Evaluating the Impact of Mediated Literature Searches at a Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research informationists at a comprehensive cancer center sought to evaluate the impact and value of mediated literature searches in support of their users’ work activities. An assessment tool was identified in the literature and modified by the investigators to solicit feedback from library users and identify the major reason(s) why scientists and health care professionals request literature searches, how they use the resulting information, and the impact that the results may or may not have on their research or patient care/decision-making activities. Survey results were qualitatively analyzed, and future avenues of outreach and promotion of mediated literature search services were identified.     

Information resources for competitive intelligence: An approach to the information available on the European Union's websites

Companies need to use information from multiple sources to improve their competitiveness. Since its beginnings in the 1950s, the European Union has developed a number of instruments for this purpose. This article gives an overview of the information resources that are most important for businesses and that originate from institutions and other bodies of the European Union. It is divided into five parts: European agencies; resources of the Directorate-General (DG) for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs; resources provided by other European Commission DGs & services; Points of Single Contact (PSCs) of the EUGO Network; and other support networks.     

QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION FROM AN INTERNATIONAL POINT OF VIEW: THE ROLE OF UNESCO

Although admittedly quality is very hard to define, UNESCO, particularly its European Centre for Higher Education and its Division of Higher Education, have undertaken a number of actions to further quality in higher education. Thus CEPES created EGAA (European Group on Academic Assessment) and the Division of Higher Education stressed the questions of quality in higher education in a recently prepared UNESCO draft policy paper. A strong component of the UNESCO UNITWIN and UNESCO Chairs Programme is directed at improving the quality of universities and university programmes in developing countries. The effort in favour of quality thus dovetails into other policies and actions of UNESCO, such as those in favour of the development of Centres of Excellence in the academic world. Yet quality improvement should not mean the imposition of one university model throughout the world but drawing upon what is best in local customs and indigenous culture.

     

The impact of government-to-government endeavors on the intellectual capital of public organizations

This paper draws on sources from two bodies of knowledge: eGovernment and the strategic role of intangible assets in public agencies. It was elaborated in order to measure the variation of the intellectual capital in public organizations involved in government-to-government (G2G) endeavors. In order to achieve this, a heuristic frame was developed to evaluate the impact of G2G endeavors on the components of the intellectual capital of a public agency, namely its human capital, organizational capital, external capital, and innovation capital. Applying this heuristic frame to a G2G endeavor in Brazil linking the Brazilian Central Bank and the Justice Department, a positive impact on the intellectual capital of the Courts of Justice associated with it was detected. Moreover, it was concluded that this G2G undertaking influenced all the components of the intellectual capital of the Courts of Justice alike. Thereafter, the model was validated through a positive and strong statistical correlation between the intellectual capital variation in the Courts of Justice and the value perception of the employees both accrued from the G2G undertaking. Finally, in addition to the research limitations, some concluding remarks are set forth for public managers, practitioners, and academics to help them grasp the potential of using the intellectual capital theory to assess eGovernment initiatives.     

Keith Haring in Pisa and Melbourne: Controversy and conservation

Keith Haring painted large outdoor murals in Melbourne, Australia, in 1984 (the Collingwood Mural) and at Pisa in Italy in 1989 (Tuttomondo). Recently, both murals have been analyzed and conserved by similar teams of conservators and scientists. The original appearance of the Collingwood Mural was severely compromised, and the original materials much degraded. Tuttomondo was somewhat altered visually but with less physical damage. There were initial suggestions to repaint Tuttomondo but these were dissipated by good communication of the analytical findings. In Melbourne, there was a high-profile and emotive campaign to have the Collingwood Mural repainted. Conservators and government were heavily criticized for supposedly ignoring the artist's wishes. However, detailed research into Haring's published statements revealed that conservation does respect his artistic aims. For the Collingwood Mural, conservators had to consider whether to reduce the visual disturbances which obscured the works. Practices documented by conservation theorists and routinely undertaken by conservators guided the decision to apply mechanically reversible re-integration. This made Haring's unique ‘line’ visible and accessible again, and pleased the public. The controversies showed how conservators must communicate clearly and tactfully; appreciate the feelings of the public and involve communities in conservation, without compromising rigorous scientific and curatorial research.     

Introducing an archival collecting model for the records created by South African Portuguese community organisations

This article is based on a study which aimed at broadening archival representation by investigating how to bring the contemporary history of the South African Portuguese community into the country’s archival heritage. To achieve this aim, the study sought to develop an archival collecting model for the records generated by Portuguese community-based organisations, since these materials are deemed an important source for preserving the social history, memories and experiences of an under-documented group, such as the Portuguese in South Africa. National and international sources were analysed and reviewed, and an empirical investigation to examine the Portuguese community organisations was conducted, in order to gain an understanding of the most effective strategies for collecting, managing and preserving these records. This article therefore proposes an archival collecting model for the records generated by South African Portuguese community-based organisations which demonstrates the processes, resources and other factors that are necessary to establish and sustain an archival collecting initiative for the Portuguese community in South Africa. It is hoped that, in addition to benefitting the Portuguese community, the model will also benefit other underdocumented communities in South Africa interested in preserving their histories and experiences.     

Calibration Between Undergraduate Students' Prediction of and Actual Performance: The Role of Gender and Performance Attributions

This study investigated changes in male and female students' prediction and postdiction calibration accuracy and bias scores, and the predictive effects of explanatory styles on these variables beyond gender. Seventy undergraduate students rated their confidence in performance before and after a 40-item exam. There was an improvement in students' bias between prediction and postdiction judgments, although male students' decrease in bias was greater than female students. Female students' accuracy remained stable from prediction to postdiction, and male students exhibited greater accuracy then females. Additionally, the task centered and student centered testing styles positively predicted students' accuracy while the social centered style was a negative predictor, beyond the effect of gender. In addition, no attribution was a significant predictor of bias.