Robert Bluck and Sharon McIntosh
The new Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) from BLCMP was installed in our main library at Perry Barr in April 1985, and has been in use throughout the summer term. As…
Abstract
The new Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) from BLCMP was installed in our main library at Perry Barr in April 1985, and has been in use throughout the summer term. As Birmingham Polytechnic already uses BLCMP online systems for cataloguing, acquisitions and ordering, as well as for circulation control, we were very pleased to be the first library to complete the system by offering online catalogue facilities direct to our library users.
William Foster and Richard Wellings
BLCMP has been providing a computerised cataloguing service for nearly 20 years. Over the last five years the emphasis of its activities has been towards the implementation of an…
Abstract
BLCMP has been providing a computerised cataloguing service for nearly 20 years. Over the last five years the emphasis of its activities has been towards the implementation of an integrated stand alone library system, BLS. The OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) module of BLS has recently undergone extensive development with the introduction of author and keyword search facilities. Features of the OPAC described in the paper include parameterisation for flexibility in screen design, novice and expert searching, the first and current (Revision 1) versions and future developments. Finally, the close working relationship between BLCMP and the library school at the City of Birmingham Polytechnic is described.
Conor L. Scott and Melinda M. Mangin
In recent decades, school discipline has become increasingly characterized by zero-tolerance policies that mandate predetermined punitive consequences for specific offenses…
Abstract
In recent decades, school discipline has become increasingly characterized by zero-tolerance policies that mandate predetermined punitive consequences for specific offenses. Zero-tolerance policies have not been shown to improve student behavioral outcomes or school climate. Further, these disciplinary policies are applied unevenly across schools and student populations. Despite the well-documented research base that demonstrates that these practices are ineffective, they remain commonplace in K-12 school across the United States. Transformative and culturally responsive educational leadership requires school leaders to examine the historical, societal, and institutional factors that contribute to the racial-discipline gap within their particular schools. This process requires committing to leading for racial justice, self-reflexive practice, and having the courage to boldly name and dismantle practices that do not create equitable outcomes for students on the margins. Drawing on tenets of Critical Race Theory and Culturally Responsive School Leadership to situate the history and proliferation of harmful disciplinary practices, this chapter discusses how critically reflexive school leaders can mobilize restorative practices to dismantle the systems, structures, and practices that reproduce inequities in schools. The chapter provides aspiring and practicing school leaders with the knowledge needed to reform existing school discipline policies and implement practices that support racial justice.
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This chapter examines the concept of intersectionality and its application to disability. It examines the historical background and evolution of the concept. The chapter suggests…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter examines the concept of intersectionality and its application to disability. It examines the historical background and evolution of the concept. The chapter suggests issues which emerge in its application to the interaction of disability with other social statues. It reviews the contributions in this volume and places them into the context of the study of intersectionality and disability.
Methodology/approach
This chapter is a review of relevant literature as well as a review of the chapters included in the volume.
Findings
The chapter reviews the history of the concept of intersectionality as well as some of its conceptual complexities. It compares race, gender and disability as types of statuses and shows how they are the same as well as how they are different. It shows that the fluidity of the status of disability is true to a lesser extent for race and gender. It sets the stage for the authors’ contributions to the volume.
Social/practical implications
The chapter shows that, in the same ways that race and gender as statuses work together to create inequality, disability and other statuses such as parenthood also work together to affect the lives of, and create inequalities for, persons with disabilities.
Originality/value
The chapter identifies the intellectual relationships of the concepts of master status and intersectionality and discusses some of the complexities of those concepts. It introduces a volume which begins to document the importance of the intersection of disability with other statuses.
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Silvana Maria R. Watson, João Lopes, Célia Oliveira and Sharon Judge
The purpose of this descriptive study is to investigate why some elementary children have difficulties mastering addition and subtraction calculation tasks.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this descriptive study is to investigate why some elementary children have difficulties mastering addition and subtraction calculation tasks.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers have examined error types in addition and subtraction calculation made by 697 Portuguese students in elementary grades. Each student completed a written assessment of mathematical knowledge. A system code (e.g. FR = failure to regroup) has been used to grade the tests. A reliability check has been performed on 65 per cent randomly selected exams.
