Understanding user needs for citation management program support

Abstract

Citation management programs are tools used to organize references and to create citations and bibliographies. Libraries are often the central point for providing training and support in using these tools. To determine how we could improve our support and training services, we surveyed users to determine what software in being used, why they chose that particular program, what features are important, and how they use citation management programs to collaborate. Results indicate that users chose a particular program because it was freely available or recommended to them by others and that they thought that importing references and creating citations were important features. We also found a majority of respondents used citation management programs to collaborate and turned to the library for training and support.     

Becoming a primary teacher in Scotland: comparing one-year and four-year courses

This study compared Scottish primary teachers trained by the one-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) and the four-year Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) routes. It was found that BEd graduates were younger, while the PGCEs were more diverse, containing a number embarking on teaching as a second career. It was also found that BEds complete probation slightly faster though this may be due to more favourable opportunities to complete the probationary requirements. The implications are discussed in relation to the changing nature of the teacher employment market and the policy implications for the balance of numbers of teachers trained through the two routes.     

Assessment,Disability and the Problem of Compensation

The number of disabled students within higher education in the UK is thought to have increased significantly in recent years and is expected to increase further in the next few years. The practice of permitting disabled students to take an alternative form of assessment is commonly used as a means of providing them with an equality of opportunity. However, whilst these aims are commendable, this widely used practice raises a number of issues and is open to several criticisms. This paper examines the implications of allowing the use of alternative forms of assessment in the light of the principles by which we assess. It suggests that the use of alternative assessments is compensatory in nature and, as a result, ultimately threatens to subvert the equality of opportunity it aims to provide. The authors conclude that this widely used practice violates the principles of assessment and undermines the validity of assessment in higher education.     

A Meta‐Analysis of Empirical Research on Teaching Students with Mathematics Learning Difficulties

This article quantitatively summarizes experimental and quasi‐experimental studies on teaching students with mathematics difficulties (MD) published between 2000 and 2014, research that was available following earlier syntheses. It reports the analysis of effect sizes of 25 intervention studies on participant characteristics, intervention parameters, domains of mathematics interventions, and instructional approaches and components. Results indicate that several participant characteristics (e.g., grade level and level of mathematics difficulties) and intervention parameters (e.g., methodological soundness, intervention agent, and grouping) mediated the treatment effects. In addition, different types of instructional approaches and several instructional components contributed to the improvements in mathematics performance in students with MD.     

70% and Climbing: E-Resources,Books, and Library Restructuring

Within the past decade, academic libraries have seen a shift in purchasing from mostly print to mostly electronic. Although Carleton University Library (Ottawa, Canada) has experienced this shift, it had continued until recently to work within the confines of an organizational structure based on a print purchasing model. This paper will describe in detail the restructuring of the Library's collections and technical services departments to better meet growing electronic demands. Changes included dedicating more staff from print resources to e-resources, changing a librarian position to focus specifically on collections assessment, and shifting budgets to manage growing e-resources more efficiently.     

The Quality of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Evaluating the Evidence

The issue of the quality of teaching in higher education is in the process of becoming a matter of greater public interest than hitherto. This paper concerns the evidence on which quality can be assessed. Drawing on the relevant literature from both the secondary and tertiary sectors of education, it reviews the types of evidence which are available. A critical analysis is offered of the extent to which each isolates teaching quality from distinct variables such as student characteristics and assessment standards. It is argued that quantitative approaches do not currently offer potential to assess teaching quality and are unlikely to do so given the current structure of higher education. The greatest promise lies in the external scrutiny recently instituted by the Higher Education Funding Councils and the Higher Education Quality Council. It is recommended that this scrutiny would be further strengthened by integrating the functions of these two authorities and by phasing out the use of numerical assessment scales in favour of wholly qualitative reporting.     

Peer–led Approaches to Care

In this paper the reasons for and research on the importance of peer–led approaches to care are explored. Examples of peer–led approaches are explored and these include peer–led pastoral care systems and initiatives such as befriending, circle of friends and peer mediation. Finally the development of resilient schools is discussed and the necessary context of peer–led approaches examined.     

Children's astronomy: implications for curriculum developments at Key Stage 1 and the future of infant science in England and Wales

Experience suggests that few areas of science could claim to capture the interest, curiosity and imagination of young children as much as astronomy does, few are more relevant and fundamental to their everyday lives, and few are more stimulating, motivating and fun. Infant and primary astronomy is concerned with more, however, than teaching concepts and process skills or about learning facts and figures. It is certainly more than simply knowing about the periodic changes associated with how the Earth, Sun and Moon move with respect to one another. It is about the nature of science and ‘scientific’ thought. It is about human achievement. It is about feelings and emotions; our relationships with each other and our relationships with nature. It is about the many important aspects of time, cycles and change. From this standpoint, radical changes to the early years astronomy component of a recently introduced and twice revised national science curriculum operating in all maintained schools throughout England and Wales are considered both misguided and premature. Exploring the nature of infant children's ideas and beliefs in certain astronomical areas, concerns about the direction of curriculum developments and the status of early years science are discussed.     

Dynamic visual support for story comprehension and mental model building by young,at-risk children

Multimedia technology allows precise coordination of linguistic and visual information and may provide teachers with tools for enhancing literacy foundations in children–especially those who might otherwise be at-risk for school failure. This research explores the hypothesis that a multimedia environment with dynamic visual support facilitates language comprehension when children listen to short stories. Kindergarten children heard stories in three conditions: Helpful video, in which dynamic, silent video accompanied the beginning of stories; No video, in which children only heard the stories; and Minimal video, in which static images of characters and places accompanied the beginning of stories. In all conditions, the ending of the story was presented without visual support. Overall, the pattern of results suggests that dynamic visual support can provide a framework for understanding and remembering linguistic information.This research was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Development, grant P01 HD15051-12. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of that organization.