Annotated Bibliography: The Reference Desk: Grand Idea or Gone Down the River?

This bibliography is from a panel presentation at the 2017 ACL Conference. The goal of this panel was to explore different rationales or sets of values that illustrated the continuation of the reference desk and reference service as essential to the success of the academic community. We discovered that “what to do with reference” is far from a settled question. We discovered passionate arguments, diverse models, and an array of data. In this current stage of figuring out the value of academic libraries to the campus as a whole and to students in particular, it seemed that there was limited hard data connecting Reference services to how they met students’ needs. How do we make ourselves valuable, important, essential, and useful? Maybe we need to change our model? If so, how do we examine ourselves and our environment appropriately to make this happen? What factors should we examine? Which ones must we keep? What things can we discard or change? When students come to seek assistance, they generally need the short, instant, and personal help, without having to attend a whole training session or class. Individual and personalized guidance for their immediate need is the most important factor for them. How do libraries provide that

Clicks at Any Cost: Why Regulation Won\u27t Upend the Economics of Fake News

Increasingly, the production of fake news has become industrialized; enterprising entrepreneurs are deceiving Internet users with false information while earning significant sums of money. The problem of fake news and misinformation, however, is not one solely brought about by the increase in digital technology. Historically, campaigns of misinformation have been used to achieve social, political, and economic goals long before the Internet was commonplace. But, recent calls to regulate fake news content contravene American law and run afoul of our nation’s laissez-faire approach to the regulation of false or misleading information. We argue that government-imposed, speech-limiting restrictions cannot contain fake news and, as a result, should not be the answer to the modern fake news epidemic. Instead, the key to combatting the effects of fake news lies in a variety of private-sector initiatives and speech-enhancing protocols. Programs designed to reiterate the importance of media literacy and revitalize civic participation are the cornerstone to ensuring a successful democracy in a digital world

The Syllabus as a Student Privacy Document in an Age of Learning Analytics

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal how instructors discuss student data and information privacy in their syllabi. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected a mixture of publicly accessible and privately disclosed syllabi from 8,302 library and information science (LIS) courses to extract privacy language. Using privacy concepts from the literature and emergent themes, the authors analyzed the corpus. Findings Most syllabi did not mention privacy (98 percent). Privacy tended to be mentioned in the context of digital tools, course communication, policies and assignments. Research limitations/implications The transferability of the findings is limited because they address only one field and professional discipline, LIS, and address syllabi for only online and hybrid courses. Practical implications The findings suggest a need for professional development for instructors related to student data privacy. The discussion provides recommendations for creating educational experiences that support syllabi development and constructive norming opportunities. Social implications Instructors may be making assumptions about the degree of privacy literacy among their students or not value student privacy. Each raises significant concerns if privacy is instrumental to intellectual freedom and processes critical to the educational experience. Originality/value In an age of educational data mining and analytics, this is one of the first studies to consider if and how instructors are addressing student data privacy in their courses, and the study initiates an important conversation for reflecting on privacy values and practices

Survey of Obstetrician-Gynecologists about Giardiasis

Giardiasis is one of the most common parasitic diseases in the United States with over 15 400 cases reported in 2005. A survey was conducted by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the knowledge of obstetricians and gynecologists regarding the diagnosis and treatment of giardiasis. The questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 1200 ACOG fellows during February through June of 2006. Five hundred and two (42%) responded to the survey. The respondents showed good general knowledge about diagnosis, transmission, and prevention; however, there was some uncertainty about the treatment of giardiasis and which medications are the safest to administer during the first trimester of pregnancy

RNA-seq reveals post-transcriptional regulation of Drosophila insulin-like peptide dilp8 and the neuropeptide-like precursor Nplp2 by the exoribonuclease Pacman/XRN1

Ribonucleases are critically important in many cellular and developmental processes and defects in their expression are associated with human disease. Pacman/XRN1 is a highly conserved cytoplasmic exoribonuclease which degrades RNAs in a 5' - 3' direction. In Drosophila, null mutations in pacman result in small imaginal discs, a delay in onset of pupariation and lethality during the early pupal stage. In this paper, we have used RNA-seq in a genome-wide search for mRNAs misregulated in pacman null wing imaginal discs. Only 4.2% of genes are misregulated ±>2-fold in pacman null mutants compared to controls, in line with previous work showing that Pacman has specificity for particular mRNAs. Further analysis of the most upregulated mRNAs showed that Pacman post-transcriptionally regulates the expression of the secreted insulin-like peptide Dilp8. Dilp8 is related to human IGF-1, and has been shown to co-ordinate tissue growth with developmental timing in Drosophila. The increased expression of Dilp8 is consistent with the developmental delay seen in pacman null mutants. Our analysis, together with our previous results, show that the normal role of this exoribonuclease in imaginal discs is to suppress the expression of transcripts that are crucial in apoptosis and growth control during normal development

The post-common-envelope, binary central star of the planetary nebula Hen 2-11

We present a detailed photometric study of the central star system of the planetary nebula Hen 2-11, selected for study because of its low-ionisation filaments and bipolar morphology - traits which have been strongly linked with central star binarity. Photometric monitoring with NTT-EFOSC2 reveals a highly irradiated, double-eclipsing, post-common-envelope system with a period of 0.609 d. Modelling of the lightcurve indicates that the nebular progenitor is extremely hot, while the secondary in the system is probably a K-type main sequence star. The chemical composition of the nebula is analysed, showing Hen 2-11 to be a medium-excitation non-Type I nebula. A simple photoionisation model is constructed determining abundance ratios of C/O and N/O which would be consistent with the common-envelope cutting short the AGB evolution of the nebular progenitor. The detection of a post-common-envelope binary system at the heart of Hen 2-11 further strengthens the link between binary progeny and the formation of axisymmetric planetary nebulae with patterns of low-ionisation filaments, clearly demonstrating their use as morphological indicators of central star binarity.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 9 pages, 5 figures, 4 table

Social and Psychological Factors Associated with Health Care Transition for Young Adults Living with Sickle Cell Disease

Introduction: Due to advances in disease management, mortality rates in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) have decreased. However, mortality rates for young adults (YA) increased, and understanding of social and psychological factors is critical. The aim of this study was to explore factors associated with health care transition experiences for YA with SCD. Method: This was a qualitative descriptive study. A 45-minute semistructured interview was conducted with 13 YA (M = 21.5 years, SD = 1.73). Results: Results suggest that social and psychological factors and self-management experiences influence health care transition. Eight themes emerged: “need for accessible support”; “early assistance with goal setting”; “incongruence among expectations, experiences, and preparation”; “spiritual distress”; “stigma”; “need for collaboration”; “appreciation for caring providers”; and “feeling isolated.” Discussion: Consideration of cultural contexts will guide nurses in supporting health care transition. Designing culturally relevant interventions that address unique needs for YA living with SCD is warranted

The roles of the exoribonucleases DIS3L2 and XRN1 in disease

RNA degradation is a vital post-transcriptional process which ensures that transcripts are maintained at the correct level within the cell. DIS3L2 and XRN1 are conserved exoribonucleases which are critical for the degradation of cytoplasmic RNAs. Although the molecular mechanisms of RNA degradation by DIS3L2 and XRN1 have been well studied, less is known about their specific roles in development of multicellular organisms or human disease. This review focusses on the roles of DIS3L2 and XRN1 in the pathogenesis of human disease, particularly in relation to phenotypes seen in model organisms. The known diseases associated with loss of activity of DIS3L2 and XRN1 are discussed, together with possible mechanisms and cellular pathways leading to these disease conditions