Exploring library service models at Fudan University and Appalachian State University: Experiences from an International Librarian Exchange program

In 2008, Fudan University Library (FDUL) in Shanghai and Belk Library and Information Commons at Appalachian State University (ASU) in Boone, North Carolina created a three-year librarian exchange program. The first pair of librarian exchanges occurred during the 2009–2010 academic year, with the Appalachian State librarian traveling to Fudan for five weeks during the Fall of 2009, and the first librarian from Fudan traveling to Appalachian State for five months in the spring and summer of 2010. This paper documents how the first exchanges revealed interesting similarities and differences in the academic library service models between the two universities which are illustrative of general similarities and differences between Chinese and American academic library services. The paper also discusses how any academic library can benefit from the experience of a librarian exchange program with a partner library in another country.

The experience gained from these first exchanges confirms on an international level the basic assertion that a major role of an academic library is to support the university’s curriculum.

Moreover it can be extrapolated from discussions held between librarians of the two institutions that in both the United States and China the curriculum evolves in response to reforms on campus and to changing trends within the country’s education system. It was also determined that the modes of library services in both cultures change as new technologies arise and that the pace of technological change within academic libraries is rapid and ongoing. Participants in the exchange discovered that there are strengths and weaknesses in both the ASU and FDUL service models and that the librarians from both systems can learn from one another and absorb best practices from their exchange partners. This paper reflects the views and experiences of the exchange librarians (Shi and Johnson) and also author Shao, who is a Chinese national working as a faculty fellow librarian at Appalachian State University.     

Librarians Do It Differently: Comparative Usability Testing with Students and Library Staff

Usability testing on library search tools was conducted with ten students and eighteen library staff members at Syracuse University. The study addressed three research questions: (1) Do the ways in which librarians carry out search tasks on the library Web site vary from those of student users?; (2) Are those variations indicative of different mental models, i.e. different experience with and knowledge about the content and search tools on the Web site?; and (3) If there are differences, what are the implications of those different models for the usability of the site by students? Participants were tasked by using the library's Web site to locate both known items and items about a subject in the library's collection. The two groups differed in the success with which they were able to complete the tasks, as well as the time used. There were differences in the selection of search tools, the syntax used within the search box, the expectations of how library resources are organized, and the level of persistence as tasks were performed. Students’ behavior is characteristic of different mental models for how search tools work. The results are applicable to the design of the library's Web site and have implications for how library staff conduct reference and instruction services.     

在线旅游企业商业模式创新路径比较研究

在线旅游企业的商业模式创新引起业界和学界的广泛关注。本文将在线旅游企业的商业模式分为三类,即:综合超市模式、搜索引擎模式、专业化模式,并以携程旅行网、去哪儿网、途家网为例对三种商业模式的创新路径进行了分析。本文认为,大型在线旅游企业正选择一站式线上旅行平台的商业模式创新方向,并逐渐成为旅游产品供应链的领导者;而中小在线旅游企业则走专业化的道路,成为旅游产品供应链上不可分割的一环。     

信息技术与中学数学课程整合中新型教学模式的探讨与实践

中学数学教学主要就是数学科目的讲授,学习数学对中学生来讲有着重要的意义,数学的学习有利于培养学生开发智力,训练思维能力。随着时代的快速发展,教学模式与方法的不断创新,信息技术在实际教学当中也占据了有利的位置,信息技术的引入在很大程度上来说,推动了教学的发展以及进步。信息技术与中学数学课程的整合是目前较先进的教学观念,本文主要针对信息技术与中学数学教学整合现存的问题进行分析,有利于促进信息技术与中学数学教学整合的新型教学模式的开展,重视信息技术在实际数学教学的过程中起到关键作用,运用新型教学模式,有助于提高数学课堂教学效果。     

