Eric Shiraev and Richard Sobel (2006). People and Their Opinions. Thinking Critically About Public Opinion. New York: Pearson Longman, 368 pp., ISBN 0-321-07898-5.

The authors of this book, Eric Shiraev and Richard Sobel, feltthe need to write a textbook on public opinion that would capturethe imaginations of the readers. In order to engage studentsand teachers alike in an active exploration of this domain theychose a combination of a critical thinking approach, an internationallycomparative perspective, and the use of numerous practical examplesof public opinion research on current political and social issues.The book is intended for introductory or middle level undergraduatecourses in public opinion, but could also be beneficial to upperlevel     

Concurrent and predictive validity of the WISC-R,McCarthy Scales,Woodcock-Johnson,and academic achievement

Twenty-six normal first-grade children (M = 7.0 years) were administered the WISC-R, the McCarthy Scales, and the Woodcock-Johnson Scales of Cognitive Ability. Two years later, their levels of academic achievement were determined by way of the WRAT and global teacher ratings of classroom performance. Pearson intercorrelations among the summary indices of the three intellectual measures were significant and uniformly high (rang. 77-.95). Correlations between first-grade ability scores and third-grade achievement measures also were significant (range .64-.90), suggesting strong predictive validity for each of the cognitive instruments. Though not significantly so, the correlations between the Woodcock-Johnson and achievement tended to be the highest. The results indicate that all three intellectual measures are appropriate for predicting later academic achievement in young school-aged children.     

Growing the Profession: Mentoring Undergraduates for Librarianship

Since 2007, Brigham Young University Library has provided a paid internship program for undergraduates that allows them to work with a librarian in an academic setting to help them decide if they wish to pursue a master's degree in Library Science. This article describes the internship program and provides results of surveys given to both interns and library mentors regarding their expectations and outcomes. In a new addition to the program, interns now meet with multiple librarians to gain a broad understanding of library work and how different library areas function together.     

An analysis of friendship networks, social connectedness, homesickness, and satisfaction levels of international students

International students continue to grow in number worldwide, prompting researchers to look for ways to make the study abroad experience more fruitful. One avenue of research has focused on friendship formation, the significant role it plays in the study abroad experience, and the unique friendship combinations made possible by the study abroad experience. International students form friendships with individuals from their own country, from other countries, and from the host country. Research has found that international students often have more friends from their home country; however, research has also demonstrated a relationship between having more host country friends and satisfaction, contentment, decreased homesickness, and social connectedness. The current study looks to further explore these relationships through a social network lens by examining friendship network ratios, strength, and variability of the three friendship groups. A friendship network grid was developed to assess where international students’ friends are from and how strong those friendships are. Eighty four international students completed a survey examining the relationship between friendship networks, social connectedness, homesickness, contentment, and satisfaction. Contrary to prior research, international students did not report having a higher ratio of individuals from their home country in their friendship networks. However, international students with a higher ratio of individuals from the host country in their network claimed to be more satisfied, content, and less homesick. Furthermore, participants who reported more friendship variability with host country individuals described themselves as more satisfied, content, and more socially connected. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

清水湾纪事

正从一个夏天到另一个夏天,在香港科技大学的大一开始又结束。去年此时,我坐在窗明几净的高三教室里,天气燥热。在那个三楼走廊尽头的历史班,我上着念了大学后也仍觉得最好的语文课,遇到了抱有相似理想和困惑的伙伴们,伴着蝉鸣度过了埋在草稿纸和课本里的"一模""二模"和各种招生考试。