Literature review of research into attitudes towards electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs)

This document summarises existing research into the attitudes of graduate students and their supervisors towards electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). Research was identified from Germany, India, Italy, South Africa, the UK and the US. The authors of two published papers from the UK were contacted via email and asked to expand upon their published work. In order to extend the picture of current attitudes of UK research students and supervisors to ETDs, repository managers from UCL Eprints and White Rose Research Online (Based at the universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York) who have relatively advanced collections of ETDs, were asked to provide a list of the concerns that were most often brought to their attention during their advocacy work

An introduction to overlay journals

An overlay journal performs all the activities of a scholarly journal and relies on structural links with one or more archives or repositories to perform its activities. This paper offers a briefing on the contribution overlay journals can make to scholarly communication. It explains what ‘overlay’ services are, how overlay journals have evolved and what makes their contribution to scholarly communication so valuable

Comparing consortial repositories: a model-driven analysis

This study aims to provide a comparative assessment of different repository consortia as a reference to inform future work in the area. A review of the literature was used to identify repository consortia, and their features were compared. Three models of consortial repositories were derived from this comparison, based on their structure and aims. The consortial models were based around either: creating a shared repository for the members, developing a repository software platform or creating a metadata harvesting service to aggregate content. Using case studies of each type of repository consortium, each model was assessed in terms of its particular strengths and weaknesses. These strengths were then compared across the models to enable those considering a consortial repository project to assess which model, or combination of models, would best address their needs and to aid in project planning

Playing 'Tetris' reduces the strength, frequency and vividness of naturally occurring cravings.

Elaborated Intrusion Theory (EI) postulates that imagery is central to craving, therefore a visually based task should decrease craving and craving imagery. This study provides the first laboratory test of this hypothesis in naturally occurring, rather than artificially induced, cravings. Participants reported if they were experiencing a craving and rated the strength, vividness and intrusiveness of their craving. They then either played 'Tetris' or they waited for a computer program to load (they were told it would load, but it was designed not to). Before task completion, craving scores between conditions did not differ; after, however, participants who had played 'Tetris' had significantly lower craving and less vivid craving imagery. The findings support EI theory, showing that a visuospatial working memory load reduces naturally occurring cravings, and that Tetris might be a useful task for tackling cravings outside the laboratory. Methodologically, the findings show that craving can be studied in the laboratory without using craving induction procedures

Accommodating the Allergic Employee in the Workplace

This brochure on allergic employee in the workplace is one of a series on human resources practices and workplace accommodations for persons with disabilities edited by Susanne M. Bruyère, Ph.D., CRC, SPHR, Director, Program on Employment and Disability, School of Industrial and Labor Relations – Extension Division, Cornell Universit

Occupational Stress: Some Background with Ideas for Organizational Change

[Excerpt] What is stress? Dr. Hans Selye, an early researcher on stress, defined it as “the wear and tear caused by living.” Since it is part of life, we cannot avoid it – at work and in our personal lives. In today’s world, we experience situations and circumstances that are typically not really life-threatening. Or we worry about things that might happen or go wrong, but may never actually occur. Our bodies respond to these situations using our natural survival mechanisms – yet these can be an over-response because they evolved to deal with life-threatening events. In many ways, you could say that we are living in the bodies of our ancestors, but in a very different world. We inherited the adaptive responses that enabled them to survive

Accommodating the Allergic Employee in the Workplace

[Excerpt] Once an employer learns an applicant or employee is allergic, and in need of an accommodation, the employer may be required by the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide the needed accommodation. The allergic worker may be able to respond to low levels of exposure, levels which may be lower than the relevant occupational exposure limits set by OSHA or recommended by agencies such as NIOSH or organizations such as the ACGIH. Accommodating the allergic employee would therefore generally involve reducing exposure further by providing specific protection for the sensitive individual, such as additional protective equipment which the average (nonallergic) worker probably wouldn\u27t need. Protective equipment could involve the use of respirators for respiratory protection or protective clothing (such as gloves) or barrier creams for skin protection. The use of respirators would involve employer compliance with OSHA\u27s Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) including the use of a physical to determine whether a worker could wear a respirator. Battery-powered respirators may enable those with pulmonary or cardiovascular problems to still use a respirator. Respirators made of silicone may enable someone to wear a respirator who has a rubber allergy (such as an allergy to mercaptobenzothiazole)

Communicable Diseases and the Workplace

[Excerpt] Coming to work when we are sick raises some interesting questions: How contagious are we? Should we stay home? What could be done to prevent disease transmission to others, with its effects on absenteeism, performance, and efficiency, as well as in the interests of public health? Is working from home an option? Shouldn’t the employer provide sick leave or flextime to discourage working when sick? Without sick leave, aren’t people more likely to go to work sick, as well as send sick kids to school? Should an employer sponsor, or even require, vaccinations? When trying to change policy and attitudes on communicable infectious diseases in the workplace, there is a good business case to be made. Workplaces traditionally plan for a variety of crises – especially infrastructure damage and its recovery – but planning and prevention for diseases seems to get overlooked, despite its very significant cost in both human suffering and dollars. Some diseases that have had a costly impact on businesses include mumps, measles, norovirus, SARS, tuberculosis, and whooping cough