Delivering a non-resident Master's degree: Qualitative and quantitative measures of effectiveness

An evaluation of the non-resident Master of Arts program in Elementary Education offered by the University of Northern Colorado supports the thesis that quality programs can be offered in a non-traditional setting and without significantly affecting on-campus enrollments. Students in the external program were mid-career educators who were older and had more experience than the campus population. Based on qualitative assessments, the vast majority of the non-resident students supported positive personal and professional growth. They also performed equally well on comprehensive exams. Responsible institutions can demonstrate that external degree programs are fundamentally the same quality as resident degree programs.     

The Effects of a Teaching Perspective of Guided Internality on Intellectually Disabled Students,Locus of Control Orientation

The locus of control construct (LOC) and its implications for students’ behaviour are discussed. The effects of a teaching perspective designed to modify 110 intellectually disabled students’ LOC orientation was evaluated by analysing the data from a pre‐test, post‐test, follow‐up design study using: (1) an established LOC measure of students’ control of reinforcements for academic intellectual situations (MIARQ); (2) a new LOC measure of students’ expectancies of control of reinforcement for adaptive behaviour situations (KABLOC); and (3) a measure of students’ behaviour displayed in the classroom (BRS). The results for the students aged from 12 to 14 years indicated that the teaching perspective was effective in the longer‐term in modifying students’ LOC expectancies and overt behaviours. The results have positive implications for the education of intellectually disabled students.     

The CRISP system: an untapped resource for biomedical research project information

CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects) is a large database maintained and operated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It contains comprehensive scientific and selected administrative data on research carried out by the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) or supported by PHS grants and contracts. Developed originally to meet the needs of NIH, it is an excellent, largely untapped resource for health information professionals at large, revealing new trends, methods, and techniques, often before they appear in the published literature. CRISP uses its own controlled vocabulary, developed to permit indexing of new and active research areas. Queries can combine subject headings with a great variety of administrative data elements (e.g., research category or principal investigator's name). Output is available in a variety of formats and media. While information professionals cannot directly access the CRISP system, abridged CRISP records are merged into the FEDRIP (Federal Research in Progress) database, and FEDRIP is publicly accessible through DIALOG. CRISP records in toxicology are also furnished to the National Library of Medicine's TOXLINE database. This paper discusses the indexing, information retrieval, publication products, and search services of the CRISP system, and how users of medical information can benefit from it.