Developing a Data Narrative: Analyzing Trends in an Academic Interlibrary Loan Department

Between 2010 and 2015 interlibrary loan request rates at Albertsons Library at Boise State University were observed to be in decline. This study details the efforts to explore this trend and determine a cause using existing data available through the OCLC Atlas ILLiad Web Reports interface. A simple, but effective method to analyze these substantial reports is presented and practical examples of analysis conducted at Albertsons Library are discussed. By looking at factors such as usage patterns, new user registrations, and cancelation language, the decrease in borrowing and lending requests was confirmed and attributed primarily to decreases in graduate student ILLiad registrations and a lending ebook deflection implemented in 2015. Additional, focused qualitative assessment and updates to user interfaces were recommended as a result of the study

THE WILDERNESS YEARS: AN ANALYSIS OF GOVES’S EDUCATION REFORMS ON TEACHER ASSESSMENT LITERACY

During Michael Gove’s educational reforms between 2010–2014, he imposed several policy changes that changed the nature of assessment in terms of grading, terminal examinations and classroom expectations. Despite his vision of England rising up the international league tables, there has been little change in England’s position and even signs of stagnation of attainment at upper secondary. This paper uses the Teacher Assessment Literacy in Practice (TALiP) framework to understand why the reforms associated with assessment have had little impact on attainment and reveals the devastating effect of such wholesale change to school assessment systems, without time or support to change, leaving teachers in a decade of assessment wilderness

2017 Boise State Research Data Environmental Scan Report

In 2015, the Albertsons Library’s Research Data Management Group established a 2-year strategic agenda which focused on increasing library service capacity, establishing partnerships with other campus stakeholders, and creating the technical infrastructure needed to ensure proper management of university research data assets. To inform this work during the next two year period, the group conducted an environmental scan of campus data management needs and activities. The survey was also designed to help other university administrators and campus partners understand the current state of research data, identify unmet needs, and highlight opportunities for increasing institutional capacity. In general, Boise State has made good progress in the area of developing the technological infrastructure needed to manage research data. The efforts of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and elements of the Library’s Research Data Management Group were seen as having made very positive contributions in this area. However, researcher knowledge and use of these services was perceived as very limited. Throughout the survey responses and confirmed through the supplemental research by the library group, it was determined that individual researchers had primary responsibility for all research activities, grant management tasks, and oversight for any technological resources needed. Although some researchers work in groups or have access to high quality support staff, the workload burden many researchers face is significant and limits their ability to properly manage their research outputs. These stressors are heightened by a growing expectation from federal funders and journal publishers that research data be made publicly available, requiring significate curation and management work. To continue to develop Boise State’s research data infrastructure it is recommended that efforts are made to inform and help researchers take advantage of existing services, policies, and support staff when working with and managing research data. This includes increased interdepartmental awareness of and referral to appropriate units when researcher needs fall outside of an individual service provider’s specific area. Additionally, service providers should identify issues of scalability or potential service gaps and determine the resources needed for continued growth. The university can then build upon existing successes in the area of technological and data curation infrastructure by allocating needed funding and staff resources

The use of levelled assessment tasks and their impact on teaching and learning in science education

The use of Levelled Assessment Tasks (LATs) in secondary science in England has been increasing over the past five years in response to attempts to encourage more Assessment for Learning (AfL) strategies in the science classroom. This empirical study investigates how LATs are used by teachers and the extent to which such tasks support teaching and learning. An online survey of 106 teachers was used. It showed that teachers did find that the LATs supported their teaching using AfL strategies, but revealed that a majority of teachers do not use the tasks as formatively as they could be used. From the online questionnaire, a descriptive framework for how the LATs support teaching and learning is proposed. Five case studies where teachers used a LAT were observed. The data collected included a post-lesson pupil questionnaire, an interview with a group of pupils and an interview of the teacher. From these cases, a theory seeking approach to educational case studies through fuzzy propositions (Bassey, 1999) was used to develop a model of the relationship between teacher values and pupil values to assessment tasks. The fuzzy generalisations proposed from the case studies were that: (1) Teacher attitudes to the LATs may influence pupil attitudes to the LATs, (2) Teachers with a „big picture of levels‟ may be more likely to use LATs formatively and (3) Teachers who engage pupils with the notion of „levelness‟ may be more likely to improve conceptual development of pupils. The notion of „levelness‟ is explored. This evolves into three issues being explored: whether grades should be shared with pupils, the LATs relationship with summative and formative assessment practices and why such tasks have become popular with science teachers. The latter is considered in the context of the current target-driven culture of schools in England. Finally, the future of assessments like the LATs is discussed in relation to current policy and recommendations for their use and development are considered

Critical Inquiry and the First-Year Experience

Though the perception is that they “know how to navigate the online information world,” research shows even students who might be labeled “digital natives” struggle with what critical inquiry is and how to do it. This workshop examines the current state of undergraduate students’ critical inquiry skills as demonstrated by the Albertsons Library micro-credential taken by all University Foundations students since Fall 2018. It will also include practical solutions for reinforcing these foundational critical inquiry skills in other first-year student classrooms. Participants are encouraged to have a syllabus or course assignment available to use with the accompanying worksheet to brainstorm critical inquiry integrations that create a coherent and connected flow to this essential aspect of student learning

Analyzing Shared Value and Social Business Principles: A Case Study of Honeydrop Beverages and Seven Hills Foundation

