CPD: what The Library Association offers

This paper explores the role of The Library Association in providing and supporting opportunities for continuing professional development. Formal requirements for gaining qualifications are explained. The services and products of the Association designed specifically to meet the needs of those seeking formal professional development are outlined. Emphasis is placed on the opportunities offered to gain practical skills through active participation in professional activities. A brief conclusion points to the increasing emphasis on the need for continuing professional development at national level and within the profession.     

BIBCO Training and Its Influence on PCC Partnerships

Abstract

BIBCO is one of four programs in the PCC. This article summarizes the development of BIBCO and how its cataloging training program was strikingly different from the other three programs: NACO, CONSER and SACO. BIBCO grew out of the 1990–1991 recession which created widespread anxiety over the cost of original cataloging. BIBCO attempted to reduce the cost without sacrificing quality and increase record production through the use of core records. The early training emphasized the value of cooperation. PCC’s strength in this area is seen today in its partnerships and leadership in metadata initiatives such as linked data.     

Gender and Management in HEIs: Changing organisational and management structures

This paper reports on the second phase of a multi-country study examining cross cultural perspectives of gender and management in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It examines the broader labour market context and legislative frameworks for higher education in each country and then analyses the literature on women in university management. The paper presents the findings of research with male and female senior managers about their perceptions of women as HEI managers within changing organisational and management structures. It concludes that although HEI’s are now largely aware of barriers to women getting into and on in senior management, they have not addressed the organisational structures and cultures that perpetuate this inequity.

     

Revisiting the dialogue on the transition from coteaching to inservice teaching: new frameworks, additional benefits and emergent issues

In this rejoinder, we respond to the major points made by Gallo-Fox (this forum), Beers (this forum), Carambo and Stickney (this forum), and Murphy, Carlisle and Beggs (this forum). We focus primarily on the benefits and considerations that stem from employing additional theoretical frameworks for analyzing research in coteaching. We also address some of the future directions that should be explored in coteaching research.

The Gutenberg‐e project: opportunities and challenges in publishing born‐digital monographs

The Gutenberg‐e project was created as an experiment to explore whether peer‐reviewed, born‐digital monographs would alter the way in which historical scholarship is presented, whether scholars would receive the same professional credit for these publications as for work published in print, and whether the project would enable publication of monographs that would otherwise be turned down by university presses for financial reasons. The project reached the following conclusions: authors and publishing staff collaborated in creating new models of scholarship and writing; over the course of the project, attitudes toward digital publications evolved toward acceptance of this new form of publication; the time and costs involved in creating these models exceeded expectations; continued experimentation is necessary in order to keep up with authors' growing expectations in publishing digital scholarship.     

Work placement experience: should I stay or should I go?

The opportunity to experience work placements that complement taught and practical courses in higher education has become a central strand of many undergraduate degree programmes. While there is tacit agreement that such placements are a good thing, in recent years the numbers of students opting for work placements has been declining. This paper uses a mixed method research design to probe the learning outcomes, attitudes and perceptions of undergraduate students who choose not to go on a work placement. Findings highlight some areas of concern that could be considered by institutions of higher education working to enhance good practice in students’ work placement experiences.     

‘Please remember we are not all brilliant’: undergraduates’ experiences of an elite,research‐intensive degree at a research‐intensive university

Undergraduate research experiences are being incorporated into degree programs with increasing frequency. However, there has been little study into their effectiveness in preparing students for research or into the learning gains that students realise from one or more research experiences. We surveyed science students in an elite, research‐based undergraduate degree program at a research‐intensive university. These students complete six research projects during their degree and we aimed to delineate factors that students perceive as leading to either good or bad experiences. Two factors stand out as contributing to a successful research experience: the supervisor, with students reporting both pedagogic and affective benefits of good supervision; and the feeling that they are doing authentic science. Surprisingly, given the research‐intensive nature of this degree, the learning gains students report relate to both an appreciation of what research is like and life skills, such as time management, rather than scientific thinking skills.     

30 min of treadmill walking at self-selected speed does not increase gait variability in independent elderly

Walking is one of the preferred exercises among elderly, but could a prolonged walking increase gait variability, a risk factor for a fall in the elderly? Here we determine whether 30 min of treadmill walking increases coefficient of variation of gait in elderly. Because gait responses to exercise depend on fitness level, we included 15 sedentary and 15 active elderly. Sedentary participants preferred a lower gait speed and made smaller steps than the actives. Step length coefficient of variation decreased ~16.9% by the end of the exercise in both the groups. Stride length coefficient of variation decreased ~9% after 10 minutes of walking, and sedentary elderly showed a slightly larger step width coefficient of variation (~2%) at 10 min than active elderly. Active elderly showed higher walk ratio (step length/cadence) than sedentary in all times of walking, but the times did not differ in both the groups. In conclusion, treadmill gait kinematics differ between sedentary and active elderly, but changes over time are similar in sedentary and active elderly. As a practical implication, 30 min of walking might be a good strategy of exercise for elderly, independently of the fitness level, because it did not increase variability in step and stride kinematics, which is considered a risk of fall in this population.