Understanding the Information Needs of Academic Scholars in Agricultural and Biological Sciences

This study investigates the information needs of faculty and graduate students in agricultural and biological sciences. Qualitative research methods, interviews and focus groups, were used to examine what types of information these scholars need for their research, teaching and learning, how they seek that information, and perceptions. The implications for library service are discussed.     

企业竞争中掌握对手情报的一些有效方法

本文通过一系列例子来阐述建立关键同业者/竞争对手时一些可行的方法.归纳起来是四条,1)如何寻找出当今在企业中起决定影响的人士而不仅仅只看头衔职务,2)如何用生动的人性特征来区分企业,心理学方法提供了描绘企业个性化的途经,3)如何用企业独特的文化来预测企业的行为和反应,何时这种方法会有效何时失灵.在没有强势人物出现时企业文化通常延续,4)解读对手信息时注意来龙去脉,在不能求证信息来源时,不能用一孔之见随便推理.     

Managing Uncertainty for Preventive Conservation

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how conservators engage with uncertainty when creating preventive conservation strategies. It argues that by recognising contexts in which uncertainty will be encountered conservators can develop effective management strategies. A typology of uncertainty explores a range of categories of uncertainty, their experience in preventive conservation and identifies distinct approaches to manage them. Managing uncertainty may include acts of defining its parameters, exposing and resolving through communication or protecting from with contingency. Whatever approach is adopted it must be accepted that uncertainty cannot be avoided. It is important therefore to aim to live well with uncertainty and the paper advocates for preventive conservation applications of strategies recommended in health care for patients with life-threatening illnesses. These strategies include working on things that can be controlled, goal setting, acceptance and factoring in emotions. The ability to identify contexts in which uncertainty is inbuilt should trigger those concerned with preventive conservation to activate strategies developed for managing and living well with uncertainty.     

Leadership Reflections: Resiliency in Library Organizations

Similar to individuals, organizations display characteristics that speak to qualities and abilities. Our guest writer, Lisa Bodenheimer, discusses a trait that is critical for library organizations during this period of constant change and transformation. Resiliency is the ability to rebound and flex as circumstances shift enabling an organization to thrive and adjust during difficult times. This skill is typically developed through experiences, but, as Ms. Bodenheimer outlines, organizations are able to strategize in order to build employee and organizational resilience. Such a proactive approach will enable a library organization to better weather challenging situations and times as difficulties will enviably occur. The following article provides practical suggestions for library organizations that will enable them to be more successful while leading and managing in a changing environment.     

Health science libraries in Sweden: new directions,expanding roles

Librarians in Sweden are facing huge challenges in meeting the demands of their organisations and users. This article looks at four key areas: coping with open science/open access initiatives; increasing demands from researchers for support doing systematic reviews; understanding user experiences in Swedish health science libraries; and the consequences of expanding roles for recruitment and continuing professional development. With regard to changing roles, there is an increasing shift from the generalist towards the expert role. The authors raise the issue as to how to prepare those new to the profession to the changing environment of health science libraries.     

Altitude and wind effects on long jump performance with particular reference to the world record established by Bob Beamon

An analysis of long jump performance, including both the approach and aerial phases, is applied to Bob Beamon's legendary leap at the Mexico City Olympic Games of 1968. It is shown that the combined effects of altitude and wind assistance yielded an increment in the length of the jump of about 31 cm, compared to a corresponding jump at sea level under still air conditions. The main factor is shown to be the increased sprinting speed attained under favourable conditions of wind and altitude.     

EFFECTS OF TEACHER–STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS ON PEER HARASSMENT: A MULTILEVEL STUDY

Peer harassment is a major social problem affecting children and adolescents internationally. Much research has focused on student‐to‐student harassment from either an individual or a multilevel perspective. There is a paucity of multilevel research on students’ relationships with the classroom teacher. The purpose of this study was to use a socioecological perspective to examine the relationships between individual student‐level characteristics, problematic teacher–student relationships, and student‐reported peer harassment. A total of 1,864 children (50.7% female) aged 8 to 13 years (M = 9.82, SD = 1.24), nested in 27 schools (58.2% public) in Spain, participated in the study. Ninety‐four homeroom teachers reported on teacher–student relationships, and students completed self‐report measures related to peer harassment and teacher–student relationships. Multilevel models showed that relationships between students and teachers exerted a varying degree of influence on classroom levels of peer harassment. Specifically, student‐reported teacher support was associated with diminished student‐reported peer victimization, whereas direct and indirect student‐reported teacher‐to‐student aggression was associated with increased peer victimization. Additionally, student‐reported student‐to‐teacher aggression and teacher‐to‐student aggression were associated with increased student‐reported peer aggression. Teacher‐reported variables at the classroom level, however, contributed little to student‐reported outcomes. Results are discussed in the context of future research on relationships between teachers and students.     

The Metamorphosis of Industrial Designers from Novices to Experts

Professional training for designers is crucial in the field of design studies. The characteristics of novices versus those of expert designers have been identified in the literature; however, studies exploring the issue of professional training processes in the actual workplace are not well developed. Our study addresses the topic by using qualitative research methods along with flexible design. Collected data from the interviewees with different work experience were analysed by open, axial and selective coding. Herein, we argue that the processes by which a designer transforms from a novice into an expert in the industry are constructed through the interaction of several complicated factors. The re‐learning inherent in design professions is implemented through knowledge transfer gained from participation in design projects, particularly regarding tacit knowledge. Also, the novice's process of learning and training yields the characteristics and skills that companies and firms require of designers; this process involves a series of disciplinary sub‐processes, from destructive to reconstructive, implemented by employers. In these sub‐processes, the subjectivity of designers is neglected, leading to the suppression of imaginative expression and feelings of alienation among these workers.