Human resourcing in academic libraries : the 'lady librarian', the call for flexible staff and the need to be counted

This paper reports on a recent set of research findings into human resource (HR) deployment in academic, college and national libraries in the UK and Ireland by selectively summarising these findings. The recommendations are that libraries should make available for comparison by others not only their library service provision, i.e. opening hours, but also staff provision, i.e. staffing numbers and demographics and staff deployment, with a view to benchmarking levels of flexibility. This work highlights the lack of existing benchmarking facilities in UK universities and colleges of higher education, relating to HR deployment in libraries, and recommends that Sconul extends the existing data collection in its Annual Statistical return to include this HR area

Church and state in Scotland: the Articles Declaratory

A special commission has been tasked by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to report on that article of the Church's constitution which declares it to be the national church in Scotland. Marjory MacLean's paper offers some background and sets out questions very pertinent to the debate.Publisher PD

Gender, flexibility and opportunity : best use of human resources in UK HE libraries

Aims to give an overview of some recent research into human resource (HR) deployment in library services in UK universities and colleges of higher education. The research findings indicate that staff deployment patterns in the context investigated are suboptimal and that, in consequence, individual libraries should be open to scrutiny in comparison with others not only in terms of their quantifiable patterns of library usage but also in terms of the patterns of their staff provision and staff deployment

The effect of low volume sprint interval training in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objectives: Exercise is an important part of disease management in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but adherence to current exercise recommendations is poor. Novel low-volume sprint interval training (SIT) protocols with total training time commitments of ≤30 min per week have been shown to improve cardiometabolic risk and functional capacity in healthy sedentary participants, but the efficacy of such protocols in the management of NAFLD remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine whether a low-volume SIT protocol can be used to improve liver function, insulin resistance, body composition, physical fitness, cognitive function and general well-being in patients with NAFLD.Methods: In the present study, 7 men and 2 women with NAFLD (age: 45±8 y, BMI: 28.7±4.1 kg·m−2) completed a 6-week control period followed by 6 weeks of twice-weekly SIT sessions (5-10×6-s ‘all-out’ cycle sprints). Body composition, blood pressure, liver function, metabolic function, functional capacity, cognitive function and quality of life were assessed at baseline, following the control period, and following the SIT intervention.Results: Walking speed during the walk test (+12%), estimated V̇O2max (+8%), verbal fluency (+44%), and blood platelet count (+12%; all p<0.05) significantly increased during the control period. These measures remained significantly raised compared to baseline following the SIT intervention, but did not significantly change any further compared to the post-control time-point. Diastolic blood pressure decreased from 87±10 to 77±8 mm Hg from the end of the control period to the end of the SIT intervention (p<0.05).Conclusion: This study does not support the use of 6 weeks of a low volume SIT protocol involving twice-weekly sessions with 5-10×6-s ‘all-out’ cycle sprints as an intervention for NAFLD disease management

On convergence of higher order schemes for the projective integration method for stiff ordinary differential equations

We present a convergence proof for higher order implementations of the projective integration method (PI) for a class of deterministic multi-scale systems in which fast variables quickly settle on a slow manifold. The error is shown to contain contributions associated with the length of the microsolver, the numerical accuracy of the macrosolver and the distance from the slow manifold caused by the combined effect of micro- and macrosolvers, respectively. We also provide stability conditions for the PI methods under which the fast variables will not diverge from the slow manifold. We corroborate our results by numerical simulations.Comment: 43 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in the Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematic

Self-Interest in Canadian Foreign Policy: The Principle and Practice of Internationalism

Internationalist impulses in Canadian foreign policy are best understood from both functional and ideological perspectives. This article suggests that the practice and principle of Canadian internationalism reflect a set of core values emanating from domestic society, as well as an indispensable emphasis on multilateralism in foreign policy. The article explores the tradition of Canadian internationalism, multilateral instincts evident in collective action, and the core values which are entwined in the constitutional premise of "peace, order, and good government" (POGG). The article concludes that, though paradoxical upon first examination, Canada's cooperative internationalist tradition was and remains fundamentally self-interested.C’est tant du point de vue fonctionnel que du point de vue idéologique que l’on peut mieux comprendre les dimensions internationalistes de la politique étrangère canadienne. Le présent article donne à entendre que la pratique et le principe de l’internationalisme canadien reflètent, d’une part, une série de valeurs fondamentales issues de la société nationale et, d’autre part, l’importance accordée au multilatéralisme dans la politique étrangère. L’article se penche sur la tradition internationaliste du Canada, sur l’instinct multilatéral ancré dans l’action collective ainsi que sur les valeurs fondamentales imbriquées dans le principe constitutionnel « de paix, d’ordre et de bon gouvernement » (POBG). Il conclut que, quoiqu’il semble paradoxal à première vue, la tradition de coopération internationaliste du Canada a été et est mue essentiellement par ses propres intérêts

Positive allosteric modulators of the a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor

L-glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) and plays a fundamental role in the control of motor function, cognition and mood. The physiological effects of glutamate are mediated through two functionally distinct receptor families. While activation of metabotropic (G-protein coupled) glutamate receptors results in modulation of neuronal excitability and transmission, the ionotropic glutamate receptors (ligand-gated ion channels) are responsible for mediating the fast synaptic response to extracellular glutamate

Long-term health outcomes after exposure to repeated concussion in elite level: rugby union players

Background: There is continuing concern about effects of concussion in athletes, including risk of the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy. However, information on long-term health and wellbeing in former athletes is limited. Method: Outcome after exposure to repeated brain injury was investigated in 52 retired male Scottish international rugby players (RIRP) and 29 male controls who were similar in age and social deprivation. Assessment included history of playing rugby and traumatic brain injury, general and mental health, life stress, concussion symptoms, cognitive function, disability and markers of chronic stress (allostatic load). Results: The estimated number of concussions in RIRP averaged 14 (median=7; IQR 5-40). Performance was poorer in RIRP than controls on a test of verbal learning (p=0.022) and of fine co-ordination of the dominant hand (p=0.038) and not significantly different on other cognitive tests (p>0.05). There were no significant associations between number of concussions and performance on cognitive tests. Other than a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease in controls, no group differences were detected in general or mental health or estimates of allostatic load. In RIRP, persisting symptoms attributed to concussion were more common if reporting more than nine concussions (p=0.028), although these symptoms were not perceived to affect social or work functioning. Conclusions: Despite a high number of concussions in RIRP, differences in mental health, social or work functioning were not found late after injury. Subtle group differences were detected on two cognitive tests, the cause of which is uncertain. Prospective group comparison studies on representative cohorts are required