The Making of a Social Librarian: How Blogs, Wikis and Facebook Have Changed One Librarian and Her Job

This paper explores the evolution of the author’s identity as a librarian, from a tech-ignorant/tech-phobic library school graduate to a librarian teaching faculty, staff, students, community members and administrators the value of collaborative software. According to Technorati, the blog search engine, there are 244 blogs that primarily concern themselves with libraries and so-called 2.0 technologies. The blogs range from the well known Tame the Web and Shifted Librarian to library students attempting to sort out the deluge of information on blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, social networking services and how these applications and services help, hinder, harm or haunt libraries and librarians. As libraries and librarians make decisions about how to reach out to patrons and communities, increasingly, the decisions we make involve social software applications. In 2006, the author graduated from library school with an under-used laptop and the ability to create static HTML documents, but with a strong aversion to all things “computer-y” and little interest in or understanding of technology and its relationship to libraries. A two-year residency at a community college, free range to explore any and all avenues of librarianship and the pressing need to create a final “project”, however, created the opportunity for her to explore social software in its many variations and applications. With an introduction to creating wiki research guides, free posting reign on the library blog and chances to create workshops on any subject of her choosing, the newly tech-dorked librarian jumped head-first into what has widely touted as Library 2.0. She now subscribes to technology blogs, teaches workshops on using wikis in the classroom, instructs colleagues on establishing del.icio.us accounts and has dozens of other social software projects going at once

Chapter 19: Accuracy and Utility of Using Paradata to Detect Question-Reading Deviations. Appendix 19

Appendix 19A Minor Deviations Question as it Appears in Questionnaire Examples of Deviations

The Accuracy and Utility of Using Paradata to Detect Interviewer Question-Reading Deviations

Deviations from reading survey questions exactly as worded may change the validity of the questions, thus increasing measurement error. Hence, organizations train their interviewers to read questions verbatim. To ensure interviewers are reading questions verbatim, organizations rely on interview recordings. However, this takes a significant amount of resources. Therefore, some organizations are using paradata generated by the survey software, specifically timestamps, to try to detect when interviewers’ deviate from reading the question verbatim. To monitor interviewers’ question reading behavior using timestamps, some organizations estimate the expected question administration time to establish a minimum and maximum question administration time thresholds (QATT). They then compare the question timestamp to the QATTs to identify questions that violate the questions’ QATTs. Violations of minimum QATTs may indicate interviewers omitted from the question text. Conversely, violations of maximum QATTs may indicate interviewers added words to the question text. The questions that violated the QATTs are then flagged for further investigation. Investigations may include such things as listening to the recording for said question or aggregating the data (i.e., the flagged questions) up to the interviewer level to identify interviewers who repeatedly engage in question-reading deviations. Organizations can then make decisions about training needs or disciplinary actions based on empirical data. However, there is no established method to calculate QATTs. Some organizations calculate QATTs by dividing the question words by an (x) reading pace (Sun & Meng, 2014) or a priori cutoff, such as one second (Mneimneh, Pennell, Lin, & Kelley, 2014). Further, there is little known about the level of accuracy of the methods currently used to detect question-reading deviations, or if a more accurate method is needed. Which QATT method is more accurate for detecting question-reading deviations? Should one construct QATTs using words per second (WPS) or use standard deviations of the mean reading-time? What WPS rate or standard deviation should be used? Is one detection method better for detecting certain types of deviations (e.g., skipping words or questions, adding words to the question, etc.)? This study attempts to answer the above questions using interview recordings and paradata from Wave 3 of the Understanding Society Innovation Panel, United Kingdom. Using interview recordings allows a direct comparison of the different detection methods to how the interviewers actually administered the question and measure the accuracy of each detection method. In addition the interview recordings are coded for the extent (i.e., minor or major) and type of deviation. This analysis gives better insight on the scope and types of deviations interviewers are engaging in and practical guidance on how to best detect deviations using paradata

Colour change and assortment in the western rainbowfish

Grouping behaviour is widespread across the animal kingdom, and is known to reduce an individual's risk of predation, for example through predator confusion. Theory predicts that individuals that are different in appearance to the rest of the group are at a greater risk of predation because they are more conspicuous to predators (the ‘oddity’ effect). Thus, animals should choose group mates that are the most similar in appearance to themselves. Another common antipredator tactic is crypsis (camouflage). Fishes are capable of changing colour to match their visual background, but few studies have examined how this might influence shoaling decisions, particularly in the context of the oddity effect. We induced colour pattern changes in a colourful species of freshwater fish, the western rainbowfish, Melanotaenia australis, by maintaining fish in dark and pale aquaria for 2 weeks. Analysis of the proportion of black body pigmentation confirmed that rainbowfish in dark environments developed darker colour patterns than those held in pale environments. We then conducted behavioural observations to determine whether fish subsequently based their shoaling decisions on body coloration. We found that rainbowfish preferred to shoal with similar individuals; fish that had been held in dark aquaria preferred to shoal with other dark fish and fish from pale aquaria preferred other pale fish. Our findings are consistent with the predictions of the oddity effect and demonstrate how morphological colour pattern changes and behavioural decisions interact to mediate antipredator tactics in fish

Conflict between background matching and social signalling in a colour-changing freshwater fish

