The International Standard Text Code: Call to Action, or Distraction?

Book publishers now have more products to keep track of than ever before: books, eBooks, apps, online products, and the list goes on. Traditionally publishers have used the ISBN to track products in the supply chain. But with as many as 24 ISBNs now associated with a bestselling title, the publishing industry looks to a new identifier, the International Standard Text Code (ISTC), to keep ISBNs in check. In a sea of data, will the ISTC help keep publishers afloat, or weigh them down?     

Supporting children with Down syndrome within mainstream education settings: parental reflections

This study draws upon data gathered from five parents who have children with Down syndrome (DS), being educated in mainstream settings in England. The parental perspective of practices, both inclusive and otherwise, is explored through a qualitative lens. Findings suggest that early intervention, such as portage, is important. However, access to services varied across authorities. Additionally, some participants highlighted issues around the Education, Health Care Plan and subsequent annual reviews. Overall, this study offers examples of inclusive practice in the areas of supporting language and communication needs, parental partnership and transition between educational phases for children with DS. However, there are inconsistencies across providers and there is a need for more research into these areas in the future.     

Spatial Ability: A Neglected Talent in Educational and Occupational Settings

For over 60 years, longitudinal research on tens of thousands of high ability and intellectually precocious youth has consistently revealed the importance of spatial ability for hands-on creative accomplishments and the development of expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) disciplines. Yet, individual differences in spatial ability are seldom assessed for educational counseling and selection. Students especially talented in spatial visualization relative to their status on mathematical and verbal reasoning are particularly likely to be underserved by our educational institutions. Evidence for the importance of assessing spatial ability is reviewed and ways to utilize information about individual differences in this attribute in learning and work settings are offered. The literature reviewed stresses the importance of spatial ability in real-world settings and constitutes a rare instance in the social sciences where more research is not needed. What is needed is the incorporation of spatial ability into talent identification procedures and research on curriculum development and training, along with other cognitive abilities harboring differential—and incremental—validity for socially valued outcomes beyond IQ (or, g, general intelligence).     

A review of instruments used to predict early breastfeeding attrition

Few women breastfeed for 6 months or longer, and many who stop breastfeeding do so in the early postpartum period. To increase the number of breastfeeding mothers, health-care providers need to identify women at greatest risk for early breastfeeding attrition. This integrative review describes instruments used to assess breastfeeding in the early postpartum period and reports the results of studies using these tools. The instruments are then evaluated for similarities in variables and usefulness for clinical practice.     

School Governing Bodies: the lay‐professional relationship

This article is an abridged and edited version of the chapter entitled ‘Discussion ‐‐ the Lay‐Professional Relationship’ from a thesis submitted by Lynne Field for the degree of Master of Philosophy in 1991. The research, based at Bristol Polytechnic, centred on the study of the governing body of a secondary school from October 1988 to February 1990 and sought to establish how far the aims of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 and the Education Act 1988 were being achieved in terms of governing body activity. One of the most significant aspects of the research to emerge was the relationship between lay and professional interests.     

Associations Between First‐Time Expectant Women's Representations of Attachment and Their Physiological Reactivity to Infant Cry

Associations among 53 primiparous women's Adult Attachment Interview classifications (secure–autonomous vs. insecure–dismissing) and physiological and self‐reported responses to infant crying were explored. Heart rate, skin conductance levels, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were recorded continuously. In response to the cry, secure–autonomous women demonstrated RSA declines, consistent with approach‐oriented responses. Insecure–dismissing women displayed RSA and electrodermal increases, consistent with behavioral inhibition. Furthermore, insecure–dismissing women rated the cries as more aversive than secure–autonomous women. Nine months postpartum, secure–autonomous women, who prenatally manifested an approach‐oriented response to the unfamiliar cry stimulus, were observed as more sensitive when responding to their own distressed infant, whereas women classified prenatally as insecure–dismissing were observed as less sensitive with their own infants.