Transition and technology—Evaluation of blended learning delivered by university staff to 6th form students

This paper tackles two issues which are closely related: transition from pre‐entry learning to studying at university and the role blended learning strategies might have in supporting this transition. It draws on the pilot delivery of two credit‐bearing modules which were delivered in two pre‐entry institutions. The modules followed two different models in terms of their alignment to the pre‐entry curriculum and in their mode of delivery. They were evaluated through questionnaires and focus groups with students. Both university tutors and coordinators at the schools were also interviewed in order to identify barriers in the process from their perspectives. This paper contributes to research in this field by identifying, from the key stakeholders of students' and deliverers' vantage points, factors that are specific to the blended learning process and contribute to a more structured and positive transition experience for the students. It looks at how blended methodologies can enhance the transition process, as well as what some of the barriers might be. As a consequence, the paper will provide some suggestions as to how institutions may overcome some of those issues identified in order to replicate the practice successfully.     

Six Mobilization Exercises for Active Range of Hip Flexion

Abstract

Active hip flexion is considered to be important for many physical activities. Six popular mobility exercises were compared in this study to see if active flexibility exercises would give superior results in improving daily or more permanent gain of active hip flexion. Out of 119 women university students completing the study, all but the control group took part in five one-minute bouts of mobility work three days a week for three weeks. A day of testing before and after the nine exercise days comprised the 11 sessions of the four-week experiment. Significant gains of 15 or more degrees were accomplished by all methods including the control group, as measured by the Leighton Flexometer. A two factor design with repeated measures determined that active and passive stretching methods were not significantly different in their contribution to active range improvement. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation techniques were not superior to more conventional stretching methods. Rigorous mobilization on the five test days along with physical education activity may explain the significant progress of the control group. Daily gains in active mobility were minimal, particularly with active stretching exercises. Standardization of time for flexibility exercise regimens apparently equalizes the results, and thus, given equal opportunity, all mobility work has parallel merit in promoting active range of hip flexion.     

Gender Differences in Strength

The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in upper and lower body strength as a function of lean body weight and the distribution of muscle and subcutaneous fat in the upper and lower limbs. The subjects were 103 physically active men (n = 48) and women (n = 55). The peak torques produced during shoulder flexion (SF) and knee extension (KE) were used as measures of upper body and lower body strength, respectively. Flexed arm girth, thigh girth, triceps skinfold, and thigh skinfold were used to estimate the distribution of muscle and subcutaneous fat in the limbs. Results of the MANOVA revealed that the overall strength of men was significantly greater than that of women. Results of MANCOVA indicated that the SF and KE strength of women and men did not differ significantly when differences in lean body weight, arm girth, thigh girth, triceps skinfold and thigh skinfold were statistically controlled. High levels of SF and KE strength were associated with a high lean body weight and a large arm girth. Results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that for men a substantial portion of the variance in both SF and KE strength was explained by lean body weight alone; whereas strength variations in women were explained more adequately by including limb variables along with lean body weight. Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that gender differences in upper and lower body strength are a function of differences in lean body weight and the distribution of muscle and subcutaneous fat in the body segments. Upper body strength is relatively more important than lower body strength in characterizing the gender difference in strength.     

Football Hooliganism as Collective Violence: Explaining Variance in Britain Through Interpersonal Boundaries, 1863–1989

Football hooliganism is a subculture in which ‘us-them’ boundaries are constructed, sharpened and contested both within and between participating groups. Applying Charles Tilly's concept of collective violence, I argue that a historical analysis of violence surrounding football in Britain between 1863 and 1989 indicates that football hooliganism is best viewed as a violent ritual triggered by similar processes to the coordinated destruction of international conflict. I then pose two questions that often plague students of collective violence: what causes variations in the level and form of violence over time, and how and why do participants vacillate between peaceful and violent social interactions? Adopting a relational approach, I argue that a small number of causal mechanisms such as nationalism have served to activate us-them boundaries which create, escalate and sustain variations in violence. By refocusing on the social interactions of hooligans rather than their identity, this paper seeks to renew opportunities for inter-disciplinary research into the social significance of violence at football matches.     

Knowledge Organization in Knowledge Management Systems of Global Consulting Firms

Organizing knowledge is essential for corporations to have an effective and successful knowledge management system. This study investigates how consultants in global consulting firms organize corporate knowledge. The major findings are: knowledge organization is not separate from other components of a knowledge management system, but instead holds all other knowledge management components together; metadata with attributes and facets is created when consultants submit knowledge pieces to a knowledge management system; a standard template for describing a knowledge piece exists in each firm in this study; the knowledge organization part of consultants’ work is similar to librarians’ work in organizing information.     

Cataloging in a Remote Location: A Case Study of International Collaboration in the Galapagos Islands

The Corley Smith Library is a small, special library located at the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos Islands. Currently, the library is managed by international volunteer librarians in collaboration with Station staff and local volunteers. Recently the library migrated its online public access catalog to Koha. We describe the process of selecting an open-source integrated library system and implementing Koha. Cataloging in this remote location presents challenges related to technology, staff expertise, language, local practices, and obtaining supplies. We define the strategies to address these issues, including long-term goals of copy cataloging with Z39.50 and remote cataloging by volunteer librarians.     

How to Build a High-Quality Library Collection in a Multi-Format Environment: Centralized Selection at University of Wyoming Libraries

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, the composition of academic library collections has shifted toward electronic formats, resulting in a more complicated publication landscape to be navigated by selectors. Additionally, the workload of public services librarians has become more weighted toward instruction and research support, putting more pressure on the time of liaison librarians tasked with collection development responsibilities. These shifts have prompted academic institutions, including University of Wyoming Libraries, to consider a restructuring of collection development responsibilities. This article describes the evolution and implementation of a centralized model of selection at UW Libraries.     

Effectiveness of a Liaison Program in Meeting Information Needs of College of Pharmacy Faculty

This article describes the creation and implementation of focus groups to evaluate the effectiveness of a health sciences library's liaison program of the College of Pharmacy faculty and to better understand the faculty's information needs in order to design new and improved library services. The liaison services support the teaching and research needs of faculty and students through literature research, classroom teaching, and an extensive library collection of pharmacy literature. Focus group results demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with library liaison services and collections. Opportunities exist for expanded interaction with graduate students and greater marketing of library services to increase faculty awareness of specific library programs.     

Developing a Reading Community: Involving LIS Students in Planning a Readers’ Advisory Event

Graduate students in an elective Readers' Advisory class created a variation of a one book–one community event. The event provided a forum for discussing issues related to technology and the future and how it relates to the evolving mission of the public library. Students gained experience in project management and reflected on how they expanded their readers' advisory skills. Future events could be improved with more careful task assignment, better marketing, and better timing.     

Epistemologies in the Text of Children's Books: Native- and non-Native-authored books

An examination of artifacts provides insights into the goals, practices, and orientations of the persons and cultures who created them. Here, we analyze storybook texts, artifacts that are a part of many children's lives. We examine the stories in books targeted for 4–8-year-old children, contrasting the texts generated by Native American authors versus popular non-Native authors. We focus specifically on the implicit and explicit ‘epistemological orientations’ associated with relations between human beings and the rest of nature. Native authors were significantly more likely than non-Native authors to describe humans and the rest of nature as psychologically close and embedded in relationships. This pattern converges well with evidence from a behavioral task in which we probed Native (from urban inter-tribal and rural communities) and non-Native children's and adults' attention to ecological relations. We discuss the implications of these differences for environmental cognition and science learning.