Predicting Materials Resource Needs: A Quantitative Response to Changing Curricula

General academic libraries use complex formulas to divide acquisitions budgets for materials, a process known as subject fund allocation. Academic health sciences libraries generally do not elect to fund allocate. With the proliferation of academic programs and the scarcity of funds, it is essential to determine: how much should be spent on each discipline, what is spent in clinical areas, and what it should cost to support new programs. This article discusses a needs assessment formula based on client numbers and types and their relative utilization patterns of various library materials

UST Libraries Collection Management and Services Annual Report 2008-2009

Annual report of the Collection Management and Services unit at the O\u27Shaughnessy-Frey Library for 2008-2009

UST Libraries Collection Management and Services Annual Report 2009-2010

Annual report

What really matters about teacher education at Cathedrals Group Universities: volume 1 final report

An investigation into [perceptions of] the features of Christian foundation universities’ Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes that are particular to the university’s Christian foundation. We are grateful to the Cathedrals Group of Universities and Colleges, for funding the first stage of this project and the Church of England University and College Fund for funding the second stage, through grant funding. This report contains the outcomes of the research which took place between November 2016 and January 2018. A separate document, What really matters about teacher education at Cathedrals Group universities and college? Volume 2: The Case Studies, provides profiles of the findings from the five different institutions. This is the substantive report. The aims: 1. To investigate why ITE trainees choose Christian foundation university teacher training programmes 2. To investigate why schools choose Christian foundation universities as training programme partners 3. To investigate what Christian foundation universities claim is particular to their Christian foundation, what is particularly or deeply Christian about their ITE provision with a focus on: • the underpinning values • the content and methodology of ITE training • how trainees are supported and challenged in the partnership aspects 4. To investigate what Christian foundation universities, ITE trainees and partnership schools claim about ITE trainees at the point of qualification, that is particular to the institutions’ Christian foundation

Body temperatures of modern and extinct vertebrates from ^(13)C-^(18)O bond abundances in bioapatite

The stable isotope compositions of biologically precipitated apatite in bone, teeth, and scales are widely used to obtain information on the diet, behavior, and physiology of extinct organisms and to reconstruct past climate. Here we report the application of a new type of geochemical measurement to bioapatite, a “clumped-isotope” paleothermometer, based on the thermodynamically driven preference for ^(13)C and ^(18)O to bond with each other within carbonate ions in the bioapatite crystal lattice. This effect is dependent on temperature but, unlike conventional stable isotope paleothermometers, is independent from the isotopic composition of water from which the mineral formed. We show that the abundance of ^(13)C-^(18)O bonds in the carbonate component of tooth bioapatite from modern specimens decreases with increasing body temperature of the animal, following a relationship between isotope “clumping” and temperature that is statistically indistinguishable from inorganic calcite. This result is in agreement with a theoretical model of isotopic ordering in carbonate ion groups in apatite and calcite. This thermometer constrains body temperatures of bioapatite-producing organisms with an accuracy of 1–2 °C. Analyses of fossilized tooth enamel of both Pleistocene and Miocene age yielded temperatures within error of those derived from similar modern taxa. Clumped-isotope analysis of bioapatite represents a new approach in the study of the thermophysiology of extinct species, allowing the first direct measurement of their body temperatures. It will also open new avenues in the study of paleoclimate, as the measurement of clumped isotopes in phosphorites and fossils has the potential to reconstruct environmental temperatures

Faith in the nexus: Church schools and children’s exploration of faith in the home: A NICER research study of twenty church primary schools in England

A nexus is a focus for connection, where multiple lines from different places come into relationship around a point of focus. In this project, the Nexus refers to the connections between church school, the local church, and the home. The Faith in the Nexus project aimed to reveal the influence of these connections in children’s developing spiritual life, and, specifically, how what happens in school (collaboration with church and others) impacts on children’s faith and spiritual life at home

Prioritising a sense of belonging within the rural nexus: An empirical study of five rural church primary schools

The rural church primary school exists in a nexus of connections between school, home, and the institutional Church (parochial, diocesan, and national). This article applies Walker’s model of belonging to God through church to the sense of belonging expressed by families whose children attend a rural Church of England primary school. The data drawn from the Faith in the Nexus project undertaken at Canterbury Christ Church University, consists of 24 semi-structured focus group interviews, and 8 individual interviews with school and church leaders from parents, school staff, clergy, and governors across five rural Church of England primary schools. The findings highlight how rural church school families develop and sustain a sense of belonging through events, people, place, and activities. The discussion considers the value of Walker’s model of belonging, the fragility of the rural nexus and a need to acknowledge the relational nature of belonginess expressed by parents and pupils

An experimental and theoretical investigation of plane-stress fracture of 2024-T351 aluminum alloy

Plane-stress fracture behavior of precracked aluminum alloy

Viewing art on a tablet computer: a wellbeing intervention for people with dementia and their caregivers

Background: Art-based interventions have been shown to be beneficial for the wellbeing of people with dementia and their caregivers. This paper explored whether such interventions can be delivered via a touchscreen tablet device displaying art images. Methods: Twelve pairs of volunteers with dementia and informal caregivers were recruited. A quasi-experimental mixed-methods within-subjects study evaluated the wellbeing impacts of art viewing using visual analogue scales and explored participant experiences with thematic analysis. Findings: Quantitative results showed a significant effect for change in composite wellbeing from session one to session five. Wellbeing subdomains showed impact on wellbeing, which generally increased with number of sessions. Qualitative findings included changes in cognition, behaviour, mood and relationships. These changes tended to be viewed positively. Conclusions: The results suggest touchscreen-based art interventions could yield wellbeing benefits for this population. A larger-scale controlled study would help to determine whether wider dementia care practice implications can be drawn

An index to represent lateral variation of the confidence of experts in a 3-D geological model

A Confidence Index is proposed that expresses the confidence of experts in the quality of a 3-D model as a representation of the subsurface at particular locations. The Confidence Index is based on the notion that the variation of the height of a particular geological surface represents general geological variability and local variability. The general variability comprises simple trends which allow the modeller to project surface structure at locations remote from direct observations. The local variability limits the extent to which borehole observations constrain inferences which the modeller can make concerning local fluctuations around the broad trends. The general and local geological variability of particular contacts are modelled in terms of simple trend surfaces and variogram models. These are then used to extend measures of confidence that reflect expert opinion so as to assign a confidence value to any location where a particular contact is represented in a model. The index is illustrated with an example from the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom