Mind the gap! rom traditional and instrumental approaches of source evaluation towards source consciousness

This article gives a critical review and investigation of traditional generic ways of teaching source evaluation and source criticism. Furthermore, it aims to investigate a new approach to address this area of information literacy instruction for teaching librarians. While traditional approaches focus on evaluating the source at hand, this study offers a perspective to supplement this with a more reflective perspective. The emphasises in this article is the need to focus on source consciousness though the newly developed model MIND (motivation – intention – need – debate). The goal is to supplement the traditional approaches of source evaluation where only the source is being assessed and no self-assessment is addressed. MIND also binds the searching process and source evaluation closer together and attempts to address the complexity of working with different sources. This approach does not attempt to replace former source evaluation processes, but rather to supplement them.publishedVersio

Quality issues related to the presence of the fish parasitic nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum in export shipments of fresh Northeast Arctic cod (Gadus morhua)

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Getting to Know You – Supporting Research Through Communication and Collaboration

Background. Communication and collaboration are important skills for academic librarians offering research support. When everyday meetings are not possible, as during the Covid-19 pandemic, academic librarians are forced to develop new ways of supporting students and faculty. Traditional library expertise in literature searching and bibliometric complemented with newer skills of analytics, visualization and literature mapping of a field can help librarians to get acquainted and communicate with the researchers they provide research support to. Objectives. This article presents the result of an effort to map out trends and changes in research and publication patterns in a university department over a 10-year time period (2009-2019), which reflect both developments in the department as well as the external environment. Further, the article discusses how this can help liaison librarians to communicate with faculty and provide more relevant and effective research support. Methods. A document analysis was carried out on the publications of a department faculty to trace how research has developed in a growing department with different subjects and disciplines. Results. The analysis found a trend of research the department becoming more international, with more publications in open access. Even though research in the department is becoming more interdisciplinary, there is a trend of sociology research moving towards a purer form of `sociology, and away from a previous focus on sociology and social work as a joint research interest. Furthermore, social work research has also developed a stronger focus on child welfare, and the teacher education staff has increased their publications in several focus areas. Contributions. This article contributes to the field of research support, showing how mapping the research in a university department can help liaison librarians in face-to-face communication with faculty as well as in online interactions.publishedVersio

Predictors of ICS/LABA prescribing in COPD patients: A study from general practice

BACKGROUND: A combination of inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta(2) agonist (ICS/LABA) is used frequently to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The aim of the study was to determine whether prescribing ICS/LABA to COPD patients in primary care in 2009/10 was within the GOLD guidelines and whether and to what degree patient characteristics were associated with prescription of these drugs by GPs. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in seven Norwegian GP practices. Patients registered with a diagnosis of asthma or COPD in the previous five years were included. RESULTS: Among the 376 patients included in the analysis, 149 patients had COPD, defined as a post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC <0.7 and 55.6% of these patients were treated with ICS/LABA. The rate of prescribing was significantly higher in the COPD patients also diagnosed with asthma than in those with COPD as the only diagnosis, 66.7%, and 39.0%, respectively (P = 0.001). The prescribing rate in the latter subgroup would have been 18.6% if the 2007 GOLD guidelines had been followed. One or more exacerbations in the previous year was the strongest predictor of ICS/LABA prescribing in the COPD patients who were not registered with a concomitant diagnosis of asthma (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.0–10.0) but this association was limited to the patients with severe disease (FEV(1)% predicted <50) (OR 13.5, 95% CI 1.8–101.1). Cardiovascular disease was associated with decreased ICS/LABA prescribing (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2–0.8) in the COPD group. A Kappa coefficient of 0.32 was found between the actual prescribing rate and that recommended in the 2007 GOLD guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Overprescribing of ICS/LABA for the COPD patients was shown. Previous exacerbation was a strong predictor of ICS/LABA prescribing only in patients with severe COPD. Because of the low emphasis on previous exacerbation when prescribing for COPD patients with mild to moderate disease, the actual prescribing rate agreed more closely with the GOLD guidelines from 2007 than with those published in 2011. Cardiovascular disease was associated with decreased prescribing, indicating that GPs adjust the treatment in cases with multimorbidity

Kindergarteners building a library of their own

This study investigates how children can develop information literacy (IL) skills even before they learn how to read and write. In the project we used a combination of participatory observation and action research-inspired trialling of digital tools. Kindergarteners were given iPads and access to the app Book Creator to create their own digital stories. The electronic books were gathered and made available to the other children in the class, making a custom local digital library for the kindergarten. This article suggests a new way of considering IL as an emergent literacy, or even perhaps emergent information literacy

Evaluating the efficiency of the association football transfer market using regression based player ratings

In recent times, the use of quantitative methods to improve decisions within sports has increased. In association football, large amounts of match data has become available. This work first shows how simple match data describing the players on pitch and the time for events such as goals and red cards, can be used to derive an objective player rating. The rating is based on solving a large linear regression model. The resulting player ratings are in turn used as input to a regression model for analyzing transfer fees. It is shown that the performance of players, as reflected in the player ratings, is an important predictor of transfer fees. At the same time, several other important factors that determine the size of transfer fees are identified