The ability to change coloration allows animals to modify their patterning to suit a specific function. Many freshwater fishes, for example, can appear cryptic by altering the dispersion of melanin pigment in the skin to match the visual background. However, melanin-based pigments are also used to signal dominance among competing males; thus colour change for background matching may conflict with colour change for social status signalling. We used a colour-changing freshwater fish to investigate whether colour change for background matching influenced aggressive interactions between rival males. Subordinate males that had recently darkened their skin for background matching received heightened aggression from dominant males, relative to males whose coloration had not changed. We then determined whether the social status of a rival male, the focal male's previous social status, and his previous skin coloration, affected a male's ability to change colour for background matching. Social status influenced skin darkening in the first social encounter, with dominant males darkening more than subordinate males, but there was no effect of social status on colour change in the second social encounter. We also found that the extent of skin colour change (by both dominant and subordinate males) was dependent on previous skin coloration, with dark males displaying a smaller change in coloration than pale males. Our findings suggest that skin darkening for background matching imposes a significant social cost on subordinate males in terms of increased aggression. We also suggest that the use of melanin-based signals during social encounters can impede subsequent changes in skin coloration for other functions, such as skin darkening for background matching

The role of speed in Shakespeare\u27s The Two Gentlemen of Verona: a production thesis in acting

The author chose Speed from Shakespeare\u27s The Two Gentlemen of Verona directed by John Dennis, as her thesis project in Fall 2002. This thesis includes an introduction, a character analysis, a journal of the rehearsal process and a conclusion

Effects of exercise on depression in adults with arthritis: a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Introduction Previous randomized controlled trials have led to conflicting findings regarding the effects of exercise on depressive symptoms in adults with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions (AORC). The purpose of this study was to use the meta-analytic approach to resolve these discrepancies. Methods The inclusion criteria were: (1) randomized controlled trials, (2) exercise (aerobic, strength training, or both) ≥4 weeks, (3) comparative control group, (4) adults with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia or systemic lupus erythematosus, (5) published studies in any language since January 1, 1981 and (6) depressive symptoms assessed. Studies were located by searching 10 electronic databases, cross-referencing, hand searching and expert review. Dual-selection of studies and data abstraction was performed. Hedge’s standardized mean difference effect size (g) was calculated for each result and pooled using random-effects models, an approach that accounts for heterogeneity. Non-overlapping 95% confidence intervals (CI) were considered statistically significant. Heterogeneity based on fixed-effect models was estimated using Q and I 2 with alpha values ≤0.10 for Q considered statistically significant. Results Of the 500 citations reviewed, 2,449 participants (1,470 exercise, 979 control) nested within 29 studies were included. Length of training, reported as mean ± standard deviation (±SD) was 19 ± 16 weeks, frequency 4 ± 2 times per week and duration 34 ± 17 minutes per session. Overall, statistically significant exercise minus control group reductions were found for depressive symptoms (g = −0.42, 95% CI, −0.58, −0.26, Q = 126.9, P \u3c0.0001, I 2 = 73.2%). The number needed-to-treat was 7 (95% CI, 6 to 11) with an estimated 3.1 million (95% CI, 2.0 to 3.7) United States adults not currently meeting physical activity guidelines improving their depressive symptoms if they began and maintained a regular exercise program. Using Cohen’s U3 Index, the percentile reduction was 16.4% (95% CI, 10.4% to 21.9%). All studies were considered to be at high risk of bias with respect to blinding of participants and personnel to group assignment

The stability of mode preferences: implications for tailoring in longitudinal surveys

"One suggested tailoring strategy for longitudinal surveys is giving respondents their preferred mode. Mode preference could be collected at earlier waves and used when introducing a mixed-mode design. The utility of mode preference is in question, however, due to a number of findings suggesting that preference is an artefact of mode of survey completion, and heavily affected by contextual factors. Conversely, recent findings suggest that tailoring on mode preference may lead to improved response outcomes and data quality. The current study aims to ascertain whether mode preference is a meaningful construct with utility in longitudinal surveys through analysis of data providing three important features: multiple measurements of mode preference over time; an experiment in mode preference question order; and the repeated measures within respondents collected both prior and after the introduction of mixed-mode data collection. Results show that mode preference is not a stable attitude for a large percentage of respondents, and that these responses are affected by contextual factors. However, a substantial percentage of respondents do provide stable responses over time, and may explain the positive findings elsewhere. Using mode preference to tailor longitudinal surveys should be done so with caution, but may be useful with further understanding." (author's abstract

The China National Tobacco Corporation: From Domestic to Global Dragon?

The China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC), which produces one-third of the world’s cigarettes, is the largest tobacco company in the world.  Over the past sixty years, the CNTC has been focused on supplying a huge domestic market.  As the market has become increasingly saturated, and potential foreign competition looms, the company has turned to expansion abroad.  This paper examines the ambitions and prospects of the CNTC to “go global”.   Using Chinese and English language sources, this paper describes the globalization ambitions of the CNTC, and its global business strategy focused on internal restructuring, brand development and expansion of overseas operations in selected markets.  The paper concludes that the company has undergone substantial change over the past two decades and is consequently poised to become a new global player in the tobacco industry

Challenges and Opportunities in Philanthropic Organizational Learning: Reflections From Fellow Grantmakers

As the field of philanthropy has matured, increasing attention has been paid to evaluating the impact of philanthropic investments. In recent years, the scope of evaluation has expanded to include an intentional focus on organizational learning with the goal of learning from ongoing work, informing decision-making, and ultimately improving impact. With this momentum to carry out organizational learning strategies and share successes, the sector has not yet stopped to reflect on challenges and lessons learned in the process of building the capacity for organizational learning — the messy yet meaningful middle between a desire for learning and the implementation of programing. Based on interviews with learning, evaluation, and research staff in philanthropy across the country, this article shares stories from the field on lessons learned and mistakes made in philanthropic organizational learning. It identifies points of struggle and opportunities for improvement in organizational learning, as well as what can be learned from mistakes in the process