Our Experience with User Experience: Exploring Staffing Configurations to Conduct UX in an Academic Library

ABSTRACT

A research project was undertaken by a university library system to develop a sustainable user experience strategy. A task force was convened to conduct a pilot project with members from both libraries in the system to assess staffing responsibilities, guidelines, processes, and data-gathering procedures. The team tested an electronic resources list common to both libraries. In describing the methods employed by the task force in their research, this article outlines the benefits and drawbacks of staffing configurations to initiate user experience practices in an academic library setting.     

BRS Colleague MEDLINE End User Training Follow-up Survey

The amount of recent literature describing end user training programs is substantial, yet there are few reports evaluating the effectiveness of such training. This article reports on a follow-up survey of the first seventy-five trainees of a four-hour BRS Colleague MEDLINE training program at the Health Sciences Library of East Carolina University. The 90.7 percent response rate to the questionnaire provided information about both those who performed searches and those who had not. It indicated how trainees felt about their training, their ability to perform searches or reason for not performing searches, and types of additional training the trainees desired. Survey results are discussed in terms of effectiveness of the training for the end user with infrequent search needs, possible modifications to improve the effectiveness of the training, and possible alternatives to BRS Colleague MEDLINE.     

Ethical Principles and Liability Risks in Providing Drug Information

In providing drug information to various groups of users, librarians must be aware of situations or actions that may result in liability. This paper examines these issues with respect to various categories of users and types of questions. In addition, this paper addresses the role of professional ethics in medical reference.     

Data-Division–Specific Robustness and Power of Randomization Tests for ABAB Designs

This study deals with the statistical properties of a randomization test applied to an ABAB design in cases where the desirable random assignment of the points of change in phase is not possible. To obtain information about each possible data division, the authors carried out a conditional Monte Carlo simulation with 100,000 samples for each systematically chosen triplet. The authors studied robustness and power under several experimental conditions—different autocorrelation levels and different effect sizes as well as different phase lengths determined by the points of change. Type I error rates were distorted by the presence of autocorrelation for the majority of data divisions. The authors obtained satisfactory Type II error rates only for large treatment effects. The relation between the lengths of the four phases appeared to be an important factor for the robustness and power of the randomization test.     

The “None of the Above” Option in Multiple-Choice Testing: An Experimental Study

The authors assessed the effects of using “none of the above” as an option in a 40-item, general-knowledge multiple-choice test administered to undergraduate students. Examinees who selected “none of the above” were given an incentive to write the correct answer to the question posed. Using “none of the above” as the keyed option made items much more difficult (d = ?1.11). Furthermore, 45% of the time that examinees correctly selected “none of the above,” they wrote either a wrong answer (19%) or no answer (26%), and rescoring items to deny credit in these cases caused item discrimination to fall (d = ?0.35). Thus, when “none of the above” is the keyed option, credit earned by examinees with knowledge deficiencies can make items appear to have more discriminatory power than is actually the case. The authors recommend that “none of the above” should not be used as an option in multiple-choice items.     

S(he) loves me,s(he) loves me not: Predictors of relational information‐seeking in courtship and beyond

This study extends Baxter and Wilmot's (1984) work on the secret tests couples use to acquire information about the state of their relationships. No gender differences were found in levels of testing or in the use of specific tests in our sample of 226 romantically‐involved individuals, who reported on 1025 instances of testing. The effects of commitment, perceptions of partner's commitment, courtship progress, and jealousy on testing were also examined. Overall amount of testing was inversely correlated with courtship progress, suggesting that such tests characterize the earliest stages of courtship, and positively correlated with jealousy. In addition, females who perceived that their partners were less committed to their relationships were slightly more likely to engage in relational information‐seeking. Reliance upon specific tests was associated with several of the relationship measures. For instance, Endurance tests were best predicted by perceptions of high partner commitment; Separation tests were used when commitment by self and partner was low, when the relationship had not advanced much, and when the information‐seeker was jealous; and use of Triangle tests was associated with jealousy. Several significant contingencies were found among dimensions of the testing situation. The type of test used was associated with what respondents learned about their partners' commitment, with the probability of engaging in state‐of‐the relationship talks, and with the deliberate versus accidental nature of the testing episode. It was also found that deliberate tests were more likely than accidental ones to lead to feelings that the future course of the relationship was predictable and to open communication about the relationship. Finally, tentative support was found for a confirmatory bias in testing in which testers set themselves up to learn that their partners value the relationship.     

Conceptualizing the use of online technologies for gifted secondary students

In an era where technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and where information is readily accessible on the World Wide Web, educators should be capitalizing on these resources for gifted students. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to support individualized and independent learning within a network of peers that will provide challenging interactions through extensive use of online learning. Online resources and technologies promote the exploration of new concepts and sharing of new learning with a group of motivated and “like‐minded” peers.     

中国城市化与技术创新关联性的动态分析

 城市的众多特征有利于技术创新产生,且为创新扩散创造良好条件,创新有利于加快城市化进程,两者之间存在着较强的关联性。向量自回归模型、因果检验、脉冲响应等动态分析显示,中国城市化与技术创新互为格兰杰因果关系,城市化对自身波动的冲击反应强烈,对技术创新波动的冲击反应较弱,技术创新对城市化的冲击反应强烈而对自身冲击反应较弱。结论对于推进我国城市化进程、培育城市创新能力和提高整体创新水平具有启示意义。     

中国城镇居民收入与人力资本投资相互关系的实证研究

采用1985~2005年度全国的时间序列数据,运用现代协整理论,对我国城镇居民收入变动和人力资本投资之间的长短期关系进行检验。结果表明:城镇居民收入与人力资本投资存在长期稳定的双向因果关系,而在短期中,我国城镇居民收入是增加人力资本投资的主要因素,对人力资本的投资具有正的影响;而人力资本投资的变动却不是增加居民收入的主要因素。