Teacher Preparedness in the use of Co‐teaching in Inclusive Classrooms

Co‐teaching is a widely used instructional approach to meet the needs of all students in inclusive classrooms across the globe. Despite the widespread implementation of the practice, little is known about how teachers are prepared to use it. This study examined the extent to which 77 teachers were prepared to use co‐teaching. Results indicated that a majority of the teachers are underprepared in its use. Recommendations and implications are discussed.     

Community perceptions and utilization of a consumer health center

The purpose of this study was to understand factors that may affect the usage of a consumer health center located in a public library. More specifically, the authors wanted to know what health resources are of interest to the community, what patrons'' perceptions of their experience at the center are, and finally, how staff can increase utilization of the center. In general, perceptions of the center were positive. The findings support that participants appreciate efforts to provide health information in the public library setting and that utilization could be improved through marketing and outreach.Problems with health literacy—one''s ability to obtain, process, and understand basic information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions 1, 2—significantly limit effective dissemination and understanding of relevant health information, especially among racial and ethnic minorities where health literacy challenges are pervasive 3–5. People with limited health literacy skills have higher medical costs and use an inefficient mix of medical services 3, 6–13. This compromises their health and is a major source of economic inefficiency in the US health care system. Efforts to address low health literacy may result in reductions of health inequities, decreased medical costs, and enhanced quality of life 14. However, efforts to promote health literacy that seek to empower individuals to understand health information and act in their own interest remain an underexplored pathway to improved health outcomes 9.The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) encourages libraries to reach out to low literacy groups in their surrounding communities to address literacy challenges 15–17. These actions have resulted in development of consumer health libraries, centers where patrons can get accurate and timely health information. Preliminary investigations of consumer health libraries have reinforced the value of these services 18, 19, but there is little information regarding the provision of similar services in other public settings.The Healthy Living and Learning Center (HLLC), located in a public library in Petersburg, Virginia, was established in 2012 to provide one-on-one assistance in accessing health information and community resources. According to 2010–2013 census data, 25% of Petersburg residents are below the poverty line 20. Localities surrounding the HLLC experience some of the most unfavorable health outcomes in Virginia 21. In addition, 16%–24% of citizens in the surrounding localities are illiterate 22.The public library setting provides an appropriate context to initiate consumer health centers outside of medical settings. Librarians are already being asked to meet consumer demands for health information 15–17, and the provision of accurate health information is a natural extension of the services that public libraries provide. The American Library Association reports that 62% of libraries report that they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities 23. According to a recent study from Pew, 35% of Americans 16 and older say they have used free Internet access points, 47% of whom have used these services to get health information 24. For a number of minorities, the public library is the only place they have Internet access 25. Thus, libraries not only remain a critical resource among the public, but may also have unique access to populations who are more vulnerable to health inequities.     

Sports Infrastructure,Legacy and the Paradox of the 1984 Olympic Games

The 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games created a new sponsorship model for organising committees, changed perceptions about the value of hosting the Games, encouraged greater reliance on television revenue and generated a $232.5 million surplus. Although observers rarely cite sports venues as a 1984 legacy, the Los Angeles Olympics resulted in the construction or improvement of nearly 100 sport facilities in Southern California in three decades following the Games. These sports spaces served more than 500,000 young people annually. Much of the construction funding came from grants made by the LA84 Foundation, which was endowed with Southern California's share of the 1984 surplus. The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) achieved a surplus by producing substantial revenues while tightly controlling costs. A key element of cost control was limited spending on Olympic venues. The LAOOC built only three new venues, relying on existing stadiums for all other venues. The LAOOC's construction budget was significantly lower than those of other Olympic organisers in the 1980s and 1990s. Thus, by building very few new venues for the 1984 Games, the LAOOC laid the groundwork for a legacy of sports fields, tracks, gymnasiums and pools built or improved after 1984.     

70% and Climbing: E-Resources,Books, and Library Restructuring

Within the past decade, academic libraries have seen a shift in purchasing from mostly print to mostly electronic. Although Carleton University Library (Ottawa, Canada) has experienced this shift, it had continued until recently to work within the confines of an organizational structure based on a print purchasing model. This paper will describe in detail the restructuring of the Library's collections and technical services departments to better meet growing electronic demands. Changes included dedicating more staff from print resources to e-resources, changing a librarian position to focus specifically on collections assessment, and shifting budgets to manage growing e-resources more efficiently.     

Talking to the Broadcasters on Twitter: Networked Gatekeeping in Twitter Conversations with Journalists

Drawing upon the theory of networked gatekeeping, this study describes how citizens engage in Twitter conversations with journalists and illustrates the power dynamic between traditional gatekeepers (journalists) and the gated (news audience). The power dynamic is discussed along four attributes of the gated—political power, information production ability, relationship with gatekeepers, and information alternatives. Results show that citizens interacted with gatekeepers by sharing information/opinion, social chats, and self-serving promotion of individual opinions and agendas. Politically active citizens interacted more often with journalists who share similar ideology. The citizens have varying degrees of political power, reflected by their different levels of involvement and influence in political discourse online. The implications for gatekeeping are also addressed.     

TIME-LAG DIFFERENCES IN THE AGENDA-SETTING PROCESS: AN EXAMINATION OF FIVE NEWS MEDIA

Five news media in the U.S. were examined to determine the optimaltime-lag for agenda-setting effects to occur for each. Publicresponses to an open-ended question ‘What is the numberone problem facing our country today?’ were compared tomedia coverage from one to 26 weeks earlier. A number of differenceswere found across the five media. The results show that televisioncoverage had a shorter optimal time-lag than newspapers. Themore immediate effect of television news, however, quickly deteriorated,and newspapers had a stronger long-term agenda-setting effect.National and regional media also had a more immediate impactthan local media. All media, generally, had slightly shorteroptimal time-lags than previous research would suggest.     

Shared Governance among the new Majority: Non-Tenure Track Faculty Eligibility for Election to University Faculty Senates

Non-tenure track faculty members (NTTF) constitute what has been referred to by scholars as the new faculty majority. The growing numbers of NTTF have led to debates about the role they should play in shared governance. Currently, however, an overall lack of empirical knowledge exists regarding the status of their involvement in institutional governance. Using data from highest research activity doctoral universities, this study investigated current standards related to NTTF eligibility for election to institution-wide faculty senates. We also explored what these faculty governance standards and criteria reveal about the status and position of NTTF within the professoriate.     

Higher order conditioning of a taste aversion

Two groups of rats each received 5 drops of NaCl solution from a dropper placed directly inside the mouth. The experimental group was then injected with lithium chloride to establish a conditioned taste aversion. The control group was injected 24 h later. After a recovery day the above procedures were repeated. On the next day both groups received 5 drops of a saccharin solution followed immediately by 5 drops of the NaCl solution. Subsequent preference tests established that the experimental group had learned an aversion to the saccharin solution as a result of its pairing with the NaCl solution which had previously been associated with poisoning. These results demonstrate that higher order conditioning of a taste aversion can be established using tastes as both the first-order stimulus and the second-order stimulus.     

Workplace as Community: Perspectives on Science Teachers’ Professional Learning

This study explores teacher professional learning within the workplace context of a science department community. Workplace learning is considered in terms of the construction and flow of information about science, pedagogy and the relationships of science to the wider community. Implications for establishing sound conditions for teacher workplace learning are also considered, particularly the importance of trust.