Assessing working students' college experiences: a grounded theory approach

This study explores working students' college experiences using the grounded theory approach. Focus groups were conducted to allow working students to elaborate on their college experiences, clarifying issues not easily addressed through surveys. Two theoretical propositions are offered to describe how working students are constantly searching for meaningful work as well as meaning in their work. It is important for institutions to consider work as an educationally purposeful activity outside classroom and to create job opportunities that benefit students academically, socially and financially.     

A review of ancient Egyptian pigments and cosmetics

The pigments used by the ancient Egyptians constitute the most diverse pigment palette of the ancient world. This review discusses the pigments and binders which were used, arranged principally in terms of the colours themselves, namely, the white, green, grey, black, brown, blue, red, orange, and yellow pigments. The chemical identity of these pigments is discussed with some details regarding the artefacts or time periods from which the pigment concerned has been identified. Combinations of pigments were used for creating some colours, especially: greens, pinks, blues, yellows, and a variety of pale hues by mixing primary colours with a white addition, such as calcite. The identification of ancient Egyptian pigments is often aggravated by chemical interactions between pigment and binder media, or between the pigment and environmental pollutants, or both. The nature of the binders and varnishes used in ancient Egypt is briefly discussed. The identification of green pigments from ancient Egypt is often difficult, and some of the recent research concerning the topic is reviewed. In addition to including relevant details from older literature, this review provides a synopsis of recent studies which have appeared since the last major review carried out by Lee and Quirke in 2000.     

Troubleshooting Electronic Resources with ILL Data

Troubleshooting electronic resource linking issues can seem to be an insurmountable task—so many resources, so little time. Using interlibrary loan (ILL) data on requests for materials available online, the electronic resources staff at the Samford University Library detected problems with the implementation of their new link resolver. This data also provided a window into some systemic issues within the metadata of certain sources and the link resolver knowledgebase. In addition to helping us improve linking for our users, the establishment of a workflow for communicating cancelled ILL transaction data on an ongoing basis has also improved the communication between electronic resources staff and the ILL department regarding the overall linking process.     

Gamifying your Teaching: Guidelines for Integrating Gameful Learning in the Classroom

Gamified teaching is a pedagogical strategy that utilizes principles of gaming in the structure of assignments and grading. When students are allowed to engage in gameful educational experiences, they are given the freedom to choose their own pathway through assignments in order to better customize their learning. This article presents a rationale for gamified teaching and outlines the various elements of this instructional approach. In addition, guidance is provided on how to convert a traditional course to a gamified class.     

Beyond stacking in American football towards an understanding of cultural transmission,social identity and self-categorization

Relying on cultural transmission, social identity and self-categorization theories, this study uses an innovative two-part photo-pasting and survey method to investigate quantitatively and qualitatively non-fans’, fans’ and players’ assumptions about what positions black and white players should occupy in American football. Both white and black players and fans showed evidence of being cultural transmitters of racial ideologies associated with the quarterback position in American football. Overall, the respondent choices for quarterback diverged significantly from equality but not significantly from the reality of the National Football League. Players and fan and non-fan participants alike showed evidence of being cultural consumers and transmitters of racial ideologies associated with the quarterback position. Narrative reasons for player choices aligned with past literature about racial stereotypes. On most measures, the findings did not differ greatly among the institutions from which study participants were drawn, their diversity in geography, racial composition, ideology, athletic division and public–private status notwithstanding.     

Serious leisure: the sport of target shooting and leisure satisfaction

This study is designed to identify the underlying satisfaction dimensions gained through engagement in target shooting as a serious leisure pastime. The instrument design was based on the Leisure Satisfaction Scale. A total of 5502 useable surveys were collected through the Internet and a website related to target shooting and gun ownership. The results revealed eight dimensions: self-actualization, social interaction, location aesthetic, respite, physical benefit, connection and hedonic pleasure, which supplied the primary satisfiers of engaging in target shooting as a serious leisure activity. The demographic profile and dimensions of satisfaction may serve to dispel commonly held stereotypes of shooting hobbyists and those involved in gun ownership. The findings have important implications for leisure researchers and practitioners, to industry, both leisure and firearm related, and the target shooting community at large. This study adds to the literature of both target shooting and serious leisure.