There’s an App for That: Information Resources for Disaster Preparedness and Response

Background: Quick and easy access to disaster health information is needed during all four phases of the emergency management cycle: Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation.1 Health professionals and responders need to be fully aware of the best disaster health information resources and tools. Several organizations, including the National Library of Medicine (NLM), develop and provide authoritative, high-quality health information and tools for disaster preparation and response.2 Purpose: To develop and provide access to health information resources and technology for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Description: The Texas A&M University’s Medical Sciences Library and the College of Nursing developed a web page (http://tamu.libguides.com/redirect) that categorizes high-quality health information resources and disaster preparedness/response tools according to disaster response roles. Categories include: First Responders/EMS; Healthcare Providers; Public Health/Planner; and General Public. The page is formatted to fit screen sizes of various devices, including phones and tablets. Impact or Results: Disaster responders and preparedness teams can easily access a focused set of apps and other resources with multiple functions. For example, WISER advises on hazardous substances, including substance identification, containment and suppression advice, radiological tools, and medical treatment information. The public can download preparedness tools to their devices and develop their digital “go-kits”. Apps are mapped to their corresponding emergency management cycle phase(s). Health professionals, responders, policymakers, and the public can access the right information at the right time to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. References 1. Grand Traverse County Emergency Management. (2019). What is emergency management? Retrieved from https://www.grandtraverse.org/379/What-is-Emergency-Management 2. Love C, Arnesen S, Phillips S, Windom R. National Library of Medicine Disaster Information Management Research Center: Achieving the vision, 2010–2013. Inf Serv Use. 2014;34(1-2):149-170. doi:10.3233/isu-140731ReDiReCT: Integrating NLM Resources into Disaster Preparedness and Response Cross-Disciplinary Training, has been supported in part or in full by Federal funds through the National Library of Medicine of the National Institute of Health under award number UG4LM012345 with the University of North Texas Health Science Center. The content is the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH

Comparing the effects of different absence entitlement contracts on attitudes towards absence and the psychological contract between two existing groups of employees at a north-west branch of Tesco

This MA thesis discusses an area that has received very little previous investigation, but is becoming more relevant as organisations bring in new absence management techniques, creating different culture groups within the organisation. The study tacked three research objectives : 1) to assess whether the two groups psychological contracts differed, and which areas (i.e. trust, value, commitment, and fairness) were most affected, 2) to assess whether the two groups' attitudes towards absence differed, and finally 3) to assess whether the second group had lower absence level

Systematic reviews training for librarians: planning, developing and evaluating

This article covers the content provided in a workshop offered at the EAHIL 2017 conference in Dublin, Ireland, titled “Systematic reviews: models of training for librarians.” Libraries are facing an increasing number of client requests for collaboration in conducting systematic reviews. Consequently, there is a high demand for librarians who are already skilled in this practice, accompanied by a desire to equip librarians who are less familiar with the skill-sets needed to conduct systematic reviews effectively. Several methods are available for consideration in training librarians, and this article focuses on the different components required by each method, so that libraries and librarians can better align training efforts with available library resources

Expanding the librarian role: integration into the faculty narrative

Current academic expectations for evaluation, promotion, and even tenure, have created an environment that places more emphasis on the ability of faculty to demonstrate their impacts on a scholarly level. Although many faculty would agree on specific indicators of impact such as publications and citations, these two gauges may not necessarily be exhaustive, and the increasing multitude of tools potentially used to locate and identify them may be unknown to faculty. this paper will provide information on the needs of academic faculty in reporting the scope and breadth of their scholarly activities, and how leveraging the knowledge, practices, and skill-sets of librarians helps to achieve the desired outcomes

Human Myoblast and Mesenchymal Stem Cell Interactions Visualized by Videomicroscopy.

Muscle-derived progenitor cell (myoblast) therapy has promise for the treatment of denervated, weakened, and fibrotic muscle. The best methods for injecting myoblasts to promote fusion and retention have yet to be determined, however. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells have also been reported to have beneficial effects in restoring damaged tissue, through increasing vascularization and reducing inflammation. The interactions between human primary skeletal myoblasts and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells were examined using time-lapse images put into video format. Of interest, there is a high degree of cell-to-cell interaction with microparticles transferring between both cell types, and formation of nanotubules to bridge cytoplasmic contents between the two types of cell. This model provides an in vitro platform for examining mechanisms for cell-to-cell interaction preceding myoblast fusion

Evaluation of best practices in the design of online evidence-based practice instructional modules

OBJECTIVES: The research determined to what extent best practices are being followed by freely available online modules aimed at teaching critical thinking and evidence-based practices (EBPs) in health sciences fields. METHODS: In phase I, an evaluation rubric was created after reviewing the literature. Individual rubric questions were assigned point values and grouped into sections, and the sections weighted. Phase II involved searching Internet platforms to locate online EBP modules, which were screened to determine if they met predetermined criteria for inclusion. Phase III comprised a first evaluation, in which two authors assessed each module, followed by a second evaluation of the top-scoring modules by five representatives from different health sciences units. RESULTS: The rubric's 28 questions were categorized into 4 sections: content, design, interactivity, and usability. After retrieving 170 online modules and closely screening 91, 42 were in the first evaluation and 8 modules were in the second evaluation. Modules in the first evaluation earned, on average, 59% of available points; modules in the second earned an average of 68%. Both evaluations had a moderate level of inter-rater reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The rubric was effective and reliable in evaluating the modules. Most modules followed best practices for content and usability but not for design and interactivity. IMPLICATIONS: By systematically collecting and evaluating instructional modules, the authors found many potentially useful elements for module creation. Also, by reviewing the limitations of the evaluated modules, the authors were able to anticipate and plan ways to overcome potential issues in module design

Expanding the librarian role: integration into the faculty narrative

Current academic expectations for evaluation, promotion, and even tenure, have created an environment that places more emphasis on the ability of faculty to demonstrate their impacts on a scholarly level. Although many faculty would agree on specific indicators of impact such as publications and citations, these two gauges may not necessarily be exhaustive, and the increasing multitude of tools potentially used to locate and identify them may be unknown to faculty. this paper will provide information on the needs of academic faculty in reporting the scope and breadth of their scholarly activities, and how leveraging the knowledge, practices, and skill-sets of librarians helps to achieve the desired outcomes

Growing ORCIDs at Texas A&M University Libraries

Article originally published in the Library Connect newsletter ( http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/articles/2015-04/growing-orcids-texas-am-university-libraries) and Library Connect Yearbook (https://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/articles/download-library-connect-yearbook-2015).. Later reprinted in Reprinted in Strategic Library, Issue 30, 15 July 2016, pp. 14-15.ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID - orcid.org) is an open, free registry of unique researcher identifiers that attaches persistent links between individual authors and their works. This enables researchers to corral their research outputs in one site so that they can be distinguished from other researchers with similar names. ORCID’s open source platform allows seamless, transparent exchange of information among other research systems, such as those of journal publishers and grant funding sources. Additional benefits include increased visibility of researchers’ work and ease of identifying potential collaborators. Launched in October 2012, the program has gained increasingly rapid traction in the academic and scholarly publishing communities

The intersection of information skills and behaviors with the steps of evidence-based practice (EBP) in local professional health programs curricula

PDF version of PPT presentation given at virtual SCC/MLA 2021 conferenc