This article describes a qualitative study of the impact that Internet electronic-mail-distributed conferences, or e-conferences, have begun to have on the information seeking and sharing behavior of library and information science professionals and scholars. Highlights include a literature review; enhancing or replacing information sources; and…

Compares participatory research and alternative activist approaches, based on the literature on participatory research and interviews with nine sociologists who use alternative approaches. Concludes that all types of activist research are more effective in challenging inequality if they involve activist community organizations. (CFR)

Describes a survey of science and engineering faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago that investigated their use of paper and electronic services that offer bibliographic access to research literature. The impact of the availability of locally mounted databases is discussed, and directions for future research are suggested. (eight…

Although the current debate over multicultural education largely involves the disciplines of history and literature, the social sciences hold the key to a multicultural society with a common supraculture. The social sciences are willing and more able than the humanities to confront issues central to pluralism within unity. (SLD)

Asserts that increasing numbers of history teachers design courses to have students use historical research and processing skills. Reports on a study of 120 middle school students about their perceptions of what historians do. Concludes that the study provided teachers a means of assessing student understanding of historians. (CFR)

Sheila Tobias' recommendations for improvement of college science education in the study "They're Not Dumb, They're Different" are discussed. It is concluded that science should be presented as a pragmatic interpretive tradition as part of the liberal arts, and students should learn to "talk and write science" to each other.…

Describes a program that introduces students to hands-on, minds-on science and provides an opportunity to work on a project with a scientist-collaborator who uses their data in ongoing research. Introduces students to the rigors of science through the focus on data quality. Contains 21 references. (DDR)

Explains the functions of the Boreal Forest Watch including the scope, level of student involvement, goals, and nature of the data collection. Details student involvement at the forest site. Contains 18 references. (DDR)

Describes the results of a study of elementary (n=281) and secondary (n=132) students' drawings of scientists. Discusses the results in terms of issues of gender, race, social relevance, and collaboration in science. Suggests ways to counter the stereotypes formed by children. Contains 17 references. (Author/WRM)

Suggests that in an era of increasingly universal computer literacy and quickly developing technologies, information professionals must be able to determine current needs and learn new skills and applications to supply them. Illustrates, through a real-life model, how the library's utilitarian base is well suited to the Web and how there is no…

Identified predictors that discriminated between nontraditional and traditional career aspirations in eighth-grade female students (n=930). Results indicate that educational aspirations, parental expectations, self-reported grade point averages, and science proficiency were the best discriminators between the groups, and that differences across…

Describes an empirical study that investigated how well people in the information science field perform as judges of document relevance, topicality, and utility for information needs that they did not originate. Results are compared to the actual users' judgments, and the effects of experience and gender are explored. (Contains 17 references.)…

Critiques Kenneth N. Waltz's "Theory of International Politics," a seminal work of political theory. Waltz argues for the necessity of constructing a system or theory for explaining the actions of nation-states. Watson counters that emphasis on a constructed theory often obscures a realistic examination of events. (MJP)

Explores issues of gender and personal life that arose during discussions with women scientists about factors contributing to their success in completing training and pursuing an academic career. Issues include gender discrimination, perception of reverse discrimination, efforts toward assisting junior women in science, and the possibility that…

Most people are frustrated with the current scientific method presented in textbooks. The scientific method--a simplistic model of the scientific inquiry process--fails in most cases to provide a successful guide to how science is done. This is not shocking, really. Many simple models used in science are quite useful within their limitations. When…