Revising the ISSN Standard: The Challenge of Change

ABSTRACT

The International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) has been the standard, eight-digit code used to identify newspapers, journals, magazines, and periodicals on all kinds of media—print and electronic—for the past 40 years. Periodically, the standard must be revised to allow it to accommodate new formats, changes in the publishing industry and information supply chain, and other developments in the information field. Regina Romano Reynolds, director of the U.S. ISSN Center at the Library of Congress, describes the issues that the ISSN International Centre perceives as necessitating a revision of the standard and the likely next steps in the International Organization for Standardization standards revision process.     

Studying for Exams Just Got More Relaxing—Animal-Assisted Activities at the University of Connecticut Library

In recent years, academic libraries have expanded their traditional focus on intellectual and scholarly pursuits, with many libraries now initiating programs that support student growth, development, and wellness. Although providing animal-assisted activities to college students is a fairly new concept, the social and therapeutic benefits of pet ownership or simply interacting with a companion animal are well documented. The University of Connecticut's Homer Babbidge Library on the Storrs campus chose to support the physical and emotional well-being of students during the stress-filled week of finals by providing therapy dogs. Student interaction and feedback were overwhelmingly positive.     

Teenage girls' perceptions of the functions of relationally aggressive behaviors

Adolescent girls reported on their experiences both as perpetrators and as victims of several distinct forms of relational aggression. Details of these incidents were gathered from 114 ethnically diverse ninth and tenth graders via a secure online survey. The frequency with which girls perpetrated or were targeted for particular acts of relational aggression was assessed and, based on the responses, a computer program randomly selected one item (i.e., gossip, ignoring, or exclusion) for which each girl was asked to recall a specific experience and answer follow‐up questions. Perceptions of the goals and functions of specific relationally aggressive acts were assessed, as well as how the perpetrator or victim felt at the time of the incident. Ignoring or “giving the silent treatment” appeared to be a unique form of relational aggression inasmuch as the girls perceived different motives, or functions, for ignoring compared with gossip and exclusion and felt worse at the time of the ignoring incident, both when they were reporting as aggressors and as victims. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An analysis of school pupils’ (with low social economic status) perceptions of university,regarding programmes of study

Through its “Aim Higher Project” and “Excellence Challenge Programmes”, the UK government is investing large sums of money into widening participation so that more school leavers stay on to study for higher education (HE) courses, especially those from lower social classes and ethnic groups. Universities are increasingly developing links with local schools and creating novel ways of enhancing these relationships. Nevertheless, as the costs of attending university rise, it may be difficult to widen access especially amongst those “less wealthy” young people which universities are desperate to attract and enrol, due to the more lucrative government funding that the universities will receive. The main aim of the research is to report research findings from a case study incorporating Year 11 pupils (n = 38) from an inner city school (placed second on the Aim Higher register for the most socially disadvantaged), focusing in the main on the programme of study. This exploratory work is longitudinal with the researcher entering the Roman Catholic High School every two weeks during the academic year (over a period of nine months).