Are E-Book Big Deal Bundles Still Valuable?

The academic e‐book market has undergone significant change in the last five years. E‐book availability has greatly increased as library demand has grown, with an increasing percentage of library acquisitions preferring electronic rather than print format. E‐book acquisition models like patron‐driven acquisition and short‐term loan have now become commonplace and available from a multitude of consortia, publishers, and aggregators. With the wide availability of these models, is there still value in buying e‐books through package deals? To help answer this question, we will present the results of a usage‐based analysis of Wiley e‐books. Since 2012, Miami University Libraries have purchased Wiley e‐book collections through a consortial OhioLINK contract. Previously purchased OhioLINK e‐book collections have been accessible to patrons through both OhioLINK’s Electronic Book Center platform and the publisher platform. The Wiley e‐book purchase deviates from previous practice by being available to patrons only on the publisher platform and our analysis is therefore focused on COUNTER e‐book usage reports from the Wiley platform. We also augment the usage data with title‐level information, such as subject and book type. This preliminary study focuses on the 2012 Wiley collection and its use over a three‐year period (2012‐2014) and will include data‐driven findings presented in visually useful ways

Are E-Book Big Deal Bundles Still Valuable?

The academic e‐book market has undergone significant change in the last five years. E‐book availability has greatly increased as library demand has grown, with an increasing percentage of library acquisitions preferring electronic rather than print format. E‐book acquisition models like patron‐driven acquisition and short‐term loan have now become commonplace and available from a multitude of consortia, publishers, and aggregators. With the wide availability of these models, is there still value in buying e‐books through package deals? To help answer this question, we will present the results of a usage‐based analysis of Wiley e‐books. Since 2012, Miami University Libraries have purchased Wiley e‐book collections through a consortial OhioLINK contract. Previously purchased OhioLINK e‐book collections have been accessible to patrons through both OhioLINK’s Electronic Book Center platform and the publisher platform. The Wiley e‐book purchase deviates from previous practice by being available to patrons only on the publisher platform and our analysis is therefore focused on COUNTER e‐book usage reports from the Wiley platform. We also augment the usage data with title‐level information, such as subject and book type. This preliminary study focuses on the 2012 Wiley collection and its use over a three‐year period (2012‐2014) and will include data‐driven findings presented in visually useful ways

How do SYMPtoms and management tasks in chronic heart failure imPACT a person's life (SYMPACT)? Protocol for a mixed-methods study.

AIMS: Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) struggle to follow self-care plans, which may lead to worsening illness and poor quality of life. Burden of treatment (BoT) describes this workload and its impact on patients' lives. Suggesting the balance between a patient's treatment workload and their capability to manage it is crucial. If BoT is reduced, self-care engagement and quality of life may improve. This article describes the SYMPACT study design and methods used to explore how symptoms and management tasks impact CHF patients' lives. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design to investigate the interaction between symptoms and BoT in CHF patients. CONCLUSIONS: If symptoms and BoT are intrinsically linked, then the high level of symptoms experienced by CHF patients may lead to increased treatment burden, which likely decreases patients' engagement with self-care plans. SYMPACT may identify modifiable factors to improve CHF patients' experience

Assessment innovation and student experience: a new assessment challenge and call for a multi-perspective approach to assessment research

The impact of innovative assessment on student experience in higher education is a neglected research topic. This represents an important gap in the literature given debate around the marketization of higher education, international focus on student satisfaction measurement tools and political calls to put students at the heart of higher education in the UK. This paper reports on qualitative findings from a research project examining the impact of assessment preferences and familiarity on student attainment and experience. It argues that innovation is defined by the student, shaped by diverse assessment experiences and preferences and therefore its impact is difficult to predict. It proposes that future innovations must explore assessment choice mechanisms which allow students to shape their own assessments. Cultural change and staff development will be required to achieve this. To be accepted, assessment for student experience must be viewed as a complementary layer within a complex multi perspective model of assessment which also embraces assessment of learning, assessment for learning and assessment for life long learning. Further research is required to build a meta theory of assessment to enhance the synergies between these alternative approaches and to minimise tensions between them

Project manager-to-project allocations in practice: an empirical study of the decision-making practices of a multi-project based organization

