winning Beginnings Learning Circles: Outcomes from a Three-Year School Readiness Pilot

The current project examined school readiness outcomes of children participating in a preschool professional development initiative, Winning Beginnings Learning Circles, which focused on school readiness and teacher professional development. Children were assessed on knowledge and understanding of school readiness concepts in the fall and spring of each school year, and outcomes were reported back to preschool staff to be incorporated into teaching strategies. Preschool teachers and administrators attended monthly professional development seminars that consisted of workshops in child development and social-emotional health, parent engagement, and use of data as evidence-based best practices. Preschool assessment data from the first 2 years of the project showed significant increases in average scores from pre- to post-assessment on school readiness, self/social awareness, and quantity subtests. Kindergarten assessment data indicated that children who remained in the project for at least one full year outperformed comparable peers and the average for the school district they attended as kindergartners. The results highlight the potential of professional development programs and the importance of teacher quality in promoting positive outcomes for preschool children.     

Medical school graduates' retrospective evaluation of a clinical medical librarian program.

This paper reports on the results of a survey of sixty-six graduates of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine conducted in the spring of 1977. The graduates were questioned about their present library use behavior and their restrospective perceptions of the clinical medical librarian (CML) services which they received as medical students at UMKC. The results show that these young physicians, after regular association with other, more tradional medical library services, hold very positive impressions of the CML program. The graduates also typically credit the CML'S with helping them to learn to use library resources effectively. These retrospective perceptions of the CML match the short-term benefits reported in other studies of similar programs.     

PERSONAL GROWTH ASPECTS OF PEER COUNSELOR TRAINING FOR OLDER ADULTS

Although there has been an increase in the use of older adults as peer counselors, little is known about the effects of such training on the peer counselor students. In order to be an effective counselor, the older adults must not only examine their own lives, but they must also disclose their life experiences as well as their personal feelings to their clients. It was thought that these processes of self‐examination and self‐disclosure would result in a reappraisal of the older adults’ attitudes and feelings about themselves. The present study sought to examine the degree of personal growth experienced by older adult participants of a peer counselor training course. It was found that the training course attracted individuals who were self‐assured in their ability to deal with the problems of their lives and who wanted to assist others gain the same degree of self‐confidence. Furthermore, it was found that the training course served to increase the participants’ levels of self‐confidence and self‐reliance while at the same time training the students to use these qualities to help others.     

‘My music,my freedom(?): the troubled pursuit of musical and intellectual independence on the Internet in Indonesia’

In Indonesia, the Internet has reshaped music industry praxis, particularly artist marketing and promotion. It is also a primary resource for artistic inspiration, providing musicians and producers with unprecedented access to recording artists worldwide. Finally, for the nation's top musicians, the Internet can lead to national and even international recognition, by means independent of – and even superior to – the production, distribution, or promotional support Indonesia's major record labels can provide. Answering Lysloff's call that examinations of digital media should consider how and why they are meaningful,this qualitative analysis examines the Internet practices consultants believe have radically reshaped Indonesia's national music industry and advanced its global impact. Particularly among the nation's self-described non-mainstream or independent music professionals, the Internet has revolutionized professional and social communication. Furthermore, through online intellectual critique, individual contributors also debate artistic ideals, as well as broader social and political problems. The Internet, thus, circumscribes a network of musically and socially likeminded individuals who engage in thoughtful debate about the arts and society in a presumably safe and egalitarian environment. There are limits to the Internet's equanimity and its users’ abilities to secure artistic and intellectual independence; however, spatial proximity to the music industry's epicenter in Jakarta, rhetorical dexterity in Internet correspondence, and Internet legislation all pose particular challenges to the democratization of Indonesia's independent music industry network and the professional and social relationships that happen through its channels.     

Locating Economic Risks for Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health: Poverty and Affluence in Families,Neighborhoods, and Schools

Research has identified risks of both poverty and affluence for adolescents. This study sought to clarify associations between income and youth mental and behavioral health by delineating economic risks derived from family, neighborhood, and school contexts within a nationally representative sample of high school students (N = 13,179, average age 16). Attending schools with more affluent schoolmates was associated with heightened likelihoods of intoxication, drug use, and property crime, but youth at poorer schools reported greater depressive and anxiety symptoms, engagement in violence, and for male adolescents, more frequent violence and intoxication. Neighborhood and family income were far less predictive. Results suggest that adolescent health risks derive from both ends of the economic spectrum, and may be largely driven by school contexts.