Book reviews

Learning and Teaching in Distance Education: Analyses and Interpretations from an International Perspective. Otto Peters. (London: Kogan Page, 1998, 248 pp., price not listed).

Information Technology in Higher Education: Assessing Its Impact and Planning for the Future. Ed. Richard N. Katz and Julia A. Rudy. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass Inc., 1999, 89 pp., $23.00).     

Consistency of Response Components as a Function of Selected Motor Variables

Abstract

The consistency of separate components of a timing response were measured, and the relationship of these consistencies to the changes in distance, speed, and resistance of the movement were determined. The inconsistency of the total response was less than the sum of the inconsistencies of the response components. Factors which increase the movement time (e.g., greater distance or slower speed) tend to decrease the consistency of both movement time and time of initiation of the response, tending to make the total response more inconsistent. There was a tendency for load to have a stabilizing effect on slower movements and to decrease the consistency of faster movements.     

Equivalence of students' scores on timed and untimed anatomy practical examinations

Untimed examinations are popular with students because there is a perception that first impressions may be incorrect, and that difficult questions require more time for reflection. In this report, we tested the hypothesis that timed anatomy practical examinations are inherently more difficult than untimed examinations. Students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Thomas Jefferson University were assessed on their understanding of anatomic relationships using multiple‐choice questions. For the class of 2012 (n = 46), students were allowed to circulate freely among 40 testing stations during the 40‐minute testing session. For the class of 2013 (n = 46), students were required to move sequentially through the 40 testing stations (one minute per item). Students in both years were given three practical examinations covering the back/upper limb, lower limb, and trunk. An identical set of questions was used for both groups of students (untimed and timed examinations). Our results indicate that there is no significant difference between student performance on untimed and timed examinations (final percent scores of 87.3 and 88.9, respectively). This result also held true for students in the top and bottom 20th percentiles of the class. Moreover, time limits did not lead to errors on even the most difficult, higher‐order questions (i.e., items with P‐values < 0.70). Thus, limiting time at testing stations during an anatomy practical examination does not adversely affect student performance. Anat Sci Educ 6: 281–285. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Partnerships in Social Work Education

Historically, society has associated a visit from a child protection worker with the removal of children. In Canada in the 1960s, Aboriginal children were removed from their communities in alarming numbers and were referred to as the “sixties scoop.” This may in part explain the difficulty in recruiting Aboriginal social workers into child welfare practice. This reality prompted the development of a post–bachelor degree certificate aimed at increasing the number of Aboriginal child welfare social workers in northern British Columbia. The results discussed in this article stem from three certificate cohorts and highlight the development of new partnerships and students’ experiences. Two years following the completion of the third cohort, nearly 80% of the students recruited were still employed in the North.     

Access Patterns of Online Materials in a Blended Course

Patterns in student accesses of online materials and their effects upon student performance in a blended course are examined. Our blended course is an introductory business and economic statistics course where lectures are only available online while the traditional class period is used for complementary learning activities. Timing, volumes, intensity, and consistency of the student accesses of the online lectures are considered. Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, measures of timing and consistency are shown to be related to student performance but volumes and intensity of accesses are not.     

Finding the right balance: campus involvement in the collections allocation process

Many libraries have sought the best approach to allocating the collections budget. “History plus increment” is the standard for many libraries in the allocation of any new dollars to collections budgets. Other libraries have identified factors that help make the process of disbursing new money more objective including counts of faculty and students, literature size and costs, and program changes on campus.The Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is striving toward a more open and understandable allocation process that uses an allocation formula, professional judgment of its librarians, and input from campus faculty and administration. Through this process, we work to achieve balance between formula and professional judgment, between decisions made outside the Library and within the Library, between competing disciplines and old and emerging fields for budget dollars.     

The Florida State Libraries Resource Sharing Initiative: Unity Among a Disparate Group

This article discusses the development of a new resource sharing program within the Florida State University Libraries called UBorrow. Background includes information on similar programs and the use of Integrated Library Systems in this type of program. There is discussion of the pilot project which reviewed and selected the delivery system for this new program. Discussion also includes lessons learned concerning UBorrow's preliminary implementation and how unity in this service was created among a disparate group.