Dissemination and Discovery of Diverse Data: Do Libraries Promote Their Unique Research Data Collections?

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries acquire and steward numeric datasets as well as large collections of image files, audio archives, digital texts, and other non-numeric resources. This article considers how a sample of libraries in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom present these collections and make them available for discovery. And, importantly, the article examines whether these non-numeric collections are positioned on the library Website as research datasets, rather than as artifacts of limited local and/or historical interest. Findings from this analysis may help collection managers and Web designers as libraries define their role in connecting users to research data.     

Check That Body! The Effects of Sexually Objectifying Music Videos on College Men's Sexual Beliefs

The present study examined the effects of sexual objectification of female artists in music videos on male undergraduates' sexual beliefs. Findings showed that participants who viewed music videos of highly objectified female artists reported more adversarial sexual beliefs, more acceptance of interpersonal violence, and, at a level of marginal significance, more negative attitudes about sexual harassment than participants assigned to low-sexual objectifying music videos by the same female artists. Path models indicated that adversarial sexual beliefs mediated the relationship between condition, and (1) acceptance of interpersonal violence and (2) negative attitudes regarding sexual harassment.     

Survey of attitudes toward statistics: Factor structure and factorial invariance for women and men

White undergraduate students enrolled in introductory statistics courses completed the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS). Student responses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis to determine the validity of several alternative models of the structure of attitudes toward statistics. A four‐factor structure composed of Affect, Cognitive Competence, Value, and Difficulty provided the best model fit. Responses of women and men to the SATS were then examined to explore scale invariance across gender. Invariance tests of factor structure, factor‐variable correlations, factor correlations, and variable uniquenesses showed that the four‐factor model fit well for both female and male responses. Only two significant differences in model fit were found: the Value variance was greater for women and the correlation between Affect and Value was greater for men. Generally, the study provided evidence for the appropriateness of a four‐factor structure of the SATS.     

The Role of Theory in the Study of Peer Collaboration

This special issue illustrates how research on peer collaboration is influenced by different theoretical perspectives. In the first part of this commentary, the role of theory in each article is discussed. The authors use connections among theory, research questions, and study methods to identify how theory affected the work of each group of researchers. They then make the case that the real need lies in the integration of those theories and in the integration of all findings relevant to applied questions of collaborative processing. Following a brief review of relevant theories, the authors demonstrate how a cohesive, integrated theory of group processes can be adopted.     

Hints to the New Teacher

Although the actual causes of alienation are complex and perhaps situation-specific, recent research clearly demonstrates connections between adolescent alienation and the school environment. With public concern over increases in teenage suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, pregnancy, and violence, schools must find ways to decrease students' feelings of alienation, if possible.

Proposed here are nine interventions that address many of the issues surfacing in research on alienated adolescents' perceptions of the school environment. All nine can be implemented fairly easily; the resources are available to nearly every school in the country. There is little that we, as educators, can do about students' socioeconomic status, ethnic affiliation, or academic ability. What we can change, however, is the school setting—students' relationships with each other, teachers' relationships with students, the learning experiences provided in the school, and the attention given to student concerns.     

Harambee: Working Together to Engender Change in Communities of Color

Working with communities of color to find solutions to the problems they face is a complex and challenging task. The “It Takes a Village” concept and the Transtheoretical Model of Change (Prochaska, Norcross, and DiClemente 1994) were used by the authors of this article in their work to empower clients of color to effect change in their communities. The narratives by these authors, European-American and African-American practitioners and educators, incorporate accounts of advocacy and social justice initiatives as they describe their interactions with grassroots organizations, such as educational and faith-based institutions, within communities of color.     

Child sexual abuse prevention education: A review of school policy and curriculum provision in Australia

The past four decades have seen increasing public and professional awareness of child sexual abuse. Congruent with public health approaches to prevention, efforts to eliminate child sexual abuse have inspired the emergence of prevention initiatives which can be provided to all children as part of their standard school curriculum. However, relatively little is known about the scope and nature of child sexual abuse prevention efforts in government school systems internationally. This paper assesses and compares the policies and curriculum initiatives in primary (elementary) schools across state and territory Departments of Education in Australia. Using publicly available electronic data, a deductive qualitative content analysis of policy and curriculum documents was undertaken to examine the characteristics of child sexual abuse prevention education in these school systems. It was found that the system-level provision occurs unevenly across state and territory jurisdictions. This results in the potential for substantial inequity in Australian children’s access to learning opportunities in child abuse prevention education as a part of their standard school curriculum. In this research, we have developed a strategy for generating a set of theoretically-sound empirical criteria that may be more extensively applied in comparative research about prevention initiatives internationally.     

Are Older Adults Prepared to Ensure Food Safety During Extended Power Outages and Other Emergencies?: Findings from a National Survey

Natural disasters and other emergencies can cause an increased risk of foodborne illness. We conducted a nationally representative survey to understand consumers’ knowledge and use of recommended practices during/after extended power outages and other emergencies. Because older adults are at an increased risk for foodborne illness, this paper presents findings from a sample of older adults (n = 290). Only 17% of respondents reported they are fully prepared to keep food safe during an extended power outage. Respondents identified lack of cogitation (42%), storage space (19%), and concern (27%) as barriers to not being fully prepared. Of those who had experienced a recent power outage, less than 40% followed the recommended practices of discarding frozen foods that had thawed and discarding refrigerated, perishable foods. Additionally, 21% to 36% of respondents reported they tasted food to determine whether it was safe to eat. Awareness and likelihood of following recommended practices were higher among women than men. Many older adults are not following recommended practices to ensure food safety during/after extended power outages and other emergencies. Educational materials need to address barriers and be tailored to specific locations and subpopulations of older adults. Educators and public health officials can use the survey findings to address gaps in older adults’ knowledge and practices and to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness among older adults.