中职教育中计算思维培养方法初探

计算思维培养近年来在国内外教育机构中得到了广泛的重视。本文从教学模式改革角度出发,探寻中职教育中计算思维培养的思路和方法。     

CEO年薪报酬、研发投资强度与公司财务绩效

本文以中国A股上市公司为样本,运用联立方程组模型和三阶段最小二乘法,研究了CEO年薪报酬、研发投资强度与公司财务绩效之间的互动关系。研究发现:(1)高新技术企业的CEO年薪报酬与研发投资强度之间存在显著的正向互动关系;虽然非高新技术企业的CEO年薪报酬与研发投资强度之间存在负向互动关系,但关系不显著;(2)高新技术企业的研发投资强度对公司当期和上期财务绩效分别具有显著的负向和正向影响关系;当期和上期财务绩效对公司研发投资强度分别具有显著的负向和正向影响关系;而非高新技术企业的研发投资强度与公司财务绩效的互动关系相反,并且关系不显著;(3)高新技术企业的CEO当期年薪报酬与公司当期财务绩效之间存在显著的正向互动关系;虽然非高新技术企业CEO的当期年薪报酬与公司当期财务绩效之间存在正向互动关系,但关系较弱。本文研究结果不仅丰富了现有相关研究文献,而且在优化CEO年薪报酬契约,矫正公司研发投资不足和提高公司可持续盈利能力等方面,为高新技术企业提供理论支持和决策参考。     

科技融资模式选择路径研究

科技企业初创期资金投入大、风险高等特点决定了其在融资方面必然面临诸多问题。从全球范围看,多数发达国家已经采取了适合有效的科技融资模式化解高科技企业融资难题。我国科技融资的发展尚处于初级阶段,为此文章深入研究并比较美、日、德三个发达国家的科技融资模式,构建科技融资模式的理论选择模型,经过分析,得到科技融资模式的选择与经济主体的经济金融发展水平密切相关、与其社会中投资主体的决策水平和管理能力密切相关的结论,为进一步完善我国科技融资模式提供借鉴。     

PID-based bit allocation strategy for asymmetric stereoscopic video coding with fuzzy quality controller

Asymmetric stereoscopic video coding can take advantage of binocular suppression in human vision by representing one of the two views in lower quality.This paper proposes a bit allocation strategy for asymmetric stereoscopic video coding.In order to improve the accuracy of bit allocation and rate control in the left view,a proportionalintegral-derivative controller is adopted.Meanwhile,to control the quality fluctuation between consecutive frames of the left view,a quality controller is adopted.Besides,a fuzzy controller is proposed to control the variation in quality between the left and right views by comparing the PSNR disparity of two views with a fixed threshold,which is used to quantize the binocular psycho-visual redundancy and adjust the quantization parameter (QP) of the right view correspondingly.The proposed algorithm has been implemented in H.264/AVC video codec,and the experimental results show its effectiveness in rate control while keeping a good quality for the left view,and fewer bits are allocated for the right view so that the overall bit rate is saved by 7.2% at most without the loss of subjective visual quality for stereoscopic video.     

Teaching as Therapy

The 20th century saw a profound change to the model of humanity commonly accepted in the West. At the start of the century the tripartite model of personhood included the components of mind, body and soul, or the physical, mental and moral/spiritual aspects of being. By the end of the century, this had changed to physical, mental and emotional. This substitution of ‘emotional’ for ‘moral’ has had profound effects, not the least on teaching. The effects have included alterations to the content of education, including the introduction of programs to preserve/promote children's self esteem, and interest in topics such as ‘emotional intelligence’. Also affected, however, has been how teaching itself is conceptualised. This paper will consider some of these effects and their consequences for teaching and teachers.     

Optimal Sample Allocation in Group-Randomized Mediation Studies with a Group-Level Mediator

We derive sample-allocation formulas that maximize the power of several mediation tests in two-level–group-randomized studies under a linear cost structure and fixed budget. The results suggest that the optimal individual sample size is typically smaller than that associated with the detection of a main effect and is frequently less than 10 under parameter values commonly seen in the literature. However, the optimal sample allocation can be heavily influenced by the group-to-individual cost ratio, the ratio of the treatment-mediator to mediator-outcome path coefficients, and the outcome variance structure. We illustrate these findings with a hypothetical group-randomized trial examining a school-discipline reform policy. To encourage utilization of the sample allocation formulas we implement them in the R package PowerUpR and powerupr Shiny application.