Collaborative inquiry project-based learning: Effects on reading ability and interests

The academic performance of students has been shown to be associated with reading ability. Inquiry learning can potentially enhance the reading abilities and interests of students. This study verified this proposition by examining the effects of an inquiry approach to group projects on the reading abilities of primary school students. Using a case study design, an inquiry project-based learning (PBL) approach, with the collaboration between three types of teachers and the school librarian was implemented to support the development of reading abilities and interests of students in a primary school in Hong Kong. The participants included Primary 4 students, teachers, and parents. Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) tests were used to evaluate the students' reading abilities; survey questionnaire and interviews were used to examine the participants' perceptions of the inquiry PBL; and the PIRLS survey was used to measure the students' attitudes and self-perceptions. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses showed positive effects on the reading abilities and attitudes of the participating students. Students' attitudes and self-perceived abilities appeared to influence the improvements in reading abilities. Finally, improvements in the students' reading comprehension, reading speed, and vocabulary were perceived. These findings provide evidence and insights to support further implementation of inquiry PBL in primary schools.     

Remaking academic library services in Zimbabwe in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic

The outbreak of the global COVID -19 pandemic has affected all aspects of life, access to higher education has not been out of danger as evidenced by the enforcement of official closures, enforcement lockdown and social distancing rules by governments throughout the world. However, while the COVID-19 pandemic has presented the world with numerous socioeconomic challenges, it has also helped to spur creativity and information as evidenced by the responses of academic libraries that have seen a heighted use of digital platforms to support education, teaching and research. The study sought to establish how librarians in Zimbabwe responded to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the implications of the pandemic on library service delivery. A qualitative research was adopted for the study. Using snowballing, interviews were used to gather data beginning with the library association's branch leadership. The researchers ensured that the questions were aligned to the research objectives. The interview schedule included open and closed questions to enable participants to provide further details relating to the phenomenon under study. The participants were guaranteed their rights to consent, privacy and anonymity in the introduction of the interview schedule. An The study reveals that there has been an increase in the use online platforms for accessing information especially library's webpages, electronic books and journals. The use of library online resources from distance locations also rose following closure of campuses. Library patrons' perceptions towards electronic resources significantly improved as they realized that they were equally useful as the print. Findings from the study provide useful recommendation on how librarians can remodel their services to match new demands presented by the COVD-19 pandemic. The study provides a starting point upon which further research on the effect of COVID-19 or other similar pandemics have on library service delivery.     

Caregivers' perceptions of emergent literacy programming in public libraries in relation to the National Research Councils' guidelines on quality environments for children

A survey conducted at three Florida library systems examines caregivers' perceptions of emergent literacy programming and how these perceptions compare with the National Research Council's features for quality programs for children. The survey results reveal that caregivers' perceptions of emergent literacy programming align with the National Research Council's features. The data demonstrates that caregivers' perceptions are very positive toward emergent literacy programming in terms of learning and the environment. Caregivers' perceptions of the environment answers were mostly strongly agree. These results were more positive than their perceptions of learning, although they strongly agree that these programs prepare children for school, reading, and social interaction. The survey results will inform public libraries as to how to design, market, and deliver emergent literacy programming to caregivers with very young children.     

Teacher Access and Mentoring Abilities: Predicting the Outcome Value of Extra Class Communication

Reasoning from Sunnafrank's theory of predicted outcome value (POV), this investigation examined how students' assessments of their teachers' accessibility and mentoring abilities influenced their perceptions of the predicted value of engaging in extra class communication (ECC). Student perceptions of teacher physical and social accessibility, along with teacher mentoring abilities (including career, course, and psychosocial), were all substantially and positively related to students' ratings of the POV of ECC. However, only social accessibility, course mentoring, and career mentoring emerged as significant predictors of POV in the regression model. These findings validate POV theory by confirming that students readily assess what they have to gain (or lose) from potential ECC encounters based on what their teachers can offer them. These findings are discussed with regard to understanding how students may be motivated to realize the benefits of ECC.     

