Telling and Retelling Our Stories on the Professional Knowledge Landscape

Drawing on a 3-year study focusing on the shaping influences of the professional knowledge landscape on the personal practical knowledge of experienced teachers, we first explore how stories are shaped as they are told and responded to in different places and, second, explore whether or not this sharing leads to imagining new possibilities for retelling and reliving stories. By sharing and exploring a story of a disagreement between a parent and a teacher, we focus on what we do when we tell stories in schools and what we do when we tell stories off the school landscape. In making meaning from this story, we show that both in the teacher's living of the story with the parent and in her numerous recountings of the story to others on the school landscape, she did not have opportunities to figure out new ways to relive the story. In our research group, she shared her story again. In this telling, we asked her to focus on who she, the mother, and the principal are in the story, and we inquire into what plotlines each were living. We ask questions about how they were positioned as characters in relation to one another. Re-searching the story in this way enabled us to understand the embodied nature of the teacher's knowing and how this knowledge shaped the events of the story as they were lived out, particularly how the teacher's living of a relational story countered the story of teacher and principal as positioned above parent. By drawing on Nelson's work on 'found' and 'chosen' communities, we imagine ways in which schools could become chosen communities where the story of school might be one of fostering the living out of multiple stories. We imagine the stories emerging from such communities might significantly shape the landscape of schools by opening up new possibilities for living in relation with others.     

The transition experiences of direct entrants from overseas higher education partners into UK universities

This two-year study was conducted to explore the experience of international direct-entry students making the transition from overseas higher education partners to a UK University. Using mainly qualitative data from forum discussion, focus-group interviews and face-to-face interviews with students and staff, we document how international direct-entry students cope with academic and social anxieties during their transition. The findings reveal that there are some similarities, such as language issues, which are experienced by most international students. However, this study has highlighted a distinguishing factor for direct-entry students which relates to the use of intra-networks to overcome their social anxieties. The exploratory analysis also indicates that international students entering directly into an academic programme at a later study stage face a steep learning curve and require additional support to adapt quickly to a UK educational system.     

Parents' views on sexual debut among pre‐teen children in Washington,DC

Objective: Present US parents' perceptions about factors leading to early intercourse and strategies for overcoming them.

Methods: Conducted analysis of eight focus groups with 78 male and female African‐American and Hispanic caregivers of fifth‐graders and sixth‐graders (ages 10–12).

Results: Participants gave the following primary reasons for early sexual activity: lack of structured activities, adult supervision, and communication; and influence of peers, society, and media. They suggested strategies targeting these reasons, and the need for parents, schools, and the community to work together.

Conclusion: Incorporating parents' perspectives would help tailor interventions to the needs of the target population and increase parental support.     

Core Journal Lists: Classic Tool,New Relevance

Reviews the historical context of core journal lists, current uses in collection assessment, and existing methodologies for creating lists. Outlines two next generation core list projects developing new methodologies and integrating novel information/data sources to improve precision: a national-level core psychology list and the other a local institutional core list for the interdisciplinary field of urban studies and planning. The paper is based on the authors’ panel presentation at the 2009 ACRL National Conference (Seattle, Washington) titled “Core Journal Lists Re-viewed and Re-imagined.”     

Undergraduate Performance of Advanced Level and Associate Degree Students: A Comparative Analysis

In the English-speaking Caribbean, the Advanced level qualification is the traditional and preferred route to accessing an education at the University of the West Indies (UWI). However, applicants with nontraditional qualifications—such as the associate degree qualification, teacher certificate, diploma, and mature student status (meaning one who is out of school for five years and over, is over the age of 25 years, has demonstrated academic potential, and has gained academically relevant knowledge and workplace experience)—are also considered for admission into the UWI degree programs. The objective of this study was to establish whether students with the traditional qualification, that is, two Advanced (A) level subjects, are better able to cope with the requirements of undergraduate study than those with an associate degree, which is one of the nontraditional qualifications. The study compared the performance of two groups of students in the University of the West Indies Faculty of Social Sciences three-year bachelor's degree program (University of the West Indies, 1996 University of the West Indies ( 1996 ). [UWI University of the West Indies: Faculty of Social Sciences Entrance List: 1996/97]. Unpublished raw data . [Google Scholar], 1997 University of the West Indies . ( 1997 ). [UWI University of the West Indies: Faculty of Social Sciences Entrance List: 1997/98] Unpublished raw data.  [Google Scholar], 1998 University of the West Indies . ( 1998 ). [UWI University of the West Indies: Faculty of Social Sciences Entrance List: 1998/99] Unpublished raw data.  [Google Scholar]). One group held the Barbados Community College (BCC) associate degree with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 and the other group consisted of persons entering with two Advanced level subjects from colleges/secondary schools in Barbados. The study compared the performances of 1999, 2000, and 2001 UWI graduates to ascertain whether entry qualifications were related to the type of degree attained. The findings suggested that there is no significant relationship between qualifications at the time of entry and performance.     

A Qualitative Exploration of Autonomy and Engagement for Young Women of Color in Community College

Given the nationwide concern about college persistence and graduation rates, this article reviews pertinent literature related to autonomous learning as well as social and academic engagement. It also presents findings of a qualitative study of young community college women of color, an understudied population. The article, part of a larger research project that explores the obstacles faced by young women of color, describes their experiences related to academic and social engagement and self-determination in the community-college setting. Data were collected from 15 focus groups with a total of 61 Latina, Black, and Asian women between the ages of 18 and 24 on three community college campuses in a large northeastern city in the United States. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that young women of color demonstrate a compelling determination to complete college autonomously and, to a lesser degree, are willing to engage socially and academically. The findings prompt the suggestion that academic and student affairs professionals create opportunities to develop autonomous learning strategies that can be nested within academic and social engagement activities.     

Study of Extended Opportunity Programs and Services in California Community Colleges

Abstract

A two-phase study of Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) in California Community Colleges, involving comprehensive questionnaire surveys in 93 EOPS-funded colleges and site visits at 12 colleges, reveals that EOPS has proven successful in providing assistance to many who would not otherwise have been able to attend college. However, existing resources are not sufficient to meet the financial needs of many students in the colleges and many more potential students in the communities. The survey concludes that the colleges are successfully balancing the competing demands of financial assistance, to enable students to attend school, and services and assistance, to help students once they get to school.     

An Effective Assessment Model for Implementing Change and Improving Learning

Assessment at Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) involves asking the right questions and using data to determine what changes should be implemented to enhance student learning. Guided by a 5-stage design, CCBC's assessment program is faculty-driven, risk-free, and externally validated. Curricular and pedagogical changes have resulted in evidence-based learning improvements that benefit everyone.     

物流

随着时代的进步,物流早已发展成为企业乃至个人日常生活中不可或缺的重要一环。物流的历史始于二战时期,美军围绕战争物资供应而建立的"后勤"体系。后来,"后勤"体系被移植到现在经济生活中,也逐渐演变为今天的物流。