THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The University Today International Seminar is presented and briefly described. The theme and the sub‐themes of the thirty‐fifth session of this seminar are also presented and linked to the current situation of Yugoslavia. The modus operandi of the sessions is described, and very short summaries of the major presentations and of the published papers are given. The article ends with a summary of the final recommendations of the seminar.     

Use of widgets as information management tools in online shared spaces

Online shared spaces are destinations where people of common interests interact to achieve common goals or borrow each other's expertise for personal pursuits. Due to a multitude of users, such spaces generate large amounts of content, thus creating a potential for information overload. To deal with it, users of online shared spaces develop information management strategies that frequently involve the use of information technology. In this paper we present a case study of the use of widgets as information management tools in uCern, an online shared workspace where healthcare industry stakeholders get involved in various types of interactions. To understand how widgets served the purpose of information management and whether they were considered useful, we administered an online questionnaire (n = 183) followed by qualitative interviews (n = 5). Data analysis revealed that study participants used widgets as tools that promoted their situation and activity awareness of events and activities going on in uCern and helped them with organizing and accessing the content in a quick and efficient manner. We also describe issues associated with the use of widgets and their usefulness as reported by participants and propose implications for design and development of online shared spaces in relation to information management tools.     

The Croatian Collection at The New York Public Library

It is generally known that the New York Public Library (NYPL) is one of the most important repositories of Slavic intellectual and cultural documents, literature, and scholarly writings outside Europe. The specifics of the Croatian collection are not so well known, however. In an attempt to provide scholars with an overview of the NYPL's resources, this report describes the holdings of three of the Library's research divisions: the Slavic and Baltic Division, the General Research Division, and the Map Division, which are located at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan. Although the divisions function autonomously and are at a physical remove from each other within the institution, their Croatian holdings are uniformly cataloged within one electronic database (CATNYP), which can be accessed via the web at http://catnyp.nypl.org.     

Acquisitions Trip to the Three Baltic States: Estonia,Latvia, and Lithuania,June 3–June 14, 2009

After giving a brief history of Yale University Library's Baltic collection, the author reports on her acquisitions trip to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. She visited exchange partner libraries, bookstores, and book dealers in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, and Tartu. One of her goals for the trip was to set up approval plans with in‐country vendors and exchange partners. She also met with a number of alumni of the Baltic Library Internship at Yale, and some of the librarians who were competing for future internships.     

Resolution of parent–child conflicts in the adolescence

The aims of the study were: (1) to examine whether adolescents’ attachment and the perceived quality of the communication with their parents relate to effective resolution of parent–child conflicts and (2) to determine whether the pattern of associations changes with adolescents’ gender and age. The sample consisted of 295 adolescents who filled the questionnaires. Structural Equations Models showed that secure attachment predicted a positive communicative climate, which in turn, predicted a more frequent use of negotiation. Secure attachment was related to the use of withdrawal strategies. Anxious attachment was related to high levels of criticism and disputes with parents, which, in turn, predicted the use of all conflict resolution styles. Avoidant attachment was not related to any of the conflict resolution styles. No differences were found in the pattern of associations by gender and age. The relevance of the findings for the social relational perspective to conflict resolution is discussed.     

Bilateral symmetry and the competitive standard attained in elite and sub-elite sport

Deviations from perfect bilateral symmetry, in a normally symmetric organism, signal a lack of developmental precision. In adult human males, previous studies have shown that symmetry is positively associated with height, body mass and physical performance. In this study, symmetry was measured in adult male athletes from two sports, competing at two different standards. Fifty-two elite and sub-elite Australian male basketballers and soccer players, who regularly competed in the national and state leagues in the 2000-2001 season, participated in the study. All participants underwent anthropometric assessment. Both basketballers and national league athletes in general were significantly taller (P < 0.0001) and heavier (P < 0.001) (and more ectomorphic in the case of basketballers) than their soccer-playing and state league counterparts, respectively. The anthropometric traits were examined further for departures from perfect bilateral symmetry. No significant differences in size-corrected asymmetry were observed between the two competitive standards (P > 0.50), the two sports (P > 0.50) or among any of the competitive standard x sport groups (P > 0.50). Contrary to expectations, we did not find any differences in asymmetry between adult male athletes from two sports (basketball and soccer), competing at two different standards (professional national league and semi-professional state league).     

Yugoslav Universities and Inter‐University International Co‐Operation

Inter‐university international co‐operation is very strongly favoured by the Yugoslav government as part of its overall policy of nonalignment. Numerous bilateral and multilateral projects are being pursued by the Union of Universities of Yugoslavia and by individual Yugoslav universities. The sponsorship of the “University Today” International Seminar by the Union is one manifestation of this policy as is the encouragement which it gives its member universities to join appropriate international university associations, including regional ones. Currently, the Union is favouring the increased international exchange of students. The internationalization of universities opens them to the most progressive and advanced tendencies in teaching and in research.     

A Comparative Study of Information Literacy Skill Performance of Students in Agricultural Sciences

The aim was to assess the information literacy (IL) of 310 first- and second-year students enrolled in nine different study programs at the School of Agriculture (Faculty of Agriculture), Novi Sad, Serbia, using an adapted version of a validated IL test (ILT) in an e-environment. Because the school does not provide systematic IL education, another purpose was to raise awareness of the importance of such instruction. ILT results were assessed according to five ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries) standards, as well as three cognitive levels adapted from Bloom's taxonomy. The mean ILT score was 46.35%. Students were most successful in information evaluation and information need identification, and least successful in legal/ethical issues and information use. As expected, IL skills increase from the first to second year of study. Cognitive skills also increase, except for the highest level (applying knowledge), where all student groups are weak. Different study programs attract students with disparate knowledge/skill levels gained during secondary education, where some groups of first-year students may outperform second-year students in both IL and cognitive abilities. It is thus important to offer IL education to all students in order to provide a basis for more balanced academic progress.