Institutional Repositories: Faculty Deposits,Marketing, and the Reform of Scholarly Communication

This study explores faculty deposits in institutional repositories (IR) within selected disciplines and identifies the diverse navigational paths to IR sites from library Web site homepages. The statistical relationship between the development of an IR and the presence of a Web site dedicated to the reform of traditional scholarly communication is also explored. The implications for the development of institutional repositories are highlighted.     

On the problem of determining a citation index of publications by Kazakh scientists

This paper discusses the evaluation of scientific activity with the help of some scientometric indices, in particular, a citation index. The information massif of the bibliographic database of citations to domestic publications of Kazakh authors is statistically described.     

Science at Harvard University, 1846-47: a case study of the character and functions of written documents

This paper explores surviving documentation and what it reveals about the underlying social structure and relations in a historic time and place. The mid-nineteenth century is chosen as a period prior to modern bureaucracies so that documents are not found in defining filing systems. Some six hundred documents are studied individually and characterized collectively. They are examined not to tell a story, however, but for evidence of their creation and maintenance and of their physical types, functional characteristics, and relations between authors and recipients. The study reveals the fruitfulness of such an orientation to documents, which complements traditional historical uses that emphasize document content.     

UnCover on the Web: search hints and applications in library environments

Among the huge maze of resources available on the Internet, UnCoverWeb stands out as a valuable tool for medical libraries. This up-to-date, free-access, multidisciplinary database of periodical references is searched through an easy-to-learn graphical user interface that is a welcome improvement over the telnet version. This article reviews the basic and advanced search techniques for UnCoverWeb, as well as providing information on the document delivery functions and table of contents alerting service called Reveal. UnCover's currency is evaluated and compared with other current awareness resources. System deficiencies are discussed, with the conclusion that although UnCoverWeb lacks the sophisticated features of many commercial database search services, it is nonetheless a useful addition to the repertoire of information sources available in a library.     

THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD HOMOSEXUAL RIGHTS IN BRITAIN

Controversy concerning the issue of homosexual rights and practiceshas intensified in Britain over the last decade. Despite thisincrease in intensity, however, the question of mass publicopinion in relation to homosexual rights and practices has receivedalmost no empirical investigation. In an effort to remedy thissituation, this article focuses on both the role of respondents'gender as well as their perceptions concerning the gender ofparticipants in a homosexual relationship (both sexes versusgay men) in distinguishing their attitudes toward the publicacceptance of homosexuals and the adoption rights of lesbiansand gay men. Using nationally representative data from the BritishSocial Attitudes Surveys, we found that, whereas both respondents'gender and the gender of participants in a homosexual relationshipdemonstrated a significant influence on attitudes toward thepublic acceptance of homosexuals, they were unrelated to theadoption rights of lesbians or gay men. Even in relation tothe public acceptance of homosexuals, however, gender was notthe only, or even the most important, attribute in distinguishingindividual opinion in this instance. Other stronger and moreconsistent influences were education, age, and attitudes towardeither pre-marital or extra-marital sexual relations. The implicationsof these findings for both policy makers and homosexual activistsare discussed.