Can the business world come together with the nonprofit world to create systems to lift low income women, children, and families out of poverty? The following report aims to show how the changing principles of business have the potential to serve international populations living on less than $2USD per day. For-profit organizations working with citizen sector organizations instead of giving charity provides a sustainable model to connect profit maximization with social good. Honeydrop Beverages is a company based out of New York that produces lemonade sweetened with honey. Their products do not contain any refined products, only using fresh and natural ingredients. Seven Hills Foundation is a health and human services organization located in Worcester, MA. They provide healthcare and behavioral services to underserved populations in central Massachusetts and Rhode Island. One of their affiliate organizations, Seven Hills Global Outreach, works with international partners to provide similar services to communities abroad who live in severe poverty. These organizations have come together to create a financial relationship that is more than just charitable giving from the private sector to the nonprofit sector. The following capstone describes this relationship as a case study for future business leaders to establish similar partnerships

Room temperature spin relaxation in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells

We have explored the dependence of electron spin relaxation in undoped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells on well width (confinement energy) at 300 K. For wide wells, the relaxation rate tends to the intrinsic bulk value due to the D'yakonov-Perel (DP) mechanism with momentum scattering by phonons. In narrower wells, there is a strong dependence of relaxation rate on well width, as expected for the DP mechanism, but also considerable variation between samples from different sources, which we attribute to differences in sample interface morphology. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)02541-8].</p

Albertsons Library Data Management Strategic Agenda Summer 2017 - Spring 2019

Boise State University identifies research and creative activity as a Core Theme of its institutional mission. This concept is clarified through several objectives which outline the importance of transferring knowledge for “societal, economic, and cultural benefits”. The university expects to produce work that has “substantial disciplinary impact and contributes to the overall reputation of the university,” so that, “community members can connect with and benefit from our researchers, artists, and students.” This core theme of scholarly contribution is further confirmed in the university’s Goals and Strategies which detail specific activities Boise State will undertake. For example in goals 3 and 5, Boise State establishes its commitment to effective research and creative efforts by developing key competencies, building necessary infrastructures, and encouraging external funding and philanthropic support. In consideration of these university goals, Albertsons Library is actively advocating for Boise State’s research and creative activities through its own Strategic Plan. In Library Strategic Objective 4, Albertsons Library has committed to identifying “critical areas of needed Research Support then build expertise, capacity and services to meet these needs.” Over the past several years, the library has pursued this goal through the development of research data management services detailed in the 2015-2016 Data Management Strategic Agenda - Final Report. These services have been built upon four principles: Research data is an asset Data management is an ongoing activity that happens throughout the life of the research project Researchers need “Point-of-Need” services The library strives to serve the whole university The following Data Management Strategic Agenda continues this work by outlining activities Albertsons Library’s Research Data Management Group will engage in over the next two years

2015-2016 Data Management Strategic Agenda - Final Report

Between January 2015 - December 2016, the Albertsons Library’s Core Data Management Team, consisting of Michelle Armstrong, Megan Davis, Heather Grevatt (2016 - present), Margie Ruppel (2015 - 2016), and Amber Sherman, established a 2 year Strategic Agenda and engaged in a variety of activities to ensure the proactive management of Boise State’s data sets. During this period, the Team accomplished several key goals: Increased the library’s capacity to support Boise State researchers in managing and making publicly available data sets, and deliver services at key points throughout the research lifecycle including data management planning, data description, research dissemination, and researcher education. Developed relationships with faculty, research groups, and other university support services to identify and deliver needed services. Began the development of a technical and workflow infrastructure to ensure the permanent curation and accessibility of Boise State’s research data sets

Variations in the carbon isotope ratio of phytoplankton and dissolved inorganic carbon in the marine environment.

The two main aims of this study were; (i) to determine the equilibrium fractionation effects of the stable isotopes of carbon between dissolved molecular CO2 (C02(aq) ) and bicarbonate (HC03-) (Eb/a ) and HC03 - and carbonate (CO/-) (Eclb ) in sea water, and (ii) to investigate the relationship between the isotopic composition of phytoplankton (013CpOC) and their photosynthetic source of inorganic carbon. To determine Eb/a and Eclb in sea water (S = -34) experiments were conducted at different pHs and two temperatures (SOC and 20°C). The measured values of Eb/a (SOC = 11.67 ± 0.34 %0 and 20°C = 9.48 ± 0.26 %0) agreed well with previous estimates derived in distilled water indicating Ebla is not modified by the ionic effects of sea water. The values of Ec/b determined during the same experiments were significantly larger than previous estimates (SOC = -8.1 ± 2.2 %0 and 20°C = -14.2 ± 2.4 %0). This may indicate that the measurement made during this study are in error. It is suggested that the error is either due to the relative imprecision associated with the determination of the isotopic composition of the total dissolved inorganic carbon pool or due to incomplete isotopic equilibrium within the experimental system. The relationship between changes in the o13Croc and the dissolved inorganic carbon pool was investigated during temporal studies of phytoplankton blooms in a mesocosm and the Menai Strait, North Wales. During the mesocosm experiment the isotopic enrichment between the phytoplankton and CO2(aq) (EPOC/a ) decreased from -- -10 %0 to - +0 %0 during the course of the bloom. The observed changes in 013CpOC are generally consistent with previously published empirical models which assume CO2(aq) is the exclusive source of photosynthetic inorganic carbon. This agreement, and the application of physiological models appeared to confirm that CO2(aq) is the most likely source of photosynthetic inorganic carbon. The o13Croc results obtained during two consecutive phytoplankton blooms in the Menai Strait, North Wales, were corrected for the presence of refractory organic matter to obtain the isotopic signal associated with the phytoplankton, 013Cp. It was apparent that the relationship between 013Cp and [C02(aq)] differed between the two blooms. During the first bloom ( diatomaceous), the observed relationship between 013Cp and [C02(aq)] was consistent with the uptake of CO2(aq). However, the 013Cp signal during the second bloom, dominated by Phaeocystis, was independent of the [C02(aq)J and therefore it was concluded that HC03- is the most likely source of inorganic carbon