The degree to which students and teachers are involved in second-level school processes and participation in decision-making: an Irish Case Study

The Education Act (1998 Education Act. 1998. Dublin: Government Publications. [Google Scholar]) is a key policy document in Irish education, emphasising the rights, roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, including parents, teachers and pupils in schools. Since 1998 the Department of Education and Skills (DES) has stressed the need to introduce an increased role for teachers and pupils in decision-making. It is therefore timely to explore the response of teachers and students to such a collaborative school environment in a rural second-level school of approximately 600 students. Transition year (TY) students (ages about 15–16) and their teachers were surveyed by questionnaire and interviewed. It finds that while the school is proactive in involving students and teachers in decision-making, a source of social, personal and professional empowerment, experienced teachers, and students in particular, want a more substantial voice. For example, most students want more say. They want class discussions or a vote, not just Student Council (SC) representation, on important and not just trivial issues. They want involvement before decisions are taken, with more feedback. Overall, participation is considered important by all stakeholders.     

Why university lecturers enhance their teaching through the use of technology: a systematic review

The purpose of this systematic review is to add to current understanding of technology‐enhanced teaching through a process of synthesis and analysis of a collection of contemporary case studies set within university contexts. The justification to review case studies comes from Pinch and Bijker’s concept of the ‘social construction of technology’ as a way to structure the relationships between technological artefacts used in teaching and those social groups that shape their use. Basil Bernstein’s sociological theory of pedagogy provided the framework for the analysis of the case studies. His concepts of ‘classification’ which examines power relations between categories, such as agencies, agents, discourses and practices, and ‘framing’ which examines the control of instruction in relation to the selection, sequence, pacing and evaluation of learning and determines the relationship between teachers and students, were used as instruments for the analysis of the systematically chosen case studies.     

Social Media Use in Academic Libraries: A Phenomenological Study

Academic libraries are increasingly engaged on social media in order to connect with diverse community groups and move beyond the traditional bounds of the library. This research uses a phenomenological approach and Institutional Theory to explore social media postings at six different public and private university libraries in two Midwest states. The research addresses what themes emerge among the university library's social media pages and what, if any, differences in themes emerge based on the status of the library in question. Social media postings included ten different codes: archives; collections; events; exhibits; facility; library community; sentiments; services; site management; and university community. These codes were tied to three different themes: libraries create a sense of outreach and advocacy with the goal of establishing community connection, providing an inviting environment, and access to content as needed or desired. Ultimately, while libraries at universities with an ARL library or an MLS granting degree program showed a similar breakdown between these three themes, libraries at other master's degree institutions spent less time on making community connections in lieu of posting content and information about the library's environment.     

Clinical librarianship in the UK: temporary trend or permanent profession? Part II: present challenges and future opportunities

BACKGROUND: This article is the second part of a two-part series reporting a study of the role of the Clinical Librarian (CL) in the UK. METHODS: A qualitative method of semi-structured interviews was used to explore in-depth the role of the CL. The interviews provided a rich source of data and give insight into this new and emerging role as practised in the National Health Service (NHS). Similarities and differences are examined between the CL population and reported within themes, specifically: personal qualities and skills required, training for the CLs, marketing the CL service, working in the clinical environment, monitoring and evaluation and the acceptance of the CL in the NHS. RESULTS: A common understanding of the skills and knowledge required to undertake the CL role was shared by the respondents. However, practice differed as this was often dictated by local circumstances. The study confirmed the need for the CLs to work with clinical colleagues in the clinical setting to enhance patient care. CONCLUSION: The importance of using best evidence to support patient care is a message that is slowly becoming the norm in the NHS and the CL role in this practice is demonstrated by this study.     

New Media

ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING PLUS: MEDIA FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL FUTURE edited by Martin Greenberger (White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1985—$45.00/29.95)

NEWSPAPERS AND NEW MEDIA by David A. Patten (White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1986—$34.95/24.95)

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: A TELEVISION MANAGER'S GUIDE TO THE FUTURE by Paul Bortz, et al. (Washington, DC: National Association of Broadcasters, 1986—$40.00, paper)

VIDEO DEMOCRACY: THE VOTE-FROM-HOME REVOLUTION by Richard Hollander (Lomond Publications, P.O. Box 88, Mt. Airy, MD 21771—$14.95)

THE NEW TELEVISION TECHNOLOGIES by Lynne Schafer Gross (Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, 1986—price not given, paper)

USING COMPUTERS: HUMAN FACTORS IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS by Raymond S. Nickerson (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986—$22.50)

THE CULT OF INFORMATION: THE FOLKLORE OF COMPUTERS AND THE TRUE ART OF THINKING by Theodore Roszak (New York: Pantheon, 1986—$17.95)     

Electronic Media Production

AUDIO IN MEDIA by Stanley R. Alten (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1990—price not given, ISBN 0-534-12132-2, 644 pp.)

RADIO PRODUCTION WORKTEXT: STUDIO AND EQUIPMENT by Lynne Gross and David E. Reese (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1990—$19.95, paper, ISBN 0-240-80045-1,146 pp.)

BROADCAST/CABLECOPYWRITING by Peter B. Orlik (Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1990—price not given, ISBN 0-205-12325-2, 746 pp.)

REWRITING NETWORK NEWS: WORDWATCHING TIPS FROM 345 TV AND RADIO SCRIPTS by Mervin Block (Chicago: Bonus Books, 1990—price not given, ISBN 0-929387-15-5, 221 pp.)

