Preschoolers’ Concepts of Digestive Physiology and Their Links with Body Mass Index

Research in Science Education - In this exploratory study, a sample of 20 four-year-olds took part in structured interviews in order to assess their biological knowledge of how the human body...     

IT Education and Workforce Participation: A New Era for Women in Kenya?

While Sub-Saharan African women have historically assumed the roles of both housewives and subsistence farmers, they have had few opportunities to participate in the modern economies of the region. However, this trend is changing with the exponential growth of information and communications technologies (ICT), giving many Sub-Sahara African women access to computers, the Internet, and other related technologies. Based on the work of a four-member research team from Kenya and the United States, this article examines the integration of female college students into the formal ICT work sector in Kenya. We do so by examining major bottlenecks and enablers to such integration from historical and contemporary perspectives. Using an interpretive approach, we conducted 32 interviews with women in an ICT program offered by a university in Kenya. Our findings indicate that women were highly optimistic, embracing ICT as a practical mechanism for achieving entry into the labor market. However, they perceived significant structural barriers, such as public policies that failed to facilitate the development of the ICT sector, gender discrimination by employers, and training that provided them with insufficient technical skills to enable them to effectively perform in the workplace. These findings largely confirm the gendered perspectives found in similar studies conducted in other countries. However, what appear as global perspectives are informed by the local causes.     

Fair dealing: a concept in UK copyright law

Fair dealing is a concept which provides certain exceptions to UK copyright law; it permits the use of copyright material in certain circumstances without permission from, or payment to, the copyright owner.     

Meaning of life as a protective factor of positive affect in acculturation: A resilience framework and a cross-cultural comparison

Although research has demonstrated a strong linkage between meaning of life and positive emotion, few studies have examined this association in the context of acculturation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive effects of meaning of life and acculturative stressor on positive affect in a sample of Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong, and to compare these effects between the two groups. Four hundred mainland Chinese postgraduate students at six universities in Hong Kong and 227 Chinese international students at the University of Melbourne in Australia completed a questionnaire that included measures of acculturative stressor, meaning of life, positive affect, and demographic information. The analyses revealed that (1) meaning of life had a strong positive contribution to predict positive affect in acculturation, and acculturative stress had a negative impact on positive affect within both samples; (2) social interaction had a significant negative predictive effect on positive affect in both samples, and academic work served as a significant negative predictor of positive affect in the Hong Kong sample; and (3) meaning of life was found to mediate the relationship between acculturative stress and positive affect in both samples. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.     

Strain,depressed mood and suicidal thoughts among maltreated adolescents in the United States

Almost one-fourth of maltreated adolescents report they have thought about killing themselves in the last two weeks. We draw on Agnew's strain theory to develop a model to account for variability in suicidal thoughts among this high-risk group. We used data from a nationally representative sample of 572 maltreated adolescents, aged 11–15. One dimension of relational strain (poorer relationship with peers) and greater depressed mood were directly related to whether adolescents did or did not think about suicide. Depressed mood mediated the relationship between two strain variables (relationship with caregiver and with school) and suicidal thoughts. Child maltreatment strain (being severely harmed) and substance use were not directly related to suicidal thoughts; however, depressed mood appeared to mediate the relationship between drug use and suicidal thoughts. Adolescents who experience child maltreatment and who appear to be disconnected from caregivers, friends and school should be screened for depression and suicidal thoughts.     

Occupational Therapy Students as Peer Assessors in Viva Examinations

This study was undertaken in order to evaluate the use of students as peer assessors, in collaboration with academic tutors, in the assessment of second-year viva examinations as part of a problem based learning occupational therapy curriculum. Data were collected from three consecutive cohorts of second-year students (N = 93), and an assessment was made of the reliability of the academic tutor marking, and the reliability of peer marking against the tutor marks. Results demonstrated that overall ratings of the viva examination performances given by the panel of assessors (two peer assessors and one academic tutor), were significantly correlated. On some occasions, such as the assessment of a borderline student, the ratings given were not as closely correlated. Some modifications of the examination process are suggested in order to optimise the reliability of the outcomes, but the study results lend support for the practice of peer assessment.     

e-Government services for faith-based organizations: Bridging the organizational divide

In this paper, we examine the challenges faced by faith-based institutions in a low-income, predominantly Black community seeking to take advantage of grants provided through the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives (FBCI). FBCI is an e-Government program that assists nonprofit organizations in competing for Federal dollars with fewer bureaucratic barriers. Informed by the design-actuality framework, we interviewed clergy at seven faith-based organizations. The intent of this analysis is to juxtapose the design intentions of the government officials with the actualities expressed by the intended benefactors of the initiative. Our findings suggest that this e-Government initiative may unwittingly exacerbate existing disparities in the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICT).     

Knowledge Management and Library Culture

Knowledge management (KM), or the effective use of knowledge, has been practiced successfully by many business organizations. Individual libraries and librarians have periodically utilized KM. However, on a comprehensive scale, the library culture seems divided. This article examines the attitudes and practices of two distinct groups of specialized librarians and their relationship to the use of KM tools.