Investigating the supply and demand relationship in a profession: the English and Welsh schools of librarianship and information Studies and the Higher Education Library and Information Services employment sector in England and Wales.

Concern has been expressed in the professional literature - borne out by professional experience and observation - that the supply and demand relationship existing between the 13 English and Welsh Library and Information Studies (LIS) Schools (as providers of `First Professional' staff) and the Higher Education Library and Information Services (HE LIS) sector of England and Wales (as one group of employers of such staff) is unsatisfactory and needs attention. An appropriate methodology to investigate this problem was devised. A basic content analysis of Schools' curricular and recruitment material intended for public consumption was undertaken to establish an overview of the LIS initial professional education system in England and Wales, and to identify and analyse any covert messages imparted to readers. This was followed by a mix of Main Questionnaires and Semi-Structured Interviews with appropriate populations. The investigation revealed some serious areas of dissatisfaction by the HE LIS Chiefs with the role and function of the Schools. Considerable divergence of views emerged on the state of the working relationships between the two sectors and on the Schools' successes in meeting the needs of the HE LIS sector and on CPD provision. There were, however, areas of substantial and consistent agreement between the two sectors. The main implications of the findings were that those areas encompassing divergence of views were worrying and needed addressing by both sides. Possible ways forward included recommendations on improving the image of the profession purveyed by the Schools; the forming of closer and more effective inter-sectoral relationships; recognising fully the importance of `practicum' and increasing and sustaining the network of `practicum' providers.

Review of doctoral research in second-language teaching and learning in Australia (2003–2006)

This article reviews recent doctoral research in Australian universities in the area of language teaching and learning. Doctoral work in three main areas of research concentration is described: language teaching, language learning, and writing. The authors whose studies are reviewed are graduates of the Australian National University, Griffith University, Macquarie University, the University of Technology, Sydney, the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, La Trobe University, Deakin University and Murdoch University.

Using computer concordancing for the learning of French as a second language

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Vágyott kultúra és reális értékítélet - Tudásmenedzsment-rendszer kiépítésének előfeltétele egy felsőoktatási intézményben (Desired culture and real value judgement – Precondition of development a knowledge management system in a higher education institution)

A tudásmenedzsment-rendszerek kiépítése és működtetése egyre népszerűbb vállalati cél. A legnagyobb igyekezet ellenére is kudarccal végződhet egy ilyen változás megvalósítása, ha a szükséges feltételek nélkül próbálkozunk ezzel a beavatkozással a szervezet életében. Az egyik legfontosabb előfeltétel a bizalomra, közös tanulásra, fejlődésre épülő, nyitott szervezeti kultúra, mely a tanulószervezeti jellemzőkkel írható le. A szerzők kutatásukban arra voltak kíváncsiak, milyen elképzeléseik, vágyaik vannak a felsőoktatásban oktató kollégáknak az ideálisnak nevezett szervezeti kultúráról. Ezeket az elképzeléseket egy külső tanácsadó cég által végzett kérdőíves felmérésen alapuló vizsgálat segítségével tudták meg, melynek kiértékelésére a circumplex-módszer szolgált. Az eredményeket összevetették a tanulószervezeti jellemzőkkel, vizsgálva azt a hipotézist, miszerint az oktató kollégák tudat alatt is olyan ideális szervezetet képzelnek el, mely a tanulószervezeti kultúra jellemzőivel azonos. _________ To create and to operate a knowledge management system is becoming a more and more popular target of the companies. Realizing the changes above can result in a failure – in spite of the biggest will – if organizations lack certain prerequisites which are necessary in companies’ lives. One of the most important prerequisites is organizational culture which can be characterized by confidence, common learning, development and open atmosphere. This is called a learning organizational culture. In their research the authors would have liked to know what kind of dreams the colleagues have about their own organizational culture. They achieve these results from an investigation with questionnaires which were realized by an advisory team. To evaluating the results of this investigation circumplex method was used. These results were compared with the characteristics of learning organization to confirm our hypothesis. According to this idea colleagues have the same images about their successful organization as the characteristics of learning organizations.

A review of Taiwan's technological five-year junior college mechanical engineering curriculum development: 1948 to 1994

Taiwan's technological five-year junior college (TFYJC) was founded in 1948 to train technicians to meet the demand coming from national construction. Site level professionals never were trained in curriculum development as this was under strict national control. The purpose of this study is to present an accurate narrative of Taiwan's TFYJC mechanical engineering curriculum development history in order to display the focus, rationale, and influencing forces of the evolving curriculum. This study employed historical research methodology and used document analysis as the primary approach.^ This analysis revealed that the target FYJC curriculum was manufacturing-oriented. The range of government control shifted from little, to full, then to partial control of the curriculum, from autonomy to uniformity then to partial autonomy. The intention of the target curriculum development was always to advance domestic economic development. Voices from the academia and government also influenced curriculum development decisions. Currently, the government has instituted a shift in focus and content causing individual institutions to develop curriculum responses addressing the challenge of advancing Taiwan's position in a global economy.^ Considering the shift in policy and practice, individual institutions intending to design curriculum are advised to implement empirical needs assessments of students, graduates, and employers and to engage in critical studies of emerging resources in order to provide effective in service training. To accomplish this end, TFYJC faculty and administration need training in curriculum theory and practice and evaluation. ^

