Factors that Affect Emergent Literacy Development When Engaging with Electronic Books

This article reviews extant literature with the purpose of identifying factors that affect the potential efficacy of electronic books to support literacy development during early childhood. Selection criteria include experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational studies from peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2013 with a target population of 3–7 year olds. Results established the following factors as relevant to potential literacy outcomes: interactive features, quality assessment, repetition, and adult interaction. Each factor is discussed in its relationship to literacy skills in order to identify optimal conditions for literacy growth. Findings in this review are pertinent to parents, educators, legislators, and software developers who are making software decisions that will impact early childhood students at home or in school. Future research and implications are considered.     

Popular Music

Steve Chapple and Reebee Garofalo Rock 'n' Roll is Here to Pay (Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1977— $14.95/7.95).

Fred Dellar and Roy Thompson The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music (New York: Harmony Books (Crown Publishers), 1977— $17.95),

J. Philip Di Franco, The Beatles in Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night: A Complete Pictorial Record of the Movie (New York: Chelsea HOUSE' Publishers/Penguin Books, 1977—$12.50/5.95).

Lynda Rosen Obst The Sixties: The Decade Remembered Now by the People Who Lived It Then (New York: Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1977—$19.95/9.95)

Bill Gutman Duke: The Musical Life of Duke Ellington (New York: Random House, 1977—$6.95),     

Stimulus as a random factor in analysis of variance: Increasing the generalizability of findings

All too often inadequate experimental designs and/or faulty statistical analyses preclude generalization of findings. The authors of this paper discuss the need, in designing studies having educational variables, to give more attention to recognizing the universe of generalization and to incorporating into the design a variable that represents this universe. They further recommend that data analytic techniques, in turn, treat the levels of this variable as randomly selected from the universe.     

INTERGENERATIONAL SHARING SEMINARS: THEIR IMPACT ON YOUNG ADULT COLLEGE STUDENTS AND SENIOR GUEST STUDENTS

A 3‐month intergenerational program was developed on the premise that it is important for young adults, who are in the formative period of career development and direction, to experience the benefits of positive interaction with older persons. Program evaluation findings showed that participation not only influenced the young adults’ interest in gerontology, but also increased their willingness to accept older persons on social and academic levels. Positive changes were documented for the Senior Guest students and included more favorable attitudes toward young adult family members as well as toward the younger generation of college students in general.     

Information needs at the end of life: a content analysis of one person's story

During the last phase of life, a person may need a variety of information to help her or him cope with dying and death. This article describes the nature of information needed during this stage. A content analysis was done of a book of conversations between a husband who was dying and his wife who is a grief counselor to determine his information needs. Four categories of needs were proposed, including physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial. Information needs germane to each category were identified. More research needs to be done by library and information science professionals to determine the information needs of people who are dying, as well as those of their families and the health professionals who care for them.Death happens in one of four ways. For some people, it arrives suddenly, thus robbing them of the luxury of preparing themselves or their families for this event. For other people, death comes from frailty (e.g., old age, dementia); terminal illness (e.g., cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis); or organ system failure (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) [1]. This slower entrance into the end-of-life phase allows people time to seek information. However, library and information science (LIS) professionals have done very little research on the information needs and information-seeking behavior of people at the end of life. In this article, the author describes a process used to determine the information needs of one person as he passed through the final phase of his life.     

Beyond transition: a comparison of the employment experiences of American and Canadian adults with LD

With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States and the Canadian Chartre of Rights and Freedoms, there is a new work environment for individuals with learning disabilities (LD) in North America. This qualitative study sought to compare the employment experiences of 25 U.S. adults with LD and 24 Canadian adults with LD. Areas of comparison were job getting, experiences on the job, and job advancement. Remarkably, the U.S. and Canadian adults with LD had nearly the same employment experiences. In essence, each set of data mirrored the other despite marked differences in U.S. and Canadian federal disability legislation.