Studying for Exams Just Got More Relaxing—Animal-Assisted Activities at the University of Connecticut Library

In recent years, academic libraries have expanded their traditional focus on intellectual and scholarly pursuits, with many libraries now initiating programs that support student growth, development, and wellness. Although providing animal-assisted activities to college students is a fairly new concept, the social and therapeutic benefits of pet ownership or simply interacting with a companion animal are well documented. The University of Connecticut's Homer Babbidge Library on the Storrs campus chose to support the physical and emotional well-being of students during the stress-filled week of finals by providing therapy dogs. Student interaction and feedback were overwhelmingly positive.     

Teenage girls' perceptions of the functions of relationally aggressive behaviors

Adolescent girls reported on their experiences both as perpetrators and as victims of several distinct forms of relational aggression. Details of these incidents were gathered from 114 ethnically diverse ninth and tenth graders via a secure online survey. The frequency with which girls perpetrated or were targeted for particular acts of relational aggression was assessed and, based on the responses, a computer program randomly selected one item (i.e., gossip, ignoring, or exclusion) for which each girl was asked to recall a specific experience and answer follow‐up questions. Perceptions of the goals and functions of specific relationally aggressive acts were assessed, as well as how the perpetrator or victim felt at the time of the incident. Ignoring or “giving the silent treatment” appeared to be a unique form of relational aggression inasmuch as the girls perceived different motives, or functions, for ignoring compared with gossip and exclusion and felt worse at the time of the ignoring incident, both when they were reporting as aggressors and as victims. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Employer understanding of Work-Integrated Learning and the challenges of engaging in work placement opportunities

This study examines employer understanding of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), reasons for participation and the challenges and barriers posed during the WIL process. This is important given the drive to grow WIL, augmented by the National Strategy for WIL, and the significant benefits it holds in preparing students for their transition to employment. The study was undertaken by the four publicly funded Western Australian universities, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, and is focused on work placements among business students. Findings indicate employers had very little understanding of WIL offerings at the four Business Schools. While employers generally believed that student work placements are useful for their industry sectors, a number of issues impacted on their engagement in WIL. These included identifying suitable projects and tasks for students to complete; sourcing suitable students; concerns with student performance and capacity to mentor/supervise. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research tools were used with data gathered by an employer survey (N?=?112) and focus group sessions (N?=?17). The study recommends a number of ways to alleviate barriers and challenges to improve the WIL experience for all stakeholders and ensure the sustained growth of WIL in the higher education sector.     

Performance-based accountability in Qatar: a state in progress

It has become a normative practice to include Performance-Based Accountability (PBA) policies in educational reforms to foster school changes that enhance student learning and success. There is considerable variation in PBA models that have an important impact on how they operate in schools. It is, therefore, important to characterize PBA models in different contexts. This article describes and categorizes the Qatari PBA model using a five-dimensional framework previously employed in Canada and the UK. The State of Qatar is a small rich developing country in the Arabian Gulf that introduced a wholesale educational reform in 2004. Although the characteristics of the Qatari PBA model are shared with those of Western systems, the Qatari PBA model does not fit into the previously described categories. Policy inconsistencies surfaced within the Qatar PBA model in terms of structure, consequential intent, and expectations of professional involvement. The tensions are rooted in a PBA model that assumes a high level of professional accountability interacting with the reality of system-wide capacity issues. The implementation of a coherent PBA model in policy and practice will require developing past this early phase of educational reform.     

RESEARCH SECTION: Nurture groups: a large‐scale,controlled study of effects on development and academic attainment

Nurture groups have contributed to inclusive practices in primary schools in the UK for some time now and have frequently been the subject of articles in this journal. This large‐scale, controlled study of nurture groups across 32 schools in the City of Glasgow provides further evidence for their effectiveness in addressing the emotional development and behaviour problems of vulnerable children. In particular, Sue Reynolds, Principal Educational Psychologist, Maura Kearney, Senior Educational Psychologist, both working in Glasgow City Council Psychological Services, and Tommy MacKay, Professor at the University of Strathclyde and Director of Psychology Consultancy Services, suggest that is the first study to report quantitative gains in academic achievement when the progress of pupils in nurture groups is compared with that of matched children in mainstream classes. This highlights the importance of providing a nurturing context as a basis for promoting children's learning.     

A wearable system for biosignal monitoring in weightlifting

The use of technological aids in sports has increased in the last years. These tools allow to register the athletes’ movements to evaluate and track their performance over time. With that information, it is possible to design more effective training routines, prevent and treat injuries, and improve performance. This paper describes the design and construction of an electronic system to register joint angle and electromyography signals during the execution of weightlifting exercises. The system was designed to be unobtrusive, energy efficient, and low cost. It was evaluated during the execution of flexion/extension exercises of the arm with weights, and was effective to acquire the signals and transmit them wirelessly in real-time. Electromiography signals were visualized and analyzed with an adequate dynamic range, and angle measurements were performed with error percentages less than 0.8 %.     

A caution against the use of the Slosson Intelligence Test in the diagnosis of mental retardation

The Slosson Intelligence Test, unlike most current measures of intelligence, uses a ratio method of mental age divided by chronological age to obtain an IQ score. Due to this, standard deviations are not stable across age levels and present a problem in diagnosing mental retardation. The Slosson Test Manual provides information whereby an overall test standard deviation of approximately 25 points is obtained. This is reviewed in respect to current criteria for the classification of mental retardation. It is concluded that the Slosson is inappropriate for use in the diagnosis of mental retardation.     

Factor structure and specific variance of the WPPSI subtests at six age levels

The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) was factor analyzed at each of six age levels between 4 and 6½ years through the method of principal factors. A two-factor solution, corresponding essentially to Wechsler's a priori grouping of the subtests into a Verbal and nonverbal or Performance scale, best described the 11 WPPSI subtests at each age level. Examination of the common, specific, and error variance components of the subtests across age levels indicated adequate test specificity to allow for individual interpretation of all subtests except Information and Comprehension when the null hypothesis model of ipsative interpretation of individual tests is employed.