The Time Has Come... To Move Many Things: Inventorying and Preparing a Collection for Offsite Storage

In the spring of 2019, the Montana State University (MSU) Library embarked on a large-scale inventory project that involved weeding and moving portions of their collection to an offsite storage facility within six months in order to create more student study space in the Library. The department primarily responsible for leading the project, Collections Access & Technical Services, the result of two departments merging, was also simultaneously navigating their new structure and a remodel of their workspace thus adding further challenges to the project. This poster session demonstrated how MSU Library approached and completed this project by advocating to their Library Administration for additional resources, including hiring a project manager and third-party companies to assist with the inventory and moving of the collection. It also discussed the types of work groups formed to identify new workflows (i.e., retrieval of offsite items) and modify existing ones, involving student employees in the project, and internal and external collaborations that took place. Additionally, presenters shared strategies used to communicate to their campus community, and the impact this project has had on our patrons. They also included statistics that were gathered during the project including deselection figures, the number of materials that did not have barcodes and were not accounted for in the Library’s catalog and discovery layer (Ex Libris’ Alma and Primo), and what subject areas currently remain in the main library building

Pupil's perceptions of Design & Technology education in England and Wales: Emergent Findings

The curriculum for Design and Technology in secondary schools in England and Wales has been under review. With policy makers questioning not only the position the subject occupies within the curriculum, but also the value Design and Technology holds. As a result, Design and technology's future, as a subject, is uncertain. Set against a background of policy and curriculum change, this paper presents the findings of a research study designed to elicit the perceptions of, and gain an insight into the way Key Stage 3 pupils (11 - 14 years) view Design and Technology. Utilising the concept of the original PATT Tool (Raat & de Vries, 1986), and building upon the work of previous studies undertaken nationally or globally (de Vries, 1988; de Klerk Wolters, 1989; Bame & Dugger, 1993; Volk & Yip 1999; Van Rensburg, Ankiewicz & Myburgh, 1999; Ankiewicz & Van Rensburg 2001; Becker & Maunsaiyat 2002; Chikasanda, Williams, Otrel-Cass & Jones, 2011; Gaotlhobogwe, 2010; Ardies, De Maeyer & Gijbels, 2012, 2013), the fundamental aim of the research at inception was to investigate the perceptions of pupils with respect to their understanding of what is technology education. Although simplistic in origin, the findings presented illustrate that this is far from the case. Framed epistemologically within a social practice lens (Suchman, Blomberg, Orr & Trigg, 1999), the research tool used was a questionnaire comprising of a series of open and closed questions. Administered by teachers who recorded both electronically and in hard copy, the sample was drawn randomly via those choosing to respond. Responses were gathered from 173 schools throughout England and Wales with data being collected over an eight month period commencing in July 2012. Analysis of the data elicited a number of key findings which are presented here. Although exclusively based on the perspective of school pupils in England and Wales, it is anticipated that the findings will provide both stimulus and a starting point for researchers working under similar curriculum constraints or revisions. Given the nature of the curriculum changes which have occurred, the research team intend to develop the tool further and expand it to include pupils in the post compulsory age bracket (16 - 18 years) and the primary education age bracket

Monster Invasion!

This article presents an innovative Key Stage 3 Design and Technology technological Textiles and Electronics project, tried and tested with over five hundred children in schools across the UK

Primary Design and Technology: Perceptions and practice

Design and technology is recognised in many countries as a valuable subject in developing children?s knowledge and skills about materials, as well as decision making through creative design processes. As such it makes a unique contribution to a child?s general education and provides a foundation for future work with all forms of technology across professional and personal lives. However in England and Wales, the countries where the subject was first conceived, following educational policy change and the subject?s exclusion from the English Baccalaureate, design and technology is persistently required to justify its place within the curriculum (DATA 2011). Amid concerns that primary teachers are insufficiently trained to teach design and technology (DATA 2015) and set within the context of primary education and building upon findings from earlier research (Bell et al. 2016), which sought to establish the range of design and technology work currently being undertaken in primary schools, this paper presents next phase research findings. Constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz 2006) is the adopted method, and drawing upon empirically grounded data, this paper explores the attitudes and perceptions of primary school teachers. Participants were encouraged to reflect upon their own experience, to establish if they believe they received sufficient subject specific training. Work then explores their perceptions, to determine if they perceive that their personal subject knowledge has a direct impact upon the breadth and quality of work undertaken. Emergent findings are discussed in relation to the value placed upon of design and technology, and findings suggest that curriculum delivery is compromised where teacher confidence is low. Future work will seek to investigate teacher perceptions further, aiming to explore the correlation between teacher?s personal subject knowledge and the quality and creativity of work undertaken in design and technology, with a particular focus upon how knowledge is constructed and understanding developed

