A national study examining the impact of SEVIS on international student and scholar advisors

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact that Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is having on the professional worklives of international student and scholar advisors (ISSAs) on U.S. college and university campuses. ISSAs are clearly satisfied with their work and hold their institutions in high regard. However, SEVIS is having a profound effect on their morale, satisfaction, and their likelihood to leave the field. That is, SEVIS (i.e., reporting, training, time) and the quality of worklife (i.e., professional activities and career development, recognition for competence and their expertise, external and intra-department relationships, perceptions of discrimination) are important to ISSAs, and thus have a strong effect on their level of satisfaction and/or morale, and their subsequent intentions to stay or leave their career/profession.     

An Institutional Repository Experience at a Large Health Care System

Institutional repositories (IRs) collect, preserve, and disseminate the scholarly output of an organization. Though common in academic settings, they are less so in hospitals or health care systems. The librarians for Aurora Health Care decided to create a primarily citation-level IR to organize and promote the scholarly output of Aurora faculty, residents, and fellows using the proprietary software Digital Commons, a product of the company bepress. The repository also hosts a newly published peer-reviewed journal and includes digitized historical images and institutional memorabilia. Suggested alternatives are given for hospitals or health care systems that may not currently be able to pursue a full-fledged IR.     

Early Care and Education Choices of Women in a Parent Support Group in a Working Class Neighborhood: Three Women Coconstruct Notions of Appropriate Settings

In the process of choosing early out-of-home care and education for their young children, 3 mothers living in a working class neighborhood in New York City coconstructed understandings of care and education settings and practices offered within their community. A feminist-pragmatist framework guided the analysis of data that highlighted the processes by which they sought information and support to make those choices. Data indicated that their appreciation of child development theories and educational practices arose from experiences derived from their active participation in the development of a parents network. This grassroots network acted as an invaluable source of childrearing information, supported reflection on identity formation, and prompted political participation at varying levels. These 3 women coconstructed knowledge of early care and education settings by bringing thought to action—from inception, to development, and culminating in fulfillment.     

Rupture and repair: Episodes of resistance and resilience in teachers’ learning

This action inquiry article examines veteran teachers’ learning in a week-long professional development seminar. We describe moments of disconnection in key learning relationships (teacher, learner, text) and analyze relational–cultural dynamics that contributed to the disconnections. We investigate the dynamics that facilitate repair within the relationships. We argue that disconnections were often acts of resistance which preserve teachers’ sense of self as learner. We aver that moments of reconnection were acts of resilience. This study’s significance demonstrates the inherent links between resistance and resilience. Implications point to the centrality of taking an inquiry stance in the study of professional development experiences.