Findings
Data frequency analyses reveal that the most common type of error was miscalculation for both addition (n = 164; 38.6 per cent) and subtraction (n = 180; 21.7 per cent). The second most common error type was related to failure to regroup in addition (n = 74; 17.5 per cent) and subtraction (n = 139; 16.3 per cent). Frequency of error types by grade level has been provided. Findings from the hierarchical regression analyses indicate that students’ performance differences emerged as a function of error types which indicated students’ types of difficulties.
Research limitations/implications
There are several limitations of this study: the use of a convenient sample; all schools were located in the northern region of Portugal; the limited number of problems; and the time of the year of assessment.
Practical implications
Students’ errors suggested that their performance in calculation tasks is related to conceptual and procedural knowledge and skills. Error analysis allows teachers to better understand the individual performance of a diverse group and to tailor instruction to ensure that all students have an opportunity to succeed in mathematics.
Social implications
Error analysis helps teachers uncover individual students’ difficulties and deliver meaningful instruction to all students.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the international literature on error analysis and reinforces its value in diagnosing students’ type and severity of math difficulties.
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Sheresa Boone Blanchard and Tacy Rae LeBaron
Six African-American, heterosexual couples with a toddler son in a southeastern United States county were interviewed about their beliefs and practices. Couples shared reflections…
Abstract
Six African-American, heterosexual couples with a toddler son in a southeastern United States county were interviewed about their beliefs and practices. Couples shared reflections of joys and challenges in their lives right before and during the pregnancy, delivery and right after the birth of their son. Through thematic analysis, results showed that most parents shared similar experiences of planning the pregnancy, breastfeeding from birth, and both being involved in caregiving. However, variability in preparation, emotions, and adjustment existed during this period. Although differential pregnancy outcomes could be race-related (i.e. gestational period length and preterm delivery), other aspects of this universal experience were similar to the average couple in the United States. This study aims to consider the implications for how race might impact the variability across families.
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In the spring of 1982, I published an article in Reference Services Review on marketing libraries and information services. The article covered available literature on that topic…
Abstract
In the spring of 1982, I published an article in Reference Services Review on marketing libraries and information services. The article covered available literature on that topic from 1970 through part of 1981, the time period immediately following Kotler and Levy's significant and frequently cited article in the January 1969 issue of the Journal of Marketing, which was first to suggest the idea of marketing nonprofit organizations. The article published here is intended to update the earlier work in RSR and will cover the literature of marketing public, academic, special, and school libraries from 1982 to the present.
Rachael M. Rimmer, Rachel D. Woodham, Sharon Cahill and Cynthia H.Y. Fu
The purpose of this paper was to gain a qualitative view of the participant experience of using home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Acceptability impacts…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to gain a qualitative view of the participant experience of using home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Acceptability impacts patient preference, treatment adherence and outcomes. However, acceptability is usually assessed by rates of attrition, while multifaceted constructs are not reflected or given meaningful interpretations. tDCS is a novel non-invasive brain stimulation that is a potential treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). Most studies have provided tDCS in a research centre. As tDCS is portable, the authors developed a home-based treatment protocol that was associated with clinical improvements that were maintained in the long term.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examined the acceptability of home-based tDCS treatment in MDD through questionnaires and individual interviews at three timepoints: baseline, at a six-week course of treatment, and at six-month follow-up. Twenty-six participants (19 women) with MDD in a current depressive episode of at least moderate severity were enrolled. tDCS was provided in a bifrontal montage with real-time remote supervision by video conference at each session. A thematic analysis was conducted of the individual interviews.
Findings
Thematic analysis revealed four main themes: effectiveness, side effects, time commitment and support, feeling held and contained. The themes reflected the high acceptability of tDCS treatment, whereas the theme of feeling contained might be specific to this protocol.
Originality/value
Qualitative analysis methods and individual interviews generated novel insights into the acceptability of tDCS as a potential treatment for MDD. Feelings of containment might be specific to the present protocol, which consisted of real-time supervision at each session. Meaningful interpretation can provide context to a complex construct, which will aid in understanding and clinical applications.
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Fatmakhanu (fatima) Pirbhai-Illich, Fran Martin and Shauneen Pete