Resource Constraints and Quality Public Library Service Delivery in Ghana

Abstract

The availability and quantum of resources at the disposal of libraries greatly influence service delivery. This study seeks to assess the adequacy and effect of attenuating resources on the quality of public library services and the barriers to accessing sufficient resources for the provision of quality services. Based on a qualitative approach, the study interviewed 32 participants drawn from three regional libraries, using purposive and convenience sampling methods. Data were analyzed using interpretative techniques. The results showed that all three regional libraries were highly under resourced in terms of qualified personnel, physical resources, and current library materials which ultimately resulted in low patronage of the library facilities. A major concern was the absence of a National Library and Public Library Policy guiding the establishment of public libraries in Ghana. We strongly suggest that the new public library service bill should include a statutory formula for resource allocation to public libraries. Though our research concentrated on Ghana, the implications of the study are of great value to similar contexts.     

Extracting Latent Moral Information from Text Narratives: Relevance,Challenges, and Solutions

ABSTRACT

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) and the Model of Intuitive Morality and Exemplars (MIME) contend that moral judgments are built on a universal set of basic moral intuitions. A large body of research has supported many of MFT’s and the MIME’s central hypotheses. Yet, an important prerequisite of this research—the ability to extract latent moral content represented in media stimuli with a reliable procedure—has not been systematically studied. In this article, we subject different extraction procedures to rigorous tests, underscore challenges by identifying a range of reliabilities, develop new reliability test and coding procedures employing computational methods, and provide solutions that maximize the reliability and validity of moral intuition extraction. In six content analytical studies, including a large crowd-based study, we demonstrate that: (1) traditional content analytical approaches lead to rather low reliabilities; (2) variation in coding reliabilities can be predicted by both text features and characteristics of the human coders; and (3) reliability is largely unaffected by the detail of coder training. We show that a coding task with simplified training and a coding technique that treats moral foundations as fast, spontaneous intuitions leads to acceptable inter-rater agreement, and potentially to more valid moral intuition extractions. While this study was motivated by issues related to MFT and MIME research, the methods and findings in this study have implications for extracting latent content from text narratives that go beyond moral information. Accordingly, we provide a tool for researchers interested in applying this new approach in their own work.     

The Influence of Media Type on the Perceived Influence of Media Contents and on the Support to Restrict Controversial Messages

The aim of this study was to explore the intersection between Medium Theory (MT) and Third-Person Effect (TPE) and evaluate how the research on MT can further our knowledge of the TPE. The study has proven that the perceptual hypothesis of the TPE is confirmed in different media contents and across media types (TV and the Internet) and that media type has an impact on the magnitude of the TPE. In addition, media type can also be a requisite for TPE to occur. On the other hand, the study shows that media type can have an influence on people’s support to restrict controversial content, in particular, pornography.     

First Year Medical Student Peer Nominations of Professionalism: A Methodological Detective Story about Making Sense of Non-Sense

This article explores the assessment of professionalism within a cohort of medical students during a sequential 13-week medical school histology and anatomy course. Across seven data points, students were asked to identify a professionalism role model from amongst their peers and to score Likert-structured rationales for their decision. Based on density scores, an initial social network analysis identified six peer-nomination “stars.” However, analysis of these stars revealed considerable variability and random-like “noise” in both the nomination and explanation data sets. Subsequent analyses of both data sets explored the possibility of underlying patterns in this noise using tests of reliability, principal components factor analysis, and fixed-effects regression analysis. These explorations revealed the presence of two dimensions (professional vs. supportive) in how students sought to explain their nomination decisions. Although data variability remained quite high, significantly less variability was present in the professional than in the supportive dimension, suggesting that academic helpfulness rationales are both empirically distinct and more mutable than rationales grounded in professionalism-related factors. In addition, data showed that the greater the stability in one's choice of a professionalism role model nomination over the T1–T7 data periods, the more stable one's reasons for that nomination—both for professionalism and supportive dimensions. Results indicate that while peer assessment of professionalism by first-year medical students may not be very reliable, students can differentiate between more personal and professional factors, even at this early stage in their professional development. Formal instruction within the pre-clinical curriculum should recognize and address this distinction. Anat Sci Educ. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.     

Original characteristics of a new cycle ergometer

The aim of this study was to describe and validate a new cycling ergometer with original characteristics that allow the measurement of biomechanical variables with position and crank inertial load used by the cyclist in field condition. The braking pedalling force, that permitted the simulation of the resistance to the cyclist in the field, is performed with a brushless electric motor. The validity and the reproducibility of the power output measurements were compared with the widely accepted SRM powermeter. The results indicate that taking into account a systematic error, the measurements are valid compared with the SRM, and the reproducibility of the power output measurements is similar to the SRM. In conclusion, this ergometer is the only one that allows at the same time for (1) valid and reproducible power output measurements at submaximal intensity, (2) utilisation of the personal bicycle of the cyclist, and (3) simulation of the inertial characteristics of the road cycling.     

Adolescents' mobility histories and present social adjustment

This study compared three groups of high school students: frequent movers (6 to 13 relocations), moderate movers (3 to 5 relocations), and nonmovers on depression, appraised social support, and participation in extracurricular activities. The sample was examined further according to the primary reason for relocation, the timing (before or after the seventh grade), and whether student shyness, socioeconomic status (SES), and family cohesion influenced any potential effects. Despite methodological improvements over past research including the exclusion of students who recently moved or reported other current stressors, few significant effects were obtained. Findings did reveal that students whose families relocated because of divorce and those who experienced early life relocations had lower levels of participation in extracurricular activities. Students reported less negative effects of relocation than did their mothers. Further, mothers' negative attitudes toward relocation were significantly correlated with student depression. It is concluded that there is little current or prior research evidence that high rates of social mobility are associated with long‐term social adjustment problems for adolescents. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.