The administrative control of high school principals by superintendents: the supervisory function

Conclusion Supervision, the most prevalent of the control mechanisms studied, was used in all of the schools to varying degrees. The frequency of superintendent visits fluctuated between a high of almost every day, in the case where the superintendent and the principal shared the same facility, to two times a year. Superintendents did visit schools without formal sessions with the principals. Several principals described their superintendents' visits as informal walk-throughs. District size did not influence the frequency of supervision by the superintendents. Schools in both large and small districts received roughly the same number of visits. Ninety-two percent of the principals received a medium or high number of visits. In some schools, particularly unit districts composed of grades kindergarten through 12, principals were evaluated by associate superintendents for secondary education. Central office personnel usually visited several times each month. Principals from large districts received fewer visits from central office staff than did principals from medium or small districts. Most principals perceived the visits by their superintendents and central office personnel as nonthreatening. When superintendents and central office administrators visited schools, they added to the system of control by collecting information about all aspects of schooling, including the climate. In general, principals perceived supervision as light, and felt that schools and principals were afforded considerable autonomy.Vanderbilt University     

利用都柏林元数据应用包管理多样化的元数据开发

大英图书馆长期大规模的资源数字化产生了大量的声像资源，这些项目由于大部分是由外来资金资助并与外单位合作，其产生的资源和元数据往往散藏在各个不同部门，元数据的有无及其结构格式区别很大，这给检索和使用带来极大的不便，因此跨库检索势在必行。在推行标准化的同时，大英图书馆考虑到各个特藏的功能和服务特点，允许足够的灵活性。他们遵循的一个主要原则是，如果数据是在大英图书馆系统之外建立的，该系统应该具有生成和输出基本元数据记录的功能，其格式应该与至少一种大英图书馆所支持的标准兼容，对元数据记录的最低要求是要与大英图书馆元数据应用纲要（BL Application Profile，B-LAP）一致。B-LAP是用XML标注、以都柏林元数据核心元素为基础的应用纲要。本文特别讨论了利用都柏林核心元数据应用纲要来支持检索的策略，以及如何应用纳要来控制在数字化资源过程中产生的多样化的元数据格式，并为各种早期的系统之间在高层次上提供互操作性。本义还描述了该系统的构建及如何支持横跨各种不同数据库之间的检索。     

Why accessibility is hard and how to make it easier: Lessons from publishers

The requirements for providing publications in an accessible form have recently become much clearer and easier to comply with. They are based on standard web accessibility guidelines that are commonly used globally, and the format for interchange is EPUB, a format many publishers already produce in their normal production process. Nevertheless, accessibility still proves difficult to accomplish for most publishers. This article refers to informal interviews and the author's own experiences to examine the issues that are challenging to publishers and their suppliers, assessing the level of effort required to address them, discussing the factors that make them difficult, and suggesting strategies for reducing the effort required. The article concludes that the best solution is to build accessibility into the publication workflow upfront as this can dramatically reduce the cost and effort required to make publications accessible.     

Counseling With HEART: A Relationship Violence Prevention Program for College Students

Relationship violence is a salient concern on college campuses today, and psychoeducational groups may be an appropriate prevention format. This article describes a study measuring the impact of college student participation in the HEART (Help End Abusive Relationships Today) program, a series of group sessions designed to increase knowledge and awareness of relationship violence. Findings indicated significant changes for group participants postintervention. Implications and recommendations for college counselors are discussed.     

Key somatic variables associated with,and differences between the 4 swimming strokes

ABSTRACT

This study identified key somatic and demographic characteristics that benefit all swimmers and, at the same time, identified further characteristics that benefit only specific swimming strokes. Three hundred sixty-three competitive-level swimmers (male [n = 202]; female [n = 161]) participated in the study. We adopted a multiplicative, allometric regression model to identify the key characteristics associated with 100 m swimming speeds (controlling for age). The model was refined using backward elimination. Characteristics that benefited some but not all strokes were identified by introducing stroke-by-predictor variable interactions. The regression analysis revealed 7 “common” characteristics that benefited all swimmers suggesting that all swimmers benefit from having less body fat, broad shoulders and hips, a greater arm span (but shorter lower arms) and greater forearm girths with smaller relaxed arm girths. The 4 stroke-specific characteristics reveal that backstroke swimmers benefit from longer backs, a finding that can be likened to boats with longer hulls also travel faster through the water. Other stroke-by-predictor variable interactions (taken together) identified that butterfly swimmers are characterized by greater muscularity in the lower legs. These results highlight the importance of considering somatic and demographic characteristics of young swimmers for talent identification purposes (i.e., to ensure that swimmers realize their most appropriate strokes).     

Rural and suburban cluster grouping: Reflections on staff development as a component of program success

Staff development practices that successfully implemented long‐term applications of cluster grouping in two districts are analyzed, compared, and reviewed. Parallel practices and differences are discussed concerning program beginning, implementation, and maintenance. Conclusions are drawn and six steps for use and consideration by others engaged in gifted program development and implementation are suggested. These steps are: (1) conversations, (2) research, (3) choosing a course of action, (4) implementation, (5) supporting the new program initiative, and (6) maintenance and growth.     

Early Literacy and the Public Library: An Opportunity of a Lifetime (of Reading)

In this article, author Bill Ptacek says that the future is now, and, at least from the 1970s through today, in the field of early childhood work, the future has come so fast that it is constantly upon us. That reality means that those concerned about young children in libraries have been about adaptation on a continuing basis. In this world of rapid change, innovation is constant: City firefighters come to the libraries in uniform to read stories to children, library outreach specialists take programs to daycare centers in their communities, and staff members create a space in a library devoted to early childhood reading. This tradition of rapid change means that the early childhood staff of most large public libraries in North America is changing for the future on a regular basis. The work unit should be considered seriously as one model for 21st century public library reform.     

How fast can we read in the mind? Developmental trajectories of silent reading fluency

The silent reading fluency is not an observable behaviour and, therefore, its evaluation is perceived as more challenging and less reliable than oral reading fluency. The present research is aimed to measure the silent reading speed in a sample of proficient students, assessed by an original silent reading fluency task, based on behavioural indicators of the silent reading speed. A total of 325 high school and university skilled students (age range 14–23 years) have been assessed using 3 tasks aimed to evaluate the oral reading speed (lists of words, lists of pseudowords and narrative text) and one task aimed to measure the silent reading speed. The average silent reading speed in our sample was around 12.5 syll/sec, almost double than the oral reading speed rate. The silent reading speed had an increase from 9.13 to 12.38 syll/sec from the first year of high school (ninth grade) to the fifth year of University. Conversely, the oral reading speed remained substantially unchanged for the entire academic course. Our results showed that the reading fluency in silent mode tends to increase up to the last years of University and it may be considered the most rapid and efficient reading mode. This study highlights the importance of including both silent and oral reading modes in the assessment of the older students and young adults, since silent reading is the main reading mode for proficient readers.