Using Consumer Data to Illustrate How the Library Channel Drives Digital Sales

The library channel is often underappreciated as a key part of a publisher’s business strategy. In an age where publishers are constantly seeking new revenue and marketing opportunities, presence in the library—digitally—can yield significant growth. This paper examines the library channel, its business model based on library lending, the performance of eBooks and audiobooks across all subjects, and consumer reading behavior. Digital Book Clubs, a relatively new phenomenon, are also defined and illustrated with examples demonstrating the library’s valuable role in increasing discoverability and ultimately sales.     

The effect of context on students’ reasoning about forces

When attempting to solve closely related problems in science, students will often respond to irrelevant contextual features in the questions rather than generalizing their conceptions over the range of relevant situations. In this study, a group of 40 students (one group of 15‐16‐year‐olds and another of preservice science teachers) was surveyed and interviewed to determine the effect of context on the reasoning which they used to solve problems concerning the forces acting on objects in linear motion. It was found that the younger group of students were influenced by contextual features such as the speed, weight and position of the moving object, the direction of the motion and their own personal experience of the context. There were clearly two types of contextual effects ‐‐ primary and secondary, which are described. The older group of students was generally less affected by context and thus more consistent in their reasoning.     

How can pre-service primary teachers' perspectives contribute to a pedagogy that problematises the ‘practical’ in teacher education?

This study examined pre-service primary teachers' perspectives on teaching and learning experiences within college-based courses in ‘practical’ subject areas within a teacher education programme. Following three individual lectures (one each in art, music and physical education), pre-service teachers (n=11) participated in focus group interviews sharing their perspectives on the teaching and learning experiences. These data were analysed thematically and supported by teacher educators' (n=3) planning and reflection documentation. Although the problematic nature of the ‘practical’ suggests appeal and peril of the ‘practical’, the important nature of negotiating the ‘practical’ to enhance student learning is apparent. Students emphasised the value of practical engagement and expressed a strong preference for working in groups to create a safe learning environment to develop confidence and competence. These insights suggest key aspects of a pedagogy of teacher education in these ‘practical’ areas. The importance of being aware of and, in some cases, challenging student perspectives on how they learn best in these curricular areas is discussed.     

Divergent production in gifted adolescents using timed vs. untimed stimuli with creative prompting

Although creativity and expertise are related, they are nonetheless very different things. Expertise does not usually require creativity, but creativity generally does require a certain level of expertise. There are similarities in the relationships of both expertise and creativity to domains, however. Research has shown that just as expertise in one domain does not predict expertise in other, unrelated domains, creativity in one domain does not predict creativity in other, unrelated domains. People may be expert, and people may be creative, in many domains, or they may be expert, or creative, in few domains or none at all, and one cannot simply transfer expertise, or creativity, from one domain to another, unrelated domain. The domain specificity of creativity matters crucially for creativity training, creativity assessment, creativity research, and creativity theory. The domain specificity of creativity also means that interdisciplinary thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and interdisciplinary creativity are even more important than one would assume if creativity were domain general.     

Assessing working students' college experiences: a grounded theory approach

This study explores working students' college experiences using the grounded theory approach. Focus groups were conducted to allow working students to elaborate on their college experiences, clarifying issues not easily addressed through surveys. Two theoretical propositions are offered to describe how working students are constantly searching for meaningful work as well as meaning in their work. It is important for institutions to consider work as an educationally purposeful activity outside classroom and to create job opportunities that benefit students academically, socially and financially.