Print Collections Management in the Wake of Digitization

Ross Housewright, a Research Analyst at Ithaka S+R (http://www.ithaka.org/ithaka-s-r/) delivered the keynote address at the E-Resources Symposium at Mississippi State University on September 16, 2010. Housewright challenged traditional thinking about collection and preservation activities in the academic library setting. He introduced two important Ithaka S+R programs—the Faculty Survey and the What to Withdraw Framework—and discussed how they can assist serials librarians struggling to maintain the proper balance between patron needs, budget pressures, and the library's mission to preserve materials in the age of mixed digital and print collections.     

Developing Sixth Graders’ Inquiry Skills to Construct Explanations in Inquiry‐based Learning Environments

The purpose of this study is to investigate how sixth graders develop inquiry skills to construct explanations in an inquiry‐based learning environment. We designed a series of inquiry‐based learning activities and identified four inquiry skills that are relevant to students’ construction of explanation. These skills include skills to identify causal relationships, to describe the reasoning process, to use data as evidence, and to evaluate explanations. Multiple sources of data (e.g., video recordings of learning activities, interviews, students’ artifacts, and pre/post tests) were collected from two science classes with 58 sixth graders. The statistical results show that overall the students’ inquiry skills were significantly improved after they participated in the series of the learning activities. Yet the level of competency in these skills varied. While students made significant progress in identifying causal relationships, describing the reasoning process, and using data as evidence, they showed slight improvement in evaluating explanations. Additionally, the analyses suggest that phases of inquiry provide different kinds of learning opportunities and interact with students’ development of inquiry skills.     

台湾地区大学图书馆电子书使用现况调查

由于数字出版的发展,电子书已在台湾的大学及技专校院图书馆占重要地位。为了解大学师生对这些电子书的使用状况,台湾学术电子书联盟于2010年进行了大规模的使用调查。调查问题包括：大学师生是否使用过图书馆的电子书,使用频率为何,透过何种管道查询电子书,使用电子书的意愿为何,使用电子书的动机为何,使用电子书遇到的问题及需要协助的困难为何,哪些是用户重视的电子书质量及功能,对于台湾学术电子书联盟引进的电子书满意度如何。调查采用在线问卷,共有91个学校,26,120位教职员生填答。调查发现,大学教师、研究员及研究生使用过电子书的比例高达六成以上;在同时有纸本书及电子书的情况下,半数以上的教师、研究员及研究生会优先选用电子书,但大学生仍喜爱纸本图书;对于电子书的质量,用户重视的是全文影像是否清晰、搜寻功能是否良好、使用接口是否易于操作、浏览方式是否便利、全文阅读方式是否符合需求等。另外,找不到所需的电子书,是读者最常遇到的困扰,显示图书馆的电子书种类仍不足以应付使用者的需求。     

Uninterrupted,Sustained, Silent Reading: the rhetoric and the practice

The study investigated whether the rhetoric of uninterrupted, sustained, silent reading (USSR/ERIC) was evident in primary classrooms where the practice was professed to operate. Nine primary schools in three different counties were surveyed, and the sample included both urban and rural schools. Structured interviews were undertaken with the headteacher and two members of staff in each school, followed by classroom observations, focusing on what do teachers do in practice during USSR/ERIC. From both interviews and observations it was evident that teacher interpretation of how the sessions should be organised and managed was not specifically that of the rhetoric, with only one school closely following the prescribed model. Whilst the value of a quiet reading time was generally acknowledged and much good practice observed in sessions, it would appear that many models which operate under the guise of ‘uninterrupted sustained silent reading’ are governed by teacher preference or pupil need.     

