Implications of planning for regional libraries: our underlying philosophy

The National Library of Medicine Extramural Program in administering the Medical Library Assistance Act of 1965 has developed the following specific program objectives: provide financial assistance for improving biomedical libraries; encourage and assist the establishment and functioning of a responsive national biomedical information network by strengthening present biomedical libraries and their interlibrary relationships; and assure that the biomedical library network is linked to related science information systems. The ultimate goal is to develop the role of the library as a full learning resource center for education, research, and service. The regional library program aims to augment present capability of existing medical libraries so that information can be made available more extensively and more rapidly. Comprehensive and thorough advanced planning is a basic element in the development of regional medical libraries.     

Deep Dive into KBART

ABSTRACT

The Deep Dive into KBART preconference workshop provided a comprehensive overview of the National Information Standards Organization Knowledge Bases and Related Tools (KBART) Phase II Recommended Practice (http://www.niso.org/publications/rp/rp-9–2014/). The workshop was divided into four sections. The first provided an overview of the background, purpose, and value of KBART to all members of the information supply chain. The next section focused on the basic guidelines for effective exchange of metadata with knowledgebases, including method of exchange, data format, file naming conventions, and frequency of exchange. The remaining two sections of the workshop addressed the correct use of KBART data fields, first in relation to serials and then to monographs. Through classroom instruction, interactive quizzes, and hands-on exercises, the workshop provided in-depth coverage of all KBART data elements, with special focus on many of the most frequently asked questions about the recommended practice.     

Interest,not Preference: Dewey and Reframing the Conceptual Vocabulary of School Choice

School choice positions parents as consumers who select schools that maximize their preferences. This account has been shaped by rational choice theory. In this essay, Terri Wilson contrasts a rational choice framework of preferences with John Dewey's understanding of interest. To illustrate this contrast, she draws on an example of one parent's school decision‐making process. Dewey's concept of interest offers an alternative conceptual vocabulary attentive to the complex, value‐laden, and evolving process of choosing a school. Her analysis considers how schools might not just appeal to the preexisting preferences of families, but might instead actively shape those interests to democratic ends.     

Inhibition of delay of the two-way avoidance response and warning-signal salience

Effects of extended training (nine sessions, 50 trials each) on two-way avoidance response latencies were studied. For each rat, auditory and visual warning signals (CS) were presented on separate trials, either according to a Gellermann series or in 25-trial blocks. Intermittent presentation of the two kinds of trials yielded shorter latencies and higher levels of avoidance performance in response to the noise CS than in response to the darkness CS. Presentation of trials in blocks revealed stronger response-eliciting properties of stimuli presented during the second half of the session than of those presented during the first half. A significant decrease of avoidance performance in the early portions of the delay period, an index of inhibition of delay, was obtained on auditory trials presented in the second half of the sessions. Results indicate that strong fear of the warning signal is required for inhibition of delay of avoidance responses.     

Species-specific defense reactions in escape-from-fear situations

Five experiments are reported in which rats were given CS-shock pairings and then permitted, in the absence of shock, to perform a hurdle-jump response that led to CS offset. In Experiment 1–4, the animals failed to learn the required response. Although several procedural variations were employed, the experimental groups continued to perform no better than backward-conditioned controls. In Experiment 5, some animals were punished for remaining immobile during a single trial at the start of hurdle-jump training. These animals performed significantly better than nonpunished controls and better than any group in Experiments 1–4. The results support the idea that the major role of the CS in escape-from-fear situations is to activate an innate motivational system which chooses between the species-specific defense reactions of freezing and fleeing.     

Development and testing of a prenatal breastfeeding education intervention for Hispanic women

Many immigrant Hispanic women in the United States choose to bottle-feed rather than breastfeed. This article describes an intervention that was developed and tested in a two-step process. Two studies were undertaken. First, a qualitative inquiry explored the breastfeeding beliefs, attitudes, meanings, and practices of Hispanic women. Results informed the design of a culturally appropriate prenatal breastfeeding education intervention. Secondly, the researchers undertook a quantitative study of the intervention's success in increasing breastfeeding duration among Hispanic women. Methodology and findings of this study have implications for future interventions that promote breastfeeding.