Forging Ahead: Early Lessons

Outlines outcomes and lessons of the Scale Academy for Microenterprise Development's operational grants, training, and technical support for microenterprise organizations. Examines grantees' progress in and strategies for expanding services sustainably

A Study of the Relationship Between Followership Modalities and Leadership Styles Among Educators at Selected High Schools in Jackson, Mississippi

Problem. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of the relationship between followership modalities and leadership styles. High-school teachers and principals in the Jackson Public School District in Jackson, Mississippi, participated in the study. Method. Methodological triangulation that combined quantitative and qualitative methods served as the study\u27s research design. A 45-item Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5x-Short), developed by Bass and Avolio (1995), and a well-established measure of leadership style, was administered to the principals. A 20-item, self-diagnostic questionnaire, developed by Robert Kelley, designed to measure followership modalities, was administered to the high school teachers who participated in the study. Semi-formal interviews were also conducted with principals and teachers. One-way ANOVA and transcriptions of themes compiled from interviews were used to analyze the data. Findings. The findings of the study revealed there is limited variation in followership modalities in educational institutions. There is extensive variation in follower performance within identified followership modalities. Followership modalities correspond with leadership styles among teachers and principals. There is no difference in followers\u27 active engagement skills based on gender, age, teaching experience and time with the leader. There is no difference in followers\u27 independent critical-thinking skills based on gender, age, teaching experience, and time with the leader. Conclusions. This study\u27s examination of followership modality variation among teachers revealed that followers generally reflect modality that corresponds with the leaders\u27 style and behavior. Competent, visionary, inspiring, and stimulating leaders will predictably have followers who demonstrate similar traits. The majority of followers in this study seemed to emulate their leader\u27s general style, greatly limiting the amount of variation in followership modality. However, the relational aspect of the leader-follower bond allows the leader to determine the extent to which followers demonstrate a certain followership modality

School/Community Cooperation: Action-Involved Learning

Since education/learning occurs before and after formal schooling, schools have no monopoly on it. In fact, education happens as people live and change and wherever there is intelligent action. Schools can benefit from wider intelligent action and can increase young people’s learning through co-operation with the changing world. Such changing speaks to action-involved learning and encourages a concept of a dynamic, interactive world. It contrasts to the Alexandrian and Platonic/Aristotelian concepts of a static, closed universe, where ideas are unchanged and fixed and where an external (authoritarian) authority pre-determines knowledge. The latter system puts the cart before the horse, by decreeing learning through order regardless of interest. An interactive, more democratic system engages one’s interests first, letting progress proceed by student initiative. The contrast between a prior/traditional education and action-involved community education is great. ACTION INVOLVED LEARNING. All life is education. Education requires participation. Public school should be primarily concerned with passing on the cultural community living and the improvement of the social order. A PRIORI/TRADITIONAL LEARNING. Education is gained only in formal institutions of learning. Education is adequately gained through studying about life. School systems should be primarily concerned with the improvement of heritage [...

MF1062

Some information is adapted from The Farmer in Distress: How the Veterinarian Can Help Out, Roger T. Williams, University of Wisconsin-Madison.Charles L. Griffin, Elaine M. Johannes and Joyce C. Powell, Assist by caring today: what you can do to help farm families in distress, Kansas State University, January 1993

Serving Safely: A Risk Management Resource for College Service Programs

This resource book has drawn upon the expertise of individuals in the fields of service learning, community service, risk management, insurance, and law. The valuable feedback and input from the experts in these fields has not only made this book possible, but it has strengthened the readability and technical accuracy of a complex subject

Are systematic reviews up-to-date at the time of publication?

BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews provide a synthesis of evidence for practitioners, for clinical practice guideline developers, and for those designing and justifying primary research. Having an up-to-date and comprehensive review is therefore important. Our main objective was to determine the recency of systematic reviews at the time of their publication, as measured by the time from last search date to publication. We also wanted to study the time from search date to acceptance, and from acceptance to publication, and measure the proportion of systematic reviews with recorded information on search dates and information sources in the abstract and full text of the review. METHODS: A descriptive analysis of published systematic reviews indexed in Medline in 2009, 2010 and 2011 by three reviewers, independently extracting data. RESULTS: Of the 300 systematic reviews included, 271 (90%) provided the date of search in the full-text article, but only 141 (47%) stated this in the abstract. The median (standard error; minimum to maximum) survival time from last search to acceptance was 5.1 (0.58; 0 to 43.8) months (95% confidence interval = 3.9 to 6.2) and from last search to first publication time was 8.0 (0.35; 0 to 46.7) months (95% confidence interval = 7.3 to 8.7), respectively. Of the 300 reviews, 295 (98%) stated which databases had been searched, but only 181 (60%) stated the databases in the abstract. Most researchers searched three (35%) or four (21%) databases. The top-three most used databases were MEDLINE (79%), Cochrane library (76%), and EMBASE (64%). CONCLUSIONS: Being able to identify comprehensive, up-to-date reviews is important to clinicians, guideline groups, and those designing clinical trials. This study demonstrates that some reviews have a considerable delay between search and publication, but only 47% of systematic review abstracts stated the last search date and 60% stated the databases that had been searched. Improvements in the quality of abstracts of systematic reviews and ways to shorten the review and revision processes to make review publication more rapid are needed

Patient-centered health care for infants: a qualitative analysis of mothers’ experiences and preferences

Objective: Nowhere is patient-centered care more important than in the vulnerable time of the first few weeks of a new-born’s life. However little is understood about mothers’ experiences and preferences with health care. Method: Thirty-four mothers were interviewed using verbatim transcripts to code for key and recurrent themes regarding their experiences and preferences in health care for their infant. Results: Mothers valued honest and realistic reassurance, time with a health care professional who really listens and continuity of advice rather than inconsistent or conflicting advice. Mothers are often sent for chiropractic care on the recommendation of other health care professionals who recognize a biomechanical problem from birth trauma. Conclusion: Patient-centered care begins with understanding the patient, or in the case of infants, the parents’ needs for that patient. Clinicians who give time, attention, reassurance and consistent advice are valued by mothers who seek care for their infant