Making the Invisible Visible: What Collection Development Needs to Know About Acquisitions

In academic libraries, the collection development and acquisitions department work together to obtain materials. In spite of the shared purpose, they differ in workflow and approaches. The article explains some of the reasons behind the differences

Fire at the University of New Mexico Library

The University of New Mexico Zimmerman Library had a major fire on April 30, 2006. The article describes the fire and the recovery efforts

Training programs in academic libraries

Continous learning is a necessity for academic librarians. The article discusses how to develop a training program and types of training that may be done

Time's Up: Homeless New Yorkers Demand Alternatives to Bloomberg's Failed Five-Year Plan

More people are living in homeless shelters now than when Mayor Bloomberg took office in 2002. On June 24th, 2004, Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled his Five Year Plan to reduce homelessness in New York City by two-thirds. The failure of Bloomberg's plan is evidence that what is needed are fundamental changes to housing policy in NYC, which is at the root of what is falsely portrayed as a homeless crisis.New York Magazine has said that his homeless policies are "the single biggest failure of the Bloomberg administration." The 2009 Mayor's Management Report found an across-the-board increase in the shelter census. As the five years of Bloomberg's plan comes to a close, this report focuses on the failures of one of its cornerstones, the Rental Subsidies Programs. Family and child homelessness have increased under these programs, even with thousands of households receiving vouchers, the rental subsidies have built-in obstacles to employment and self-sufficiency so crucial to making the transition out of the shelter system possible

The role of giving and receiving emotional support in depressive symptomatology among older couples: An application of the actor-partner interdependence model

The present study investigated whether perception of receiving emotional support mediates the relationship between one partner’s giving of emotional support and the other partner’s depressive symptomatology using a population-based sample of 423 couples from the Changing Lives of Older Couples study. A path model was used guided by the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. Results indicated that spouses’ giving emotional support was related to the degree to which their spouse reported receiving emotional support. Perception of receiving emotional support, in turn, was related to lower depressive symptomatology of the support recipient. Both husbands and wives can benefit from emotional support through their perception of receiving emotional support, and spouses’ perceptions, as well as their actions, should be considered in support transactions

Paradox as invitation to act in problematic change situations

It has been argued that organizational life typically contains paradoxical situations such as efforts to manage change which nonetheless seem to reinforce inertia. Four logical options for coping with paradox have been explicated, three of which seek resolution and one of which ‘keeps the paradox open’. The purpose of this article is to explore the potential for managerial action where the paradox is held open through the use of theory on ‘serious playfulness’. Our argument is that paradoxes, as intrinsic features in organizational life, cannot always be resolved through cognitive processes. What may be possible, however, is that such paradoxes are transformed, or ‘moved on’ through action and as a result the overall change effort need not be stalled by the existence of embedded paradoxes

Mediators of fruit and vegetable consumption among colorectal cancer survivors

Due to early detection and treatment, survival from colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis has been steadily increasing. A CRC diagnosis could be considered a “teachable moment,” a time when interventionists might successfully promote dietary changes. CRC interventions with tailored print communication (TPC) and telephone motivational interviewing (TMI) have been shown to be effective in promoting fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) among CRC survivors. However, little is known about how these interventions work to exert their effect. This study investigated whether information processes mediate the relationship between a CRC intervention and FVC among CRC survivors

MIDTAL (Microarrays for the Detection of Toxic Algae)

Microalgae in marine and brackish waters of Europe regularly cause harmful effects, considered from the human perspective, in that they cause economic damage to fisheries and tourism. Cyanobacteria cause similar problems in freshwaters. These episodes encompass a broad range of phenomena collectively referred to as harmful algal blooms (HABs). For adequate management of these phenomena, monitoring of microalgae is required. However, present day monitoring is time consuming and based on morphology as determined by light microscopy, which may be insufficient to give definitive species and toxin attribution. In the European Union (EU) FP7 project MIDTAL (microarrays for the detection of toxic algae), we will first target rapid species identification using rRNA genes. The variable regions of the rRNA genes can be used for probe design to recognize species or even strains. Second, a toxin based microarray will be developed that includes antibody reactions to specific toxins produced by these microalgae because even when cell numbers are low, toxins can be present and can accumulate in the shellfish. Microarrays are the state of the art technology in molecular biology for the processing of bulk samples for detection of target RNA/DNA sequence. Existing rRNA probes and antibodies for toxic algal species/strains and their toxins will be adapted and optimized for microarray use. The purpose of MIDTAL is to support the common fisheries policy and to aid the national monitoring agencies by providing new rapid tools for the identification of toxic algae and their toxins so they can comply with EU directive 91/1491/CEE to monitor for toxic algae, and reduce the need for the mouse bioassay

Information Processes Mediate the Effect of a Health Communication Intervention on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Health communication interventions have been effective in promoting fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC). To explore mechanisms underlying health communication effectiveness, we investigated whether information processes mediated the relationship between health communication and FVC, using data from NC STRIDES. NC STRIDES tested the efficacy of two health communication strategies to promote FVC among a diverse population-based sample of older adults. Participants were randomized to one of four groups: control, tailored print communication (TPC), telephone motivational interviewing (TMI), or combined (TPC+TMI). Multi-sample structural equation models were constructed to analyze data from 469 participants. Information processes mediated the effect of TMI and TPC+TMI on FVC. TMI had an indirect effect on FVC through relevance of the communications. TPC+TMI influenced FVC through perceived relevance of the communications, trust in the communications, and dose recall via two paths. In the first path, relevance was associated with trust. Trust was associated with recall, and greater recall predicted FVC. In the second path, relevance was associated with dose recall, and more recall predicted FVC. Thus, we found that key information processes mediated the relationship between a health communication intervention and FVC. Further research should investigate ways to enhance relevance, trust, and recall during the delivery of interventions