Personal Touches, Public Legacies: An Ethnography of LGBT Libraries and Archives

Personal touches, Public legacies: An ethnography of LGBT libraries and archives examines lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) information organizations in Vancouver, Canada and surrounding areas. In order to develop a deeper understanding of the diversity in, changes to and challenges for LGBT information organizations, a multi-sited ethnography was conducted between June and September 2014. Organizations featured in the study include: two autonomous LGBT information organizations (the BC Lesbian and Gay Archives and Out on the Shelves Library), two LGBT information organizations founded within universities (the Archives of Lesbian Oral Testimony at Simon Fraser University, the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria), an LGBT-focused collection within Vancouvers public municipal cultural milieu (the Ken Brock collection at the City of Vancouver Archives and the Museum of Vancouver) and, a temporary, autonomous home library with a queer mandate (the STAG Library). This study puts feminist, LGBT and queer studies in dialogue with archival studies and library and information studies (LIS). The chapters are organized by overarching themes associated with information organizations and address specific theoretical discussions that accompany those themes: location (Chapter 2), collection development (Chapter 3), organization and dissemination (Chapter 4) and mandate(Chapter 5). The findings not only explore how LGBT information collections and organizations interrogate and reimagine the definitional boundaries of what constitutes an information collection and information organizations more broadly but also examine how concepts of gender, sexuality and queerness are understood in the realm of the information organizations under study. The divide between normative and non-normative information collection and organizational practice is not simple or stable, but, like the concept of queer, is ever shifting. The findings demonstrate that queer information organizing persists in LGBT information organizational contexts, but not in ways necessarily anticipated by existing literature on the topic. This study also highlights how the relationship between the LGBT communities and the public is in great flux as some LGBT communities become increasingly considered a part of the mainstream public. It is precisely this oscillation and tension between concepts of the personal and the public that define LGBT information organizing activities in this current moment

Achieving economic sustainability for niche social profession courses in the Australian higher education sector: final report

The purpose of this fellowship was to develop a nationwide collaborative strategy to improve the economic sustainability and geographic availability of niche social profession courses. The niche courses in social professions examined in this program meet specialist social needs in disability services, social gerontology, and youth work. Specialist courses in social professions have limited availability across the Australian university sector and availability has declined over the last decade. This is despite a continuing need for specialist graduates, as attested by the relevant professional bodies, and by policy implementation reviews in the areas where graduates from these courses might provide stronger leadership. To improve learning opportunities for students and achieve collaboration, the program leader worked with colleagues and professional bodies nationally to analyse trend data and develop a working plan for each field of education. The program has raised awareness about the need for urgent system-wide action to support niche social professions and has developed collaborative network(s) to strengthen cross-institutional relationships between staff offering courses in niche social professions. The program has strengthened relationships with relevant state and federal professional bodies in each field and has established a network of colleagues to help resolve these challenges. In addition, the fellowship has proposed changes to support a nationwide collaborative strategy that will enable institutions to offer viable programs for the niche social professions. Dissemination has occurred to move beyond known interest groups, and staff from 16 universities and nine professional associations have been involved in discussions, consultations and planning for change. The issues and proposed strategies are outlined in this document. The working groups in each discipline will continue to collaborate to build momentum for change and to engage with colleagues at other universities to continue the work commenced by this fellowship. [Executive summary, ed

Support for homeless young people under 16 years old: Towards a new paradigm

Young people who become homeless before the age of 16 years face particular problems finding appropriate services that address their needs. This has been acknowledged in Australia and internationally, but successful system-wide resolution has not been achieved. The purpose of this study was to find out what would be required to improve policy in this area. The study set out to establish both the nature of the problem, and the nature of the changes needed to improve outcomes for young people. The research documented young people’s experiences of early homelessness and service provider’s perspectives on the adequacy of existing services. These were compared with the theoretical models and assumptions that informed the design of policy and service delivery. The study found that existing policy left some homeless 12–15-year-olds with fewer options and in much riskier circumstances than homeless young people aged 16–17 years. This perverse outcome occurred because the theoretical assumptions that informed policy did not align with either the reality of service delivery or with young people’s capabilities and aspirations. The study concluded that a new paradigm was required to improve outcomes. In addition, more varied types of accommodation are required for homeless young people under 16 years, and, where developmentally appropriate, young people aged 12–15 years should be treated as mature minors, and assistance should be provided through supported youth accommodation services

Participative approach to professional development, peer learning and evaluation in youth work: Summary report

Youth work evaluation is frequently driven by funders’ requirements, which usually focus on quantitative data about outputs that are easy to measure (Jeffs & Smith, 2005). This approach to evaluation is incomplete and excludes information that would permit a more rounded assessment of the impact of youth work (Cooper, 2014). Missing from funder-driven evaluations are young people’s perspectives on what they have gained from youth work, and youth workers evaluations of how youth work processes have operated to achieve the results presented..

