Collaboration of Teacher Education and Child Disability Health Care: Transdisciplinary Approach to Inclusive Practice for Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers

The purpose of this paper is to describe the collaborative efforts between an Early Childhood Teacher Education Program and a Child Disability Health Care Program to incorporate a transdisciplinary model in the preparation of early childhood teachers in inclusive practice. Recent studies suggest essential components of teacher preparation in early childhood inclusion include: helping students construct a positive image of inclusive practice, incorporating a family-centered approach, and collaborating and relationship building across disciplines (Campbell et al. 2003; Pretti-Frontczak et al. 2002 and Able-Boone et al. 2002). In this paper, we describe the collaboration between the University of Michigan-Dearborn Early Childhood Teacher Education Program and Oakwood Health Care Center for Exceptional Families to co-teach and mentor early childhood pre-service teachers as they create a family-centered event for children with disabilities and their typically developing peers in a natural environment. Researchers analyze student reflection papers about the family-centered event for evidence of new learning about child disability and inclusive practice. The reflections demonstrate the power of the students’ active role in creating and implementing family-centered activities in a collaborative context. Other key reflective components include rewards and challenges in creating inclusive contexts, integral role of families in supporting child relationships in natural settings, and collaboration and teaming.     

Evaluating the evaluator: A case study illustrating three critical mistakes no evaluator should make

Most employees do not like to be evaluated because they fear the process and people involved. Although optimal performance evaluators can minimize people's anxieties about being assessed, actual performance evaluators can perpetuate employees' fears and, worse, lower their job performances and morale. A case study illustrates the actions of an actual performance evaluator and highlights the process he carries out and the report he writes. A debrief follows to show how to correct the mistakes he makes.     

Midwifery care: reflections of midwifery clients

The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of midwifery clients throughout the life span. A qualitative study using a phenomenological approach was employed. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 midwifery clients. The research question was: What has been your experience with midwifery care? Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data saturation was achieved and analysis procedures from Colaizzi were used. Five themes emerged from the data: 1) decision to seek midwifery care; 2) working together in a therapeutic alliance; 3) formulating a birth plan; 4) childbirth education; and 5) nurse-midwives as primary health-care providers throughout the life span. There is much to learn from listening to the voices of midwifery clients.     

Bioinformatics and the Undergraduate Curriculum Essay

Recent advances involving high-throughput techniques for data generation and analysis have made familiarity with basic bioinformatics concepts and programs a necessity in the biological sciences. Undergraduate students increasingly need training in methods related to finding and retrieving information stored in vast databases. The rapid rise of bioinformatics as a new discipline has challenged many colleges and universities to keep current with their curricula, often in the face of static or dwindling resources. On the plus side, many bioinformatics modules and related databases and software programs are free and accessible online, and interdisciplinary partnerships between existing faculty members and their support staff have proved advantageous in such efforts. We present examples of strategies and methods that have been successfully used to incorporate bioinformatics content into undergraduate curricula.     

Core deficits and variable differences in Dutch poor readers learning English

To examine phonological core deficits and variable orthographic competence, Dutch poor readers were investigated as they began instruction in reading in English (at about 14 years of age). A subgroup of poor readers with good orthographic competence in English (Poor/Good) and a subgroup with poor orthographic competence in English (Poor/Poor) were identified. Verbal and reading tasks in Dutch and English were assessed twice within a 10-month interval, and the scores of the two measurements were combined to gain stability. For both subgroups, we found indications that phonological core deficits and variable differences in orthographic competence transferred across the two languages. However, the Poor/Good subgroup did not show the weaknesses in serial rapid naming and semantic fluency of the Poor/Poor subgroup in both languages. Moreover, the Poor/Good readers were relatively good in reading skills and verbal learning in English. They had a specific reading disability at the phonemic level but also had compensatory skills at the level of syllables and words that help them to acquire English as second language. In contrast, the Poor/Poor subgroup had a more general reading disability, most prominently present in L2. The results are discussed in terms of orthographic differences between Dutch and English, the phonological-core variable-differences model, and "subtypes" of dyslexia.     

A meta-evaluation of scientific research proposals: Different ways of comparing rejected to awarded applications

Combining different data sets with information on grant and fellowship applications submitted to two renowned funding agencies, we are able to compare their funding decisions (award and rejection) with scientometric performance indicators across two fields of science (life sciences and social sciences). The data sets involve 671 applications in social sciences and 668 applications in life sciences. In both fields, awarded applicants perform on average better than all rejected applicants. If only the most preeminent rejected applicants are considered in both fields, they score better than the awardees on citation impact. With regard to productivity we find differences between the fields. While the awardees in life sciences outperform on average the most preeminent rejected applicants, the situation is reversed in social sciences.     

Humanities and social science journals: a pilot study of eight US associations

The paper summarizes the findings of a pilot study for the National Humanities Alliance, including the methodology, research tools, analysis, and initial conclusions about the publishing business of eight association published humanities and social sciences journals in the context of a move to an open access (author/producer pays) publishing model. The eight disciplines represented by these journals are modern languages, history, religion, economics, sociology, anthropology, politics and statistics. Specific tools were developed for the study to enable like‐for‐like comparison of the journals. Detailed information on current trends in revenue, costs, and surplus is included. Significant differences between HSS and STM journals are reviewed. Open access to research articles on publication as the ‘gold’ author/producer‐pays approach would not be sustainable for this sample of HSS journals for reasons articulated in the report. Further studies using the tools and methodology developed are required to broaden and confirm these results.