Environmentally-induced stone decay: the cumulative effects of crystallization–hydration cycles on a Lincolnshire oopelsparite limestone

An investigation has been undertaken at St Andrew’s church, Walpole St Andrew, Norfolk, to establish the underlying causes of the observed stone decay to the upper parts of the six stone piers. The stone decay was first recorded in the early 1930s. The salt-contaminated masonry within the church has been shown to undergo severe salt decay during the summer, with little damage occurring over the winter months. The south aisle piers have been shown to decay 2.5 times faster than the north aisle piers. Although crystallization–hydration cycles have been identified, the rate of decay is at its greatest when the cycling is relatively infrequent. This was not the expected trend. Furthermore, it has been shown that during extended periods where the ambient relative humidity is less than 75%, the rate of decay reaches a maximum. It is the length of this ‘drying’ period that apparently has the greatest influence on the rate of decay and could explain the significant difference in the rate of decay between the south and north aisle piers. The results have serious implications for passive conservation, where it is often recommended to lower the ambient relative humidity to well below the equilibrium relative humidity of the salt contaminant, to avoid crystallization–hydration cycles. Since, at the time of building, the church was situated on the coast, it is possible that the sodium chloride contamination occurred during the building process (1440–1520), particularly since the area was prone to sea-flooding at this time. Alternatively, the salt could have been applied as a treatment during the general restoration of 1897. Whatever the source of the salt, it seems likely that the ambient environment was changed by the insertion of a sealed floor in 1897, which could account for the onset of the salt decay.     

彻底简化IT

如何实现"简化IT"的战略,这是困扰很多企业,尤其是CIO的一个重要问题。本文以日本新生银行的例子来诠释如何彻底简化IT。中世纪哲人William of Ock- ham说过,理论应该尽可能的简单。同样的原则适用于企业IT系统:它们按照尽可能少的标准     

‘The feeling of exclusion’: Young peoples' perceptions of art galleries

This article first looks at the relationship between museums and art galleries and their potential audiences and, in particular, the under-represented sector of young visitors. It examines the main findings from the limited research available on young visitors, and goes on to discuss theories delineating the differences between the cultures, identities and values of culture consumers and culture providers. The second part of the article looks at what specific museums have done towards being more inclusive in their appeal, and then reports the findings of a survey of young people in relation to New Zealand's Auckland Art Gallery. The survey found that young people's ideas of what constitutes modern, relevant art do not match standard art criteria, and that most exhibitions and marketing methods do not mesh with their worldview. The article concludes by using data from the survey to suggest ways of engaging more young people with public art galleries.     

Another Look at What Moves Public Opinion: Media Agenda Setting and Polls in the 2000 U.S. Election

This study examined two levels of media agenda effects on aggregatepublic opinion from different news sources. The effects wereinvestigated immediately and cumulatively. Content analysisdata from the 2000 U.S. presidential election coverage by fournational news organizations were related to the Gallup pre-electionpoll standings of each candidate. Regression analyses foundthat both the salience of a candidate and the salience of theattributes of a candidate cumulatively, but not immediately,influenced his standing in the polls. An analysis of news sourcessupported the finding that the two levels of agenda-settingeffects seemed mostly cumulative rather than immediate. Newsfrom different sources, however, tended to have effects of differentdegrees and sometimes different directions on candidate pollstandings. Cumulative effects of candidate salience on aggregateopinion change were found for non-partisan and neutral newssources—reporters, poll reporting and public documents—whereasthe effects of candidate attribute salience mostly came frompartisan sources—the candidate himself and members ofthe competing political party. Possible political implicationsof these findings are discussed.     

Demonstrating Library Impact Through Acknowledgment: An Examination of Acknowledgments in Theses and Dissertations

Academic libraries are increasingly seeking ways to demonstrate their impact on student learning. Acknowledgments - formal statements of indebtedness – in graduate theses and dissertations provide a rather unexplored area for demonstrating impact of the academic library on student learning. This study uses quantitative and qualitative methods to characterize acknowledgments of the Texas A&M University Libraries (TAMU Libraries) in theses and dissertations, both overall and for three disciplines specifically: civil engineering, geography, and history. This study also searched for mentions of the TAMU Libraries throughout the entire body of theses and dissertations. Overall, acknowledgments to the TAMU Libraries in theses and dissertations were less than 1%, though acknowledgments were found in all three disciplines with over a quarter of the history theses and dissertations containing an acknowledgment to libraries. There was no statistically significant difference found between the numbers of acknowledgments in theses versus dissertations. Acknowledgments to the TAMU Libraries were found in the theses and dissertations of 28 different departments. Mentions to the TAMU Libraries – not necessarily a formal acknowledgment – were found throughout the text of theses and dissertations with most concentrated in the acknowledgment, method, and bibliography sections.     

Consortial Ebook Archiving Environmental Scan

Academic libraries and consortia are spending the vast majority of their material budgets on digital content, including ebooks. A review of ebook preservation activities for the North American library consortia is provided along with a look at the major preservation services such as Portico, CLOCKSS and HathiTrust. Publishers and ebook aggregators are also examined to provide a broad environmental scan of the current ebook preservation activities and risks.     

Susceptibility to Deception in a Political News Interview: Effects of Identification,Perceived Cooperativeness,and Ingroup Vulnerability

This article explores people’s susceptibility to political deception. Participants watched a news interview in which a politician either answered all the questions or deceptively evaded a question. In Study 1 (n = 202), deception is perceived through the dodge being irrelevant for voters who do not identify with the politician. In Study 2 (n = 618), partisan voters consider the politician more deceptive, and acting more deceptively, when the politician has their opposing party affiliation, independent of whether he dodges. When the politician shares their party identification, voters identify with the politician more and consider his responses more relevant. Findings are consistent with theoretical positions of identification, the cooperative principle, and social identity.     

Forward view: advancing health library and knowledge services in England

This article is the fourth in a series on New Directions. The National Health Service is under pressure, challenged to meet the needs of an ageing population, whilst striving to improve standards and ensure decision making is underpinned by evidence. Health Education England is steering a new course for NHS library and knowledge services in England to ensure access to knowledge and evidence for all decision makers. Knowledge for Healthcare calls for service transformation, role redesign, greater coordination and collaboration. To meet user expectations, health libraries must achieve sustainable, affordable access to digital content. Traditional tasks will progressively become mechanised. Alongside supporting learners, NHS librarians and knowledge specialists will take a greater role as knowledge brokers, delivering business critical services. They will support the NHS workforce to signpost patients and the public to high‐quality information. There is a need for greater efficiency and effectiveness through greater co‐operation and service mergers. Evaluation of service quality will focus more on outcomes, less on counting. These changes require an agile workforce, fit for the future. There is a bright future in which librarians’ expertise is used to mobilise evidence, manage and share knowledge, support patients, carers and families, optimise technology and social media and provide a keystone for improved patient care and safety.