Evolution of an academic–public library partnership

A partnership to improve access to health information via an urban public library system was established in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2011. A multiyear project was outlined that included an information needs assessment, a training class for public library staff, information kiosks at library branches for delivering printed consumer health materials, and a series of health-related programming. The partnership evolved to include social service and community organizations to carry out project goals and establish a sustainable program that met the health and wellness interests of the community.     

An Institutional Repository Experience at a Large Health Care System

Institutional repositories (IRs) collect, preserve, and disseminate the scholarly output of an organization. Though common in academic settings, they are less so in hospitals or health care systems. The librarians for Aurora Health Care decided to create a primarily citation-level IR to organize and promote the scholarly output of Aurora faculty, residents, and fellows using the proprietary software Digital Commons, a product of the company bepress. The repository also hosts a newly published peer-reviewed journal and includes digitized historical images and institutional memorabilia. Suggested alternatives are given for hospitals or health care systems that may not currently be able to pursue a full-fledged IR.     

Beyond English hegemony: language,migration and Appalachian schools

Co‐authored by an academic who has worked in ESL teacher improvement programmes under the No Child Left Behind Act, an assistant director of an Appalachian school district, and a trilingual translator and teacher who works with indigenous Mexican populations, this article is narrated in the voice of the first author. The essay addresses how teachers in a Tennessee school district have learned to engage new English speakers and how existing ‘English only’ law affects the process. Contrasting today's immigrants with those of the past, the narrator relates her experience of working with Purépecha children in Morristown and considers the perils of stereotyping others' literacy. The children's comfort with speaking English is affected by their awareness that, as undocumented people, they and their families do not enjoy full citizenship.     

UK institutional responses to undergraduates' term-time working

In the UK, there is currently considerableinterest in the nature and extent of full-timeundergraduates' term-time working. Thisinterest stems from at least two perspectives.First that as the system of student financingin the UK has changed, so has the extent towhich students need to boost their incomethrough employment. The second perspective isthat, in addition to financial benefits,students may be able to derive learningbenefits from term-time working: hence,institutions have developed processes by whichstudents might be helped to recognise in anexplicit way learning derived from experiencesof working.Behind such institutional responses tostudents' term-time working may well liequestions of equity and access: are certaingroups of students more or less likely toundertake paid employment during term-time. Andwith such questions comes an interest in theimpact of term-time working on the studentexperience and on academic performance.The paper looks at recent research findings inthe area and considers to what the extent UKinstitutions' own activities are a pragmaticresponse to the realities facing the currentgeneration of undergraduates, and to whatextent they may be damaging the overall studentexperience.     

Sources of Stress for Primary School Head Teachers in New Zealand

A stratified sample of 40 primary school head teachers in the North Island of New Zealand completed a 63 item check-list on sources of stress. The most highly rated items referred to stress arising from management of time, administrative tasks and interpersonal relationships. A principal components analysis identified four factors, labelled: staff, work-load/administration, role conflict, and meetings. Comparison between groups suggested that experiences of stress were related to the school's catchment area, to the adequacy of its buildings and to the head's teacher's responsibilities.     

Externalizing Problems in Head Start Children: An Ecological Exploration

The increased familial and environmental stressors affecting Head Start families over the last two decades have precipitated an escalation of mental health difficulties among participant children (Yoshikawa & Knitzer, 1997). Using an ecological framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). this study explored externalizing behavior problems among a group of Head Start children in a suburban county. Children were assessed for externalizing behavior problems in the home and classroom. Additionally, parents participated in interviews about a variety of ecological factors related to children's behavior problems. Almost one-quarter of the children were identified by their parents as having externalizing behavioral problems in the borderline or clinical range. Twice as many girls as boys had borderline or clinical levels of behavioral problems. Child externalizing behavior was positively associated with child internalizing behavior, parent psychological symptomatology, child temperament, family environment, and exposure to community violence. Children with parent-identified externalizing behavior did have specific social problem-solving skills deficits. Additionally, they were observed to have high levels of specific inappropriate behavior, but did not exhibit high levels of teacher-rated behavior problems. The implications of these findings for Head Start program planning are discussed.     

Teacher Education Objectives: A Survey of Student Views

This article is a summary of the Survey of Teacher Education Objectives: The Views of Diploma in Education Students published as a monograph in 1982. A report of the previous study was published in 1981 and a summary of the report appeared in Vol. 4 No. 1 of this Journal.     

IRSS Psychology Theory: Telling Experiences Among Underrepresented IS Doctorates

With the changing demographics of the American workforce, the National Science Foundation, along with the U.S. Department of Commerce, has highlighted the shortage of minorities in information technology (IT) careers ( http://www.ta.doc.gov/Reports/itsw/itsw.pdf ). Using data from a 6‐year period and the psychology Involvement‐Regimen‐Self Management‐Social (IRSS) network theory as defined by Boice (1992) , we discuss lessons learned from mentoring a group of Information Systems doctoral students who are members of a pipeline that can potentially increase the number of underrepresented faculty in business schools and who made conscious decisions to renounce the IT corporate domain. While our lessons speak to the need for more diversity awareness, we conclude that effective mentoring for underrepresented groups can and should include faculty of color (though limited in numbers) as well as majority faculty who are receptive to the needs and cultural differences of these student groups. Lastly, we draw on the work of Ethnic America to provide additional insight into our findings that are not offered by IRSS network theory.     

Students’ evaluations of the use of e-learning in a collaborative project between two South African universities

Online learning is increasingly being used in Higher Education, with a number of advantages to online learning being identified. One of these advantages is the suggestion that online learning provides for equality of opportunity. This article reports on students’ evaluations of the use of e-learning in a collaborative project between two South African universities. The results highlighted both positive and negative evaluations of the use of e-learning. The positive aspects identified were that e-learning provided for ease of communication between parties, and easy access to information and learning material. Negative aspects identified were that it presented some technical challenges; online communication was disjointed; there was unequal access to computers between students from the two universities; students felt that more face-to-face interaction is needed. The issue of unequal access to computers and the internet is highlighted as a crucial issue for e-learning in the South African context, and for the fostering of a democratising educational discourse.