Evidence-based information-seeking skills of junior doctors entering the workforce: an evaluation of the impact of information literacy training during pre-clinical years

Objectives: To investigate the extent to which junior doctors in their first clinical positions retained information literacy skills taught as part of their undergraduate education. Method: Participants drawn from different training cohorts were interviewed about their recall of the instruction they had received, and their confidence in retrieving and evaluating information for clinical decision making. They completed a search based on a scenario related to their speciality. Their self‐assessment of their competency in conducting and evaluating a search was compared with an evaluation of their skills by an experienced observer. Results: Most participants recalled the training they received but had not retained high‐level search skills, and lacked skills in identifying and applying best evidence. There was no apparent link between the type of training given and subsequent skill level. Those whose postgraduate education required these skills were more successful in retrieving and appraising information. Conclusion: Commitment to evidence‐based medicine from clinicians at all levels in the profession is needed to increase the information seeking skills of clinicians entering the work force.     

Moderate and vigorous physical activity intensity cut-points for the Actical accelerometer

Accelerometry is increasingly used as a physical activity surveillance device that can quantify the amount of time spent moving at a range of intensities. This study proposes physical activity intensity cut-points for the Actical accelerometer. Thirty-eight volunteers completed a multi-stage treadmill protocol at 3, 5, and 8 km · h?1 (2, 3.3, and 8 METs) while wearing Actical accelerometers initialized to collect data in 60-s epochs. Using a decision boundary analytical approach, moderate and vigorous physical activity intensity cut-points were derived for the Actical accelerometer. In adults (n = 26), the cut-point for moderate physical activity intensity occurred at 1535 counts per minute and the vigorous cut-point occurred at 3960 counts per minute. In children (n = 12), the cut-point for moderate physical activity intensity occurred at 1600 counts per minute and the vigorous cut-point occurred at 4760 counts per minute. Improved classification of physical activity intensity using the decision boundary cut-points was observed compared with using mean values for each protocol stage. The cut-points derived are recommended for use in adults. The cut-points derived for children confirm the findings of previous studies.     

Men in picture books and environments

John Warren Stewig is Professor of Education at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and is a past president of the Wisconsin and the National Council of Teachers of English. He is the author of articles in over two dozen different professional journals and has published twelve books. His latest book for children is a retelling ofStone Soup (Holiday House, 1991).     

Human resource challenges for public libraries: survey results

ABSTRACT

This essay presents the major findings from a survey about human resource management in public libraries. The survey was conducted in October 2016 via the Internet. The participants were librarians with human resource management experience employed by public libraries in the United States. The majority of the participants responded that human resource management was challenging to some degree. While a majority were able to solve their human resource problems successfully, a majority of the respondents believed that the human resource curriculum for library science programs was inadequate.     

Librarians Flip for Students: Teaching Searching Skills to Medical Students Using a Flipped Classroom Approach

This article describes the development of a flipped classroom instructional module designed by librarians to teach first- and second-year medical students how to search the literature and find evidence-based articles. The pre-class module consists of an online component that includes reading, videos, and exercises relating to a clinical case. The in-class sessions, designed to reinforce important concepts, include various interactive activities. The specifics of designing both components are included for other health sciences librarians interested in presenting similar instruction. Challenges encountered, particularly in the live sessions, are detailed, as are the results of evaluations submitted by the students, who largely enjoyed the online component. Future plans are contingent on solving technical problems encountered during the in-class sessions.     

Empowertise me! Understanding marketplace feminism through deconstructing advertisements

ABSTRACT

Courses: Introduction to advanced classes in Media Studies, Women’s Studies, Gender Studies, Race, Communication, and Advertising.

Objectives: In this unit activity, students critically assess advertisements that co-opt female empowerment and then identify ways they can resist such strategies.     

Beyond Control: Accessioning Practices for Extensible Archival Management

Accessioning has long been one of our profession’s least visible, discussed, and critically examined activities. This article analyzes our scholarly literature on the subject, revealing an absent theoretical framework and a marked over-reliance on static assumptions about what accessioning entails, to the detriment of both archivists and our collections. The case study that follows describes the creation of an accessioning program at New York University and posits a model of accessioning situated in the context of holistic archival administration, based on both theory and practice, and informed by access-driven workflows and iterative processing strategies.     

Collaborative writing practices and writing support technologies

This article explores some relationships between collaborative writing practices and writing support technologies. It attempts to illustrate the range of ways in which technologies are used. It examines the relationships of particular technologies and practices with how the writers view the process in which they are engaged. The implications of the findings for thinking about the role of computers in supporting writing, and facilitating collaborative writing in particular, are discussed.