Chasing the sun: a virtual reference service between SAHSLC (SA) and SWICE (UK)

AIM: In 2002, a discussion in the United Kingdom (UK) between South-west Information for Clinical Effectiveness (SWICE) librarians and a member of the South Australian Department of Human Services Libraries' Consortium (SAHSLC) raised the possibility of developing an after-hours virtual reference service between the two consortium groups. The aim of the service is to put medical practitioners in contact with a librarian when urgent help is required in finding clinical medical information after hours. METHODS: A trial project has begun and has been given the name 'Chasing the Sun'. The service will make use of time-zone differences between the UK and Australia, so that librarians at work in another country will be able to answer urgent patient-related queries that cannot wait until normal office hours. RESULTS: This paper looks at the development of 'Chasing the Sun' from initial concept, funding proposal and trial project stage to implementation. It includes details of the groundwork, software evaluation, trials, outcomes, cost and benefits, future directions and potential problems yet to be experienced or overcome. CONCLUSION: This service is the first of its kind between health libraries in the world and offers potential for future worldwide expansion.     

The influences of guiding cues on motor skill autonomy in rats

How does the effectiveness of guiding cues influence the development of motor skill autonomy? We utilized two sets of guiding cues (lights vs. reversed-lights conditions) that differed in their effectiveness to control a left–right leverpress sequence in rats. We separately measured the development of stimulus control by panel lights on guiding-cues trials and the development of stimulus control by practice cues on no-cue probe trials within the same sessions. Accuracy in the presence of the guiding cues was acquired faster in the lights condition than in the reversed-lights condition, but subjects in the reversed-lights condition were more able to complete the skill autonomously than those in the lights condition. Throughout acquisition, control by guiding cues and practice cues developed at the same rate in the reversed-lights condition, but control by practice cues (autonomy) developed at a slower rate than did control by guiding cues in the lights condition. At the end of training, subjects that had been exposed to the reversed-lights condition displayed higher levels of autonomy than did those exposed to the lights condition. The less effective guiding cue (reversed-lights) produced greater levels of autonomy than did the more effective cue (lights), even though control by this guiding cue developed more slowly. Thus, guiding your child by the hand too much may reduce his or her ability to complete the task independently. We discuss the similarity to prompt dependence in children with learning disabilities and transfer of stimulus control.     

BOOK REVIEW

This study examined whether community college students of differing ethnic backgrounds report differential perceptions of growth and development as a function of their community college experience. A multivariate analysis of variance was conducted on survey data from the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire (J. Friedlander, C. R. Pace, &; P. W. Lehman, 1990). A national sample of 15,263 community college students was used. The ethnic groups under investigation were African‐American, Hispanic, White, and Asian. Tukey‐Kramer tests revealed several statistically significant differences among ethnic groups. However, effect size and omega square analyses suggest that these differences were small in magnitude.     

Metricon 2.0关注安全度量

2007年IEEE在波士顿召开了Metricon2.0工作会议,同时进行的还有第十六届Usenix安全研讨会.与会人员被问到的首要问题是:"度量事关重大吗?"你可以想象,与会者对这一问题的直觉问答会是"yes",但是经过会议当天的一番激辩,支持这一回答的人数在数量上只是稍占上风.     

Editorial: preface to the special issue on embodied cognition and technology for learning

Educational technology research and development - In this preface to the special issue on embodied cognition and technology for learning, we begin with a brief overview of embodied cognition. We...     

Differences in science students' view of ideal and actual role behavior according to success and gender

Information about how success and gender affect students' views of ideal and actual classroom role behavior can help both researchers and teachers better understand classroom components such as achievement and curriculum. A 20-item double Q sort was used to measure differences in perceptions of high school science students according to letter grades and gender. Individual Q sort item rankings of 160 students were tested for significant differences according to letter grade received; item ratings were compared according to gender for 215 students. Differences in perception according to success were found for both ideal and actual behavior; 8 and 5 items, respectively, out of each 20-item sort were found to be significant at the p = < 0.05 level. No such overall patterns of difference in view were found between boys and girls, although three ideal student items and one actual self-report item were found to be significantly different at the p = < 0.05 level.     

Supporting young children's explanations through inquiry science in preschool

This study examines the ways in which preschool teachers support the development of children's explanatory language through science inquiry. Two classrooms in a preschool center using a science inquiry curriculum were videotaped during a 5-week unit on color mixing. Videotapes were analyzed for how teachers facilitated children's explanatory language. An assessment of explanatory language was administered to 47 children in the center before and after the color mixing unit. Analysis of discourse revealed that teachers engaged children as conversational partners and as scientific investigators responsible for their own learning. Explanations were dynamically co-constructed by adults and children within the context of participation in scientific inquiry. By the end of the unit, children produced more on-topic responses, more standard color-mixing terms, and more causal connectives in their responses to the assessment of explanatory language.     

Disconnections Between Teacher Expectations and Student Confidence in Bioethics

This study examines how student practice of scientific argumentation using socioscientific bioethics issues affects both teacher expectations of students’ general performance and student confidence in their own work. When teachers use bioethical issues in the classroom students can gain not only biology content knowledge but also important decision-making skills. Learning bioethics through scientific argumentation gives students opportunities to express their ideas, formulate educated opinions and value others’ viewpoints. Research has shown that science teachers’ expectations of student success and knowledge directly influence student achievement and confidence levels. Our study analyzes pre-course and post-course surveys completed by students enrolled in a university level bioethics course (n = 111) and by faculty in the College of Biology and Agriculture faculty (n = 34) based on their perceptions of student confidence. Additionally, student data were collected from classroom observations and interviews. Data analysis showed a disconnect between faculty and students perceptions of confidence for both knowledge and the use of science argumentation. Student reports of their confidence levels regarding various bioethical issues were higher than faculty reports. A further disconnect showed up between students’ preferred learning styles and the general faculty’s common teaching methods; students learned more by practicing scientific argumentation than listening to traditional lectures. Students who completed a bioethics course that included practice in scientific argumentation, significantly increased their confidence levels. This study suggests that professors’ expectations and teaching styles influence student confidence levels in both knowledge and scientific argumentation.