Medical information, health sciences librarians, and professional liability

As a gatekeeper to medical literature and a critical link in the delivery of information to physicians, the librarian's role raises the issue of the librarian's professional liability. The paper suggests several ways in which liability may attach to the librarian or the librarian's employers. Although the librarian's personal risk is negligible, the physician's exposure due to ineffective library work is substantial since the courts have held that a physician must keep abreast of progress in his field. Librarians can also become associated with professional liability actions as part of a case against a physician or hospital through the legal doctrine of vicarious liability. The paper concludes by suggesting several proactive steps for health sciences librarians to pursue to insulate themselves from professional liability and to insulate physicians and institutions from vicarious liability.     

Back to the Drawing Board

Teachers can conduct action research by taking what they are doing in their classrooms and leveraging it to help drive the performance of the school community. The authors present the action research process, mirrored with an in-depth example, and the opportunities to become teacher leaders. Sample action research questions are provided to help teachers generate their own ideas. Also, guiding questions at each stage of the action research process support teachers and help refine their thinking.     

Ecography: A New Scientific Discipline

Abstract

Citizen involvement in public decision-making processes affecting the environment requires an informed and motivated citizenry. This paper examines the long-term effects of an environmental education program specifically designed to involve citizens in environmental affairs concerning water quality in Lake Michigan. Feedback from the participants indicates a wide range of attitudinal and behavioral change as a result of program participation. The most common changes were: greater awareness of the problem and more confidence in discussing environmental issues in public forums.     

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提出学术图书馆与其服务对象之间一对一关系的服务策略 ,并就该服务方式的可行性、实施过程中的主要步骤以及有关计算机网络通讯技术在一对一服务中的应用问题进行阐述与探讨。     

Engineering an online course: applying the 'secrets' of computer programming to course development

Colleges and universities are increasingly migrating towards utilising the World Wide Web to convey at least part of, and in many cases, their entire curricular offering. Despite this trend there is little support for the professors responsible for translating courses refined over a career in the classroom for delivery via the Web. Teachers who are experts in their subject area and masters of their craft when in a classroom find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to relearn how to teach in a new environment with little or no support. Development of an online course is, in many significant aspects, analogous to developing a computer product. The procedures and tools utilised in the software engineering field to manage computer software development, therefore, offer promise for developing online courses. This paper explores the potential of one process developed for the software engineering field—the System Development Lifecycle (SDL)—as a tool to effectively design and develop online college courses.