Sailing Together at the University of Miami: How New Campus Partnerships Are Leading to the Transformation of Librarian Roles in Learning and Research

Since 2014, the University of Miami Libraries (UML) has formed a series of strategic relationships with campus partners to advance the University’s priorities for teaching, learning, and research. Engagement with Undergraduate and Graduate Education, College of Arts and Sciences, and Academic Technologies has led to the development of new and expanded programs and services to support student learning. These programs include a Learning Commons in Richter Library that co-locates and coordinates key academic services for students, a Library Research Scholars program that offers librarian-mentorship experiences for undergraduates working on projects of their own design, and a peer-to-peer research consultation service that replaces the traditional reference desk model. To increase support for faculty, UML has also formed a partnership with the University’s Office of Research; consequently, librarians are now participating on interdisciplinary research teams funded to address grand research challenges. To design, plan, and implement such experimental programs, librarians have made use of participatory-planning and community-building strategies, redefined their job roles and responsibilities, and sought out professional development opportunities to increase their skills. In the process, librarians are expanding their focus on collaboration, mentorship, and program development. The impact of new partnerships includes greater visibility of librarians on campus, increased student use of library spaces and emerging services, and deepening integration with the University’s strategic priorities

‘A Unique Situation in the History of Cinema’: Crowhurst (2018), The Mercy (2018) and the Biopic Too Much

Donald Crowhurst entered the 1968 Sunday Times boat race hoping to secure fame and fortune, but his voyage ended in disaster. His trimaran was found empty in the Atlantic Ocean, and his logbooks revealed that he had grossly exaggerated his progress to the media. There were two ‘Crowhursts’ in this race: an amateur out of his depth, and an alter ego he presented to the world. The two films about Crowhurst released in 2018 illustrated the phenomenon of ‘duelling’ biopics, while reflecting the two ‘Crowhursts’ at the mystery’s heart. StudioCanal purchased the distribution rights to the low-budget Crowhurst with the obligation to release it in cinemas shortly after The Mercy, their prestige production. The arrangement ensured that The Mercy would overshadow Crowhurst’s release and not vice-versa. These films approach Crowhurst’s life in very different ways: whereas The Mercy charts a formulaic route through the biopic’s generic waters, Crowhurst departs from convention by plunging the sailor into uncharted territory between biopic and horror. Hence the uncanniness of Crowhurst’s own fabricated double was reflected in the films which portray his life: each offers a different representation of Crowhurst’s race, a different set of generic coordinates to reflect Crowhurst’s own fabrications at sea

"Navigare necesse est". Bio Environmental implications of shipping in the European Arctic

Paper IV of this thesis is not available in Munin. Paper IV: Larsen, L-H., Cusa, M., Eglund-Newby, S., Berge, J., Renaud, P. E., Falk-Petersen, S., Varpe, Ø.: “Feeding activity and diet of gadoid fish in Svalbard waters during the polar night”. (Manuscript).Ocean shipping has for centuries been essential to mankind, and is the most efficient way of transporting goods across the world. With increasing global temperatures, the Arctic ice cap is reduced in thickness and extent, making Arctic shipping more feasible. The thesis looks into the biological and environmental implications of shipping in the European Arctic Seas. A scenario involving a shipping accident where a merchant vessel running on Marine Diesel Oil is wrecked, provides the input to modelling of the spread of contaminants through a shallow water Arctic marine ecosystem. The modelling exercise is supported by data on accumulation and excretion of PAH in a key predator of the ecosystem, generated through laboratory experiments. Data measured at an actual spill of diesel in the Arctic is also applied. Shipping in a future warmer Arctic is projected to include navigation during polar night, a period poorly covered by biological data. The study presents data on polar night fish feeding activity from five years of January sampling in the waters off Svalbard, indicating high biological activity and potentially similar vulnerability of the ecosystem during polar night as during the light part of the year

Azerbaijan: Low Oil Prices and their Social Impact

This article looks at the impact of low oil prices and the resulting shortfall in oil rents on the Azerbaijani government's social-assistance policies and related expenditures and discusses its implications for social cohesion in the long run. It argues that the deployment of strategic fiscal reserves and citizens' continuing reliance on informal 'safety nets' have cushioned the negative social impacts of the oil plunge. However, there is a risk that the deepening of an economic crisis exacerbated by weak private sector development and missing major reforms in education and social sectors across the board might undermine the social contract. To mitigate the adverse social impacts of the ongoing crisis, the government must conduct a more comprehensive and wide-ranging reform of the labor market, of the access to and quality of education and of the private business sector to stimulate formal job creation, especially among youth and rural populations as well as in health care to provide quality and affordable health care, in education to improve human capacity and domestic labor skills, and in social policies to ensure inclusive and sustainable social welfare provision

Underwater Robots Part I: Current Systems and Problem Pose

International audienceThis paper constitutes the first part of a general overview of underwater robotics. The second part is titled: Underwater Robots Part II: existing solutions and open issues

The Columbus Myth: Power and Ideology in Picturebooks About Christopher Columbus

In 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbuss landing in the Bahamas was simultaneously celebrated and denounced in the US. Damaging facts about Columbus and the impact of his voyages were aired along with demands for truth and change. This study analyzes the power relationships and political ideology of picturebooks about Columbus published in the US in the 20 years since that anniversary to determine what messages and attitudes young readers are likely to absorb from them and whether the picturebook image of Columbus has evolved. It draws on the ideas of progressive educator Herbert Kohl, who demonstrates how the analysis of power relationships in stories reveals their political stance (Should We Burn Babar?, 1995), and on the tradition of progressive librarianship, which seeks to promote intellectual freedom and positive images in children\u27s literature of all peoples. The study finds extensive use of certain narrative techniques, including patterns of assumptions, avoidance, event selection, and omission. Patterns in illustration and sentence structure (use of passive voice, etc.) as well as stereotyping and Eurocentrism also abound. Finally, mild historical revisionism is introduced in more \u27\u27balanced\u27\u27 titles, though the definition of balance is problematic. This article finds that the Columbus myth persists with little change, and that few titles present child readers with alternative perspectives.\u2