The effect of preschool dialogic reading on vocabulary among rural Bangladeshi children

The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of a 4-week dialogic reading intervention with rural Bangladeshi preschoolers with the intention of increasing their expressive vocabulary. Eighty preschoolers randomly selected from five preschools participated in the 4-week program. Their expressive vocabulary, measured in terms of definitions, was tested on 170 challenging words before and after the program and compared with that of control children who participated in the regular language program. Both groups were read in Bangla eight children's storybooks with illustrations, but the dialogic reading teacher was given a set of “wh” and definitional questions to enhance children's verbal participation. The mean vocabulary scores of dialogic program children increased from 26% to 54% whereas the control children remained at the same level. Results are discussed in terms of the successful application of dialogic reading to low-resource preschools.     

太昊陵庙会求子习俗解析

在淮阳太昊陵,每年的农历二月初二到三月初三,都要举办"朝祖进香"的庙会,人称"人祖庙会",当地人俗称"二月会"。"二月会"据传起     

Fatal maltreatment by mothers: a proposed framework

This paper proposes a framework for understanding fatal maltreatment by mothers based on an in-depth study of incarcerated women. Despite its extreme outcome, fatal maltreatment is not homogeneous. While the specifics of each case varied, the circumstances leading to the fatality followed a similar progression. The framework is characterized by a recurrent pattern of abuse culminating in the fatality. All of the women had abused the deceased child prior to the fatality. The women provided warning signals to professionals and to members of their personal networks (kin, friends, neighbors) by alerting them to the abusive incidents. The fatal incident was not a one-time assault, but the exit point of a continuing pattern of abusive interactions that was maintained by the woman's ability to explain, rationalize, and minimize the abuse to herself and to her network. Future research efforts must be directed beyond the fatal incident to the circumstances leading up to it. Intervention and education must be aimed beyond biological parents to the wider network and community.     

Restructuring support staff classification levels for academic health sciences library positions

Nonprofessional library support staff traditionally hold what are considered to be low-paying, nonchallenging positions. These negative factors make retaining creative and productive employees difficult. This article outlines the approach taken at the Medical College of Georgia's Robert B. Greenblatt, M.D. Library to devise a structure of library staff positions that becomes progressively more demanding. A new nine-level Library Staff Classification Plan resulted. This plan also enables and encourages employees to acquire more skills and to accept more responsibility in order to qualify for higher-level library positions or to advance their present position to receive comparable rewards. The plan expresses the level of responsibilities expected, the employee qualifications desired, and lists representative duties across the spectrum of typical library tasks.     

The new library building at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

The new University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Library opened in June 1983, replacing the 1968 library building. Planning a new library building provides an opportunity for the staff to rethink their philosophy of service. Of paramount concern and importance is the need to convey this philosophy to the architects. This paper describes the planning process and the building's external features, interior layouts, and accommodations for technology. Details of the move to the building are considered and various aspects of the building are reviewed.