There is little literature on childhood sexual abuse in women seen by forensic services. A cohort of 225 cases of women seen by forensic services in a medium secure unit in the UK were examined, and childhood sexual abuse and non-childhood sexual abuse cases were compared. Over half the sample had a history of childhood sexual abuse, and 5.6% of…

Many articles and reports have reviewed, researched, and commented on international assessments from the perspective of exploring what is relevant for the United States' education systems. Researchers make claims about whether the top-performing systems have transferable practices or policies that could be applied to the United States. However,…

A study of requests for photocopies of journal articles through interlibrary loan at Colgate University over a period of one month suggests that, if a borrowing library wants quick service with a high fill rate and little imposition upon the lender, location verification is more important that citation verification. (MES)

Examines development of social libraries (formed by associations for member use) in New England and rest of United States before 1850, and social and public library growth between 1850 and 1900. Opinions of contemporaries and seven aspects of American life indicating reluctance to abandon social library are highlighted. (27 references) (EJS)

Reports on a study which examined a random sample of library science Ph.D.s who received their degrees between 1969 and 1979 to compare publishing histories of males and females with regard to quantity and type of publication. Results of data analyses are presented in five tables. (15 references) (MES)

The goal of the "Closing the Achievement Gap for 21st Century Learners in West Virginia (CAG)" report, 3rd edition, is to update West Virginia educators to the status and improvement of student achievement in West Virginia which may then be utilized as a basis for determining future educational decisions. In order to enhance the quality…

Examines characteristics of 50 frequently cited authors in the field of computer applications to education (CAE). Citation analysis used in the study is discussed, a taxonomy of topics in CAE based upon the writings of these authors is developed, and a comparison is made with data from the Social Science Citation Index. (LRW)

Literature showing the disadvantages of Boolean logic in online searching is reviewed, and research comparing the Filter/Flow visual interface (i.e., a graphical representation of Boolean operators) with a text-only interface is described. A significant difference in the total number of correct queries is reported that favored Filter/Flow. (16…

A survey of 113 Texas libraries examined characteristics of reference positions to determine whether there were important similarities and differences between public and academic libraries in the areas of professional qualifications for employment; job skills and responsibilities; work scheduling; benefits; and departmental characteristics. The…

Reviews results of 55 experiments comparing learning from illustrated text and learning from text alone. Research in closely related fields--nonrepresentational pictures (maps, diagrams, graphic organizers), learner-produced drawings, mental imagery, and oral prose--is also examined, and guidelines for practice are offered. A 160-item reference…

This empirical study of undergraduates compared the psychometric properties, i.e., reliability and validity, of four computer attitude measures and their subscales. Results are analyzed that indicate all measures tested were essentially equal in terms of reliability and validity, and attempts to empirically derive improved scales were…

Reports on a study that investigated the effects of subject knowledge and search experience on tactics used by novices and experienced searchers in online searches. Results of an experiment conducted with 32 undergraduate students and 32 professional searchers, and implications of the findings for system design are discussed. (52 references) (KRN)

This study compared the content categories listed in the ANSI/ISO (American National Standards Institute/International Organization for Standardization) abstracting standards to actual content found in 120 abstracts from the chemistry, psychology, and history literature. A lack of correlation between the standards and history literature was found.…

Discussion of informetric distributions shows that generalized Leimkuhler functions give proper fits to a large variety of Bradford curves, including those exhibiting a Groos droop or a rising tail. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is used to test goodness of fit, and least-square fits are compared with Egghe's method. (Contains 53 references.) (LRW)

This paper discusses the digital divide from the perspective of Latin America and the Caribbean. Highlights include: new issues that make access to electronic resources difficult for users; differences in technological infrastructure among countries; how Internet users are distributed worldwide; Internet access in Africa; the number of students…