Literacy and the New Workplace: the fit between employment‐oriented literacy and Aboriginal language‐use

In recent years there has been much comment on the value‐laden and particularly political nature of language and literacy and the manner in which literacy is embedded in particular socio‐cultural systems. It is argued here that the non‐neutrality of literacy is evident in the contemporary positioning of adult language and literacy instruction within the rhetoric of current employment‐related concerns. These concerns privilege a particular vision of the workplace and workforce and these ideas have become embedded in competency‐based language and literacy schemata. In this paper, assumptions regarding the nature of workers’ participation in the ‘new’ workplace in such schemata are identified. In particular, the degree to which the vision of participation, as measured by specified language and literacy competence for the workplace, is likely to be shared by Aboriginal Australians in both remote and settled Australia is considered. Related factors impinging on adult Aboriginal acquisition and demonstrations of language and literacy competence in this context are discussed.     

Evaluating the TD model of classical conditioning

The temporal-difference (TD) algorithm from reinforcement learning provides a simple method for incrementally learning predictions of upcoming events. Applied to classical conditioning, TD models suppose that animals learn a real-time prediction of the unconditioned stimulus (US) on the basis of all available conditioned stimuli (CSs). In the TD model, similar to other error-correction models, learning is driven by prediction errors-the difference between the change in US prediction and the actual US. With the TD model, however, learning occurs continuously from moment to moment and is not artificially constrained to occur in trials. Accordingly, a key feature of any TD model is the assumption about the representation of a CS on a moment-to-moment basis. Here, we evaluate the performance of the TD model with a heretofore unexplored range of classical conditioning tasks. To do so, we consider three stimulus representations that vary in their degree of temporal generalization and evaluate how the representation influences the performance of the TD model on these conditioning tasks.     

What are these among so many? Pre and post Vatican II recordkeeping

Contemporary Church recordkeeping has been an area all too often ignored by historians and archivists. There were two significant events in the last 140 years that defined the types of records created and maintained within the Church namely: Vatican I and Vatican II. After the suspension of Vatican I and the promulgation of Pastor Aeternus, we begin to see a centralization in ecclesiastical governance structures, due in part to interpretations of papal primacy. This centralization of Church authority eventually impinged upon the recordkeeping processes of dioceses. However after Vatican II the pendulum shifted with the promulgation of the Decree Concerning the Pastoral Office of the Bishop and the re-introduction of the tenet of collegiality. The promulgation of this document and others caused a de-centralization of Church recordkeeping practices. Using the Archdiocese of Vancouver as a case study this paper will attempt to show recordkeeping changes that occurred after Vatican I and Vatican II and the impact these councils had on archdiocesan administration.     

Cost-effective ways of delivering enquiry services: a rapid review

Background: In the recent times of recession and budget cuts, it is more important than ever for library and information services to deliver cost‐effective services. Objectives: This rapid review aims to examine the evidence for the most cost‐effective ways of delivering enquiry services. Methods: A literature search was conducted on LISA (Library and Information Sciences Abstracts) and MEDLINE. Searches were limited to 2007 onwards. Results: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies covered hospital and academic libraries in the USA and Canada. Services analysed were ‘point‐of‐care’ librarian consultations, staffing models for reference desks and virtual/digital reference services. Conclusions: Transferable lessons, relevant to health library and information services generally, can be drawn from this rapid review. These suggest that ‘point‐of‐care’ librarians for primary care practitioners are a cost‐effective way of answering questions. Reference desks can be cost‐effectively staffed by student employees or general reference staff, although librarian referral must be provided for more complex and subject‐specific enquiries. However, it is not possible to draw any conclusions on virtual/digital reference services because of the limited literature available. Further case analysis studies measuring specific services, particularly enquiry services within a health library and information context, are required.