The Local Context and the Legacy of the Past

This paper draws upon interviews with eight headteachers in ‘Northern LEA’, and examines (a) how the heads perceived their role in relation to the current period of rapid educational change, and (b) how they sought to cope with the increasingly difficult demands which they faced. The consequences of the current situation are considered in relation to a qualitative understanding of ‘high performance’ which recognises the situational complexity of the school as an organisation.

The heads made use of many sources of support; the most important were a network of informal contacts with other headteachers and an increase in the involvement of senior management team colleagues in the stresses and responsibilities of management. The paper concludes that despite the efforts of the heads themselves, the consequences of resource cuts and the Education Reform Act 1988 are likely to make the achievement and management of high performance increasingly difficult.     

Clinico-histologic conferences: histology and disease

Providing a context for learning information and requiring learners to teach specific content has been demonstrated to enhance knowledge retention. To enhance students' appreciation of the role of science and specifically histology in clinical reasoning, disease diagnosis, and treatment, a new teaching format was created to provide clinical context, promote integration and application of science knowledge, and to foster peer teaching and learning: the Clinico-Histologic Conference (CHC) for the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Histology course. Teams of six students were each assigned specific disease processes and were charged with creating oral presentations and handouts that taught their classmates about the clinical manifestations, etiopathogeneses, diagnoses, and treatments of the assigned processes, along with comparisons of normal histology to the pathology of the disease. Each team also created four questions, some of which were used on Histology written examinations. The physician facilitator evaluated the presentation and handouts. About two-thirds of students agreed the CHC enhanced appreciation of the importance of histology, provided a context for integration and application of basic science to patient care and enhanced their ability to teach their peers. Student feedback demonstrated that the CHCs were successful in promoting teamwork, peer teaching, and the application of histology to diagnose diseases. The authors believe that teaching basic science content in this new format enhanced student learning and application of medical knowledge, and that this new teaching format can be adopted by other medical school courses.     

How Important is Study Mode in Student University Choice?

Conjoint analysis was used to model the importance of study mode in students' choice of university. Study mode was proposed as a key choice attribute as universities have diversified their means of delivering education and increased the use of online delivery. Results are reported for two conjoint experiments. The first investigated how undergraduate students made trade‐offs between study mode, university and tuition fees. The second examined similar trade‐offs made by current and prospective postgraduates. Findings confirmed the importance of study mode to both groups and suggest two main reasons for its influence on university choice: it affects students' experiences of learning and socialising at university, and their time and place flexibility. The most preferred study modes for undergraduates and postgraduates were face‐to‐face study and print‐based study, respectively. Given the trend towards online delivery, the findings have relevance to universities across national systems and reputational markets.     

Health library partnership programmes between resource‐poor countries and Western Europe

A survey of health library partnerships between the UK and northern European countries and African or eastern European countries was undertaken to complement a similar survey of 24 North American health libraries. Out of 11 partnerships described, six provided sufficient data to be included in a quantitative analysis. These results give some baseline data about such partnerships and their activities, reasons for success and problems encountered. Some libraries have little involvement other than sending duplicate books and journals; others are more deeply involved in all aspects of library activity including professional development. Good communications, both human and technological, are important for maintaining partnership momentum. Staff commitment on both sides and institutional support for the partnership are essential, especially when programmes have costs which must be met either by the institution or outside funders. The financial consequences of partnership may inhibit their initiation, but successful partnerships with demand driven programmes bring benefits to both sides.     

Sternal Precautions: Is It Time for Change? Precautions versus Restrictions – A Review of Literature and Recommendations for Revision

The processes that occur with normal sternal healing and potential complications related to median sternotomy are of particular interest to physical therapists. The premise of patients following sternal precautions (SP) or specific activity restrictions is the belief that avoiding certain movements will reduce risk of sternal complications. However, current research has identified that many patients remain functionally impaired long after cardiothoracic surgery. It is possible that some SP may contribute to such functional impairments. Currently, SP have several limitations including that they: (1) have no universally accepted definition, (2) are often based on anecdotal/expert opinion or at best supported by indirect evidence, (3) are mostly applied uniformly for all patients without regard to individual differences, and (4) may be overly restrictive and therefore impede ideal recovery. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of current research and commentary on median sternotomy procedures and activity restrictions. We propose that the optimal degree and duration of SP should be based on an individual patient''s characteristics (eg, risk factors, comorbidities, previous activity level) that would enable physical activity to be targeted to particular limitations rather than restricting specific functional tasks and physical activity. Such patient-specific SP focusing on function may be more likely to facilitate recovery after median sternotomy and less likely to impede it.Key Words: median sternotomy, sternal precautions, physical therapy, exercise protocols     

