On the problem of determining a citation index of publications by Kazakh scientists

This paper discusses the evaluation of scientific activity with the help of some scientometric indices, in particular, a citation index. The information massif of the bibliographic database of citations to domestic publications of Kazakh authors is statistically described.     

Recent developments in Palestinian higher education and the CEEPAT programme

Conclusions Palestinian teachers at the pre-collegiate level who participate in the CEEPAT programme will, it is hoped, learn to place new emphasis on enhancement of their students' analytical skills and discourage an identification of knowledge with memorisation. For their part, Palestinian professors who have been trained to teach in the programme will presumably constitute a growing reservoir of talent which may be expected to raise the quality of Palestinian university education. Plans are now under way to give all Palestinians teaching under the auspices of CEEPAT an opportunity to attend an annual, three-week winter seminar in Gaza and/or a summer seminar in the United States, both of which will focus on issues of pedagogy and methodology. Such professors can be expected to pass on their new understanding of teaching via discussion to their colleagues and to their university students, thereby spreading an important pedagogical method to other segments of the Palestinian... community. 7 CEEPAT clearly has the potential to make a significant contribution to the elevation of educational standards in Palestine at a time of major historical change.In Palestine, higher education of quality is obviously a very serious business. It is understood that it underlies any possibility of individual betterment, economic development, or the evolution of an independent Palestinian state. If ever the Israeli occupation is completely terminated and the present financial crisis of the universities is solved, Palestinian university and post-baccalaureate training may reasonably be expected to become fully competitive on an international scale.     

The literature of women and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): implications for collection development and information retrieval

The purpose of the study was to identify the pattern of publication about women and AIDS in scientific journals. Bradford zones were identified in each of six databases. The study determined that journal scatter for this subset of AIDS literature differed from the scatter in the general literature; further, the information indexed in the six electronic sources demonstrated little overlap. Consequently, key journal and newsletter titles identified by this study should form the core of any collection focusing on women and AIDS. The assurance of quality patient care management demands that librarians consult multiple resources for information retrieval that can assist health care providers, patients, and caregivers to enhance quality of life as well as to provide optimum care.     

A study of clinical questions posed by hospital clinicians.

OBJECTIVE: This article presents the results of complementary research studies on the behaviors of hospital clinicians in asking clinical questions and the relationship between asking of questions, outcome of information searches, and success in problem solving. METHODS: Triangulation in research methods--a combination of mailed questionnaires, interviews, and a randomized controlled study--was employed to provide complementary views of the research problems under study. RESULTS: The survey and interviews found that clinical problems (concerned mainly with therapy and equipment or technology) were expressed as statements rather than questions (average number of concepts = 1.7), that only slightly more than half (higher for doctors) of problems could be solved, and that the majority of clinical questions were not well formed. An educational workshop however improved clinicians' formulation of questions, but the use of structured prompting was found to improve building of hypotheses in the doctors' group without training. The workshop also improved satisfaction with the obtained information and success in problem solving. Nonetheless, for both the experimental and control groups, more structured and complete questions or statements did not mean higher success rates in problem solving or higher satisfaction with obtained information. CONCLUSION: The triangulation methods have gathered complementary evidence to reject the hypothesis that building well-structured clinical questions would mean higher satisfaction with obtained information and higher success in problem solving.     

Academic health sciences library Website navigation: an analysis of forty-one Websites and their navigation tools.

BACKGROUND: The analysis included forty-one academic health sciences library (HSL) Websites as captured in the first two weeks of January 2001. Home pages and persistent navigational tools (PNTs) were analyzed for layout, technology, and links, and other general site metrics were taken. METHODS: Websites were selected based on rank in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, with regional and resource libraries given preference on the basis that these libraries are recognized as leaders in their regions and would be the most reasonable source of standards for best practice. A three-page evaluation tool was developed based on previous similar studies. All forty-one sites were evaluated in four specific areas: library general information, Website aids and tools, library services, and electronic resources. Metrics taken for electronic resources included orientation of bibliographic databases alphabetically by title or by subject area and with links to specifically named databases. RESULTS: Based on the results, a formula for determining obligatory links was developed, listing items that should appear on all academic HSL Web home pages and PNTs. CONCLUSIONS: These obligatory links demonstrate a series of best practices that may be followed in the design and construction of academic HSL Websites.