A multivariate analysis of personality, values and expectations as correlates of career aspirations of final year medical students

This study reports on the career intentions of 179 final year medical students who completed an online survey that included measures of personality, values, professional and lifestyle expectations, and well-being. Logistic regression analyses identified the determinants of preferred medical specialty, practice location and hours of work. Understanding the expectations and values of this generation of doctors will assist workforce planners to address expected shortages and mal-distribution of practitioners.     

Reviews

Making Sense of Standards and Technologies for Serials Management: A Guide to Practice and Future Developments for Librarians, Publishers and Systems Developers edited by Rosemary Russell. London: Library Association Publishing, in association with the UK Office for Library and Information Networking, University of Bath, April 2000. Pp. 192. Hardback, £39.95. ISBN 1‐85604‐338‐X Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy by Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster. Harvard Business School Press, 2000. Pp. 274, Hardback, £18.99. ISBN 0‐87584‐877‐X The Legal and Regulatory Environment for Electronic Information, 3rd edn by Charles Oppenheim. Infonortics In‐depth Briefings, 1999. Pp. 231. Hardback, £55.00. ISBN 1‐873699‐53‐0     

Contextualising practice: Hallmarks of effective teachers of writing

This study identifies practices of effective teachers of writing. Three schools with significantly higher achievement in an area that underperforms nationally were identified and within them teachers whose students exhibited superior progress were selected. Multiple data collection methods included lesson observation, analysis of the classroom environment, teacher and student interviews and teacher documentation. Common was a commitment to formative assessment practices and classroom environments supportive of student literacy learning. Hallmarks of teachers whose students showed a greater awareness of their learning were a sense of purpose and meaningfulness; of coherence or connectedness and of being consistent and systematic. This paper argues that student achievement in writing is likely to be higher when teachers exhibit strength s in these hallmarks.     

Helping students understand their learning styles: Effects on study self‐efficacy,preference for group work,and group climate

Small tutorial groups in higher education are often composed without regard to students’ gender or broad knowledge background, for example, yet research indicates that composing groups on the basis of gender and prior qualifications may have significant effects on assessment outcomes. Previous studies have also investigated the effects of composing groups on the basis of learning style preference and found no effects. The effect of combining group composition with training in learning styles is unclear, however. In this study we report on the effects of workshop training in learning styles on balanced group members’ study self‐efficacy, preference for group work, group climate, and assessment performance. Although we found no effects, students reported greater self‐awareness of their own learning and acceptance of others’ styles. We conclude that in collaborative learning environments, training may need to go beyond facilitating growth in students’ self‐awareness to include a focus on how to apply this understanding to improving group function and helping others to learn.     

Writting for today’s child

Judy Delton, who has written numerous children's books, provides an author’s view of trends in children's literature, the role of series books, the importance of timing, the need for honesty in writing for children, and the rewards of being a children's book author. Judy Delton is the author of more than one hundred books for children and adults, among them thePee Wee Scout series,The Condo Kids, andAngel. She has four children who are also writers and artists.