A health education outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library: lessons learned before and during a pandemic

Background:Public libraries serve as community centers for accessing free, trustworthy health information. As such, they provide an ideal setting to teach the local community about health and health literacy, particularly during public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2018, an outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library has developed, delivered, and continuously evaluated a health education program targeting public library users.Case Presentation:Health education activities were integrated into three existing public library programs: adult workshops, child and family programming, and circulating family activity kits. Prior to COVID-19, events were held at the public library, which then pivoted online during the pandemic. An interprofessional team approach combined the expertise of academic medical and public librarians, medical school faculty and staff, and medical students in developing the educational programs. Twelve in-person and five virtual programs were offered, and five circulating health education family kits were launched. Activities were assessed using program evaluation surveys of the adult and children''s programs and circulation statistics of the kits.Conclusions:This case report showcases the lessons learned from implementing a longitudinal outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interprofessional team approach and flexibility in program design and delivery in both the in-person and virtual environments proved critical to the success of the partnership. This partnership could serve as a model for other libraries interested in pursuing interprofessional collaborations in educating local communities on healthy behavior and health information–seeking practices.     

Four- to six-year-old children's conceptions of the mechanism of rainfall

The purpose of this study was to describe four- to six-year-old children's understandings of the mechanism of rainfall and to reveal possible differences due to age. A total of 22 children participated in the study (mean age = 60.4 months; range 48–73 months), including 14 boys and 8 girls, all from middle-SES families. To reveal children's understanding of the mechanism of rainfall, semi-structured interviews were conducted using a set of interview questions. Children were individually interviewed, and interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. The constant comparative method was used to analyze the transcribed audio tapes. A framework of codes was developed based on previous studies of children's understanding of the mechanism of rainfall. This partial framework of codes served as the basis for describing children's conceptual understandings of the mechanism of rainfall. A nonparametric statistical test was used to test for age differences in children's conceptions of the mechanism of rainfall. The results indicated that older preschool children were more likely to have synthetic or naturalistic conceptions than the younger children. Implications of the findings for instructional practices in early childhood classrooms are discussed.     

Effects of wax-based anti-graffiti on copper patina composition and dissolution during four years of outdoor urban exposure

The protection against graffiti has become a serious problem in most cities. Unfortunately such form of vandalism does not save the cultural heritage. The use of anti-graffiti coatings is a common treatment that can also temporary protect the surface from degradation due to interactions with the environment. Aspects that have not yet been sufficiently investigated from a metal artefact perspective are whether the presence of the anti-graffiti coating will influence the patina composition and reduce the degree of patina dissolution. Long-term (four years) effects of wax-based anti-graffiti coatings on bare copper sheet and pre-patinated copper exposed to urban atmospheric conditions are presented and discussed in terms of changes in patina dissolution rates, barrier properties and composition. The investigation is based on a multi-analytical approach combining chemical analysis, analytical and electrochemical tools (stereomicroscopy, FTIR, XRD, SEM/EDS, AAS, EIS, colorimetric measurements). Results are believed to provide important information related to the long-term applicability of such coatings to preserve the Cultural Heritage.     

Oral sentence generation training to improve fifth and 10th graders’ writing

Reading and Writing - Text generation—the mental translation of ideas into language at word, sentence, and discourse levels—involves oral language abilities. However, oral language...     

Innovative uses of 3D digital technologies to assist the restoration of a fragmented terracotta statue

This paper describes how some innovative methodologies have been designed and employed to support the restoration of the Madonna of Pietranico, a terracotta statue severely damaged in the 2009 earthquake. The statue, fragmented in many pieces, has undergone a complex restoration performed by a multidisciplinary working group. The contribution of digital technologies was planned from the very beginning, since the complexity of this restoration originated the design of innovative procedures for managing the reassembly and restoration process. The Madonna test bed was therefore an example of how technology innovation could be pushed by clear application needs. A first important contribution was the study of the recombination hypothesis of the fragments. This initial phase was performed on digitized 3D models of the statue fragments, with the aim of reducing fragments manipulation, preventing further damages and increasing the capabilities to rehearse and evaluate different reassembly options. The accuracy of the 3D scanned models and the new recombination procedure introduced in this paper allowed to manage this phase in the digital domain with successful results. The digital 3D models were also used to design and produce an innovative supporting structure, constructed with a rapid prototyping device. Another important contribution concerned the study and virtual restoration of the polychrome decoration of the statue; our aim was to reproduce and restore in the virtual 3D domain the very complex original polychrome decoration, on the base of the remaining traces. Consequently, new virtual painting functionalities have been designed on the MeshLab platform (an open-source tool for 3D models visualization and manipulation) for reproducing pictorial decorations over digital 3D models and have been assessed on this specific test bed. This allowed us also to investigate the complexity of the virtual repainting process and to identify further technology enhancements. Finally, computer graphics technologies have been also used to produce a video that tells the story of the restoration.     

The influence of phonological mechanisms in written spelling of profoundly deaf children

In the present study, the effect of phonological and working memory mechanisms involved in spelling Italian single words was explored in two groups of children matched for grade level: a group of normally hearing children and a group of pre-verbally deaf children, with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Three-syllable and four-syllable familiar words were presented to the two groups for spelling to dictation. Three conditions were used: simple spelling, concurrent articulation, and foot tapping. Verbal digit span was also assessed. Overall, the performance of deaf children tended to be lower compared to hearing children, but not significantly so. Concurrent articulation produced more errors than tapping in both groups. Regression analyses showed that the main predictor in all three tasks was school level, however the proportion of variance explained by this factor was much greater in the dual tasks, in particular in concurrent articulation. Qualitative analyses of errors showed a worse performance of deaf children, with a greater proportion of mixed errors compared to hearing children. They also showed a greater proportion of phonologically plausible errors compared to hearing children, presumably due to their deprived auditory representation, and/or to phonological representations that rely to a large extent on lip reading and kinesthetic and visual perception of articulatory gestures.     

‘Needle and Stick’ save the world: sustainable development and the universal child

This text deals with a problem concerning processes of the productive power of knowledge. We draw on the so-called poststructural theories challenging the classical image of thought – as hinged upon a representational logic identifying entities in a rigid sense – when formulating a problem concerning the gap between knowledge and the object of knowledge. More specifically we are looking at this problem in the contexts of sustainable development and childhood, using illustrating examples in order to test the validity of these theoretical accounts. The examples we use range from internationally agreed documents claiming universality concerning environmental protection and childhood to national curricula for the pre-school to a Swedish governmentally produced and distributed TV series called Needle and Stick save the world, addressing the issue of sustainable development. In short, we wish to problematise the rigid positions of the child and the human being in relation to nature.