Millennials among the Professional Workforce in Academic Libraries: Their Perspective on Leadership

This study explores possible leadership perceptions of Millennials working in academic libraries, specifically their definition, the attributes they associate with leadership, whether they want to assume formal leadership roles, whether they perceive themselves as leaders, and whether they perceive leadership opportunities within their organizations and LIS professional associations. An online survey was utilized to gather the responses and the study participants comprised of Millennials (born 1982 or after) currently working full-time in libraries that were a member of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a consortium of the Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago in 2011–12.     

Teacher Access and Mentoring Abilities: Predicting the Outcome Value of Extra Class Communication

Reasoning from Sunnafrank's theory of predicted outcome value (POV), this investigation examined how students' assessments of their teachers' accessibility and mentoring abilities influenced their perceptions of the predicted value of engaging in extra class communication (ECC). Student perceptions of teacher physical and social accessibility, along with teacher mentoring abilities (including career, course, and psychosocial), were all substantially and positively related to students' ratings of the POV of ECC. However, only social accessibility, course mentoring, and career mentoring emerged as significant predictors of POV in the regression model. These findings validate POV theory by confirming that students readily assess what they have to gain (or lose) from potential ECC encounters based on what their teachers can offer them. These findings are discussed with regard to understanding how students may be motivated to realize the benefits of ECC.     

Negotiating the Model Minority Image: Performative Aspects of College-Educated Asian American Professional Men

This study is a chapter in a larger work, in which the authors explore how eight college-educated Asian American professional men negotiate the model minority image to present the performative constructions of their multiple identities within the racialized and gendered context of U.S. organizations where they work. The authors first discuss the participants' perceptions of how others view their social identities as part of a homogenized concept, regardless of their diverse Asian American subjectivities. Then, they examine how the participants engage in performative aspects of the model minority image to promote positive impressions on others and to empower themselves in U.S. organizations. Exploring the subjective standpoint of being the model minority in the context of mainstream organizations, the authors aim to further reconsider the concept of identity as relational in the context of intercultural interactions.     

A medical journal's beta site: experimentation at NEJM

When continuous development becomes the norm on the social web, finding a way to put forward new development ideas to your audience and get their feedback at an early stage is the natural result. This article discusses how one major medical journal created a ‘beta’ site to support new online development and gather user feedback, speeding development initiatives and creating intrinsic value in the experimental environment. The goals of the site, organization of the teams, and practical and brand benefits are discussed.     

Communication and Voluntary Downward Career Changes

Downward career changes are challenging in societies which place a premium on the accumulation of material wealth and discourage risk-taking, such as Singapore. To better understand how individuals manage their identities during such changes, 30 individuals who had completed a voluntary downward career change were interviewed. Results suggest three phases of communication during this process: (1) Decision making, in which individuals communicate to gather information about the change and seek support for it; (2) Announcement, in which they strategically time, frame, and deliver the message to maximize acceptance of the change; and (3) New career, in which they reframe, refocus, and recalibrate to increase their social identity. The findings suggest strategies individuals may use to effectively manage their social identities as they change careers and suggest strategies organizations may use for recruiting individuals into socially less-prestigious occupations.     

Social support within an on-line cancer community: an assessment of emotional support,perceptions of advantages and disadvantages,and motives for using the community from a communication perspective

This study investigated an on-line cancer support community emphasizing communication concerns important to the community administrators. The researcher conducted an on-line survey of participants (N v = v 103) focused on their on-line communication activities and social support. The results indicate a modest negative correlation between emotional support received on-line and perceived stress, differences in emotional support scores based on perceptions of disadvantages of on-line support groups, and different motives for using the community between people with cancer and family members. The study also describes suggestions based on the results that were made to community administrators and which could be used by other on-line support communities.     

