Collaboration between Faculty and Librarians to Implement BiblioBouts, an Information Literacy Game

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COVID Notes from the Field: Transitioning to Digital Learning

This teacher reflection includes tips on family communication during a crisis. The reflection includes notes from the field on the transition to digital learning due to COVID and how to increase family communication when students are not able to be physically present in school

Is MOOC Madness Here To Stay? An Institutional Legitimacy Study Of Employers

This dissertation aims to assess the degree of human resource personnel\u27s acceptance of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) providers. It is a critical part of understanding if MOOCs offer a viable and sustainable form of education because employer buy-in is essential to MOOCs\u27 success, according to many who have studied this online learning phenomenon. The sample for this study primarily was Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) board and committee members located in metropolitan areas throughout the U.S, with 112 qualified participants. Participants were recruited through email and other online methods to take the survey. The survey had three sections, including demographic questions, a Likert-like section based on key MOOC characteristics, and a choice-based conjoint (CBC) exercise in which participants selected the most qualified job applicant from a pool of mock candidates--some with MOOC credentials. The results of this study reveal that participants, though largely unaware of MOOCs, are generally receptive to them once learning of their attributes. However, participants still prefer traditional education and work experience more than MOOCs when screening applicants--a finding uncovered during the simulation exercise. Despite this preference for traditional employment credentials, participants showed statistically significant preference for MOOCs when combined with traditional education. These results have implications for many higher education stakeholders, including employers, students, and higher education institutions

Relationship Between Big 5 Personality Traits and COVID-19 Health-Related Behaviors

The Big 5 personality traits are typically assessed in order to understand the behavior of individuals. The major traits are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience (McCrae & John, 1991). Health-related behaviors regarding COVID-19 include wearing masks and properly social distancing (CDC, 2020a, CDC, 2020b). Previous research examined the relationship between the Big 5 personality traits and either mask use or social distancing and concluded that there were correlations between personality and the likelihood that participants would engage in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors (Zajenkowski, Jonason, Leniarska, & Kozakiewicz, 2020, Aschwanden et al., 2020, Carvalho, Pianowski, & Goncalves, 2020, Abdelrahman, 2020). The present study investigates the relationship between the Big 5 personality traits and the health-related behaviors of mask use and social distancing among undergraduate students. Specifically, participants completed a three-part survey which assessed the Big 5 traits, mask use and social distancing behavior, and demographic information. We hypothesized that participants who indicated more frequent mask use would rate higher in agreeableness, extraversion, and conscientiousness. We also predicted that participants who indicated more frequent social distancing would rate lower in agreeableness and extraversion and higher in conscientiousness. Six bivariate correlations revealed that initial hypotheses were unsupported by the data with the exception of a significant, positive correlation between agreeableness and mask use. Keywords: personality traits, coronavirus, COVID-19, mask use, social distancing, Big

"Relic jet activity in “Hanny’s Voorwerp” revealed by the LOFAR Two metre Sky Survey"

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).We report new observations of "Hanny's Voorwerp" (hereafter HV) taken from the second data release of the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS). HV is a highly-ionised region in the environs of the galaxy IC2497, first discovered by the Galaxy Zoo project. The new 150MHz observations are considered in the context of existing multi-frequency radio data and archival narrow-band imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope, centred on the [Oiii] emission line. The combined sensitivity and spatial resolution of the LoTSS data -- which far exceed what was previously available at radio frequencies -- reveal clear evidence for large-scale extended emission emanating from the nucleus of IC2497. The radio jet appears to have punched a hole in the neutral gas halo, in a region co-located with HV. The new 150MHz data, alongside newly-processed archival 1.64GHz eVLA data, reveal that the extended emission has a steep spectrum, implying an age $>10^8$yr. The jet supplying the extended 150MHz structure must have "turned off" long before the change in X-ray luminosity reported in recent works. In this picture, a combination of jet activity and the influence of the radiatively efficient active galactic nucleus are responsible for the unusual appearance of HV.Peer reviewe

Using Web 2.0 Tools such as Google Apps in Library Instruction Sessions with Non-Traditional Students

Much has been written about traditional undergraduate students and their familiarity with Web 2.0 tools. But how “tech savvy” are non-traditional students? How can tools such as Google Apps be used in library instruction with these students? Troy University Montgomery Campus serves an especially diverse student body; roughly two-thirds are adult, non-traditional students (average age of 28). Librarians on this campus surveyed students in library instruction classes to find out their knowledge and use of Web 2.0 technologies such as social networking, image and video sharing, collaborative authoring tools, communication tools, social games/spaces and blogs. Survey results show that many of the students not only had never used these tools, but they had never even heard of them. As a result of these findings, librarians now incorporate some of these Web 2.0 technologies in their library instruction sessions. Presenters will discuss how librarians introduce students to Web 2.0 tools in library instruction and explain how online tools such as Google Apps can be used not only as a collaborative authoring tool for students, but also for librarians designing instruction sessions. For example, class assignments using documents, spreadsheets, and presentations can be created and shared, opened, and edited by multiple users at the same time. Students can be surveyed and their feedback results sent to a spreadsheet. PowerPoint slides can be created and published to the web for viewing at any time. The presenters will conclude by sharing both the benefits and drawbacks of using Google Apps in library instruction sections

Creating a Culture of Grant Writing in a Multi-Campus Academic Setting

Grant writing is more important than ever in an era of “proving our worth” at academic libraries. For small libraries wanting to provide their communities with unique programming opportunities, such grant writing is often essential, because the funding for programming is often nonexistent, or minimal. As librarians work to make grant writing a priority at their institutions, they must be mindful of the importance of building relationships with the university administration, various colleges and departments within the university, individual faculty members, staff, students, and members of the surrounding community. In an era of falling enrollment, budget cuts and pressure from administration to “prove value,” grant writing can also be a great marketing/promotional tool. Furthermore, programming grants can aid in student recruitment and retention, by bringing in not only the university community, but the general community served by the university as well, which can provide a university with greater exposure. There is also the opportunity to collaborate with businesses in the community

It Just Went Viral: Now What?

In March of 2016, one post made by Troy University Libraries “caught fire” and went viral. What does it mean to “Go Viral?” If it happens at your library, what can you do to take advantage of the unexpected publicity? In this article, librarians from Troy University will discuss the importance of social media for libraries, including how Troy University Libraries developed a social media presence over a period of eight years. The authors will describe Troy University Libraries’ experience with a social media post that went viral, including challenges that came with the unexpected publicity, and offer recommendations for other libraries using social media

Partners with a Vision: Librarians and Faculty Collaborate to Develop a Library Orientation Program at a Non-traditional Campus

In Fall 2004, the Chair of the Department of Communication and Fine Arts was charged with customizing the TROY University Orientation course (TROY 1101) curriculum and activities for the Montgomery Campus student population. After talking with the Montgomery Campus library director about the need for including a comprehensive library component, the Chair began working with two librarians to create a library orientation component for TROY 1101, a one-semester hour course that would be required for all new and transfer students effective Fall Semester 2005