Comparing Service Priorities Between Staff and Users in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Member Libraries

Using the results for participating Association of Research Libraries from the 2006 LibQUAL+® library service quality survey, we examine the service priorities of library staff (for example, whether desired scores for each survey item are above or below average) and the extent to which they are aligned with the priorities of undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. Item priorities were compared among the four groups using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to correct for the non-independence of responses within institutions. Results indicate that substantial misalignments between library staff and users exist; library staff set a lower service priority for most LibQUAL+® Information Control items and a higher priority on almost all Affect of Service items than did users

Getting our priorities in order: are our service values in line with the communities we serve?

Purpose – LibQUAL+® allows users to rate their minimum, perceived, and desired levels of service for 22 items in three dimensions: information control, library as place, and service affect. Using the results from the 2005 survey at the University of Texas at Austin, this paper aims to examine how well the service priorities of library staff are aligned with the priorities of undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. Design/methodology/approach – The paper has re-scaled the "desired" score for each item to reflect the degree to which the item is above or below the average desired level for that individual. The rescaled scores (termed "priority" scores) for the 22 items were then compared between the four groups using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Findings – Preliminary results indicate that service priorities for library staff align more closely with those of undergraduates than with those of graduate students and faculty. Practical implications – This analysis is a first step in identifying service priority gaps between library staff and the users they serve. The intention is to promote discussion among library staff about users' needs and how closely staff service priorities align with those needs. In addition, the findings may prove useful as management information by allowing the analysis of users' service priorities and integrating the results of this analysis into organizational decision making and planning processes. Originality/value – This paper describes a development of LibQUAL+® that enables a greater depth of understanding of service priorities

Comparing Service Priorities Between Staff and Users in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Member Libraries

Using the results for participating Association of Research Libraries from the 2006 LibQUAL+® library service quality survey, we examine the service priorities of library staff (for example, whether desired scores for each survey item are above or below average) and the extent to which they are aligned with the priorities of undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. Item priorities were compared among the four groups using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to correct for the non-independence of responses within institutions. Results indicate that substantial misalignments between library staff and users exist; library staff set a lower service priority for most LibQUAL+® Information Control items and a higher priority on almost all Affect of Service items than did users

Using Policy Labs as a process to bring evidence closer to public policymaking: a guide to one approach

While robust evidence is one ingredient in the policymaking process, it is by no means the only one. Engaging with policymakers and the policymaking process requires collaborative working models, navigating through the experiences, values and perspectives of policymakers and other stakeholders, as well as communicating evidence in an accessible manner. As a response to these requirements, over recent years there has been proliferation of activities that engage producers of evidence (specifically, academics), policymakers, practitioners, and the public in policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. In this article, we describe one engagement approach for facilitating research evidence uptake into policy and practice—an activity called a ‘Policy Lab’—as conducted by the team at The Policy Institute at King’s College London on numerous policy challenges over the past four years. Drawing on our experience in running 15 Policy Labs between January 2015 and September 2019, we (a) provide a guide to how we have run Policy Labs, while sharing our learning on what has worked best in conducting them and (b) demonstrate how these labs can contribute to bringing evidence closer to policymaking, by comparing their characteristics to enablers for doing so identified in the literature. While this approach to Policy Labs is not the only one of its kind, we suggest that these types of Labs manifest characteristics identified in previous studies for influencing the policymaking process; namely: providing a forum for open, honest conversations around a policy topic; creating new networks, collaborations and partnerships between academics and policymakers; synthesising available evidence on a policy topic in a robust and accessible format; and providing timely access to evidence relevant to a policy issue. We recognise the limitations of measuring and evaluating how these Labs change policy in the long-term and recommend viewing the Policy Lab as part of a process for engaging evidence and policymaking and not an isolated activity. This process serves to build a coalition through participation of diverse communities (thereby establishing ‘trust’), work on the language and presentation of evidence (thereby enabling effective ‘translation’ of evidence) and engage policymakers early to respond when policy windows emerge (thereby taking into account ‘timing’ for creating policy action)

Safety, infectivity and immunogenicity of a genetically attenuated blood-stage malaria vaccine

Background There is a clear need for novel approaches to malaria vaccine development. We aimed to develop a genetically attenuated blood-stage vaccine and test its safety, infectivity, and immunogenicity in healthy volunteers. Our approach was to target the gene encoding the knob-associated histidine-rich protein (KAHRP), which is responsible for the assembly of knob structures at the infected erythrocyte surface. Knobs are required for correct display of the polymorphic adhesion ligand P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), a key virulence determinant encoded by a repertoire of var genes. Methods The gene encoding KAHRP was deleted from P. falciparum 3D7 and a master cell bank was produced in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice. Eight malaria naïve males were intravenously inoculated (day 0) with 1800 (2 subjects), 1.8 × 105 (2 subjects), or 3 × 106 viable parasites (4 subjects). Parasitemia was measured using qPCR; immunogenicity was determined using standard assays. Parasites were rescued into culture for in vitro analyses (genome sequencing, cytoadhesion assays, scanning electron microscopy, var gene expression). Results None of the subjects who were administered with 1800 or 1.8 × 105 parasites developed parasitemia; 3/4 subjects administered 3× 106 parasites developed significant parasitemia, first detected on days 13, 18, and 22. One of these three subjects developed symptoms of malaria simultaneously with influenza B (day 17; 14,022 parasites/mL); one subject developed mild symptoms on day 28 (19,956 parasites/mL); and one subject remained asymptomatic up to day 35 (5046 parasites/mL). Parasitemia rapidly cleared with artemether/lumefantrine. Parasitemia induced a parasite-specific antibody and cell-mediated immune response. Parasites cultured ex vivo exhibited genotypic and phenotypic properties similar to inoculated parasites, although the var gene expression profile changed during growth in vivo. Conclusions This study represents the first clinical investigation of a genetically attenuated blood-stage human malaria vaccine. A P. falciparum 3D7 kahrp– strain was tested in vivo and found to be immunogenic but can lead to patent parasitemia at high doses

Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Elicits Inflammatory Responses that Dysregulate Placental Amino Acid Transport

Placental malaria (PM) can lead to poor neonatal outcomes, including low birthweight due to fetal growth restriction (FGR), especially when associated with local inflammation (intervillositis or IV). The pathogenesis of PM-associated FGR is largely unknown, but in idiopathic FGR, impaired transplacental amino acid transport, especially through the system A group of amino acid transporters, has been implicated. We hypothesized that PM-associated FGR could result from impairment of transplacental amino acid transport triggered by IV. In a cohort of Malawian women and their infants, the expression and activity of system A (measured by Na+-dependent 14C-MeAIB uptake) were reduced in PM, especially when associated with IV, compared to uninfected placentas. In an in vitro model of PM with IV, placental cells exposed to monocyte/infected erythrocytes conditioned medium showed decreased system A activity. Amino acid concentrations analyzed by reversed phase ultra performance liquid chromatography in paired maternal and cord plasmas revealed specific alterations of amino acid transport by PM, especially with IV. Overall, our data suggest that the fetoplacental unit responds to PM by altering its placental amino acid transport to maintain adequate fetal growth. However, IV more profoundly compromises placental amino acid transport function, leading to FGR. Our study offers the first pathogenetic explanation for FGR in PM