Third grade African American students' views of the nature of science

This study examined the nature of science (NOS) views of lower elementary grade level students, including their views of scientists. Participants were 23 third‐grade African American students from two Midwest urban settings. A multiple instrument approach using an open‐ended questionnaire, semi‐structured interviews, a modified version of the traditional Draw‐A‐Scientist Test (DAST), and a simple photo eliciting activity, was employed. The study sought to capture not only the students' views of science and scientists, but also their views of themselves as users and producers of science. The findings suggest that the young African American children in this study hold very distinct and often unique views of what science is and how it operates. Included are traditional stereotypical views of scientists consistent with previous research. Additionally, participants expressed excitement and self‐efficacy in describing their own relationship with science, in and outside of their formal classrooms. Implications for teaching and learning NOS as it relates to young children and children of color are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1–37, 2012     

托尼·莫尼森笔下的对立式非洲命名

非洲人认为一个人的姓名是他的生活意义和灵魂归属所在。基于非洲文化赋予黑人名字的重大意义,莫尼森笔下的人物姓名或反映他们的身份、性格,或讽刺地体现他们在白人主流文化压迫下的悲惨境遇。本文通过阐述莫尼森笔下受非洲文化影响的两个对立式命名模式,为读者赏析莫尼森文学作品提供了另一个视角。     

The African American Male Librarian: Motivational Factors in Choosing a Career in Library and Information Science

A recent American Library Association (ALA) report has shown that less than 1% of credentialed librarians are African American males. This article discusses possible reasons for this dearth; and, in an effort to inform future LIS recruiting and marketing campaigns, the included study attempted to discover which factors lead African American males to choose to pursue a graduate degree in library and information science (LIS) and practice LIS as a career. The study also canvassed African American male librarians’ views on gender advantage in LIS, their career goals, perceived triumphs and challenges in LIS, and level of job satisfaction.     

Those Pesky Online Statistics

No abstract available for this article.     

“Can We Get There from Here?” Negotiating the Washouts,Cave-Ins,Dead Ends,and Other Hazards on the Road to Research on Africa

SUMMARY

This introduction to Africana reference describes the populations of researchers, the kinds of questions they ask, and how librarians–both specialist and generalist–may respond. It explores issues in “known-item” searches, including name authority and access to material in collected works and series. Choices made by authors, publishers, indexers, librarians, and researchers themselves have an impact on topic searches. Terminology for African languages, ethnic groups, place names, and topics cause problems for novice researchers, but library policy decisions can also impede access. Errors of all kinds–minor or major–can block access to information. The speed of electronic desktop publishing seems to have encouraged reduced care with proofreading, indexing, and verification of quotations and citations. The need for accurate information about Africa is great, but the market for publications and electronic resources focused on Africa is relatively small. This low market share can result in less coverage of Africa in indexes and reference tools. Despite the difficulties encountered in researching Africa, researchers and the librarians who assist them benefit from the tools, services, and initiatives of specialist Africana librarians and from a number of commercially produced resources.     

Designing an Anglophone University Undergraduate Library Collection for a Francophone West African Environment

SUMMARY

In 1997, the Office of West Africa Programs at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and the Ministry of Education of Cote d'Ivoire embarked on a venture called Project Link to develop an English-speaking international university in Grand Bassam, Cote d'Ivoire. The mission of the proposed International University for Development in West Africa in Cote d'Ivoire is to offer educational opportunities based on the American Higher Education Model presented in English to Ivorians and other West African students within the West Africa region. The proposed undergraduate university curriculum is designed to offer life-long educational opportunities that appeal to the whole West African region as well as to the prospective students living in and near Grand Bassam, Abidjan, and Yammousoukro. In January 2002, the Agency for Education and Development of Abidjan, one of the sponsors of the international university, invited a group of six specialists from Georgia State University (GSU) to visit the proposed site and work with an Ivorian team of technology and curriculum experts to produce a work plan for the renovation of an existing campus in the scenic coastal town of Grand Bassam about 50 miles east of Abidjan. In addition to recommending physical and technical upgrades to the campus site, the American and Ivorian specialists were to advise AED on the administrative organization of the proposed institution, develop a curriculum model and suggest resources for the university library. This paper will highlight the role of the GSU Collection Development Specialist during the 10-day site visit in January 2002 and provide an update since the 2002 site visit.     

Frog Voices,Whispers, and Silences: Problems and Issues in Collecting for an African Studies Library in Africa

SUMMARY

This article is an attempt to respond to two questions about discrete special African studies collections in African university libraries. First, do we need to have such collections at all? Second, if we do, how can we write collection development policies that make sense, given the present turmoil in African studies and indeed in the social sciences in general? Librarians have a responsibility to recognise that their practice cannot be value-free, and that their collections are biased by the choices made by writers, by publishers, and by themselves. Their duty, especially in Africa, may simply be to ensure that African voices are not drowned out in their collections.