A distance education case study: A comparison of instructional delivery methods practiced by higher education faculty and emerging standards

The purpose of this research was to compare the delivery methods as practiced by higher education faculty teaching distance courses with recommended or emerging standard instructional delivery methods for distance education. Previous research shows that traditional-type instructional strategies have been used in distance education and that there has been no training to distance teach. Secondary data, however, appear to suggest emerging practices which could be pooled toward the development of standards. This is a qualitative study based on the constant comparative analysis approach of grounded theory.^ Participants (N = 5) of this study were full-time faculty teaching distance education courses. The observation method used was unobtrusive content analysis of videotaped instruction. Triangulation of data was accomplished through one-on-one in-depth interviews and from literature review. Due to the addition of non-media content being analyzed, a special time-sampling technique was designed by the researcher--influenced by content analyst theories of media-related data--to sample portions of the videotape instruction that were observed and counted. A standardized interview guide was used to collect data from in-depth interviews. Coding was done based on categories drawn from review of literature, and from Cranton and Weston's (1989) typology of instructional strategies. The data were observed, counted, tabulated, analyzed, and interpreted solely by the researcher. It should be noted however, that systematic and rigorous data collection and analysis led to credible data.^ The findings of this study supported the proposition that there are no standard instructional practices for distance teaching. Further, the findings revealed that of the emerging practices suggested by proponents and by faculty who teach distance education courses, few were practiced even minimally. A noted example was the use of lecture and questioning. Questioning, as a teaching tool was used a great deal, with students at the originating site but not with distance students. Lectures were given, but were mostly conducted in traditional fashion--long in duration and with no interactive component.^ It can be concluded from the findings that while there are no standard practices for instructional delivery for distance education, there appears to be sufficient information from secondary and empirical data to initiate some standard instructional practices. Therefore, grounded in this research data is the theory that the way to arrive at some instructional delivery standards for televised distance education is a pooling of the tacitly agreed-upon emerging practices by proponents and practicing instructors. Implicit in this theory is a need for experimental research so that these emerging practices can be tested, tried, and proven, ultimately resulting in formal standards for instructional delivery in television education. ^

Roadblocks to Teaching English as a Foreign Language in a Climate of Accelerated Curricular Change

This paper examines the global "English craze," in which non-Englishspeaking countries, especially in Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, are engaged in a concerted push to get the language taught more widely and at increasingly lower grade levels. The goal of this paper is to document how this phenomenon has impacted teachers of English as a Foreign Language and how they can try to alleviate these problems.

Bringing ESL Students to Literacy and Social Integration: Barriers and Strategies

In this paper, the author explores the barriers that students of English as a Second Language (ESL) face in coming fully literate in English and fully integrated into American society. The barriers cited include inadequate training of reading specialists to work with ESL students, turf wars between reading specialists and ESL teachers, inadequate preparation of students for high school and higher education, as well as a lack of academic research on developing reading skills in ESL students. Strategies for overcoming these barriers include improvement in teacher training, understanding of the student population and students’ first language (L1), and promoting success in literacy.

Better Spanish, Better English: Native Language Literacy and Adult Education

Characteristics of the predominantly Hispanic community and native language usage in Miami are discussed in relation to poverty and common adult education programs. Native language literacy instruction is considered as an alternative offering to meet learners’ needs.

The contribution of higher education to economic *development in a globalized environment

Amidst concerns about achieving high levels of technology to remain competitive in the global market without compromising economic development, national economies are experiencing a high demand for human capital. As higher education is assumed to be the main source of human capital, this analysis focused on a more specific and less explored area of the generally accepted idea that higher education contributes to economic growth. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to find whether higher education also contributes to economic development, and whether that contribution is more substantial in a globalized context. ^ Consequently, a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to support with statistical significance the answer to the research question: Does higher education contributes to economic development in the context of globalization? The information analyzed was obtained from historical data of 91 selected countries, and the period of time of the study was 10 years (1990–2000). Some variables, however, were lagged back 5, 10 or 15 years along a 15-year timeframe (1975–1990). The resulting comparative static model was based on the Cobb-Douglas production function and the Solow model to specify economic growth as a function of physical capital, labor, technology, and productivity. Then, formal education, economic development, and globalization were added to the equation. ^ The findings of this study supported the assumption that the independent contribution of the changes in higher education completion and globalization to changes in economic growth is more substantial than the contribution of their interaction. The results also suggested that changes in higher and secondary education completion contribute much more to changes in economic growth in less developed countries than in their more developed counterparts. ^ As a conclusion, based on the results of this study, I proposed the implementation of public policy in less developed countries to promote and expand adequate secondary and higher education systems with the purpose of helping in the achievement of economic development. I also recommended further research efforts on this topic to emphasize the contribution of education to the economy, mainly in less developed countries. ^

Peer Support: An Intervention To Facilitate Second Language Acquisition In Students With Asperger Syndrome And Primary Language Deficits

This is a study of a peer support program to aid students in secondary school struggling to learn a second language (for college entrance requirements) who have Asperger Syndrone and primary language deficits.