Randomised controlled trial of incentives to improve attendance at adult literacy classes   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Greg Brooks  Maxine Burton  Pam Cole  Jeremy Miles  David Torgerson 《牛津教育评论》2013,39(5):493-504

Background: Incentives have been proposed as a method to improve attendance in adult literacy classes. In the UK, several areas have piloted the use of incentives to promote attendance at adult literacy classes. To date no rigorous evaluation of this policy has been undertaken. This paper describes (as far as we are aware) the only UK‐based randomised controlled trial to evaluate the use of financial incentives in order to promote attendance in classes for adult learners.

Methods: We used a cluster‐randomised design. Twenty‐nine adult literacy classes were randomised in two groups using minimisation. Intervention group learners received £5 (US$10) for each class attended. The main outcome was class attendance; the secondary outcome was literacy scores.

Results: After allocation, one class was found to be ineligible for the study. In the 28 remaining classes there was a statistically significant reduction of about 1.5 sessions (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28, 2.79; p = 0.019) attended by the intervention group compared with control, after adjusting for cluster size and baseline scores. The difference in reading scores between the intervention and control group, conditioned on baseline scores, was ?2.38 (with controls scoring higher than the intervention group), but this difference was not statistically significant (95% CI ?7.40 to 2.57, p = 0.33).

Conclusion: Payments to attend adult literacy classes had an adverse effect on attendance. This trial needs urgent replication, ideally with a larger incentive, before this approach is widely used by policy makers.  相似文献   

Social aspects of social networking     

Melissa Cole  Laurence Brooks 《International Journal of Information Management》2009

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BiblioTech: Closing the Gap between Traditional and Digital Literacy     

Laura Cole 《Public Library Quarterly》2017,36(3):244-258

In 2013, Bexar County launched BiblioTech, the first all digital public library in the United States. BiblioTech capitalizes on technology to reach beyond the library walls and integrate the public library in facets of everyday life previously unavailable through paper and print. At its core, BiblioTech changes the traditional understanding of how libraries operate. BiblioTech’s digital model prompts a paradigm shift and challenges the library to seek out new ways to serve otherwise disengaged patron populations.

This article discusses the launch of BiblioTech---its impetus, mission, timeline, and challenges. The evolution of BiblioTech over its first four years of operation is presented, along with various community and intergovernmental partnerships that the library has forged in fulfillment of its mission. Finally, future opportunities and plans for development are also explored.  相似文献   

Object-relational data modelling for informetric databases     

Hairong Yu  Mari Davis  Concepcin S. Wilson  Fletcher T.H. Cole 《Journal of Informetrics》2008,2(3):240-251

Informetric researchers have long chafed at the limitations of bibliographic databases for their analyses, without being able to visualize or develop real solutions to the problem. This paper describes a solution developed to provide for the specialist needs of informetric researchers. In a collaborative exercise between the fields of computer science and informetrics, data modelling was used in order to address the requirements of complex and dynamic informetric data. This paper reports on this modelling experience with its aim of building an object-relational database (ORDB) for informetric research purposes. The paper argues that ORM (object-relational model) is particularly suitable because it allows for the modelling of complex data and accommodates the various data source formats and standards used by a variety of bibliographic databases. Further, ORM captures the dynamic nature of informetric data by allowing user-defined data types and by embedding basic statistical calculating tools as object functions in these user-defined data types. The main ideas of the paper are implemented in an Oracle database management system.  相似文献   

Aboriginalizing methodology: Considering the canoe     

Peter Cole 《International journal of qualitative studies in education》2013,26(4):447-459

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THE PLACE OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IN A CRISIS OF CULTURES∗     

Stewart G. Cole∗∗ 《Religious education (Chicago, Ill.)》2013,108(2):80-94

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Consider the Source: A Citical Guide to 100 Prominent News and Information Sites on the Web,by James F. Broderick and Darren W. Miller     

Jim Cole 《期刊图书馆员》2013,64(3):492-494

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THE HOME CO‐OPERATING WITH THE SUNDAY SCHOOL     

Franklyn Cole Sherman 《Religious education (Chicago, Ill.)》2013,108(5):497-501

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The Church in the Economic Order *     

Stewart G. Cole 《Religious education (Chicago, Ill.)》2013,108(5-6):438-442

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Developing and sustaining provision for children with motor skills difficulties in schools: the role of educational psychologists     

Caroline Bond  Marilyn Cole  Judy Fletcher  Jennifer Noble  Maria O’Connell 《Educational Psychology in Practice》2011,27(4):337-351

The current paper outlines a three-year action research project with 39 schools in one inner city local authority. A local need to improve provision for children with motor skills difficulties resulted in a team of educational psychologists (EPs) and specialist teachers developing the Manchester Motor Skills Intervention (MMSI), which is a flexible package of support for primary schools. Support provided ranged from staff training and resources aimed to improve universal provision through to motor skills groups for targeted children. A mixed method evaluation was undertaken which aimed to establish which aspects of the MMSI schools found most useful and whether the programme was sustainable. The evaluation involved interviews at the end of the two-year project and school provision audits one year after the project had ceased. Participants valued the contribution of the research team to the development of a targeted intervention programme and the provision of ongoing support, while evidence suggests that the whole-school element of the MMSI requires further development. Some barriers and facilitators to sustainability are identified and discussed.  相似文献