22nd Annual NASIG Conference Registrants NASIG Conference 2007—Registrants by Affiliation

Electronic resources are common in academic libraries. Focus is being placed on ways to provide users with easy access and accomplish tasks at the same time. When e-journals first arrived, libraries created workflows that followed the path of a print journal. These workflows were effective for a while, but are now breaking down. Libraries performed review and analysis to discover problems, and created new workflows. They have learned that workflows need to be constantly reviewed, analyzed, and updated to identify inefficiencies and eliminate them. Libraries must be willing to devote time and energy to maintain effective workflows to prepare for the future. A summary will be provided of one library's transition from a print to an electronic environment and the steps taken to maintain effective workflows through the years. The early days of cloud computing are here and libraries are taking first steps into the cloud. Workflows must be evaluated before moving into the cloud. Migration should be carefully structured for the move. Libraries are witnessing the benefits of the cloud environment. This article will discuss the benefits of maintaining effective workflows in the cloud. Readers will learn about a journey into the cloud with Ex Libris' Alma system.     

“This Is Our Library,and It’s a Pretty Cool Place”: A User-Centered Study of Public Library YA Spaces

This study sought to collect data from teens and librarians about their preferences and recommendations for the effective design of physical library spaces for teens. Librarians and teens at twenty-two U.S. public libraries filmed narrated video tours of their young adult (YA) public library spaces. The researchers used qualitative content analysis techniques to analyze the video data and to develop a framework for guiding the design of effective YA public library spaces. In addition to providing specific recommendations for user-centered YA library space design, this study highlights the need for continued user input into the design and maintenance of YA public library spaces as teens’ needs evolve and vary across time and from community to community.     

Transparency

ABSTRACT

Within organizations, employees often discuss the need for transparency but what exactly is transparency? Transparency is often linked with communication in an effort to create an organization that is more informed about decisions and processes creating a sense of employee engagement. But leaders are not able to operate in a completely open manner due to a variety of factors. What leadership activities can be conducted in a transparent manner and how is transparency balanced with confidentiality? Transparency is not just a leader responsibility but other managers and employees contribute to organizational transparency. This column will provide more insights into the complex issue of transparency within libraries.     

The relationship between inclusion and academic achievement in English mainstream schools

This article presents the key findings and discusses the implications of a major study that explored the relationship between academic achievement and the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools in England. It is based on a statistical analysis of nationally held data on all pupils in England that is collected at the end of each of the 4 key stages, when pupils are aged 7, 11, 14, and 16. The analysis considered the relationship between academic achievement and inclusivity having controlled for a range of other variables. Findings indicate that there is no relationship between academic achievement and inclusion at the local authority (LA) level while there is a small but, for all practical purposes, insubstantial relationship at the school level. In addition, there is also a large degree of variation at the school level, suggesting strongly that there are other factors within a school's make up, rather than its degree of inclusivity, that impact on the average academic achievements of its pupils. The overall conclusion, therefore, is that mainstream schools need not be concerned about the potentially negative impact on the overall academic achievements of their pupils of including pupils with SEN in their schools.     

Relational Framing Theory: Utterance Form and Relational Context as Antecedents of Frame Salience

Using relational framing theory, this article examines the influence of utterance type and relational context on the salience of relational frames. The authors report the results of two studies that used scenarios to manipulate utterance form and information about the relationship between interactants. Participants rated the relevance of dominance-submissiveness and affiliation-disaffiliation frames to interpreting the hypothetical interactions. Results showed that judgments of dominance-submissiveness frame salience were sensitive to variations in utterance type and relational context, but the results were mixed for the affiliation-disaffiliation frame. The authors discuss the implications for relational framing theory and the possibility of an affiliation bias.     

Completing a PhD by publication: a review of Australian policy and implications for practice

There is increasing impetus for higher-degree-by-research students to publish during candidature. Research performance, including higher degree completions and publication output, commonly determines university funding, and doctorates with publishing experience are better positioned for a career in softening academic labour markets. The PhD by Publication provides a pathway for candidates to foster and demonstrate their publishing capabilities. It also provides existing academics a means of achieving doctoral status while managing the ‘publish or perish’ milieu endemic to their work. This paper clarifies the precise nature and significance of the PhD by Publication pathway in the Australian context and discusses the associated benefits and problems, enriched by personal experience. It summarises factors pertinent to assessing the pathway's suitability. The review of current policy suggests institutional guidelines in universities nationwide are inadequate for producing theses of comparable quality to conventional dissertations and capitalising on the pathway's significant benefits.