Managing Perceived Stress Among College Students: The Roles of Social Support and Dysfunctional Coping

The author examined the conditions (i.e., social support and dysfunctional coping) under which perceived stress predicted psychological well‐being in 459 college students. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated a significant 2‐way interaction (Perceived Stress × Social Support) and a significant 3‐way interaction (Perceived Stress × Social Support × Dysfunctional Coping) predicting well‐being. Low social support deteriorated the association between stress and well‐being. Only the frequent use of dysfunctional coping exacerbated the association between stress and well‐being across high and low social support. Implications for counseling college students are discussed.     

Developing the capacity of teacher‐librarians to meet the diverse needs of all schoolchildren: Project ENABLE

US school libraries are required to ensure that schoolchildren and school staff with disabilities have equal opportunity to use and benefit from library facilities and information services under federal law. However, evidence indicates teacher‐librarians (TLs) often lack the training, knowledge and skills to provide programmes and services that meet the needs of students with disabilities. Project ENABLE (Expanding Nondiscriminatory Access by Librarians Everywhere) was created to respond to this shortfall by designing, implementing and evaluating a professional development programme in New York State. The project applies a social model of disability to help 100 TLs, special educators and general educators further develop their skills and resources by teaming together to create an inclusive environment for all students. This is achieved through the use of universal design principles, appropriate assistive and other technologies, an emphasis on person‐first language and sensitivity simulations, a focus on inclusive lesson planning, and by developing collaboration capacity among participant teams. Curriculum development, data collection and analyses are presented. The effect of the Project ENABLE trainings was significant in terms of higher levels of skill and knowledge reported by participants for creating accessible library programmes, advancing inclusive education and building effective collaborations. Drawing from their workshop learning and resources, participant teams developed action plans to implement during the 2011–2012 school year. This project underscores the importance of TLs in the education of all students, including those with disabilities. Higher education and local professional development programmes must place greater emphasis on preparing TLs to perform this role effectively and confidently.     

Expanding the scope of anatomical sciences: the case of "Human evolution: The fossil evidence" course at the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University

The Anatomy Department at Tel-Aviv University Medical School offers its students an elective course of 26 didactic hours on human evolution. The course is open to students from all faculties, who must fulfill all academic requirements, without a prerequisite of a background in anatomy. Approximately 120 students attend annually, a third of them are nonmedical students who major in philosophy, archeology, and sociology. This article discusses the course's contributions to students' understanding of a scientific concept that a scientific theory can be contradicted by new evidence, because facts govern science. Also, research methods of applying scientific principles establish the understanding of the human body, which evidently contributes to health and medicine. In the classes, the students are divided into mini-groups of 2-3 students, while the lecturer moves among students to examine fossils. In addition, analogies, open-discussions, and explanations accompany the tangible experiences. The lecturer of the course is an experienced anthropologist-anatomist researcher. He is a role-model and a mentor, sharing with the students his belief that a scientist should be persistent in his research to overcome difficult circumstances. Students, regardless of their backgrounds, express high appreciation of the course in their feedback questionnaires. The message conveyed by this course is that not only knowledge counts but also its integration with scientific principles. This course teaches us that science can bring students from different areas to study together and share ideas. In conclusion, this is a unique course in the eyes of the faculty and students alike.     

Black Women's Unequal Experiences of Prison Education

This paper looks at the experiences of black women in regard to prison education. The data were mainly collected through interviews with 10 black women ex‐prisoners who spoke about their prison lives. The majority of these women felt that racism existed in prison, especially in regard to access to prison classes. Recommendations for improvements in prison education are made so that it is open to all.     

The core health science library in Canada

Core lists in Canada are characterized by regional differences. The lists of current importance are: (1) the British Columbia acquisitions guide for hospital libraries, (2) three Saskatchewan lists for hospitals of different sizes, (3) a core list recommended for Ontario hospitals, (4) Quebec core lists, including French language lists.     

Are returns to education on the decline in Venezuela and does Mission Sucre have a role to play?

Anecdotal evidence points to a falling standard of living for the educated in Venezuela. During this same period, President Hugo Chávez implemented several education reforms. We focus on a major university education reform known as Mission Sucre and its potential impact on returns to university education. First, we show that returns to education decreased significantly in Venezuela from 2002 to 2008. Subsequently, we explore the impact of the program on non-program participants and provide evidence that a substantial part of the falling returns at the tertiary level can be linked to Mission Sucre. Our results suggest that the reform created a negative externality on students who did not participate in the program, leading to a 2.7 percentage point decline in returns to university education for non-Mission Sucre students in the 23–28 age cohort.