Public policy and literary culture: Publishing subsidies in Scotland

Public subsidies of publishing have a number of goals, including the extension of both international cultural activities and national cultural enterprise. The Scottish publishing industry is described and its recent history is reviewed. The activities of the publishing subsidy program of the Scottish Arts Council are enumerated. Finally, the impact of subsidies on Scottish authors and publishers is evaluated.     

A rural virtual health sciences library project: research findings with implications for next generation library services

PURPOSE: The Shared Hospital Electronic Library of Southern Indiana (SHELSI) research project was designed to determine whether access to a virtual health sciences library and training in its use would support medical decision making in rural southern Indiana and achieve the same level of impact seen by targeted information services provided by health sciences librarians in urban hospitals. METHODS: Based on the results of a needs assessment, a virtual medical library was created; various levels of training were provided. Virtual library users were asked to complete a Likert-type survey, which included questions on intent of use and impact of use. At the conclusion of the project period, structured interviews were conducted. RESULTS: Impact of the virtual health sciences library showed a strong correlation with the impact of information provided by health sciences librarians. Both interventions resulted in avoidance of adverse health events. Data collected from the structured interviews confirmed the perceived value of the virtual library. CONCLUSION: While librarians continue to hold a strong position in supporting information access for health care providers, their roles in the information age must begin to move away from providing information toward selecting and organizing knowledge resources and instruction in their use.     

Supporting Indigenous Studies Programs Through Sustainable Budget Allocation

ABSTRACT

This study assesses acquisitions budget allocation for sustainable support of Indigenous Studies (IS) and the challenge of addressing the needs of an emergent subject area. A survey of collections librarians provided context for library allocation practices of other Canadian institutions offering IS programs. An analysis of titles purchased before and after creating an IS subject fund was performed; results reveal that there was an increase in the number of IS titles purchased annually after the fund was created. A defined subject fund allowed flexibility beyond conventional library collections structures to address the unique needs of IS as an academic discipline.     

Exploring the Influence of Parasocial Relationships and Experiences on Radio Listeners’ Consumer Behaviors

The purpose of the present study was to explore the influence of radio listener experiences on radio listening behaviors, consumer perceptions and behaviors, and social media involvement. A national sample of listeners (N = 2,700) from a variety of small, medium, and large designated market areas (N = 9) throughout the United States revealed the presence of parasocial relationships (PSRs) and experiences of parasocial interaction (EPSI) with local and nationally syndicated radio personalities. Both PSRs and EPSI predicted radio listening, positive perceptions about, recall of, and purchasing of the brands, products, and services recommended by listeners’ favorite radio personalities. Results also show that PSRs and EPSI predicted listeners’ involvement with social media platforms.     

Singapore Students' Perceptions of Graphs,Charts and Maps

Graphs, charts and maps are often used to present quantitative information. Students learn about these in geography, mathematics and other subjects across the curriculum. From contact with school teachers it has been found that many students have problems with graphic representations. This is often seen as a problem of teaching method rather than a problem concerning students' understanding. Studies in Sweden (Ottosson & Aberg-Bengtsson, 1995) and Australia (Gerber et al., 1995) confirm that it is not teaching methods alone that matter. The studies also indicate that the meanings assigned by beholders of graphs, charts and maps are closely linked to their life experiences. This is similarly so for Singapore students. Over thirty students ranging from 11 to 20 years of age were interviewed on their interpretation of a set of graphs, charts and maps of an imaginary world. A phenomenographic analysis shows that the students experienced considerable variations in their perceptions of graphic representations of quantitative data (graphs, charts and maps). These variations are represented in an outcome space diagram showing three major levels of understanding.     

Honourable mobility or shameless entitlement? Habitus and graduate employment

This article explores the contrasting predispositions of a group of working-class and middle-class undergraduates to using nepotism to gain advantage in the labour market. Drawing upon a Bourdieusian framework, it is argued that the middle-class students, whose habitus was aligned to the field, were more likely to express a willingness to utilise whatever networks they could to secure a ‘foot in the door’. Meanwhile, the working-class students, who were more insecure about the legitimacy of their participation within a middle-class field, expressed a commitment to a form of honour which ruled out using contacts on the grounds that it was morally unacceptable. They discussed a desire to ‘prove themselves’ which is arguably symptomatic of a deeply ingrained reliance on meritocracy. I explore how this may arise due to their habitus having developed within a dominated position in society where respectability is crucial to generating feelings of self-worth and value.     

First-Year Faculty of Color: Narratives about Entering the Academy

The experiences of first-year, tenure-track faculty have been missing in the literature about new or junior faculty. Furthermore, the extant literature about new faculty does not offer a critical outlook on how oppressive institutional structures shape how first-year faculty of color approach faculty work. Drawing from analytical narratives, the authors reframe how doctoral student socialization and new-faculty support systems are discussed, especially pertaining to first-year faculty of color. In doing so, and utilizing narrative inquiry as a methodological framework, the authors draw out the distinct voices of new faculty of color. The implications offered are important for scholars who study faculty experiences and for faculty advisors to doctoral students interested in the professoriate.     

Learner engagement under the ‘regulatory gaze’: possibilities for re-positioning early childhood pre-service teachers as autonomous professionals

In a climate of increasing regulation within early childhood education and care services, and the greater re-positioning of professionals within public sectors, this article seeks to extend the literature surrounding risk and regulation in early childhood. In efforts to ‘push back’ against the ‘regulatory gaze’ in the early childhood education and care sector, we investigate the role that learner engagement in initial teacher education can play in empowering early childhood pre-service teachers (PSTs) as professionals. This question is explored in the reporting of the findings from an action research study which redesigned a semester-long teacher education topic to draw on the students’ self-knowledge, applied experience and content choice, to go beyond the meeting of minimum credential requirements. Data were derived from sequential student evaluations and topic coordinators’ reflections. Subsequent analysis highlights significant insights in relation to student-teachers’ understanding of professionalism and their role within the ECEC sector. The implications of this re-positioning of PSTs’ developing sense of professionalism amidst increasing regulation are discussed.     

Health information outreach: the land-grant mission

Service to the state is one of the core principles of the land-grant mission. This concept of service is also fundamental to a significant number of outreach activities in academic health sciences libraries, particularly those libraries affiliated with the public land-grant universities. The Dana Medical Library at the University of Vermont has a lengthy tradition of outreach to health care providers and health care consumers of the State of Vermont. Building on the foundation of the land-grant institution-which grew out of federal legislation introduced in the mid nineteenth century by Justin Morrill, Vermont's congressional representative--the Dana Medical Library has based its outreach activities on its dedication of service to the state in the promotion of healthy citizens through information dissemination in support of health care delivery. Reengineering library services designed to meet the specific information needs of its diverse clientele, partnering with disparate health care organizations, and relying on fees for service to expand its outreach activities, the Dana Medical Library has redefined the concept of health information outreach for the new millennium.