Lighting the Shroud of Turin for Exhibition in 2015

ABSTRACT

Lighting a cultural heritage artifact requires balancing visual perception with preventive conservation, by providing the best lighting (in terms of spectral distribution and quantity) to enable the viewer to appreciate details and color, while limiting photo-induced degradation. The paper outlines the methodology applied by a multi-disciplinary team while lighting the Shroud of Turin at its last public exhibition in 2015. The methodology considered the special requirements of the Shroud, including exposure to ultraviolet light, while providing appropriate display conditions that would meet audience expectations. The desired appearance (readability of the body image and color) was defined with the help of Shroud researchers and confirmed by subjective tests, while appropriate light levels for preservation were set in agreement with standard requirements and using knowledge of the degradation of linen in visible and UV light. The installation provided a controlled environment and a managed visitor route to the Shroud, assuring excellent perception of both details and color, with the lowest illuminance level about 15?lx.     

Analysis of Academic Libraries' Facebook Posts: Text and Data Analytics

This research analyzed a dataset of academic libraries' posts on Facebook. It applied a text and data analytics approach to a dataset collected from the Facebook posts of academic libraries at the top 100 English-speaking universities, as listed by the 2014 Shanghai World University Rankings. The dataset is from a two-year posting history of 18,333 unique posts, 113,621 likes, and 3401 comments. Less than a quarter of the libraries had more than 2000 post-related likes, and only seven received more than 100 comments on their postings. Content analysis identified the most prevalent single word (unigrams), bigrams (two-word sequences), and trigrams (three-word sequences) in high and low engagement content. Semantic analysis identified the semantic categories for posts with high and low engagement. The findings can assist academic libraries in their social media strategies for engagement, marketing, and visibility.     

Historical case study: A research strategy for diachronic analysis

History and case study are two diachronic research strategies commonly used to study political discourse as it relates to public libraries. Though suitable for some studies, these strategies are inexhaustive. A new, blended research strategy is therefore needed to accomplish what history and case study alone cannot. This hybrid strategy, historical case study, must analyze cases from the distant past to the present, using eclectic data sources, in order to produce both idiographic and nomothetic knowledge. To develop historical case study, the universal components of diachronic analysis are first identified. A general research design for historical case study is then introduced. Finally, historical case study is tested in an actual research project. Findings from this project reveal that historical case study is a successful diachronic research strategy. Historical case study is a new and valuable research design suitable for addressing questions related to change, continuity, development, and evolution.     

Digital Inclusion in Library Context: A Perspective from Users with Print Disability

Digital inclusion is a strategy pursued to foster social inclusion of those who have been sidelined from the mainstream of information society due to lack of access to digital technologies and the skills to use them. Libraries have been working to close the gap by providing access to computers, the Internet, digital content, and digital literacy programs. However, research reveals a new type of divide where digitally competent people could be digitally excluded. This shows the need for a better conceptualization of access and literacy. This paper commits to exploring the concept of access to digital content from the perspective of people with print disability. It involved in-depth interviews with ten participants with print disability where the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health was used as a framework for data analysis. The overall analysis shows that digital inclusion would be more meaningful if it involved providing content in alternative formats and empowering users to make informed choices. Issues such as flexibility and adaptability in content presentation and design of content discovery tools are among those discussed.     

The effect of scheduling format on long-term retention

This study examines the relationship between course intensity and long-term retention on graduate level counseling students enrolled in a research and statistics course. It confirms earlier findings of time and learning studies, which have primarily dealt with end-of-course outcomes, that there is no effect due to scheduling format. In this study, older students performed significantly higher on a six-month follow-up test than younger students. Students who had previous, related course work scored significantly higher in final course grades than students with no prior course work, however, differences were moderated and no longer significant at the time of follow-up. Implications from these findings are discussed.Rebecca LaFountain is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Shippenburg University of Pennsylvania. She earned an Ed.D in Counseling from the College of William and Mary, an M.S. in Counseling from Iowa State University, and a B.A. in French from Grand Valley State University. She is a Licensed Psychologist and a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor. Her primary professional interests include the teaching of research and statistics so that it is not threatening; Adlerian psychology; and, Solution-Focused counseling.     

Cyclic-anion salt for high-voltage stable potassium-metal batteries

Electrolyte anions are critical for achieving high-voltage stable potassium-metal batteries (PMBs). However, the common anions cannot simultaneously prevent the formation of ‘dead K’ and the corrosion of Al current collector, resulting in poor cycling stability. Here, we demonstrate cyclic anion of hexafluoropropane-1,3-disulfonimide-based electrolytes that can mitigate the ‘dead K’ and remarkably enhance the high-voltage stability of PMBs. Particularly, even using low salt concentration (0.8 M) and additive-free carbonate-based electrolytes, the PMBs with a high-voltage polyanion cathode (4.4 V) also exhibit excellent cycling stability of 200 cycles with a good capacity retention of 83%. This noticeable electrochemical performance is due to the highly efficient passivation ability of the cyclic anions on both anode and cathode surfaces. This cyclic-anion-based electrolyte design strategy is also suitable for lithium and sodium-metal battery technologies.