The importance of orientation: implications of professional identity on classroom practice and for professional learning

Previous work on new teacher professional identity has focused on identity as a process of negotiation between individual and contextual factors. These negotiations are often filled with a struggle between personal agency and structures that prevent the enactment of an ideal professional self. This study introduces and discusses three teacher professional identity orientations (self, classroom, and dialogic) and the implications of each orientation on a teacher’s professional identity and classroom practice. While each focal teacher featured in the study drew from similar sources of professional identity (experiences as students, classroom practical experience, and theory/research), the teachers varied in the degree of importance accorded to each identity source. This variation led to differences in approach to their roles as teachers as well as differences in their work with students. Using a qualitative, comparative case study methodology to highlight features of each professional identity orientation, this study provides evidence of discourse related to each orientation and discusses implications of identity orientation in each case study teacher’s classroom practice. After the discussion and analysis of the data, the author offers recommendations for teacher educators (pre-service and in-service) and researchers related to understandings of professional identity development and implications for the work of pre-service teacher education and continuing professional development.     

Hematocrit and flow rate regulate the adhesion of platelets to von Willebrand factor

Primary hemostasis and blood clotting is known to be influenced by the red blood cell volume fraction (hematocrit) in blood. Depressed or elevated levels of red blood cells can lead to vascular perfusion problems ranging from bleeding to thrombus formation. The early stage of hemostasis and thus blood clotting in all vessel sections from the arterial to the venous system involves the adhesion of platelets to von Willebrand factor. Here we present experimental and theoretical results showing that the adhesion probability of platelets to von Willebrand factor is strongly and nonlinearly dependent on hematocrit and flow rate. Interestingly, the actual binding forces are not markedly different, which suggest that the origin of such behavior is in the distribution of platelets. Using hydrodynamic simulations of a simple model, we explicitly show that the higher the hematocrit and the flow rate, the larger the amount of platelets residing close to the wall. Our simulation results, which are in excellent agreement with the experimental observations, explain why such phenomena occur. We believe that the nonhomogeneous red blood cell distribution as well as the shear dependent hydrodynamic interaction is key for the accumulation of platelets on the vessel wall. The work we present here is an important step forward from our earlier work on single molecules and extends into the collective cellular behavior of whole blood. It sheds new light on the correlation between hematocrit and the initial steps in hemostasis and thrombosis, and outlines advances for the treatment of vascular diseases associated with high levels of red blood cells. These results are not only highly relevant for the field of hemostasis and the physics of blood clotting but are also of powerful impact in applied science most obviously in drug delivery and colloidal science.     

Carbohydrates and fat for training and recovery

An important goal of the athlete's everyday diet is to provide the muscle with substrates to fuel the training programme that will achieve optimal adaptation for performance enhancements. In reviewing the scientific literature on post-exercise glycogen storage since 1991, the following guidelines for the training diet are proposed. Athletes should aim to achieve carbohydrate intakes to meet the fuel requirements of their training programme and to optimize restoration of muscle glycogen stores between workouts. General recommendations can be provided, preferably in terms of grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of the athlete's body mass, but should be fine-tuned with individual consideration of total energy needs, specific training needs and feedback from training performance. It is valuable to choose nutrient-rich carbohydrate foods and to add other foods to recovery meals and snacks to provide a good source of protein and other nutrients. These nutrients may assist in other recovery processes and, in the case of protein, may promote additional glycogen recovery when carbohydrate intake is suboptimal or when frequent snacking is not possible. When the period between exercise sessions is <8?h, the athlete should begin carbohydrate intake as soon as practical after the first workout to maximize the effective recovery time between sessions. There may be some advantages in meeting carbohydrate intake targets as a series of snacks during the early recovery phase, but during longer recovery periods (24?h) the athlete should organize the pattern and timing of carbohydrate-rich meals and snacks according to what is practical and comfortable for their individual situation. Carbohydrate-rich foods with a moderate to high glycaemic index provide a readily available source of carbohydrate for muscle glycogen synthesis, and should be the major carbohydrate choices in recovery meals. Although there is new interest in the recovery of intramuscular triglyceride stores between training sessions, there is no evidence that diets which are high in fat and restricted in carbohydrate enhance training.