Dreams of perfect programs: Managing the acquisition of electronic resources

For more than a decade, academic libraries have been wrestling with the thorny issue of managing the acquisition of electronic resources. Where are we in the continuum from paper lists to vendor-designed management systems? This paper takes a look at several in-house initiatives around the country, commenting on the successes and failures of the homegrown programs built to track, update and manage the acquisition and behind-the-scenes maintenance of electronic resources. Realizing that libraries are now well equipped to identify what dream programs should entail, this paper also comments on how we can prepare for the future of electronic resource management.     

Archiving of publicly funded research data: A survey of Canadian researchers

During the 2004–2005 fiscal year, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) awarded $252,654,341.97 in grant money to 6,958 research initiatives submitted by Canadian researchers working in academic settings. The results of these initiatives are reported in published papers, books, articles, and other forums. A question of concern is how much of the data being produced in the course of this research is being archived? What are the attitudes and concerns of the researchers themselves towards ensuring their work is preserved for the future? Results indicate that Canadian researchers in the humanities and social sciences actively share data. On the whole they are supportive of initiatives to preserve data but have thus far not systematically ensured preservation of their research materials. Researchers expressed concern over issues of confidentiality in providing access to their research data. Further dialogue is needed between researchers and other stakeholders to overcome impediments pertaining to preservation and access to research data on a national scale.     

Deviating glucose results in an international dual-center study. A root cause investigation

During a dual-center study on obese and normal weight children and adolescents, focusing on glucose metabolism, we observed a marked difference in glucose results (N = 16,840) between the two sites, Salzburg, Austria and Uppsala, Sweden (P < 0.001). After excluding differences in patient characteristics between the two populations as cause of this finding, we investigated other preanalytic influences. Finally, only the tubes used for blood collection at the two sites were left to evaluate. While the Vacuette FC-Mix tube (Greiner Bio-One, Kremsmünster, Austria) was used in Uppsala, in Salzburg blood collections were performed with a lithium heparin tube (LH-Monovette, Sarstedt, Germany). To prove our hypothesis, we collected two blood samples in either of these tubes from 51 children (Salzburg N = 27, Uppsala N = 24) and compared the measured glucose results. Indeed, we found the suspected bias and calculated a correction formula, which significantly diminished the differences of glucose results between the two sites (P = 0.023). Our finding is in line with those of other studies and although this issue should be widely known, we feel that it is widely neglected, especially when comparing glucose concentrations across Europe, using large databases without any information on preanalytic sample handling.     

Touching the didactic contract—a student perspective on intergenerational touch in PE

A growing anxiety around intergenerational touch in educational settings has both emerged and increased in recent years. Previous research reveals that Physical Education (PE) teachers have become more cautious in their approaches to students and they avoid physical contact or other behavior that could be regarded as suspicious [Fletcher, 2013. Touching practice and physical education: Deconstruction of a contemporary moral panic. Sport, Education and Society, 18(5), 694–709. doi:10.1080/13573322.2013.774272; Öhman, 2016. Losing touch—teachers’ self-regulation in physical education. European Physical Education Review, 1–14. doi:10.1177/1356336X15622159; Piper, Garratt, & Taylor, 2013. Child abuse, child protection and defensive ‘touch’ in PE teaching and sports coaching. Sport, Education and Society, 18(5), 583–598. doi:10.1080/13573322.2012.735653]. Some also feel anxious about how physical contact might be perceived by the students. The purpose of this article is to investigate physical contact between teachers and students in PE from a student perspective. This is understood through the didactic contract. For this purpose, focus group interviews using photo elicitation have been conducted with upper secondary school students in Sweden. One of the major findings is that intergenerational touch is purpose bound, that is, physical contact is considered relevant if the teacher has a good intention with using physical contact. The main agreements regarding physical contact as purpose bound are the practical learning and emotional aspects, such as learning new techniques, preventing injury, closeness and encouragement. The didactic contract is in these aspects stable and obvious. The main disagreements are when teachers interfere when the students want to feel capable or when teachers interfere when physical contact is not required in the activity. In these aspects the didactic contract is easily breached. It is also evident that personal preference has an impact on how physical contact is perceived. In conclusion, we can say that physical contact in PE is not a question of appropriate or inappropriate touch in general, but rather an agreement between the people involved about what is expected. Consequently, we should not ban intergenerational touch, but rather focus on teachers’ abilities to deal professionally with the didactic contract regarding physical contact.     

Decontamination of Biocide Treated Museum Objects of the Swiss National Museum’s Collection by Liquid CO2 Technology

ABSTRACT

A decontamination treatment using liquid CO₂ (li-CO₂) and specifically developed for the requirements of museum objects (Lombardo, T., M. Wörle, V. Hubert, E. Hildbrand, I. Mayer, C. Hinterleitner, U. von Arx. 2020. “Influence of Process Parameters on Chlorinated Biocide Decontamination by li-CO₂ on Artificially Contaminated Model Materials.” Studies in Conservation, in press, doi:10.1080/00393630.2019.1641001) was first tested on model materials of wood (with and without coating), silk, and wool with different dyes, paper, and leather in order to evaluate possible material changes. Then, selected museum objects from the collection of the Swiss National Museum were treated to determine the efficiency of biocide decontamination and any resulting chemical and/or structural changes. Results show that dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), pentachlorophenol (PCP), lindane, and chlorpyrifos were successfully removed. Wool, silk, leather, and non-coated wood did not experience any detectable modifications, while moderate to major modifications were observed in wood coated with shellac and polychromy.     

A midwifery model of care for childbearing women at high risk: genuine caring in caring for the genuine

According to this paper's synthesis of research, three constituents of ideal midwifery care emerge. First, a dignity-protective action takes place in a midwife's caring relationship with a childbearing woman at high risk and includes mutuality, trust, ongoing dialogue, enduring presence, and shared responsibility. Secondly, the midwife's embodied knowledge is based on genuineness to oneself and consists of theoretical, practical, intuitive, and reflective knowledge. Finally, nurse-midwives have a special responsibility to balance the natural and medical perspectives in the care of childbearing women at high risk, especially by promoting the woman's inborn capacity to be a mother and to give birth in a natural manner. This midwifery model of care is labeled "Genuine Caring in Caring for the Genuine." Here, the word genuine expresses the nature of midwifery care, as well as the nature of each pregnant woman being cared for as a unique individual.