A survey of Internet access and usage among undergraduates in an African university

Abstract

The study surveyed the use of Internet among undergraduate students at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. A total of 1000 questionnaires were distributed using a stratified sampling method to select the respondents. Ten faculties were covered. A total of 664 questionnaires were returned and all were usable. The findings revealed a high percentage use of the Internet. The access point for them is cyber cafes. The university library though linked to the Internet is yet to provide access to students. Respondents pay for the access time through their pocket money for food, books and assistance from friends. Their use of the Internet has not affected their use of the library. Some problems they face in their use of the Internet include slowness of the server and payment for the access time. The study recommends that the university should provide access points for students. The university library also should continue to aim at ensuring that it gets enough funds from the government and sponsors to be able to provide access points in the library for use by students and include the use of Internet in its library instruction course.     

Where the private meets the public: Results of a survey of library professionals’ observed student use of academic library spaces for prayer

Abstract

Reports of college students using the library for spiritual practices, including prayer and meditation, consist mainly of anecdotal observations, news stories, or press releases about the creation of such spaces within academic libraries. Driven by their own experiences with students using library spaces for prayer, the authors examined how prevalent this was across US academic institutions. Using a large-scale national survey, this study found library professionals observe a wide range of student prayer behavior in a variety of library spaces, regardless of institutional or campus demographics. The results provide academic libraries with evidence to support accommodating students’ spiritual needs in library spaces.     

The civic potential of Bollywood based dance flash mobs: on youth participation and digital networks

In this paper I argue that artists/activists in India use Bollywood dance and songs to choreograph flash mob performances with the aim of addressing issues of public importance because Bollywood is a common performative site that can be used to mobilize people. In order to understand how Bollywood based dance flash mobs have civic potential for activists-cum-performers, I conducted in-depth interviews with 20 flash mob choreographers in four cities of India. Based on my findings, I suggest that Bollywood based dance flash mobs are identified by the urban youth as inherently political and democratic in nature. These performances are often accompanied with the organizer-generated subgenre of flash mob videos recorded for the online audience. In archiving these performances, organizers also enable a virtual network of connections where individuals who share the same civic aspirations can come together and build solidarity around the cause.     

The Complicated Symptoms of Sick Buildings

SUMMARY

When the symptoms of a possible sick building syndrome appeared in a library building more than twenty years ago, it was thought that the situation could be easily fixed. Instead, we are still managing a problem building although extensive work has been done and much progress has been made to moderate the physical reactions of staff and building users. Looking after the well being of our staff has been the primary motivation.     

Three Decades Since Prejudices and Antipathies: A Study of Changes in the Library of Congress Subject Headings

ABSTRACT

The Library of Congress Subject Headings have been criticized for containing biased subject headings. One leading critic has been Sanford Berman, whose 1971 monograph Prejudices and Antipathies: A Tract on the LC Subject Heads Concerning People (P&A), listed a number of objectionable headings and proposed remedies. In the decades since P&A was first published, many of Berman's suggestions have been implemented, while other headings remain unchanged. This paper compiles all of Berman's suggestions and tracks the changes that have occurred; a brief analysis of the remaining areas of bias is included.     

Build Your Program by Building Your Team: Inclusively Transforming Services,Staffing and Spaces

ABSTRACT

User feedback told the story of the largest and busiest campus library being dated in both physical form and programmatic function. Under the framework of a newly-developed strategic plan, library leadership initiated a comprehensive and inclusive assessment program to understand fully user needs by engaging users, campus partners, and, importantly, library personnel. Simultaneously, they embarked on a review of change management literature for guidance on implementing the required transformation. Informed by the change management philosophy of John Kotter, the library utilized the findings of the assessment program to craft and implement a sustainable transformation of its services, staffing, and spaces.     

Constructing learning spaces? Videoconferencing at local learning centres in Sweden

This article explores videoconferencing in the context of local learning centres in Sweden. The practice is described as a ‘learning space’ in which adult learners construct socio-spatial relations. The study goes beyond a sociological apprehension of actors and opposes the idea of the material as neutral, passive and conformed by practice. On the contrary, the classroom layouts and the technical artefacts have a profound impact on interaction, communication and learning. The results of the study concern how human actors have to take on different strategies to escape the influence of material actors. It will be argued that the learning space of videoconferencing is a network of interrelations in which control is handed over from humans to material actors. In terms of learning, we may have to rethink the roles of environments and technical artifacts and reconsider such predetermined and static roles of material objects.     

一致凸Banach空间中渐近非扩张映像不动点的迭代算法

在一致凸Banach空间中，建立了修改的Ishikawa迭代算法强收敛到渐近非扩张映像不动点的收敛定理。文章分两部分，第一部分给出了几个引理；第二部分运用迭代算法建立了强收敛定理，该定理给出了渐近非扩张映像不动点的一种逼近方法。     

Banach空间上的投影算子及应用

将HiIbert空间上的投影算子[1-2]推广到Banach空间,并讨论了它的性质、运算及在线性代数中的应用。     

k-强凸性的一个等价条件的证明

文献[1]与[2]分别给出了两种形式的Banach空间k-强凸性的概念,但没有证明它们是等价的,因而可能出现概念不统一等情况,为此本文证明了这两种形式的概念是等价的．