Coverage of Print Monographs at the Swiss National Library: A Preliminary Study

This paper reports on the study conducted by the Swiss National Library (NL) in 2012 on its coverage of the acquisition of printed monographs published in Switzerland in 2010. Since the NL had never conducted a study of its acquisition coverage, a pilot project was set up to evaluate list checking techniques that would be the most appropriate in the context of the bibliographic tools available in Switzerland. After considering the methods proposed in ISO/TR 28118:2009, the study tested the list checking method developed at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB) in the Netherlands to evaluate the results of the list produced by Swissbib, the Swiss union catalogue. The study found that the rate of coverage for commercial publications (with an ISBN) was 97.05% and that of grey literature (without an ISBN) was 93.96%. These results are discussed in the context of an analysis of a random sample of the Swissbib list which resulted in a high rate of rejection of records. It found that the search query used did not appropriately and efficiently select records that corresponded to the collection criteria of the NL. The relevance of valid records used in the study to establish the rate of coverage is discussed and arguments are put forward to support the validity of the results. The methodological findings of the pilot project will be integrated in the planning of an official study to be conducted later in 201

A dynamic model of the effects of feedback-seeking behavior and organizational commitment on newcomer turnover

Theory and conventional wisdom suggest that progressive reduction of feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) during entry is indicative of work adjustment. We argue that a downside of this process is that newcomers' social integration and acculturation may be weakened. This suggests declining levels of FSB may result in decreased organizational commitment across time and ultimately greater turnover likelihood. These predictions were examined in two longitudinal studies (Study 1, N = 158; Study 2, N = 170) among newcomers. In both studies, FSB by supervisor inquiry was found to decline across time, and the decrease in FSB preceded a steeper decline in affective organizational commitment. In Study 1, the decline of commitment also resulted in a steeper decrease in FSB. Study 2 further found the decline in commitment to mediate the relationship between the decrease in FSB and increased turnover intention. Finally, increased turnover intention mediated the relationship between the decline in commitment and increased turnover the following year. Bridging research on FSB and organizational commitment, these findings shed new light on the influence of the dynamics of FSB on newcomer turnover

Effectiveness of Multidrug Antiretroviral Regimens to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV-1 in Routine Public Health Services in Cameroon

International audienceBACKGROUND: Multidrug antiretroviral (ARV) regimens including HAART and short-course dual antiretroviral (sc-dARV) regimens were introduced in 2004 to improve Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) in Cameroon. We assessed the effectiveness of these regimens from 6-10 weeks and 12 months of age, respectively. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study covering the period from October 2004 to March 2008 in a reference hospital in Cameroon. HIV-positive pregnant women with CD4 or = 37 weeks, women received sd-NVP during labour [regimen 4]. Infants received sd-NVP plus ZDV and 3TC for 7 days or 30 days. Early diagnosis (6-10 weeks) was done, using b-DNA and subsequently RT-PCR. We determined early MTCT rate and associated risk factors using logistic regression. The 12-month HIV-free survival was assessed using Cox regression. Among 418 mothers, 335 (80%) received multidrug ARV regimens (1, 2, and 3) and MTCT rate with multidrug regimens was 6.6% [95%CI: 4.3-9.6] at 6 weeks, without any significant difference between regimens. Duration of mother's ARV regimen < 4 weeks [OR = 4.7, 95%CI: 1.3-17.6], mother's CD4 < 350 cells/mm(3) [OR = 6.4, 95%CI: 1.8-22.5] and low birth weight [OR = 4.0, 95%CI: 1.4-11.3] were associated with early MTCT. By 12 months, mixed feeding [HR = 8.7, 95%CI: 3.6-20.6], prematurity [HR = 2.3, 95%CI: 1.2-4.3] and low birth weight were associated with children's risk of progressing to infection or death. CONCLUSIONS: Multidrug ARV regimens for PMTCT are feasible and effective in routine reference hospital. Early initiation of ARV during pregnancy and proper obstetrical care are essential to improve PMTCT

