Disabled children's evolving digital use practices to support formal learning. A missed opportunity for inclusion

This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach combining digital education with disability theory to investigate disabled children's digital use practices for formal learning. Evidence suggests that children's lives have been transformed through engagement with digital technologies, eg, computers, laptops and mobile devices. Even so, empirical studies about disabled children's uses of technology remain limited, particularly studies that engage with disabled children's own views in context. In response, an exploratory, participatory research study was designed to gain up-to-date insights into how visually impaired children, as an illustrative case, experienced digital technologies for learning within the context of inclusive education policy. Disabled children and teachers were interviewed in mainstream schools in England; results were analysed using social practice theory to identify digital use practices characterised as digital learning and digital accessibility practices alongside children's experiences. Outcomes were mixed. Youngsters saw benefits to using digital technologies, particularly tablets, for learning. Nevertheless, digital accessibility practices were potentially stigmatising and carried an extra task load to overcome barriers that occurred when teachers had not developed inclusive digital pedagogy. The paper discusses the implications of these findings and calls for further research to guide schools to use digital technologies to support inclusion.     

Independent inquiry and the undergraduate dissertation: perceptions and experiences of final‐year social science students

This article reports on findings from a research project that investigated the experiences and perceptions of final‐year social science undergraduates enrolled on a dissertation module in a post‐1992 UK university. The dissertation was designed to provide students with the opportunity to function autonomously and determine the content and focus of a major part of their study and assessment. Using data from interviews and questionnaires, the article explores the students’ lived experience of the dissertation as a form of independent learning and assessment, the challenges they encountered, and their perceptions of peer and tutor support. While students valued the autonomy, authenticity, and ownership they felt in relation to their dissertation, they also experienced considerable ­challenges, particularly in relation to ‘time’.     

Usage of E-resources: Virtual Value of Demographics

The focus of this study was to identify: 1) usage of library e-resources by faculty and staff affiliation and status to identify research and teaching needs; 2) usage of library e-resources by student major, status, gender, registered disability and registered veteran to establish best outreach practices and areas that need service improvement and collection development in support of student learning; and 3) the correlation between use of library e-resources and student attainment as defined by grade point average (GPA). Demographic data was collected for these users based on their university NetID logins. The findings in this study conclusively document that students and faculty use library e-resources to a statistically significant extent and that a statistical relationship exists between student GPA and their use of e-resources. This information confirms the value of library resources to institutional teaching and research needs and can be used to document library value to the institutional mission.     

The use and usefulness of a parent questionnaire to help schools identify disability

The Equality Act 2010 will be implemented in full in 2011, and schools in the UK will have to provide special aids or services for children with disabilities where this provision is considered reasonable. This paper reports on staff perspectives on the use and usefulness of a parental questionnaire on disability from a sample of 49 schools (mainstream and special) located in 12 local authorities. Most schools found the process of administering the parent questionnaire undemanding; just under half of the sample indicated that they would take some action as a result of the data collected from the parental questionnaire (e.g., to inform plans for targeting or monitoring support for children, and to contact parents and follow‐up issues they had mentioned); and about one‐third of schools recorded unanticipated findings from the parental questionnaire, that is, the identification of children whose disabilities were not previously known to the school. Implications for schools are discussed.     

Perceived stress among deaf adults

THE PRESENT ARTICLE describes the effectiveness of stress management classes in decreasing perceived stress among Deaf adults. Deaf adults may experience unique stressors, in addition to circumstances associated with increased stress in the general population. The Perceived Stress Scale (S. Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein, 1983) was used as a pretest and posttest measure for participants in a study of the Deaf Heart Health Intervention. Results indicated that (a) some Deaf adults may have higher levels of perceived stress than the general population, and (b) culturally appropriate stress management interventions are promising as a means of assisting Deaf adults to decrease levels of perceived stress, and hence decrease risk for stress-related illnesses. Future research will focus on obtaining a larger, more diverse sample of Deaf adults and refining the intervention for maximum effectiveness.     

Demonstrating the positive impact of information support on patient care in primary care: a rapid literature review

AIM: To review the literature on the positive impact of information services, or information resources, on patient care in primary care. OBJECTIVES: To identify and summarize key papers on which librarians might draw in making the case for investment, and to highlight gaps in the research evidence Methodology: A rapid literature review was conducted in the summer of 2005. RESULTS: There is a small body of evidence to demonstrate the positive impact of library and information services on the direct care of patients as well as a beneficial impact on the care of future patients through the application of evidence to multiple patients. CONCLUSIONS: There is relatively limited research evidence of the impact of information, and library services, in primary care, in comparison with hospital settings and the research available is generally reliant on small samples. There is a lack of impact studies conducted with non-clinical staff. The review highlights the value of critical incident technique (CIT). It is possible to gather evidence of the potential for information services to deliver cost savings.     

Use of asynchronous discussions for corporate training: A case study

In this knowledge‐based economy, corporations invest millions of dollars in training and expect a return on that investment; similarly, employees have a vested interest in wanting to further their knowledge and their ability to contribute. The types of e‐learning strategies and instructional methods being employed elude the use of asynchronous discussions as a viable instructional method. This article summarizes a case study in which asychronous discussions were used as an instructional strategy in two training interventions.     

Designing With Multiple Interactives: Five Common Pitfalls

Abstract Interactive museum exhibits are ubiquitous in science centers, and are becoming increasingly popular in art, history and cultural museums. At an interactive exhibit, visitors can act on the exhibit and the exhibit reacts. While there is much theoretical and empirical support for the idea that interactive features promote science learning, we believe that serious design problems can arise if an uncritical “more is better” approach is taken to interactivity. This article describes five common pitfalls of designing exhibits with high levels of interactivity or multiple interactive features: 1) multiple options with equal salience, 2) features allowing multiple users to interfere with one another, 3) options that encourage users to disrupt the phenomenon being displayed, 4) features that make the critical phenomenon difficult to find, and 5) secondary features that obscure the primary feature. Examples of each of the five problems are presented, and possible design solutions are offered.