Breaking Down Barriers for Student Parents and Caregivers with Family-Friendly Library Spaces

Abstract

In 2016, J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte opened a reservable study room where student parents and caregivers can study with their children on campus. In 2018, the library opened a second family-friendly study room to meet the needs of our growing campus community. To inform the room design, the library conducted a mixed methods research study that included a user survey, an examination of room reservation and usage data, and one-on-one user interviews. This paper focuses on the user-centered design process used to inform the development of the second, family-friendly, library study room.     

How much should it cost? An introduction to management use of costing information

With the introduction of the internal marketthe health service is changing rapidly and health libraries must change with it. Many libraries arerequested to cost their services. The demand comes from external customers and from their ownorganizations. This paper discusses the various reasons for costing services and howcosting information can influence our management decision making. The paper challengeslibrarians to move costing processes away from a mechanistic approach, towards a means ofdemonstrating the worth of a library resources unit in cost and qualitative terms. Using costinginformation for cost control purposes, comparison of cost with other providers, setting prices ordetermining future service delivery levels is discussed, as well as considering the question ofexternal provision of library services. Use of information on fixed and variable costs andassessing break-even levels of service provision is illustrated as a helpful guide to library survival.     

Internationalization of scientific publishing over time: Analysing publishers and fields differences

The changes in journal internationality in mainstream science were examined using 1,398 journals and 2,557,229 papers during 1991–2014. The authors’ country of affiliation in journals’ papers and references of multinational and national publishers were analysed. The results showed that journals’ papers and references have become more globalized over time. On average, older journals are more international than the newer ones. Although multinational publishers publish more international journals than the national ones do, journals from national publishers have internationalized faster than those from multinationals. The difference between these two groups of publishers is much greater in authoring compared to referencing. For both groups of publishers, the most changes in journal internationality occurred between the fourth and sixth year of indexing in Web of Science. Journals and papers in Humanities journals have the highest rate of increase of internationality although Natural Sciences and Engineering and Technology have the most international papers. Agricultural Sciences has the least international papers; however, these papers cite a wider range of countries’ papers compared to other fields. Journals in Medical and Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Agricultural Sciences have the most international references.     

The Effect of Culture Integrated Language Courses on Foreign Language Education

When examined carefully, it is seen that there is not an available and detailed cttrriculum designed for the aim of foreign language teaching with integrated cultural items of the target language in the programs of the schools under authority of the Ministry of Education and Turkish higher education institutions. In recent years, the specialists have an agreement on the issue that foreign language instruction should be carried out by the means of target language＇s history, literature, geography and also its social characteristics. The idiom ＂it＇s raining cats and dogs＂ can be misinterpreted by a Turkish student without the knowledge of this idiom＇s story in English history as ＂Cats and dogs are pouring down from the sky＂. An important French architectural building ＂Saint Mary Cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris＂ can be misunderstood as ＂Our Parisian Woman＂ by a student who is unfamiliar with French culture. Both examples show that encountered foreign words and phrases can be misunderstood and mostly these words are perceived and interpreted according to learners＇ own cultural figures. The aims of this study are to show the significance of culture-based foreign language courses and to make a contribution to the literature by regarding the views of researchers beheving that culture and language are inseparable concepts. In this context, Erzincan University French Language Teaching Department students＇ opinions on the relation between culture and language learning were received with the application of qualitative structured written response method. Then, document analysis of written comments was evaluated. Consequently, the analysis on the participants＇ written comments showed that a culture integrated foreign language course can make positive contributions to students＇ learning, language learning process and learning environment.