Empirical studies that examine how managers make project manager-to-project (PM2P) allocation decisions in multi-project settings are currently limited. Such decisions are crucial to organizational success. An empirical study of the PM2P practice, conducted in the context of Botswana, revealed ineffective processes in terms of optimality in decision-making. A conceptual model to guide effective PM2P practices was developed. The focus of this study is on deploying the model as a lens to study the PM2P practices of a large organization, with a view to identify and illustrate strengths and weaknesses. A case study was undertaken in the mining industry, where core activities in terms of projects are underground mineral explorations at identified geographical regions. A semi-structured interview protocol was used to collect data from 15 informants, using an enumeration. Integrated analysis of both data types (using univariate descriptive analysis for the quantitative data, content and thematic analysis for the qualitative data) revealed strengths in PM2P practices, demonstrated by informants’ recognition of some important criteria to be considered. The key weaknesses were exemplified by a lack of effective management tools and techniques to match project managers to projects. The findings provide a novel perspective through which improvements in working practices can be made

Maximising transparency in a doctoral thesis: The complexities of writing about the use of QSR*NVIVO within a grounded theory study

This paper discusses the challenges of how to provide a transparent account of the use of the software programme QSR*NVIVO (QSR 2000) within a Grounded Theory framework (Glaser and Strauss 1967; Strauss and Corbin 1998). Psychology students are increasingly pursuing qualitative research projects such to the extent that the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) advise that students should have skill in the use of computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) (Economic and Social Research Council 2001). Unlike quantitative studies, rigid formulae do not exist for writing-up qualitative projects for doctoral theses. Most authors, however, agree that transparency is essential when communicating the findings of qualitative research. Sparkes (2001) recommends that evaluative criteria for qualitative research should be commensurable with the aims, objectives, and epistemological assumptions of the research project. Likewise, the use of CAQDAS should vary according to the research methodology followed, and thus researchers should include a discussion of how CAQDAS was used. This paper describes how the evolving process of coding data, writing memos, categorising, and theorising were integrated into the written thesis. The structure of the written document is described including considerations about restructuring and the difficulties of writing about an iterative process within a linear document

A qualitative study of stakeholders' perspectives on the social network service environment

Over two billion people are using the Internet at present, assisted by the mediating activities of software agents which deal with the diversity and complexity of information. There are, however, ethical issues due to the monitoring-and-surveillance, data mining and autonomous nature of software agents. Considering the context, this study aims to comprehend stakeholders' perspectives on the social network service environment in order to identify the main considerations for the design of software agents in social network services in the near future. Twenty-one stakeholders, belonging to three key stakeholder groups, were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy for unstandardised semi-structured e-mail interviews. The interview data were analysed using a qualitative content analysis method. It was possible to identify three main considerations for the design of software agents in social network services, which were classified into the following categories: comprehensive understanding of users' perception of privacy, user type recognition algorithms for software agent development and existing software agents enhancement

Effect of Driving Context On Design Dialogue

The automotive sector is currently undergoing dramatic technological and sociological advances which challenge the traditional design process, and which appear to require a more intimate understanding of owner needs and desires. The use of a real-time communication link between designers and the people who are in the automobiles could become a key component of an innovative automobile design process. The research described here consisted of an investigation of the influence of driving context (country road, motorway or city road) on the real-time verbal exchange between a driver and a designer who asked questions about the automobile and driving experience. Twenty university students and staff were recruited for the tests. A psychologically optimized question set was prepared, and was deployed with each participant as the individual drove the simulator on the target road. The research confirmed the dependency on the driving context of both the quantity of exchanged words and their semiotic content

Learning from peer feedback on student-generated multiple choice questions: Views of introductory physics students

PeerWise is an online application where students are encouraged to generate a bank of multiple choice questions for their classmates to answer. After answering a question, students can provide feedback to the question author about the quality of the question and the question author can respond to this. Student use of, and attitudes to, this online community within PeerWise was investigated in two large first year undergraduate physics courses, across three academic years, to explore how students interact with the system and the extent to which they believe PeerWise to be useful to their learning. Most students recognized that there is value in engaging with PeerWise, and many students engaged deeply with the system, thinking critically about the quality of their submissions and reflecting on feedback provided to them. Students also valued the breadth of topics and level of difficulty offered by the questions, recognized the revision benefits afforded by the resource, and were often willing to contribute to the community by providing additional explanations and engaging in discussion