Design-based research for LIS

Design-based research is a methodology emerging from the field of education that may hold potential for research in library and information science (LIS). Based upon the assumption that learning is situated in a real-world context, design-based research combines research, design, and practice into one process. It results in usable products that are supported by a theoretical framework. While definitional and methodological issues do exist, the method holds some promise for research into “user-centered” information systems and services. In the field of LIS, design-based research might contribute to our understanding of how people find, choose, understand, and use information in context. The method is also of interest to professionals concerned with “evidence-based practice.” This article will first explain and describe the method as it has been used in the allied field of education. Issues related to definition and methodology will be explored, as well as some of the solutions that have been proposed. The method will then be related to LIS, using the bonded design work of Large, Nesset, Beheshti, and Bowler [Large, A., Nesset, V., Beheshti, J., & Bowler, L. (2006a). Bonded design: a methodology for designing with children. In S. Kurniawan & P. Saphiris (Eds.), Advances in Universal Web Design and Evaluation: Research, Trends and Opportunities. London: Idea Group., Large, A., Nesset, V., Beheshti, J., & Bowler, L. (2006b). “Bonded design”: a novel approach to intergenerational information technology design. Library and Information Science Research, 28, 64–82] as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of design-based research to LIS inquiry.     

The value of structured abstracts in information retrieval from MEDLINE

Objective: To determine whether information retrieval might be enhanced by making each component of a structured abstract a separately searchable field. Design: Parallel searches on records arranged so that each abstract could either be searched in its entirety or as a collection of structured fields. Subjects: Records about cardiovascular disease downloaded from MEDLINE and tested against clinical questions derived from a concurrent survey of CD-ROM use in three health science libraries. Intervention: The investigators identified terms used to structure abstracts on MEDLINE and imported the abstracts into an Idealist database prior to searching using keywords from clinical questions. Measurements and main results: recall and precision rates are given for each question in the ‘structured’ and the ‘unstructured’ set of records. Conclusions: Use of structured, rather than unstructured, abstracts improves precision at the ex-pense of recall and places heavier demands upon the searcher’s skill in choosing the correct fields within the abstract to search. Further investigation requires more accurate simulation of MEDLINE software that utilizes features such as MeSH terms, explode, facilities and delimiters.     

Technological capital: an alternative to the digital divide

This paper identifies individuals’ accumulated history with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a replacement for the contested and outdated term ‘digital divide.’ We propose that an individual’s ability to benefit from their technological history consists of four factors: awareness, knowledge, access, and technological capacity of the user’s social collective. Together, these factors make up the individual’s level or amount of Technological Capital. The development of this construct was based on empirical research conducted in Soweto, South Africa, and through an analysis of the literature on assessing individuals’ accumulated histories. The concept of technological capital has the potential for application in fields in which ICTs are used for communication, capacity building, and identifying barriers to adoption of new technologies. The use of the concept may have implications for policy decisions, resource allocation, and future research into differences among individuals’ and communities’ ability to benefit from the introduction of new technologies.     

Investigating the Role of Problem Severity and Channel Publicness on the Sophistication of Support-Seeking Messages on Social Network Sites: A Replication Study

Oh and LaRose (2016) contended that problem severity and channel publicness shape support seekers’ goals, time spent composing messages, and the sophistication of those messages. The current study seeks to replicate and extend Oh and LaRose’s study to produce a more accurate understanding of the factors that influence the sophistication of support-seeking messages online. Support seekers’ goals varied according to the severity of a stressor and the publicness of a channel, and the amount of time people spent composing a message influenced its sophistication. We extend the original study by examining associations that were not initially tested. Time spent composing messages mediated the influence of problem severity on the quality of people’s messages, and this effect was moderated by channel publicness.     

Resilience to adult psychopathology following childhood maltreatment: evidence from a community sample

OBJECTIVE: Child abuse is an important risk for adult psychiatric morbidity. However, not all maltreated children experience mental health problems as adults. The aims of the present study were to address the extent of resilience to adult psychopathology in a representative community sample, and to explore predictors of a good prognosis. METHODS: Data are drawn from a follow-up of the Isle of Wight study, an epidemiological sample assessed in adolescence and at midlife. Ratings of psychiatric disorder, peer relationships and family functioning were made in adolescence; adult assessments included a lifetime psychiatric history, personality and social functioning assessments, and retrospective reports of childhood sexual and physical abuse. RESULTS: Ten percent of individuals reported repeated or severe physical or sexual abuse in childhood. Prospective measures revealed increased rates of adolescent psychiatric disorders in this group. Rates of adult psychopathology were also high. A substantial minority of abused individuals reported no mental health problems in adult life. Resilience of this kind was related to perceived parental care, adolescent peer relationships, the quality of adult love relationships, and personality style. CONCLUSION: Good quality relationships across childhood, adolescence and adulthood appear especially important for adult psychological well being in the context of childhood abuse.     

“冰球”在哪里:高级体育媒体学术的十大主题

从消费、碎片化、变迁三个关键词入手,提出了未来美国体育与传播研究的十个主题,即消费分层背景下的体育与体育节目、体育赛事之外的主要消费、多视角的体育事件中的身份研究、关注传播效果研究、对媒介"妖魔化"的再思考、保持体育媒介研究身份前提下的多学科研究、学术研究成果的传播、决定什么是新方向、时间对消费行为的影响和关注被忽视的领域。报告认为从不同社会阶层的角度分析体育节目的观看行为、体育消费行为和媒介体育的传播效果是最重要的研究领域,体育事件中的性别身份研究、球迷身份研究、种族、民族和国家主义等多学科的交叉研究以及新技术、新媒介出现对体育新闻与传播的影响也将继续是美国体育新闻与传播研究的方向。     

A pillar of the Youngstown community: The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County engages in the Harwood practice

ABSTRACT

The Harwood Institute arrived in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1999; and today, over 18 years later, its teachings have made a profound effect upon the city. The Youngstown Public Library, through the leadership of Carlton Sears and Heidi Daniel, has wholeheartedly embraced the methods and ideology of the Harwood Institute, helping to reinvigorate and power a city working its way back to prosperity.     

The effect of acceleration signal processing for head impact numeric simulations

Brain injury research in sport employs a variety of physical models equipped with accelerometers. These acceleration signals are commonly processed using filters. The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of applying filters with different cutoff frequencies to the acceleration signals used as input for finite element modeling of the brain. Signals were generated from reconstructions of concussion events from American football and ice hockey in the laboratory using a Hybrid III headform. The resulting acceleration signals were used as input for the University College Dublin Brain Trauma Model after being processed with filters. The results indicated that using a filter with a cutoff of 300 Hz or higher had little effect on the resulting strain measures. In some cases there was some effect of the filters on the peak linear (8–30g) and rotational measures (1000–4000 rad/s²), but little effect on the finite element strain result (approximately 2–6 %). The short duration and high magnitude accelerations, such as the puck impact, were most affected by the cutoff frequency of different filters.