Adapting the Assessing British Sign Language Development: Receptive Skills Test into American sign language

Signed languages continue to be a key element of deaf education programs that incorporate a bilingual approach to teaching and learning. In order to monitor the success of bilingual deaf education programs, and in particular to monitor the progress of children acquiring signed language, it is essential to develop an assessment tool of signed language skills. Although researchers have developed some checklists and experimental tests related to American Sign Language (ASL) assessment, at this time a standardized measure of ASL does not exist. There have been tests developed in other signed languages, for example, British Sign Language, that can serve as models in this area. The purpose of this study was to adapt the Assessing British Sign Language Development: Receptive Skills Test for use in ASL in order to begin the process of developing a standardized measure of ASL skills. The results suggest that collaboration between researchers in different signed languages can provide a valuable contribution toward filling the gap in the area of signed language assessment.     

The influence of market force culture on British and German academics

Higher education (HE) in Germany and the United Kingdom is being continually subjected to the discipline of market forces. An empirical study was conducted using questionnaires with academic staff in 12 institutions in each country to discover the extent to which their values and attitudes were converging and were in keeping with what might be expected within a marketized system. Academics in both countries felt that HE was seriously under‐resourced, yet they were not strongly in favour of increased executive power for their leaders; they believed that the good functioning of their higher education institution (HEI) was impeded by excessive state‐sponsored interference, but did not agree that their HEIs should act more commercially and entrepreneurially. The British especially were opposed to greater privatization of the system. Attitudes in keeping with a market force philosophy seem to be superficially embedded in the value system of these academics, and though the British were more stressed, more hard‐worked and suffered from a status‐deficit in comparison with the Germans, there was no statistical difference between the two groups on a summative judgement of professional satisfaction. There appears to be an underlying professional ethos that enables the academics to remain positive despite the turbulence that market forces may cause, though their dedication may also make them vulnerable to exploitation.     

Association of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Perinatal Maternal Depression with Early Childhood Behavioral Problems: An Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Study

This study examined the association of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), prenatal, and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms with externalizing, internalizing, and autism spectrum problems on the Preschool Child Behavior Checklist in 2379 children aged 4.12 ± 0.60 (48% female; 47% White, 32% Black, 15% Mixed Race, 4% Asian, <2% American Indian/Alaskan Native, <2% Native Hawaiian; 23% Hispanic). Data were collected from the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program from 2009-2021. GDM, prenatal, and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms were each associated with increased child externalizing and internalizing problems. GDM was associated with increased autism behaviors only among children exposed to perinatal maternal depressive symptoms above the median level. Stratified analyses revealed a relation between GDM and child outcomes in males only.     

Students’ conceptions and the learning of science

This introductory article to the Special Issue of the International Journal of Science Education attempts to review the theoretical contexts for research into children's conceptions in science and to identify future directions for research programmes in this field.     

Evaluating clinical librarian services: a systematic review

Background: Previous systematic reviews have indicated limited evidence and poor quality evaluations of clinical librarian (CL) services. Rigorous evaluations should demonstrate the value of CL services, but guidance is needed before this can be achieved. Objectives: To undertake a systematic review which examines models of CL services, quality, methods and perspectives of clinical librarian service evaluations. Methods: Systematic review methodology and synthesis of evidence, undertaken collaboratively by a group of 8 librarians to develop research and critical appraisal skills. Results: There are four clear models of clinical library service provision. Clinical librarians are effective in saving health professionals time, providing relevant, useful information and high quality services. Clinical librarians have a positive effect on clinical decision making by contributing to better informed decisions, diagnosis and choice of drug or therapy. The quality of CL studies is improving, but more work is needed on reducing bias and providing evidence of specific impacts on patient care. The Critical Incident Technique as part of a mixed method approach appears to offer a useful approach to demonstrating impact. Conclusions: This systematic review provides practical guidance regarding the evaluation of CL services. It also provides updated evidence regarding the effectiveness and impact of CL services. The approach used was successful in developing research and critical appraisal skills in a group of librarians.     

EMERGING NEW SERVICE ROLES FOR OLDER ADULTS ON COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES

A growing need exists to identify and develop meaningful retirement roles for older adults in a variety of settings and modes. College and university campuses provide a particularly stimulating environment for involvement of the retired population not only as lifelong learners but also as contributors to the functional operation of the institution. A national survey was conducted to explore the extent to which programs have been initiated to involve older adults in meaningful volunteer tasks, responsibilities, and roles on university campuses. Emeritus faculty and staff may find these opportunities conducive to continue to perform useful service to the university. Data suggest that although significant barriers exist that hinder the smooth development of service‐oriented programs for the elderly on university campuses, the feasibility of these programs has been demonstrated and a substantial number are currently in operation around the country. Positive outcomes resulting from establishing older adult service programs include improvement of intergenerational communication, reduction of ageism, provision of useful services to educational institutions, and enhancement of the quality of life in retirement.     

Stop Counting the Books! IMC is Here

Students with mild disabilities have a difficult time recording notes from lectures. Accurate note taking is important because it helps students understand the content from lectures and notes serve as a document for later review. In this article, the author describes what teachers can do before, during, and after the lecture to help students become better note takers.     

Reliability and Validity of Self Report of Aerobic Activity: Family Health Project

Abstract

Two studies are presented which deal with the reliability and validity of self-reports of aerobic activity. The first study compared two forms of self-report data obtained as part of a study of intervention strategy. The two forms were daily self-report and weekly retrospective report. Analyses covering the overlapping time period revealed differences in mean minutes engaged in activity, but modest and statistically significant correlations between the two forms among adults participating in the intervention group. No meaningful results were obtained among adults in the control group, nor among children in either group. The need for the development and testing of self-report forms among children was noted, and was the subject of the second study.

In Study II, six different forms on which third to sixth grade children recorded their aerobic activity were compared against two days of continuous observations of their behavior. The six forms varied along two dimensions. The first dimension varied the time period of reporting: half the forms required reporting by segments of the day; the other half allowed for reporting of the day as a whole. The second dimension varied response format: one third of the forms asked for a dichotomous (yes; no) report; one third asked for a trichotomous (no; yes, but less than 20 min; yes, for 20 min or more) report; and one third asked for reporting of precise numbers of minutes. The segmented day forms resulted in significantly higher agreement with the observers' report of activity. This finding is interpreted to be congruent with recent research on the importance of context in the recall of behavior. No effect from parental assistance in child's form completion was detected.