Health Disclaimers and Website Credibility Markers: Guidance for Consumer Health Reference in the Affordable Care Act Era

This article reports on the current state of health disclaimers, online health resources, and credibility markers provided on public library websites (N = 105) for those seeking health information. In light of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), these findings have implications for consumer health reference services in public libraries. Approximately half of the public library websites in the study sample (n = 52, 49.5%) referred users to the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace website (HealthCare.gov). When referring to online consumer health resources, a small number of public library websites identified the authors of online health content (n = 16, 15.2%) or clearly stated the date of publication (n = 8, 7.6%). Further, only 2.8 percent of public library websites (n = 3) provided important health disclaimers. As a result, more website credibility markers, such as the content sponsorship and currency of health information, are needed on public library websites to better guide users to reliable online health information. Overall, this study offers practical guidance for library and information professionals for enhancing consumer health reference services and connecting users to health information in the Affordable Care Act landscape

Strategies for Data Management Engagement

The research landscape is growing dramatically, and librarians are examining new roles, services, and types of collaborations to support data-intensive research. This column describes curricular enhancements at one School of Library and Information Science in the United States. Several key areas of data management in which health sciences librarians may wish to build or enhance their skills are outlined. Possible roles and opportunities for health sciences librarians to strategically engage in data management initiatives are also presented

Book Review: Workable Sisterhood: The Political Journey of Stigmatized Women with HIV/AIDS

Review of Workable Sisterhood: The Political Journey of Stigmatized Women with HIV/AIDS by Michele Tracy Berge

Demystifying survey research: Practical suggestions for effective question design

Objective ‐Recent research has yielded several studies helpful for understanding the use of the survey technique in various library environments. Despite this, there has been limited discussion to guide library practitioners preparing survey questions. The aim of this article is to provide practical suggestions for effective questions when designing written surveys. Methods ‐Advice and important considerations to help guide the process of developing survey questions are drawn from a review of the literature and personal experience. Results ‐Basic techniques can be incorporated to improve survey questions, such as choosing appropriate question forms and incorporating the use of scales. Attention should be paid to the flow and ordering of the survey questions. Careful wording choices can also help construct clear, simple questions. Conclusion ‐A well‐designed survey questionnaire can be a valuable source of data. By following some basic guidelines when constructing written survey questions, library and information professionals can have useful data collection instruments at their disposal

Geometrical Frustration and Static Correlations in Hard-Sphere Glass Formers

We analytically and numerically characterize the structure of hard-sphere fluids in order to review various geometrical frustration scenarios of the glass transition. We find generalized polytetrahedral order to be correlated with increasing fluid packing fraction, but to become increasingly irrelevant with increasing dimension. We also find the growth in structural correlations to be modest in the dynamical regime accessible to computer simulations.Comment: 21 pages; part of the "Special Topic Issue on the Glass Transition

Copyright Awareness, Partnerships, And Training Issues In Academic Libraries

This article reports on the results of a national survey of academic librarians and library staff (N = 226) in the United States about their awareness of various copyright policies, partnerships with campus groups to address copyright issues, and training needs. A majority of the survey respondents reported that they have answered copyright-related questions in the workplace, yet only 49% (n = 98) of the respondents perceived they were prepared to provide copyright information to library users. Awareness of various copyright policies among librarians and staff members varied, including a reported minimal awareness of the T.E.A.C.H. Act. In addition, survey respondents expressed the desire for more copyright-related training. In light of these findings, the present study extends the existing literature and offers recommendations to help better prepare a “copyright confident” or “copyright responsive” academic library workforce

Theoretical Spectral Models of the Planet HD 209458b with a Thermal Inversion and Water Emission Bands

We find that a theoretical fit to all the HD 209458b data at secondary eclipse requires that the dayside atmosphere of HD 209458b have a thermal inversion and a stratosphere. This inversion is caused by the capture of optical stellar flux by an absorber of uncertain origin that resides at altitude. One consequence of stratospheric heating and temperature inversion is the flipping of water absorption features into emission features from the near- to the mid-infrared and we see evidence of such a water emission feature in the recent HD 209458b IRAC data of Knutson et al. In addition, an upper-atmosphere optical absorber may help explain both the weaker-than-expected Na D feature seen in transit and the fact that the transit radius at 24 $\mu$m is smaller than the corresponding radius in the optical. Moreover, it may be a factor in why HD 209458b's optical transit radius is as large as it is. We speculate on the nature of this absorber and the planets whose atmospheres may, or may not, be affected by its presence.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters on August 28, 2007, six pages in emulateapj forma

Faculty experiences with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) public access policy, compliance issues, and copyright practices

Objectives: The research assessed faculty awareness of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) public access policy and faculty experiences with the copyright terms in their author agreements with publishers. Methods: During the fall of 2011, 198 faculty members receiving funding from NIH at a large urban academic institution were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. A total of 94 faculty members responded to the survey, representing a response rate of 47%. Results: Thirty percent of the survey respondents were either unaware of or not familiar with the NIH policy. Further, a significant number of faculty members (97.8%) indicated that they usually signed their copyright forms “as is.” The findings show that time, confusing instructions, and unclear journal policies are challenges experienced by NIH-funded faculty in complying with the federal mandate. Conclusion: There is a need to educate faculty with respect to the value of retaining their copyrights and self-archiving their publications to help advance public access and open access scholarship