Persuasive evidence:Improving customer service through evidenced based librarianship

Objective - To demonstrate how evidence based practice has contributed to informing decisions and resolving issues of concern in service delivery at Bond University Library. &#x0D; &#x0D; Methods - The paper critically analyses three evidence based research projects conducted at Bond University Library. Each project combined a range of research methods including surveys, literature reviews and the analysis of internal performance data to find solutions to problems in Library service delivery. The first research project investigated library opening hours and the feasibility of twenty-four hour opening. Another project researched questions about the management of a collection of feature films on DVD and video. The third project investigated issues surrounding the teaching of EndNote to undergraduate students. &#x0D; &#x0D; Results - Despite some deficiencies in the methodologies used, each evidence based research project had positive outcomes. One of the highlights and an essential feature of the process at Bond University Library was the involvement of stakeholders. The ability to build consensus and agree action plans with stakeholders was an important outcome of that process.&#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusion - Drawing on the experience of these research projects, the paper illustrates the benefits of evidence based information practice to stimulate innovation and improve library services. Librarians, like most professionals, need to continue to develop the skills and a culture to effectively carry out evidence based practice.</jats:p

The Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire: A 10-year retrospective and implications for addiction treatments

Ten years after the publication of Elaborated Intrusion (EI) Theory, there is now substantial research into its key predictions. The distinction between intrusive thoughts, which are driven by automatic processes, and their elaboration, involving controlled processing, is well established. Desires for both addictive substances and other desired targets are typically marked by imagery, especially when they are intense. Attention training strategies such as body scanning reduce intrusive thoughts, while concurrent tasks that introduce competing sensory information interfere with elaboration, especially if they compete for the same limited-capacity working memory resources. EI Theory has spawned new assessment instruments that are performing strongly and offer the ability to more clearly delineate craving from correlated processes. It has also inspired new approaches to treatment. In particular, training people to use vivid sensory imagery for functional goals holds promise as an intervention for substance misuse, since it is likely to both sustain motivation and moderate craving

Adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Applications in E-learning: Perception of the Management Undergraduates in a Selected State University of Sri Lanka

Software-as-a-Service applications immensely impact the success of e-learning with their ability of cost saving, scalability, and better collaboration. Identifying the factors influencing Software-as-a-Service applications’ adoption and their impact on the adoption of e-learning by management undergraduates in Sri Lanka became the main objectives for this research. 116 responses obtained were analyzed adopting Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling in SmartPLS. Findings revealed that behavioral intention to adopt such software together with facilitating conditions has a significant impact on the SaaS applications’ adoption by undergraduates in e-learning and factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and trust determine the intention towards adoption. This research is a value addition to the theoretical arena where studies are lacking regarding SaaS technology, specifically in the context of e-learning. Universities can focus on significant factors determined in this research when promoting the adoption of SaaS applications as an innovative tool to enhance the quality of education. Keywords: Software-as-a-Service; e-learning; UTAUT model; Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modellin

Association of professional identity, gender, team understanding, anxiety and workplace learning alignment with burnout in junior doctors: a longitudinal cohort study

Objectives To examine how burnout across medical student to junior doctor transition relates to: measures of professional identity, team understanding, anxiety, gender, age and workplace learning (assistantship) alignment to first post. Design A longitudinal 1-year cohort design. Two groups of final-year medical students: (1) those undertaking end-of-year assistantships aligned in location and specialty with their first post and (2) those undertaking assistantships non-aligned. An online questionnaire included: Professional Identity Scale, Team Understanding Scale, modified Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and modified Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Data were collected on four occasions: (T1) prior to graduation; (T2) 1 month post-transition; (T3) 6 months post-transition and (T4) 10 months post-transition. Questionnaires were analysed individually and using linear mixed-effect models. Setting Medical schools and postgraduate training in one UK country. Participants All aligned assistantship (n=182) and non-aligned assistantship students (n=319) were contacted; n=281 (56%) responded: 68% (n=183) females, 73% (n=206) 22–30 years, 46% aligned (n=129). Completion rates: aligned 72% (93/129) and non-aligned 64% (98/152). Results Analyses of individual scales revealed that self-reported anxiety, professional identity and patient-related burnout were stable, while team understanding, personal and work-related burnout increased, all irrespective of alignment. Three linear mixed-effect models (personal, patient-related and work-related burnout as outcome measures; age and gender as confounding variables) found that males self-reported significantly lower personal, but higher patient-related burnout, than females. Age and team understanding had no effect. Anxiety was significantly positively related and professional identity was significantly negatively related to burnout. Participants experiencing non-aligned assistantships reported higher personal and work-related burnout over time. Conclusions Implications for practice include medical schools’ consideration of an end-of-year workplace alignment with first-post before graduation or an extended shadowing period immediately postgraduation. How best to support undergraduate students’ early professional identity development should be examined. Support systems should be in place across the transition for individuals with a predisposition for anxiety

Creating a sustainable graduate student workshop series

Purpose - This paper reports on librarians’ experience creating and sustaining a workshop and webinar series for graduate students over the course of four years. Design/methodology/approach - Difficulties hosting and promoting stand-alone graduate workshops and a collaborative method for planning workshop days and webinars are described in this case study. Attendance data were collected and recorded for each event and additional quantitative data were collected via registration forms and post-event surveys. Findings - Working collaboratively as a department eased planning and promotional responsibilities, allowing for a sustainable workshops series. Focusing on a limited number of events per semester and developing a brand identity for the series streamlined promotion and increased attendance, relative to discipline-based, stand-alone workshops. Originality/value - While many libraries host workshops, the originality of our program lies in the collaborative planning and promotion process that efficiently uses librarian time and expertise to continuously offer well-attended graduate workshops and webinars. This case study could be used as an example for institutions considering starting a workshop series or those experiencing difficulties with stand-alone workshops