Exploring the benefits of user education: a review of three case studies

This paper builds on Leslie Morton's vision of enabling users through education and training. It describes three different approaches to mediated training for medical students and clinicians provided by peers, juniors (i.e. medical students) and information specialists (i.e. clinical librarians) and considers the benefits to the participants. The training was provided either on a one-to-one basis or within teams in their work environments (e.g. offices, wards, team meetings). The first two projects (peer tutoring and reverse mentoring) suggest that contextualized training, using intermediaries, provides the direct benefit of cost-effective IT skill development and the indirect benefits deriving from the interactions between the trainers and the target groups. The third project, the outreach librarian study, provides evidence of both direct benefits (i.e. time saved, quality of service, skills acquired, financial savings and improved evidence-based medicine implementation) and indirect, long-term benefits relating to more social issues (e.g. perceptions of the library, clinical teams, job satisfaction and patient interactions). The general conclusion to emerge from this review of case studies is that the concept of educational benefits is very broad and that empirical studies need to look at both obvious and less obvious benefits.     

Evaluating Participation in Small Groups: Stimulated Recall,Self-Ratings,and Their Effects on Task-Relevant Judgments

This article examines if different conditions of stimulated recall influence perceptions of task-related competence in small discussion groups. Although the validity of simulated recall has been assessed in educational and interpersonal contexts, it is not clear how features of the method influence the measurement of perceptions at different levels of analysis. Participants worked on a task in groups and then viewed a videotape of the interaction. The video was paused for participants to rate each other on several influence measures. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four viewing conditions based on whether participants could see themselves in the video and whether they made self-ratings regarding their participation. Findings revealed that self's visual presence in the video and providing self-ratings had only a minor impact on the distribution of influence ratings.     

Gender differences in information behavior concerning Wikipedia,an unorthodox information source?

This study examined gender differences in information behavior concerning Wikipedia. Data were collected using a Web survey in spring 2008. The study used a convenient sample that consisted of students who had taken an introductory undergraduate course at a large public university in the Midwestern United States. A total of 134 out of 409 students participated in the study. As information consumers, male students used Wikipedia more frequently than their female counterparts did. With respect to the purposes of Wikipedia use, male students used Wikipedia for entertainment or idle reading more than their female counterparts, while there were no gender differences regarding Wikipedia use for other purposes. Male students were more likely to discount the risks involved when using Wikipedia information compared to their female counterparts. Furthermore, male students had higher ratings than female students regarding most aspects of Wikipedia, including outcome expectations, perceptions about its information quality, belief in the Wikipedia project itself, emotional states while using Wikipedia, confidence in evaluating information quality, and further exploration. Finally, there was no gender difference regarding the number of years of Wikipedia use. However, male students reported having more positive experiences with the information quality of Wikipedia than their female counterparts. Overall, the findings of this study were consistent with those of previous studies concerning gender. Given the acknowledgment of the knowledge value of Wikipedia in recent literature, it seems that there are more advantages to using Wikipedia than there are disadvantages. The current study shows that male students seem to enjoy such benefits more than female students and may have more opportunities to develop their information literacy skills than female students by actively using Wikipedia. This suggests that educators need to encourage female students in particular to explore Wikipedia strategically as an initial information source so that they can develop their information literacy skills for unconventional sources.     

Anonymity and Interaction in an Online Breast Cancer Social Support Group

Despite the benefits of using online social support groups, prior research does not provide a solid understanding of the online factors related to an individual’s supportive interaction. Accordingly, this study aims to explore how various aspects of anonymity predict different levels of social support engagement. The current study uncovers that visually identifiable group members are more likely to get supportive responses than are visually anonymous members. Also, when support group members are visually and discursively identifiable, they are more likely to get supportive messages than those who are visually and discursively anonymous. Additionally, the more identifiable support group members are, the more they receive positive messages. Practical implications for the role of social support group members’ anonymity/identifiability on the overall social support process are presented.     

The Impact of Library Support on Education Faculty Research Productivity: An Exploratory Study

The authors surveyed college and university faculty members in the field of professional education to gauge their perceptions pertaining to the impact of library services on their research. The purpose was to illuminate faculty perceptions in a postsecondary education environment that emphasizes research productivity and requires libraries to provide ever more compelling evidence of their institutional value. Survey results showed that faculty members continue to rely on traditional discovery and collections-based library services, but that additional support for grant activity, data management, intellectual property management, and bibliometric analysis is needed. Implications for transforming library research support are discussed, and areas for further study are proposed.     