Improving children's behaviour and attendance through the use of parenting programmes: an examination of practice in five case study local authorities

In this article, Professor Susan Hallam, of the Institute of Education, University of London, Lynne Rogers, lecturer in psychology at the Open University, and Jacqueline Shaw, music teacher, researcher and educational psychologist in training, report the key outcomes of their recent research into parenting programmes. The survey suggested that most local authorities in England were at a relatively early stage in their preparations for meeting demand for programmes focused on developing parenting skills in order to improve the attendance and behaviour of children in school. Here the authors present case studies of five local authorities that had well-developed provision based on contrasting approaches. Two of these authorities used existing programmes available through alternative providers or early years provision; the others offered programmes in schools, one based on established and internationally-available material and two that used content developed within the local authority. Longer term needs relating to parenting programmes are considered in relation to these case studies and the implications for schools, that may be actively encouraged to take on responsibility for these programmes, are explored.     

Improving Science and Literacy Learning for English Language Learners: Evidence from a Pre-service Teacher Preparation Intervention

This paper present findings from a pre-service teacher development project that prepared novice teachers to promote English language and literacy development with inquiry-based science through a modified elementary science methods course and professional development for cooperating teachers. To study the project’s impact on student learning, we administered a pre and post assessment to students (N = 191) of nine first year elementary teachers (grades 3 through 6) who experienced the intervention and who taught a common science unit. Preliminary results indicate that (1) student learning improved across all categories (science concepts, writing, and vocabulary)—although the effect varied by category, and (2) English Language Learner (ELL) learning gains were on par with non-ELLs, with differences across proficiency levels for vocabulary gain scores. These results warrant further analyses to understand the extent to which the intervention improved teacher practice and student learning. This study confirms the findings of previous research that the integration of science language and literacy practices can improve ELL achievement in science concepts, writing and vocabulary. In addition, the study indicates that it is possible to begin to link the practices taught in pre-service teacher preparation to novice teacher practice and student learning outcomes.     

From sensemaking to sensegiving: A discourse analysis of the scholarly communications community's public response to the global pandemic

This study examines the scholarly communications community's public response to the global pandemic. A discourse analysis was conducted of press releases, blogs, and website updates across non‐profits, commercial publishers, government agencies, technology companies, and universities to identify (1) the range of support activities immediately undertaken following the proclamation of the pandemic; (2) the language and style of public discourse used, demonstrating how different organizations characterized their responses and roles during the crisis; and (3) specific patterns that emerged among this community related to the process of organizational sensemaking. The findings show that the global community appeared highly adaptive and conceptually aligned in its initial response. Different actors within the community presented distinct identities relative to leadership, advocacy, service, or constituent orientation. More importantly, a majority of organizations demonstrated the use of sensegiving strategies to influence the future state of scholarly publishing, particularly with respect to the expressed desire for greater global collaboration, transparency, quality assurance, and openness. These findings may have implications regarding the future enactment of open and collaborative research publishing, which is especially significant at this stage of the global open science movement's development.     

Journalism

Marvin Barrett, Rich News, Poor News: The Sixth Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Survey of Broadcast Journalism (New York: Crowell, 1978—$12.95/6.95)

Dan Nimmo and Robert L. Savage, Candidates and Their Images: Concepts, Methods, and Findings (Santa Monica, Calif.: Goodyear Publishing, 1976—price not given, paper)

David Bother's How to Appraise and Improve Your Daily Newspaper: A Manual for Readers (Disability Rights Center, P.O. Box 19367, Washington D.C. 20036—$10.00 institutions/$5.00 individuals, paper)

David Shaw's Journalism Today: A Changing Press for a Changing America (New York: Harper's College Press (Harper & Row), 1977—$9.95/5.95)

Richard Weiner's Professional's Guide to Publicity (Richard Weiner Inc., 888 Seventh Ave., N.Y. 10019—$7.95/6.50)