The status of women in the administration of health science libraries.

Results of a survey of large health science libraries in the United States demonstrate that the relative position of men and women in administration is comparable to that prevalent in other types of libraries. Medical school and the largest libraries are the most likely to be administered by men. The percentage of women who are directors of large biomedical libraries has declined radically since 1950. The statistics presented here will serve as a base for assessing future change.     

The Arts as a Venue for Developmental Science: Realizing a Latent Opportunity

Children in all cultures readily engage in artistic activities, yet the arts (dance, drama, drawing, and music) have traditionally been marginal topics in the discipline of developmental science. We argue that developmental psychologists cannot afford to ignore such naturalistic activities that involve so many basic phenomena—attention, engagement, motivation, emotion regulation, understanding of others, and so on. Despite historical issues with research methodologies and overdrawn conclusions, a current wave of methodologically rigorous studies shows the depth of arts learning, as well as how arts engagement can be harnessed for transfer to other skills. Here, we present 21 exemplary research case studies, covering an age range of 18 months to 17 years old and discuss how the arts are no more difficult to study than other real‐world developmental phenomena and deserve a thorough examination.     

Bologna in Context: a horizontal perspective on the dynamics of governance sites for a Europe of Knowledge

This article presents a horizontal perspective on the dynamics of governance sites currently active for the European of Knowledge and places the Bologna process in this wider European level context. It introduces two dynamics of change in political organisation: a) institutional differentiation and specialisation and b) the interaction between institutional spheres and sectors. Signs of sectoral differentiation are identified in the history of European integration that is relevant to the Europe of Knowledge. The argument is that the nature and sequence of the differentiation process are key to understand current governance processes. It is illustrated by showing how a horizontal dynamics has been played out in the case of the EU's Lisbon strategy and in particular the cooperation taking place in the framework of the EU's “Education and Training 2010” work programme. The analysis shows how the Bologna process, although perpetuated as a sector internal governance site, has co-evolved and interacted with this strategy, partly as an object of emulation and source of support and partly as a competing governance site. A horizontal dynamics of change is also evident in the larger Lisbon strategy as it lifted research and higher education policy to the centre of the European integration project. It resulted in the development of several governance sites with different foci targeting European higher education. A more prominent place on the political agenda came together with demands that research and education should be integrated with the overall political and economic objectives of the EU.     

The Maine electronic document delivery project: a cooperative project of Maine hospital libraries and the NN/LM New England Region

The article discusses an Ariel document delivery project with seven Maine hospital libraries, the University of Massachusetts Medical School Library (UMass), and the New England Regional office of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Funding was awarded to six network members to purchase equipment or Ariel software. UMass served as a document provider. During the test, libraries received documents from UMass via Ariel or via the Web as a PDF document. This form of document delivery was faster than standard service with better quality of delivered articles. The column describes the project and outlines possible future steps.     

Evaluating the teaching and learning experience for the child with dyslexia in special and mainstream settings in Ireland

This study examines and evaluates special provision for pupils with dyslexia in three different settings: reading schools, reading units and mainstream support. The research focused on the teaching and learning context for pupils with dyslexia, the support teacher, the mainstream teacher and the experience of the student. The main participants were teachers and tutors supporting pupils with dyslexia, and the parents of these children. Survey methods included questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews and quantitative data on pupils' reading attainment. In addition, a total of six schools, two representing each model of support, were selected as case studies. This article reports part of a larger survey, which evaluated the effectiveness of three models of special provision for children with dyslexia in primary school. The study shows that there are academic and social benefits for the child with dyslexia who is enrolled in a special setting. However, placement in a reading school or reading unit per se does not guarantee that a child will ‘catch up’ with his or her peers. The findings reported a similarity in the methods and practices teachers use in both mainstream and special settings. The discussion suggests that if teachers are to ‘catch them before they fall’ there are serious questions that must be asked about how we are teaching basic literacy skills. The findings suggest an urgent need for a more balanced approach to teaching reading and writing.