New library buildings. Part VI: Sciences Library, Brown University.

Brown was one of the first universities in the nation to combine its science collections into a single library in the interest of aiding interdisciplinary teaching and research. This paper discusses the evolution of the Sciences Library and its resources, the development of the medical education program, and the physical aspects of the new library building. A fifteen-story tower, housing the collections of the physical, biological, and medical sciences, symbolizes the interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research at Brown University.     

Prediction of elite schoolboy 2000m rowing ergometer performance from metabolic, anthropometric and strength variables

In 19 elite schoolboy rowers, the relationships between anthropometric characteristics, metabolic parameters, strength variables and 2000-m rowing ergometer performance time were analysed to test the hypothesis that a combination of these variables would predict performance better than either individual variables or one category of variables. Anthropometric characteristics, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), accumulated oxygen deficit, net efficiency, leg strength and 2000-m rowing ergometer time were measured. Body mass, VO2max and knee extension correlated with 2000-m performance time (r= -0.41, -0.43 and -0.40, respectively; P< 0.05), while net efficiency and accumulated oxygen deficit did not. Multiple-regression analyses indicated that the prediction model using anthropometric variables alone best predicts performance (R = 0.82), followed by the equation comprising body mass, VO2max and skinfolds (R = 0.80). Although the regression equations increased the predictive power from that obtained using single variables, the hypothesis that a prediction model consisting of variables from different physiological categories would predict performance better than variables from one physiological category was not supported.     

THE APPLICATION OF REPERTORY GRID TECHNIQUE TO COURSE EVALUATION — A PILOT PROJECT

This paper reports on a pilot project carried out between September 1989 and June 1990 at a large college of Further and Higher Education. Using Interactive software based on Repertory Grid Techniques, the authors monitored the progress of a group of students undertaking theflrst year of the Diploma In Nursing (University of London). The primary focus was on how the students were reacting to the course as a whole and to Illuminate Individual difficulties and concerns, which could then be fed back to the course team. It was hoped that the complete process would provide a unique picture of how individual perceptions and responses changed throughout the year.

The authors explain how the software was used, the data analysed, and how the feedback to students and tutors was managed. The prime purpose of the activity was to gain insights into how the technique could be most effectively used across a wide range of courses within the college and to determine whether it was feasible for students to use each other for reflective analysis and discussion of grids. Such an approach should provide useful Information both to course providers and evaluators.