New Technologies

TELECONFERENCING AND BEYOND: COMMUNICATIONS IN THE OFFICE OF THE FUTURE, by Robert Johansen (New York: McGraw Hill - Data Communications. 1984—price not given

CABLE FOR INFORMATION DELIVERY: A GUIDE FOR LIBRARIANS, EDUCATORS AND CABLE PROFESSIONALS, edited by Brigitte L. Kenney (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 19847mdash;$34.50/ $27.50)

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SATELLITE TV, by Martin Clifford (Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books, 1984—$11.50 pape

FUTURE INFORMATION PROCESSING TECHNOLOG1 1983, edited by Peg Kay and Patricia Powell (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, August 1983- $6.50, paper),     

‘Physical Education’s First Lady of the World’: Dorothy Sears Ainsworth and the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Women and Girls

Abstract

Dorothy Sears Ainsworth has received wide acclaim for her pioneering efforts in international relations that enhanced collaboration among female physical educators in the decades following World War II. As Director of Physical Education for Women at Smith College (1926–1960), Ainsworth became a global figure, traveling extensively and organizing the first international conference on physical education for women and girls in Copenhagen in 1949. This resulted in the establishment of the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW), today counting over 400 members from 45 different countries. In this paper we (re)consider the largely hagiographical accounts of Ainsworth’s career and re-examine her contributions to the international stage in light of her maternalist views on female sport and physicality. Indeed, women’s difference from men dominated the discourse of many international women’s movements at this time. We consider what IAPESGW’s long-term governance by primarily white and wealthy women may have meant in terms of the organization’s focus and globalizing efforts and conclude that though Ainsworth’s essentialist approach ignored earlier feminist sporting movements, and would not outlast the more progressive winds of change in the 1970s, neither should her early contributions to establishing bonds among female physical educators globally be minimized.     

Profiles and Records of Achievement: a real alternative

Records of Achievement will shortly be introduced for all school‐leavers in England and Wales. In preparation for this a number of pilot schemes are currently being conducted. The national evaluation of these pilot schemes, for which the author is jointly responsible, will be the focus for this paper. It will consider the longer term possibilities for such alternative forms of assessment, both in the UK and other countries, in spelling the end of the era of more traditional forms of examination.     

Preliminary Evidence on the Social Standing of Students with Learning Disabilities in PALS and No–PALS Classrooms

Many researchers have documented the apparent fact that numerous students with LD have social–skill deficits and a lower social standing than their nondisabled peers. In principle, participation in peer tutoring would appear to be at least a partial solution. It requires classmates to work together on valued tasks and research indicates that it can promote academic growth among students with and without disabilities. Yet, little research has been conducted on the social benefits of peer tutoring. This study attempts to do precisely that by collecting sociometric data in 39 second– through sixth–grade classrooms, 22 of which were engaged in Peer–Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS), a form of peer tutoring. In each of the 39 classrooms, sociometric data are reported on four children—a student with LD and a low–achieving, average–achieving, and high–achieving student. Findings indicated that students with LD in PALS classes were (1) more socially accepted than their counterparts in No–PALS classes, and (2) enjoyed the same social standing as most nondisabled classmates. Strengths and weaknesses of this study are discussed, as are directions for future research.     

International standards

As the activities and markets of publishers are increasingly internationalized, it becomes vital to understand the process of developing standards that are accepted throughout the world. Patricia Harris describes the procedures used by the International Organization for Standardization to develop such standards, using as examples the development of the ISBN and the ISSN. She then discusses some of the international standards now being developed and offers some predictions about future trends in international standards.     

Real-time,evidence-based medicine instruction: a randomized controlled trial in a neonatal intensive care unit

Purpose: The study assesses potential for improving residents'' evidence-based medicine searching skills in MEDLINE through real-time librarian instruction.Subjects: Ten residents on a rotation in a neonatal intensive care unit participated.Methodology: Residents were randomized into an instruction and a non-instruction group. Residents generated questions from rounds and searched MEDLINE for answers. Data were collected through observation, search strategy analysis, and surveys. Librarians observed searches and collected data on questions, searching skills, search problems, and the test group''s instruction topics. Participants performed standardized searches before, after, and six-months after intervention and were scored using a search strategy analysis tool (1 representing highest score and 5 representing lowest score). Residents completed pre- and post-intervention surveys to measure opinions about MEDLINE and search satisfaction.Results: Post-intervention, the test group formulated better questions, used limits more effectively, and reported greater confidence in using MEDLINE. The control group expressed less satisfaction with retrieval and demonstrated more errors when limiting. The test and control groups had the following average search scores respectively: 3.0 and 3.5 (pre-intervention), 3.3 and 3.4 (post-intervention), and 2.0 and 3.8 (six-month post-intervention).Conclusion: Data suggest that measurable learning outcomes were achieved. Residents receiving instruction improved and retained searching skills six-months after intervention.     

Scholarly reviewing and the role of choice in the postpublication review process

Publishers of books for the library and scholarly markets use prepublication reviews to reduce the risk of publishing a book that does not meet scholarly standards or is not economically justifiable. Book purchasers use postpublication reviews to reduce the risk of spending their budgets unwisely. Despite problems associated with both sorts of review, they are integral to the processes of scholarly communication and academic career advancement. The role and policies ofChoice, a book review journal directed toward scholars and librarians of undergraduate-level collections, are discussed in detail.     

Personal Constructs and Attribution for Academic Success and Failure in Dyslexia

Neil Humphrey published a previous article, on self–esteem and dyslexia, in BJSE . This paper, jointly authored by Dr Humphrey, recently appointed as a lecturer in the psychology of education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manchester, and Dr Patricia M. Mullins, senior lecturer in special educational needs at Liverpool John Moores University and the supervisor of Neil Humphrey's PhD thesis, explores the relationships between dyslexia and the ways in which pupils perceive themselves as learners. Making extensive links with other relevant research, the authors conclude by suggesting that 'the problems that children with dyslexia encounter have negative consequences for their self–development'. Humphrey and Mullins also propose that, while further research is needed, we already know enough about how to make schools more 'dyslexia friendly' to begin to tackle these difficulties at an early stage in children's education.