Effects of Nanoparticles on Double-Stranded RNA Stability in Corn Soil

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) can potentially be used as a pesticide because these molecules trigger an immune response called RNA interference (RNAi). If the expression of essential genes matching the dsRNA sequence are silenced, then the pest dies. New classes of pesticides, including RNAi-based pesticides, are needed to overcome pesticide resistance and reduce the environmental impacts of pesticides. Unfortunately, dsRNA is easily degraded by enzymes in the environment, particularly those produced by microbes in the soil (Dubelmanet al., 2014),severely limiting delivery of dsRNA to cryptic (soil dwelling) species unless transgenic plants are used. Here we investigate dsRNA stability when incubated in corn soil supernatant ex situ to determine if encapsulation of dsRNA in chitosan-basednanoparticles (CB-NPs) enhances stability in corn soil. Interestingly, dsRNA stability was not affected by soil supernatant, possibly due to the time of year when sampling was performed (Icozet al., 2008). Nonetheless, these findings provide insight into dsRNA stability in soil, and in the future may lead to a method for protecting dsRNA from environmental degradation using CB-NPs

Effects of Nanoparticles on Double-Stranded RNA Stability in Corn Soil

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) can potentially be used as a pesticide because these molecules trigger an immune response called RNA interference (RNAi). If the expression of essential genes matching the dsRNA sequence are silenced, then the pest dies. New classes of pesticides, including RNAi-based pesticides, are needed to overcome pesticide resistance and reduce the environmental impacts of pesticides. Unfortunately, dsRNA is easily degraded by enzymes in the environment, particularly those produced by microbes in the soil (Dubelmanet al., 2014),severely limiting delivery of dsRNA to cryptic (soil dwelling) species unless transgenic plants are used. Here we investigate dsRNA stability when incubated in corn soil supernatant ex situ to determine if encapsulation of dsRNA in chitosan-basednanoparticles (CB-NPs) enhances stability in corn soil. Interestingly, dsRNA stability was not affected by soil supernatant, possibly due to the time of year when sampling was performed (Icozet al., 2008). Nonetheless, these findings provide insight into dsRNA stability in soil, and in the future may lead to a method for protecting dsRNA from environmental degradation using CB-NPs

TEA at the pictures

The Livesey Collection is the most complete assembly of temperance related materials in the world and the lanternslides sit alongside the textual materials as a major part of the temperance movement’s story. Chiefly a campaigning and educational association, the British National temperance league used every technology to promote its message, in working with the slides we are seeking to uncover more about the relationships between the message and the means of its delivery. The Temperance Electronic Archive (TEA) is a long-term multi-part project to digitize and disseminate the Livesey Collection

Fostering Data Literacy Teaching with Quantitative Data in the Social Sciences

Quantitative literacy is an essential twenty-first century skill that universities are heavily invested in teaching to students. The social sciences play an important role in these efforts because they attract students who might otherwise avoid data and mathematically oriented courses and because they ground quantitative reasoning in political and social contexts that resonate with undergraduates. However, pedagogical best practices for social science instructors have been slow to emerge and the support needs of instructors and students remain difficult to discern. Ithaka S+R’s Teaching Support Services program explores the teaching practices and support needs of collegiate instructors. Our most recent project in this program, “Teaching with Data in the Social Sciences,” focused on identifying the instructional goals and practices of instructors in introductory and advanced social science courses and exploring strengths and weaknesses of existing institutional support services. As part of this study, we partnered with librarians from 20 colleges and universities in the United States, who conducted 219 interviews with social science faculty. These interviews form the basis of this report. “Fostering Data Literacy: Teaching with Quantitative Data in the Social Sciences” explores why and how instructors teach with data, identifies the most important challenges they face, and describes how faculty and students utilize relevant campus and external resources. Full details and actionable recommendations for stakeholders are offered in the body of the report, which offers guidance to university libraries and other campus units, faculty, vendors, and others interested in improving institutional capacities to support data-intensive instruction in the social sciences

Copy number variation: What is it and what has it told us about child psychiatric disorders?

Copy number variation is now recognized as an important class of risk factor for several child psychiatric disorders. In this article, we first explain what copy number variants (CNVs) are. We then consider key findings and what these have told us about the etiology of these conditions. Finally, we discuss whether these findings can yet translate into clinical practice