Thermal conductivity and thermal boundary resistance of nanostructures

International audienceWe present a fabrication process of low-cost superlattices and simulations related with the heat dissipation on them. The influence of the interfacial roughness on the thermal conductivity of semiconductor/semiconductor superlattices was studied by equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and on the Kapitza resistance of superlattice's interfaces by equilibrium molecular dynamics. The non-equilibrium method was the tool used for the prediction of the Kapitza resistance for a binary semiconductor/metal system. Physical explanations are provided for rationalizing the simulation results

Diverse perspectives on interdisciplinarity from the Members of the College of the Royal Society of Canada

Various multiple-disciplinary terms and concepts (although most commonly “interdisciplinarity”, which is used herein) are used to frame education, scholarship, research, and interactions within and outside academia. In principle, the premise of interdisciplinarity may appear to have many strengths; yet, the extent to which interdisciplinarity is embraced by the current generation of academics, the benefits and risks for doing so, and the barriers and facilitators to achieving interdisciplinarity represent inherent challenges. Much has been written on the topic of interdisciplinarity, but to our knowledge there have been few attempts to consider and present diverse perspectives from scholars, artists, and scientists in a cohesive manner. As a team of 57 members from the Canadian College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada (the College) who self-identify as being engaged or interested in interdisciplinarity, we provide diverse intellectual, cultural, and social perspectives. The goal of this paper is to share our collective wisdom on this topic with the broader community and to stimulate discourse and debate on the merits and challenges associated with interdisciplinarity. Perhaps the clearest message emerging from this exercise is that working across established boundaries of scholarly communities is rewarding, necessary, and is more likely to result in impact. However, there are barriers that limit the ease with which this can occur (e.g., lack of institutional structures and funding to facilitate cross-disciplinary exploration). Occasionally, there can be significant risk associated with doing interdisciplinary work (e.g., lack of adequate measurement or recognition of work by disciplinary peers). Solving many of the world’s complex and pressing problems (e.g., climate change, sustainable agriculture, the burden of chronic disease, and aging populations) demand thinking and working across long-standing, but in some ways restrictive, academic boundaries. Academic institutions and key support structures, especially funding bodies, will play an important role in helping to realize what is readily apparent to all who contributed to this paper—that interdisciplinarity is essential for solving complex problems; it is the new norm. Failure to empower and encourage those doing this research will serve as a great impediment to training, knowledge, and addressing societal issues

Informationslandschaft Europa / European Information Subject Access Panorama

Das Original-Dokument wurde in das Format pdf umgewandelt. Patrice Landry von der Schweizerischen Landesbibliothek, Bern, berichtete über „The recent history of European cooperation: from the ‚need‘ to cooperate to the ‚will‘ to cooperate“. Er zeichnete kurz die letzten 25 Jahre verbaler Sacherschließung in den USA und den europäischen Ländern nach, die im 21. Jahrhundert in das Projekt MACS mündete. MACS wird es beispielsweise einem englischsprachigen Benutzer gestatten, seine Suchanfrage englisch einzugeben und Erträge über international verlinkte vielsprachige Suchformulierungen zu bekommen

Informationslandschaft Europa / European Information Subject Access Panorama

Patrice Landry von der Schweizerischen Landesbibliothek, Bern, berichtete über „The recent history of European cooperation: from the ‚need‘ to cooperate to the ‚will‘ to cooperate“. Er zeichnete kurz die letzten 25 Jahre verbaler Sacherschließung in den USA und den europäischen Ländern nach, die im 21. Jahrhundert in das Projekt MACS mündete. MACS wird es beispielsweise einem englischsprachigen Benutzer gestatten, seine Suchanfrage englisch einzugeben und Erträge über international verlinkte vielsprachige Suchformulierungen zu bekommen