There is a "clash of civilizations" going on in the information field--a clash characterized by a brash upstart, Google, and its attendant creations, Google Scholar and Google Books, and the old guard represented by the library world. Librarians who deprecate Google Scholar or simply ignore the Google phenomenon do so at their own risk. Google…

As the movement to overhaul teacher evaluation marches onward, an emerging question is splitting the swath of advocates who support the new tools used to gauge teacher performance: Who should get access to the resulting information? Supporters of typing teacher evaluations to student performance differ over whether individuals' results should be…

The term "information world" has been widely used by LIS scholars in a rather cursory manner. Building upon a range of existing concepts in LIS literature, and drawing on evidence from interviews of 40 people of different social statuses, this paper offers a redefinition of the "information worlds of individuals" concept within the framework of…

In a 2011 segment on CNN "Headline News," Doug Levin, CEO of the State Educational Technology Director's Association, asserted that the shift to Common Core State Standards, the prevalence of open content, and the rapid increase in the availability of mobile technology will soon make paper textbooks a thing of the past in U.S. schools. He predicts…

This qualitative study examines the support needs of adult siblings of people with developmental disabilities. A survey completed by 139 siblings of people with developmental disabilities captured the needs of adult siblings through 2 open-ended questions. A grounded theory approach was used, and the sibling responses anchored the analysis,…

Understanding the contexts in which young children develop is essential for promoting positive outcomes. In this study, the researchers used focus groups to investigate the perspectives of 14 parents across rural North Carolina concerning ecocultural features that enhanced or prevented sustained engagement with their infants and toddlers with…

This study was conducted with medical students, physicians, patients and carers in a paediatric and an adult hospital to determine use of mobile devices for learning, and beliefs and attitudes about others' use. Awareness of ethical, patient privacy and data security concerns was explored. The research was conducted using a mixed-methods…

To better understand faculty attitudes and practices regarding usage of library-specific tools and roles in a university learning management system, log data for a period of three semesters was analyzed. Academic departments with highest rates of usage were identified, and faculty users and nonusers within those departments were surveyed regarding…

This paper presents an analysis of ways in which pedagogy with information and communications technologies (ICTs) may need to adapt to accommodate to a major shift in our conceptions of knowledge and learning. A holistic approach to this analysis based on Checkland's "systems thinking" suggested changes in pedagogy needed for 21st…

Social media are at the heart of the daily communications of adolescents. In many cases, however, adolescents are unaware of the consequences of the long-term availability of their online personal information. Given the rising prevalence of online background checks on potential partners, college applicants, and job candidates, online search…

In this society of digital environment, to keep pace with the technological change that causes the difficulties of information access together with royalty fees remunerated for making use of copyrighted materials, Creative Commons (CC) license is introduced. However, debates on the issues of copyright and CC license have widely arisen. This…

While a quarter of all American students are enrolled in rural public schools, many rural teachers and administrators believe that education stakeholders are slow to fully recognize and address the unique challenges facing rural educators. This brief discusses recent steps taken by the federal government and individual states to address the…

The purpose of this study was to determine what sources of professional knowledge are available to principals in 1 rural East Tennessee school district. Qualitative research methods were applied to gain an understanding of what sources of knowledge are used by school principals in 1 rural East Tennessee school district and the barriers they face…

This report sets out a framework for vocational learning and vocational education and training (VET) delivered to secondary students. It updates the New Framework for Vocational Education in Schools released in 2001 by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. The framework has been developed by a working group…

For Hispanic children, the challenges of family poverty, cultural differences, and language proficiency are often interrelated and pose significant barriers to academic and personal success. The roots of the academic achievement gap are formed early in life; by age five, Hispanic children are, on average, four to five months behind white children…