Intercultural communication for health personnel

In order to develop successful health care delivery systems, both in the United States and abroad, health service workers need to understand various cultural orientations and to communicate effectively within the cultures. The authors discuss the cultural implications of health problems in three countries, the need for training health science professionals in intercultural communication, and describe an intercultural communication course designed especially for health science students at California State University, Northridge.     

Untangling the links of parental responsiveness to distress and warmth to child outcomes

This study demonstrated separate linkages between 2 features of positive parenting--responsiveness to distress and warmth--and different aspects of children's socio-emotional functioning, in a sample of 106 children (6-8 years old). As expected, mothers' and fathers' responsiveness to distress, but not warmth, predicted better negative affect regulation. Maternal responsiveness to distress also predicted children's empathy and prosocial responding. Maternal warmth, but not responsiveness to distress, was linked to better regulation of positive affect and (in boys only) to greater peer acceptance. Additionally, negative affect regulation mediated between maternal responsiveness to distress and children's empathic responding. Positive affect regulation mediated between maternal warmth and boys' peer acceptance. The findings support a differentiated approach to positive parenting.     

Social networking and Web 2.0 in information literacy

This paper discusses free online and Internet tools that can be adapted by librarians for use with library instruction and information literacy training, with a focus on social media and Web 2.0 technologies, including social networking websites Facebook and Twitter, blogs, RSS, wikis, and video sharing. Many students already use these technologies and are readily engaged with the library when the technologies are incorporated into library websites and classes. There are challenges in using these technologies, especially in countries with oppressive governments. This paper is based, in part, on a presentation the authors gave at the UNESCO Training the Trainers in Information Literacy Workshop at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt in November 2008.     

Hirsch-type index of international recognition

The country-wise distribution of papers, which cite certain scientist is a sum of typical distribution for his/her branch of science and excessive citations from one or from a few countries. A new Hirsch-type index h_int is defined as the number of countries, h_int, from which at least h_int papers cite certain scientist, but from the country ranked h_int+1 in citing the scientist, less than h_int+1 papers cite that scientist. The h_int index reflects broad international recognition of a scientist, and prevents overrating of a citation record earned chiefly by self-citations or by citations received from a narrow circle of co-workers.     

Exploring the Usefulness of Kelly's Personal Construct Theory in Assessing Student Learning in Science Courses

We explore the utility of George Kelly's Personal Construct Theory, specifically his repertory grid technique, to the assessment of student learning in undergraduate science courses. We provide an in-depth review of the assumptions underlying Personal Construct Theory and how these were reflected in the repertory grid technique Kelly developed. We explain how an adapted version of the repertory grid, sharing some yet not all of Kelly's assumptions, was utilised as a research tool in a recent study involving science instructors and their students. We argue that as well as having applicability as an innovative research tool, an adapted version of Kelly's repertory grid is a useful heuristic for university teachers when used as a classroom assessment technique (CAT) and indicate several features it shares with the more widely-known conceptual mapping technique, which has been used in the study of science teaching and learning for many years. We conclude by highlighting several advantages the use of repertory grids has for both students and instructors.