Nonequilibrium quantum dynamics of partial symmetry breaking for ultracold bosons in an optical lattice ring trap

A vortex in a Bose-Einstein condensate on a ring undergoes quantum dynamics in response to a quantum quench in terms of partial symmetry breaking from a uniform lattice to a biperiodic one. Neither the current, a macroscopic measure, nor fidelity, a microscopic measure, exhibit critical behavior. Instead, the symmetry memory succeeds in identifying the point at which the system begins to forget its initial symmetry state. We further identify a symmetry energy difference in the low lying excited states which trends with the symmetry memory

Examining the Experiences of Athletic Trainers as they transition into their First Full-Time Position

Transition to clinical practice is an important topic in athletic training, as it can be a period of time that presents challenges for the athletic trainer. Most of the research pertaining to transition to practice focuses on the skills and knowledge necessary for clinical practice, yet we know that stress can manifest from not only being an independent practitioner but also from learning how to balance one’s roles. We wanted to understand the perspective of today’s novice athletic trainers and how they feel in their first full-time position, specifically relating to their professional development and establishment or maintenance of work-life balance (WLB). Using a qualitative paradigm, we phone interviewed athletic trainers who were categorized as career starters by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. Using a purposive recruitment strategy we were able to recruit 20 (12 female, 8 male) athletic trainers meeting this classification. General inductive analyses were used to code the data from our interviews, and we satisfied credibility though saturation of the data, peer review, and researcher triangulations during the coding process. Our findings suggest that while confidence in clinical skills is apparent, some of the more administrative aspects of clinical practice present challenges. We found that various employment settings offered various expectations or challenges that had the potential to impact WLB. A blend of professional and organizational processes helped transition the athletic trainer, and although both were helpful each also could be bolstered to improve transitioning for the newly credentialed athletic trainer. Employers of early career starters should be aware of the stress related to transition to practice, and the time it can take to acclimate

Reviewing the Impact of the National Strategies Design and Technology Framework for Key Stage Three

Since the beginning of Design and Technology (D&T) in the English secondary school curriculum, the teaching of design has been identified as less effective than that of making. In 2004 as part of the National Strategies, the D&T framework was launched, aiming to support the teaching of design skills. This small-scale study begins to explore the experiences of pupils and teachers in four schools in the Northwest of England. The study uses a mixed methods approach, gathering quantitative and qualitative data in a questionnaire with a convenience sample of school pupils. Responses are analysed alongside qualitative interviews with D&T teachers from the schools. The findings indicate that many pupils had a clear understanding of the role and function of designing. However, some common assumptions of the nature of design activity centering on the act of sketching or drawing were evident. Whilst some progress has been made in the teaching of design, through the use of design activities introduced in the D&T Framework, the support experienced by teachers was limited and were not sustained beyond the initial training. There are implications for initial teacher educators in supporting beginning teachers and balancing the tensions trainees experience whilst on placements in school

Cultural and historical roots for design and technology education: why technology makes us human

In the continuing context of curriculum change within English education, this paper explores the cultural and historical roots of design and technology, as an educational construct, distinct from design or engineering, which exist as career paths outside of the school curriculum. It is a position piece, drawing on literature from a wide range of sources from writing and outside of the discipline. The authors revisit the original intention of design and technology as a national curriculum subject and within the contemporary challenges, highlight the historical and social importance of technology, including designing and making, as an essentially human and humanising activity. The aim being to contribute to the theorisation and philosophy of the subject, where typically practitioners tend to focus on practical and potentially mundane concerns. This paper asserts that technological human activity is rooted in technological innovation and determinism. The aim is to add to the literature and debate around the place and value of design and technology. The argument for retention of the subject, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum, is presented from a socio-technological perspective; recognising the value of the subject as cultural rather than a merely technical or as an economic imperative