An analysis of verbal language in Saturday morning children's programs

Content analyses of program variables and verbal content features were conducted on Saturday morning children's programming. Three tools were developed for the study which assessed general context features, supportive and defensive language, and other verbal language features. The results describe the verbal climate of Saturday morning programs.     

Moral perception, situatedness, and learning to listen

This article examines the moral dimensions of listening, paying special attention to the ways in which individuals’ particular situation bears on their perception. Listening, on the account offered here, is a moral endeavor, with consequences for the listener, as well as for those listened to.     

Collaborative teaching in a linguistically and culturally diverse higher education setting: a case study of a postgraduate accounting program

The Language for Professional Communication in Accounting project has changed teaching practice in a linguistically and culturally diverse postgraduate accounting program at Macquarie University in Australia. This paper reflects on the project’s interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to diversity in the classroom by tracing its growth and development and describing the way in which it is supporting the integration of professional communication skills and discipline‐specific content within the Master of Accounting program. In particular, the paper demonstrates that discipline specialists working in a continuous and collaborative relationship with English language specialists, to integrate and assess communication skills and enrich the curriculum, leads to better outcomes for students and staff. The paper contributes to a growing literature on approaches that integrate particular graduate attributes into programs with diverse student populations, rather than bolt‐on interventions by language specialists that have limited outcomes.     

A reexamination of the role of attention in learning from text

This paper reviews some of the recent models of selective attention and concludes that these models simplify and restrict the role of attention in reading and learning. It is maintained that the most critical problem of the models is that they do not acknowledge the important function of attention in the early stages of the reading process when meaning and importance ratings are first established. It is further suggested that reading and secondary task reaction times which have been used to measure attention, are inadequate as they cannot distinguish between different attention phases. A new model of how attention affects text comprehension is proposed. Finally, it is argued that to examine the complex effects of attention on reading and learning, novel research questions should be asked, and new ways to evaluate attention must be considered. More specifically, research on attention by cognitive and educational psychologists should utilize neuroscientific brain research methods, such as event-related potentials, and should integrate findings across research domains.     

Informationist programme in support of biomedical research: a programme description and preliminary findings of an evaluation

BACKGROUND: The informationist programme at the Library of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, USA has grown to 14 informationists working with 40 clinical and basic science research teams. PURPOSE: This case report, intended to contribute to the literature on informationist programmes, describes the NIH informationist programme, including implementation experiences, the informationists' training programme, their job responsibilities and programme outcomes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The NIH informationist programme was designed to enhance the library's service capacity. Over time, the steps for introducing the service to new groups were formalized to ensure support by leadership, the team being served and the library. Job responsibilities also evolved from traditional library roles to a wide range of knowledge management activities. The commitment by the informationist, the team and the library to continuous learning is critical to the programme's success. RESULTS / OUTCOMES: NIH scientists reported that informationists saved them time and contributed to teamwork with expert searching and point-of-need instruction. Process evaluation helped refine the programme. EVALUATION METHOD: High-level, preliminary outcomes were identified from a survey of scientists receiving informationist services, along with key informant interviews. Process evaluation examined service implementation, informationists' training and service components. Anecdotal evidence has also indicated a favourable response to the programme.     

A theoretical interpretation of learning vs. Memorizing text

Learning and memory have been studied by researchers throughout psychological history, however similar tasks have been used to measure them. Dependence upon recall and recognition memory is a result of both the list learning tradition in psychology and the efficient and objective scoring for which they provide. Several studies are described which point out the differences between memory and learning and the shortcomings of using recall and recognition to measure both. Results regarding differential effects of independent variables on learning and memory are interpreted in terms of the van Dijk and Kintsch (1983) theory of text comprehension.