Studying for Exams Just Got More Relaxing—Animal-Assisted Activities at the University of Connecticut Library

In recent years, academic libraries have expanded their traditional focus on intellectual and scholarly pursuits, with many libraries now initiating programs that support student growth, development, and wellness. Although providing animal-assisted activities to college students is a fairly new concept, the social and therapeutic benefits of pet ownership or simply interacting with a companion animal are well documented. The University of Connecticut's Homer Babbidge Library on the Storrs campus chose to support the physical and emotional well-being of students during the stress-filled week of finals by providing therapy dogs. Student interaction and feedback were overwhelmingly positive.     

技术时代公共图书馆“场所”价值的社会公众认知研究——基于公共平台网络评论文本分析北大核心CSSCI

在技术时代,公共图书馆作为实体空间的"场所"价值,是关乎图书馆未来发展的重要内容。从公众认知角度探索图书馆"场所"价值,能够发现影响图书馆事业发展的重要因素。经过全面梳理和系统分析,选择上海图书馆、浦东图书馆和滨海新区图书馆三所代表性公共图书馆在公共平台上的网络评论信息,综合运用Python、Jieba分词、SnowNLP等数据采集与分析工具,从高频词分布、情感分析和时间序列三个维度,对社会公众认知情况进行了文本挖掘。分析结果表明,公共图书馆仍然是重要的公共阅读"场所";公共图书馆"场所"服务颇受欢迎,社会评价极为正面;促进文旅融合发展,是当前社会公众对公共图书馆"场所"价值认知的特征所在。在技术时代,公共图书馆应当高度重视"场所"价值的公众认知新变化,可以将文旅融合作为未来发展阶段的重要内容,助力公共图书馆高质量发展。     

图书馆员的图书馆工作社会地位感知差异分析

通过探究不同群体的图书馆员在图书馆工作社会地位感知上的差异,发现：①女性群体、低学历群体、低职称群体的图书馆员均认为图书馆工作社会地位高;②高学历群体、高职称群体、具备专业化背景的图书馆员均认为图书馆工作社会地位低;③进馆5年内的图书馆员认为图书馆工作社会地位高;④自身感觉服务能力强的图书馆员认为自我的社会地位高;⑤图书馆职业是一个支持“二次选择”的职业。总体上,图书馆员对图书馆工作社会地位的感知确实存在“两极分化”的现象。     

A functional perspective on the study of social movements

Esteem support is a particular form of social support that is provided with the intent of enhancing how others feel about themselves and their attributes, abilities, and accomplishments. This study examines the association between perceptions of esteem support message helpfulness and (a) characteristics of the esteem support situation, (b) the relationship between provider and recipient, and (c) features of the perceived esteem support message. Participants (N = 55) recalled two esteem-threatening situations, one for which they received helpful esteem support and another for which they received unhelpful esteem support. Messages and features of situations and helpers were coded. Results indicate that features of the esteem support message and the helper are related to perceptions of messages helpfulness.     

Parents as Social Influences Encouraging Book Reading: Research Directions for Librarians’ Literacy Advocacy

Abstract

Despite the competing roles that contemporary public and school librarians juggle, advocating for youth literacy remains a priority. Both school and public librarians can support parents by providing the most current research insights to inform their approach to supporting reading in the home. Quantitative survey data from the 997 young participants illuminate the relationships between reading frequency, gender and parental encouragement. Semi-structured interviews explore the kinds of parental encouragement children perceived, allowing for an exploratory investigation to yield novel findings. While encouragement is generally being focused on the children who need it, girls receive more encouragement to read than boys even though they typically read more frequently. Reading encouragement was perceived to be related to varying parental objectives, such as valuing literacy skills and learning benefits, screen respite, providing access, shared reading, and establishing expectations, with children cognizant of parental hypocrisy in relation to low modeling. As literacy advocates, librarians can communicate that boys need to receive greater parental encouragement, encouragement may need to be high-quality to be effective, and parental modeling remains important.