Insight into performance improvement in action: Inspiration from mobile apps

Mobile apps are a potentially powerful medium for performance technologists. In this piece we analyze four selected apps‐Coach's Eye, for amateur athletes; EpicMix, for skiers; Cloth, a wardrobe manager; and FLPR, a home‐theatre management tool‐to show the connection between app design and performance support. With user ratings and anecdotal feedback built into the review of the apps, training professionals have a front‐row seat on this expanding arena of problem‐solving products.     

Scientific Teaching Targeting Faculty from Diverse Institutions

We offered four annual professional development workshops called STAR (for Scientific Teaching, Assessment, and Resources) modeled after the National Academies Summer Institute (SI) on Undergraduate Education in Biology. In contrast to the SI focus on training faculty from research universities, STAR''s target was faculty from community colleges, 2-yr campuses, and public and private research universities. Because of the importance of community colleges and 2-yr institutions as entries to higher education, we wanted to determine whether the SI model can be successfully extended to this broader range of institutions. We surveyed the four cohorts; 47 STAR alumni responded to the online survey. The responses were separated into two groups based on the Carnegie undergraduate instructional program categories, faculty from seven associate''s and associate''s-dominant institutions (23) and faculty from nine institutions with primarily 4-yr degree programs (24). Both groups expressed the opinion that STAR had a positive impact on teaching, student learning, and engagement. The two groups reported using techniques of formative assessment and active learning with similar frequency. The mix of faculty from diverse institutions was viewed as enhancing the workshop experience. The present analysis indicates that the SI model for training faculty in scientific teaching can successfully be extended to a broad range of higher education institutions.     

Motion Pictures

Richard Bunce's Television in the Corporate Interest (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1976—price not given, but about $15.00).

Ralph M. Jennings and Veronica M. Jefferson's Television Station Employment Practices, 1975: The Status of Minorities and Women (New York: Office of Communication, United Church of Christ, 1976—price not given, but about $10.00, paper)

Horace Newcomb's Television: The Critical View (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976—$4.00, paper)

Asa Berger's The TV-Guided American (New York: Walker, 1976—$8.95)

Vincent Mosco's The Regulation of Innovations in the Broadcasting Market (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Program on Information Technologies and Public Policy, 1975—$3.00, paper)

James D. Scott's Cable Television: Strategy for Penetrating Key Urban Markets (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Graduate School of Business Administration, 1976—$5.50, paper)

R.W. Chandler's Sparks at Sea: The Experiences of a Ship's Radio Officer (North Pomfret, Vt.: David and Charles, 1973, but only recently released in the U.S.—$9.50)     

General Foreign/International Communication

A Free and Balanced Flow: Report of the Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on the International Flow of News (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1979—$12.50 with a paperback also available)

Alex S. Edelstein, John E. Bowes, and Sheldon M. Harsel's Information Societies: Comparing the Japanese and American Experiences (International Communication Center, School of Communications, University of Washington, Seattle, Wa 98195—$10.95, paper)

Fred L. Casmir, ed. Intercultural and International Communication (Washington: University Press of America, 1978—$21.50, paper)

Terry D. Peigh, et al. The Use of Radio in Social Development (Chicago: Communication Laboratory, Community and Family Study Center of the University of Chicago, 1979—price not given, paper)

Ernest D. Rose's World Film & Television Study Resources (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Godesberger Allee 149, D 5300 Bonn 2, Federal Republic of Germany—price not given)

Medios Audiovisuales (Desengano 12, Madrid-13, Spain—650 pesetas per year/11 issues, surface mail)

List of International Instruments Concerning Different Aspects of Communication (Paris: Unesco International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, not dated—apparently free on request, paper)     

Broadcasting

TALK RADIO AND THE AMERICAN DREAM by Murray B, Levin (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1987—$22.00)

WHO SHOT THE SHERIFF? THE RISE AND FALL OF THE TELEVISION WESTERN by J. Fred MacDonald (New York: Praeger, 1987—$29.95)

LIVE TV: AN INSIDE LOOK AT DIRECTING AND PRODUCING by Tony Verna (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1987—$22.95)

TV CAREERS BEHIND THE SCREEN by Jane Blanksteen and Avi Odeni (New York: John Wiley, 1987—$12.95, paper)

THE BROADCASTER'S DICTIONARY by James R. McDonald (Windriver Books, Box 481, Broomfield, CT 80020—$20.00 incl. postage, paper)

Three recent publications by the National Association of Broadcasters (Publications Dept., 1771 N St. NW. Washington, DC 20036)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT: THE BROADCAST &; CABLE INDUSTRIES by Barry L. Sherman (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1987—$29.95)

CHANNELS OF DISCOURSE: TELEVISION AND CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM edited by Robert C. Allen (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987—$25.00/7.95)

THE HOUR OF TELEVISION: CRITICAL APPROACHES by N.D. Batra (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. 1987—$29.50)     

Librarian Participation in Expanding the Pool of Potential Medical Students

This article reports on the results of an exploratory survey to determine if librarians actively participate in medical school student recruiting programs. It looks specifically at what librarians are doing to assist with recruitment and what biomedical career resources their libraries offer. The survey link was e-mailed to all U.S. medical school library directors, who were asked to forward it to the appropriate librarian. Out of 113 medical schools, 68 (60%) responded to most questions. Forty-three (86%) of 50 item respondents do participate in such activities, and 29 (67%) of 43 item respondents have been doing so for more than five years. Thirty-two (64%) of 50 item respondents provide resources on biomedical careers in the libraries.     

Pupils as partners in education decision‐making: responding to the legislation in England and Ireland

Enabling pupils with special educational needs to participate more fully in the assessment, planning and evaluation of their own learning has become a principle enshrined within the legislation of many countries in recent years. Educational policy in both England and the Republic of Ireland has recognised the desirability of increased pupil involvement, and this is reflected in policy documents and in legislation which highlights the requirement of schools to take greater account of the views of pupils. This paper documents the approaches to increased pupil involvement in decision‐making adopted in England and Ireland and provides an overview of the key challenges that face policy‐makers and educators in ensuring meaningful participation for children and young people with special educational needs.