University support services can be a beneficial resource for students coping with personal stressors. This study investigated the predictors of service use by undergraduate students during their first year at university. Participants completed self-report measures of problem-solving effectiveness, psychological distress and perceived social…

Videoconferencing tools, like Skype, etc., are being increasingly used in language education worldwide. Despite assumed socio-affective and pedagogical benefits of using webcams in synchronous online language lessons, such as the feeling of co-presence or the possibilities of non-verbal communication, little is known about attitudes held by…

An investigation was made into the levels of user demands made upon the four libraries of the City of London Polytechnic, the degree of user satisfaction, and the kinds of services provided. An overall measure of library effectiveness was derived, and a series of 30 detailed observations covered: 1) basic statistics on the usage of the various…

Presents a possible solution to the problems of cataloging and retrieval which arise when teachers wish to assemble relatively large collections of structured resource materials, to enable their students to choose widely divergent routes, as they plan their studies with the ultimate goal of satisfying fixed criterion tests. (Author/VT)

A study was undertaken to investigate, from a uses and gratifications perspective, the effects of serious television drama shown in a foreign country. Specifically, the study examined the impact of "Roots," a highly acclaimed American television drama on slavery, in Great Britain and provided comparisons with the findings of…

Discusses the problems of obtaining accurate estimates of the utilization of educational broadcasts in the schools and the possibility that educational broadcasts cannot be justified solely on utilization figures. (JY)

Examines contributions which instructional television offers to the educational process: inspires teachers and students with new ideas and approaches; encourages techers who may lack confidence to tackle new subject areas; and provides instructional support material for new subject areas at no cost. Illustrative examples of these contributions are…

In order to measure the effectiveness of its libraries, the City of London Polytechnic Library and Learning Resources Service surveyed its users and compared the results with a study completed the previous year (1973). Tables and statistics have been provided for: number, type, status, and academic department of users; frequency of use;…

Evaluation of the use of videotape cassettes at the University of Bath library. Student use, relation to course work, costs, amount of cognitive learning, and purpose of the materials were studied through observation and interviews. (RAO)

Discussion of online public access catalogs focuses on a study that evaluated 3 different systems in Great Britain. Comparative evaluations were made using structured exercises to determine searching techniques and transaction logs to investigate user behavior. Comments on future research are also given. (12 references) (LRW)

The Mass-Observation Archive contains a large amount of evidence, stretching back to the 1930s, of the British public's daily lives and its attitudes to local, national, and international issues and events. The archive's data-collection method takes the form of essay-style contributions submitted from anonymous volunteer correspondents who write…

Part of a larger study of the educational significance of departmental resource centers in higher education, this survey aimed at quantifying, validating, and supplementing information gathered through other means. Information collected on each center includes resources in its collection, use of resources, feedback and evaluation activities, and…

This comparative survey of current practices in classification and cataloging of printed materials was concerned with six questions: (1) What procedures are involved in cataloging and classification? (2) Could some of this work be done by a centralized cataloging service? (3) Who is doing the work of cataloging now and what are his qualifications?…

The OSTI-SEA (Sociology of Education Abstracts) project was conceived as a result of the awareness that the task of SEA as a service was steadily increasing in complexity and size. A three-year project was initiated to develop a system to meet information needs, patterns of inquiry and preferences as to type of service of its users. The study…