Dialogic voices in talk about drinking and pregnancy

Alcohol use during pregnancy poses a significant risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. This study presents the interpretive findings of the formative research phase of a funded grant to develop a community‐based public health media campaign on the topic of drinking during pregnancy. In the initial wave of data collection, 50 rural women were recruited from four Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics in southeastern Iowa to participate in semi‐structured interviews. In the second wave, 10 additional WIC clients were interviewed for member‐checking purposes. Findings revealed two competing discourses that organized these women's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding drinking and pregnancy: the discourse of individualism and the discourse of responsible motherhood. These two discourses offer opposing normative guidelines for talk among their close female relatives and friends. The implications of these findings for designing a community‐based media campaign are discussed.     

Letter from the Editor

Getting help in understanding how to use and interpret a new information system is a crucial organizational and individual resource. Indeed, both informal and formal sources of information technology help are expensive and necessary, but largely unidentified, unmanaged, and underresearched. This study proposes that two types of factors influence the formation of information technology helping relationships: individual and structural. Based on a survey of employees in an organization implementing a new workstation‐based customer database system, the study compares influences on being sought as an informal source of IT help, and on types of help (individual or positional) that one seeks. One individual factor (some forms of computer expertise) and most structural factors (especially measures of employees’ perceived socialization, task interdependence, and communication networks) exerted weak but significant influences on employees’ IT helping relationships.     

A ‘powerful,creative history’: the reticence of women architects to donate their professional records to archival repositories

The article reports the findings from research investigating the impact of international standards for records management. This is a significant issue for the recordkeeping community given the significant resourcing devoted to the development of international standards. Previous attempts to measure impact have met with little success, so this research approached the problem area from a new angle, namely the indirect influence of standards on practice via their use in education and training. Data was collected from a global survey of educators and trainers. Findings demonstrate that the standards are being used extensively at undergraduate and postgraduate level as well as in vocational training. However, a number of barriers to use are identified. The research provides a strong foundation for further investigation of impact and use of the international standards.     

Trends in Public Library Design from the 19th to the 21st Centuries

In the early 19th century, public libraries in America tended toward grand appearances befitting seriousness of purpose. Library design changed gradually throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, and more dramatically with automation and new technology. True to its roots, the public library continues to maintain areas for quiet, individual study. But, in addition, today’s library has become a cultural center in the community, offering art galleries, auditoriums, meeting rooms, spaces for collaborative work, digital information and instruction, and even cafés. Change is inevitable, as innovations in library design and patron use illustrate. Yet, from the earliest libraries to modern times, one overarching constant defines their purpose: libraries inspire.     

Cataloging on Receipt for Monographs: Merging Cataloging and Acquisitions Functions at UCLA

Institutions have sought to improve technical services workflows by merging some acquisitions and cataloging functions in different ways and with varying results. Those institutions’ experiences with the merging process contrast with the process implemented at UCLA. At UCLA a process of cataloging on receipt was planned and implemented in the Print Acquisitions Department, in cooperation with the Cataloging & Metadata Center. The process resulted in significantly faster delivery of print books from receipt to shelf for materials not batch packed for remote storage.     

Adapting an Embedded Model of Librarianship,College by College

Librarians are increasingly moving out of the library and into the wider university setting as patrons spend more time seeking information online and less time visiting the library. The move to embed librarians in colleges, departments, or customer groups has been going on for some time but has recently received more attention as libraries work to find new ways to reach patrons that no longer need to come to the physical library. Few universities have attempted to embed all their librarians. This case study describes how one group of health sciences librarians dispersed its professional staff throughout its campuses and medical centers.     

An Exploratory Study of International Students Studying and Living in a Regional Area

The aim of this research is to explore the similarity and differences international students encounter while studying and living in a regional area of Australia as compared to their Asian homeland. This study builds on both academic and lifestyle issues previously identified in research and explores the international students' experiences on their academic adjustments while living in a regional area. The findings of this investigation identified three themes: education, finance, and culture. The analysis identified that students experience some level of difficulty at an initial stage but were positively accustomed to the local settings after a period of time. Finally, the findings in this paper are valuable to educational institutions, especially those of regional areas seeking to understand how international students behave and act when studying and living in a regional area. Additionally, this paper will also give prospective students an overall understanding of what to expect when they choose to study in a regional area in Australia.