Young people and the evaluation of information on the World Wide Web: Principles, practice and beliefs

A recurrent theme in LIS literature is the tendency of young people not to evaluate rigorously the information with which they come into contact. Although many information literacy models stress the need to take a critical approach, the reality of behaviour is often very different. Recent research conducted in an English high school has explored the importance that teenagers attach to ten particular evaluative criteria. 149 youngsters contributed data via an online questionnaire. Participants felt that information on the Web should be current/topical, free from spelling and grammatical errors and easily verifiable elsewhere but authorship was much less of a priority to them. The findings are likely to be of special relevance to information literacy teachers who are defining priorities for their own programmes

The evaluation challenge

For years writers concerned with information literacy (IL) – essentially the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to find and use information effectively – have stressed the importance of learners evaluating the material with which they come into contact whilst searching. As many commentators explain, the need to make sound judgements has become especially important today, since so much information searching now involves the World Wide Web. The evaluative framework proposed in this article was designed with the aim of helping to narrow the gap between discoveries emerging from research and the teaching of IL

Facilitating pupil thinking about information literacy

Whilst information literacy is frequently taught through the imposition on learners of an established framework, this paper suggests a different approach by taking a lead from James Herring’s ideas. Specifically, it provides guidance to school-based information professionals who would like to encourage their pupils to devise their own flexible, information literacy models which are unique to them. Drawing on existing material in information science and wider thought, it proposes areas for coverage and considers how information professionals may support the dynamic process of model construction. It is recommended that those who are intent on facilitating the creation of personal information literacy models help pupils to identify the roles they take on in their lives, to reflect on the information needs that result, to ascertain the information they require in particular situations, to explore their information-seeking activities, to consider means by which information can be captured and to give thought as to how the information they have accessed may be used. This framework is, however, by no means rigid and readers are, of course, free to make their own adjustments

The Pärt phenomenon

An introduction to the phenomenal composer Arvo Pärt and to the current scholarship on his music.Published versio

The characteristics and development of young people's information universes

Recent developments towards "the learning society" have increased the importance of youngsters acquiring skills in finding information. Research, however, has not kept pace with this progress and relatively little attention has been directed to young people's information universes. This study is an attempt to gain greater understanding of this area. The work draws on the ideas of youngsters themselves in order to explore these universes and to examine how the universes develop during childhood. Three particular aspects have been selected for scrutiny: young people's understanding of the term, "information", their information needs and the methods they employ to satisfy these needs. Essentially qualitative in nature, the study sampled 188 youngsters from six schools within a town in north-east England. Participants ranged from four- to eighteen-year-olds. The work is unique in using the ideas of youngsters of such a variety of ages to investigate, within a single inquiry, the three nominated areas. The main data collection methods were those of the focus group and individual interview, although some data was also elicited from documents. The youngest informants typically understood information to be facts obtained from sources such as books and computers but teenagers were more open and disparate in their beliefs. A diversity of information needs was revealed. They embraced areas such as advice, affective support and skill-related, subject and consumer information. Situational factors pertaining to, for example, the amount and up-to-dateness of the information required were important considerations for some individuals. The approaches taken by informants in response to their needs were also varied, and ranged from direct observation to the exploitation of recognised sources, including books and the Internet. Needs frequently went unmet and, for many youngsters, problems during the information-seeking process were common. Even when attempting to use other people, participants were often unable to gain the information they sought. In order to help youngsters develop more effective ways of finding information, considerable changes are needed, within schools, especially. Some changes involve modifications to existing practices but others demand that the whole ethos of the learning environment be rethought

Basal Cell Carcinomas in Gorlin Syndrome: A Review of 202 Patients

Gorlin syndrome (Naevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome) is a rare autosomal dominant syndrome caused by mutations in the PTCH gene with a birth incidence of approximately 1 in 19,000. Patients develop multiple basal cell carcinomas of the skin frequently in early life and also have a predisposition to additional malignancies such as medulloblastoma. Gorlin Syndrome patients also have developmental defects such as bifid ribs and other complications such as jaw keratocysts. We studied the incidence and frequency of basal cell carcinomas in 202 Gorlin syndrome patients from 62 families and compared this to their gender and mutation type. Our data suggests that the incidence of basal cell carcinomas is equal between males and females and the mutation type cannot be used to predict disease burden

Parity and breast cancer risk among BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

INTRODUCTION: Increasing parity and age at first full-term pregnancy are established risk factors for breast cancer in the general population. However, their effects among BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers is still under debate. We used retrospective data on BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers from the UK to assess the effects of parity-related variables on breast cancer risk. METHODS: The data set included 457 mutation carriers who developed breast cancer (cases) and 332 healthy mutation carriers (controls), ascertained through families seen in genetic clinics. Hazard ratios were estimated by using a weighted cohort approach. RESULTS: Parous BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers were at a significantly lower risk of developing breast cancer (hazard ratio 0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.37 to 0.81; p = 0.002). The protective effect was observed only among carriers who were older than 40 years. Increasing age at first live birth was associated with an increased breast cancer risk among BRCA2 mutation carriers (p trend = 0.002) but not BRCA1 carriers. However, the analysis by age at first live birth was based on small numbers. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the relative risks of breast cancer associated with parity among BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers may be similar to those in the general population and that reproductive history may be used to improve risk prediction in carriers.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are