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This qualitative, hermeneutic, phenomenological study was conducted to better understand how maternal health nurses in Maryland and Black women patients communicate. The study’s secondary objectives were to understand the communication procedures and leadership responsibilities within the state’s health services organizations (HSOs) and the nurses’ experiences with these topics. The patient-centered care conceptual framework was applied in this study to explore the high maternal mortality and morbidity health crisis affecting U.S. Black maternal health patients to discern the processes involved and determine whether potential communication as well as a lack of leadership roles and support could be contributing factors. The participants were 11 nurses from public hospitals and clinics throughout Maryland that have provided maternal health care in the state for at least 3 years. Interpretive coding was used to manually classify and organize the data for analysis. Iterative data analysis revealed five overall themes: (a) maternal health nurses experienced burnout, (b) maternal health nurses were challenged with cultural and health literacy barriers, (c) maternal health nurses fostered patient-centeredness, (d) maternal health nurses were key patient safety advocates, and (e) the need for more consistent HSO interdepartmental partnerships in delayed communication, interventions, and baseline care plan conformity. The findings of this study may lead to positive social change by providing a basis for understanding and addressing specific factors, such as access and delivery coordination, that may contribute to poor maternal health care outcomes and communication experiences between nurses, patients, and HSOs, improving Black maternal health outcomes.

Teaching is an essential skill in becoming a faculty member in any institution of higher education. Yet how is that skill actually acquired by graduate students? Teaching as if Learning Matters collects first-person narratives from graduate students and new PhDs that explore how the skills required to teach at a college level are developed. It examines the key issues that graduate students face as they learn to teach effectively when in fact they are still learning and being taught. Featuring contributions from over thirty graduate students from a variety of disciplines at Indiana University, Teaching as if Learning Matters allows these students to explore this topic from their own unique perspectives. They reflect on the importance of teaching to them personally and professionally, telling of both successes and struggles as they learn and embrace teaching for the first time in higher education.

English in Print from Caxton to Shakespeare to Milton examines the history of early English books, exploring the concept of putting the English language into print with close study of the texts, the formats, the audiences, and the functions of English books. Lavishly illustrated with more than 130 full-color images of stunning rare books, this volume investigates a full range of issues regarding the dissemination of English language and culture through printed works, including the standardization of typography, grammar, and spelling; the appearance of popular literature; and the development of school grammars and dictionaries. Valerie Hotchkiss and Fred C. Robinson provide engaging descriptions of more than a hundred early English books drawn from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the Elizabethan Club of Yale University. The study nearly mirrors the chronological coverage of Pollard and Redgrave's famous Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), beginning with William Caxton, England's first printer, and ending with John Milton, the English language's most eloquent defender of the freedom of the press in his Areopagitica of 1644. William Shakespeare, neither a printer nor a writer much concerned with publishing his own plays, nonetheless deserves his central place in this study because Shakespeare imprints, and Renaissance drama in general, provide a fascinating window on the world of English printing in the period between Caxton and Milton.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to extend the work of Zipperer, Worley, Sisson & Said (2002) on high school principals' perception of reading and their role as effective leaders of literacy. Procedures. More than 500 high school principals in the state of Missouri were mailed a survey. Of these, 355 (70 percent) completed and returned the survey. The population consisted of principals who are working in the three geographic locations in the state of Missouri: small towns, large towns and large cities. This is a descriptive study which investigated high school principals' perception of reading. The study was supported by quantitative and qualitative research. A large portion of the data analysis is statistical. In quantitative research, researchers classify features; count these features and construct statistical models to explain what is observed. The qualitative data analysis process utilized content analysis. Qualitative research works with numerical data such as observations, interview and other sources of information. Findings. The survey indicated that principals who were more familiar with reading instruction and who had a positive reading experience were more likely to value reading in their schools than the principals who had not had similar experiences. Of those high school principals who completed the survey, 18 percent had taken reading courses beyond those required for obtaining a teaching certificate; of those principals who had experience in reading 6.2 percent indicated they taught content reading instruction. Conclusions. Principals as leaders of literacy must be knowledgeable about the reading process as it relates to the students. Principals must take advantage of staff development so they will have an understanding of the reading process and how to integrate reading instruction across the curriculum.

How do scientists carry out scientific investigations? There is no straightforward answer to this question. Scientists use a great range of investigative approaches. For example, they carry out laboratory tests, study patterns of behaviour, carry out surveys to try to correlate possible cause and effect relations, build models and test new theories, all of which is in stark contrast to the paucity of kinds of investigations carried out in schools in the UK. The first part of this chapter is concerned with the varieties of kinds of investigations used in schools and the problems associated with the dominance of fair testing. In the second part of the chapter, the pupils' experience of investigative work in schools is examined. Teachers see investigations as providing opportunities for pupils to make decisions, to think for themselves and to use scientific skills and processes to solve scientific problems, but do pupils see things in the same way? Do they have any idea of what they are supposed to be learning, or do they see investigations as just another school exercise to be done to keep the teacher happy?

Now that the issue with nurses has been dealt with, I would like to draw to the public's attention the concerns of the medical laboratory technologist of P.E.I. Salaries paid to medical laboratory technologists in P.E.I. are below the average salaries of medical laboratory technologists in Atlantic Canada and this gap continues to grow. We need to create the opportunity for P.E.I. people to train as medical laboratory technologists by providing access to the training program that exists in New Brunswick. This may require the P.E.I. government to purchase seats in the program and/or provide bursary support for the students in return for guarantee of service in P.E.I. This issue requires immediate action because the training will require three or four years, meaning people starting training now will not be available until 2005 or 2006.

Let's face it: Sisters are doing it, and doing it well. In honor of Women's History Month, we'd like to highlight the achievements of a few good women (and girls), as well as present more opportunities for women to shine.