SCRIPT SUPERVISING AND FILM CONTINUITY by Pat Miller (Stoneham, MA Focal Press, 1990—$24.95, paper, ISBN 0-240-80018-4, 228 pp.)

PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING by E. W. Brody and Dan L. Lattimore (New York: Praeger, 1990—$16.95, ISBN 0-275-92896-9, 267 pp.)

SIGHT SOUND MOTION: APPLIED MEDIA AESTHETICS by Herbert Zettl (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1990—price not given, ISBN 0-534-07952-0, 408 pp.)

THE TECHNIQUE OF TELEVISION PRODUCTION by Gerald Millerson (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1990—price not given, paper, ISBN 0-240-51289-8, 566 pp.)

TV SCENIC DESIGN HANDBOOK by Gerald Millerson (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1989—price not given, paper, ISBN 0-240-51285-5, 249 pp.)

THE VIDEO STUDIO by Alan Bermingham, et al. (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1990—$18.95, paper, ISBN 0-240-51267-7,192 pp.)

ELECTRONIC POST-PRODUCTION TERMS AND CONCEPTS by Arthur Schneider (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1990—$19.95, paper, ISBN 0-240-80006-0,152 pp.)

INTRODUCTION TO TELEVISION PRODUCTION by Ken Fielding (White Plains, NY: Longman, 1990—price notgiven, ISBN 0-8013-0313-3, 307 pp.)

CORPORATE TELEVISION: A PRODUCER'S HANDBOOK by Ray DiZazzo (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1990—price not given, paper, ISBN 0-240-80023-0, 201 pp.)     

Non‐numeric Intrajudge Consistency Feedback in an Angoff Procedure

The credibility of standard‐setting cut scores depends in part on two sources of consistency evidence: intrajudge and interjudge consistency. Although intrajudge consistency feedback has often been provided to Angoff judges in practice, more evidence is needed to determine whether it achieves its intended effect. In this randomized experiment with 36 judges, non‐numeric item‐level intrajudge consistency feedback was provided to treatment‐group judges after the first and second rounds of Angoff ratings. Compared to the judges in the control condition, those receiving the feedback significantly improved their intrajudge consistency, with the effect being stronger after the first round than after the second round. To examine whether this feedback has deleterious effects on between‐judge consistency, I also examined interjudge consistency at the cut score level and the item level using generalizability theory. The results showed that without the feedback, cut score variability worsened; with the feedback, idiosyncratic item‐level variability improved. These results suggest that non‐numeric intrajudge consistency feedback achieves its intended effect and potentially improves interjudge consistency. The findings contribute to standard‐setting feedback research and provide empirical evidence for practitioners planning Angoff procedures.     

Development and Evaluation of an Online, Inquiry-Based Food Safety Education Program for Secondary Teachers and Their Students

ABSTRACT:  Secondary science teachers who integrate food safety (FS) into curricula can provide FS knowledge and skills to youth while reinforcing science skills and concepts. National science education standards and the Biological Science Curriculum Study 5E Inquiry-based Learning Model were used to design an online training, Food Safety FIRST. The training has 3 modules, each with 15 h of web-based instruction, interactive discussion, and tools to conduct experiments or critical evaluation projects. A CD-ROM, web site ( http://foodsafetyfirst.org ), and lab kit were developed to accompany module activities. Seventy-one teachers registered for the program; 38 matched pretest/posttest evaluations were analyzed. When asked their intention to teach FS in the next year, enrollees responded "definitely" (60.5%) or "possibly" (34.2%), reaching potentially 3570 students. Participants found the training very valuable (71.1%) and were significantly more comfortable teaching FS at posttest (3.6 ± 0.5 on a 4-point Likert scale) than at pretest (2.8 ± 1.0; P < 0.0001, n = 35). Self-reported FS practices also improved from pretest (24.8 ± 5.7 out of a possible 35) to posttest (27.7 ± 4.8; P < 0.001, n = 32). On 4-point Likert scales, teachers were confident answering FS questions (3.4); confident that if they did a good job teaching this topic, students would be interested in FS (3.4); and confident FS concepts taught would meet national science standards (3.4). They found the program satisfactory for demonstrating inquiry-based learning (3.8). Most agreed that they would change FS habits (3.2). Using 5-point scales, participants agreed that they felt more able to critically evaluate FS information on the Internet (4.2) and that the training was enjoyable in an online format (4.3).     

How does phonological awareness relate to nonword reading skill amongst poor readers?

This study examined phonological awareness at the level of phonemes and rhyme and related this to nonword naming ability. Poor readers were compared with 11 year old chronological-age controls and 8 year old reading-age controls. The poor reader group was impaired for chronological age in all tasks, and impaired for reading age at nonword naming and phoneme deletion. The poor readers' rhyming skills, however, were commensurate with reading age. Individual variation was observed together with exceptions to the group findings; most poor readers performed within the range of the reading-age controls on the phonological tasks and in nonword naming. Dissociations in phonological skills were evident, including indications that intact awareness of rhyme may not be a prerequisite for the development of phoneme awareness. Furthermore, phoneme awareness correlated significantly with poor readers' word and nonword reading ability, whereas rhyming skill did not. Therefore, phoneme awareness may be more important than rhyming skill in understanding reading disorders.