Designing Information Literacy Instruction for Adult Learners

An issue currently facing many academic librarians involves the challenge of designing information literacy instruction for nontraditional students, particularly adult learners. Increasingly, adults are enrolling in college later in life to complete undergraduate degrees. Because information literacy instructional research and instructional methods commonly focus on traditional students, academic librarians struggle to design information literacy instruction that meets the needs of this more mature population. This article examines information literacy instructional design basics, characteristics of adult learners and adult learning theory, as well as presents examples for designing information literacy instruction for adult students

Physicochemical And Thermochemical Properties Of Sulfonated Poly(etheretherketone) Electrolyte Membranes

Fuel cells have long been seen as an alternative to combustion powered and diesel powered engines and turbines. Production of energy via a fuel cell conversion method can generate up to 60% efficiency in comparison to 30% using a combustion powered engine, with low co-production of harmful side-products. The polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) adapted for the fuel cell application is one of the main components that determines the overall efficiency. This research project was focused towards novel PEMs, such as sulfonated poly(etheretherketone) or SPEEK, which are cost-efficient and robust with high proton conductivities under hydrated conditions. The degree of sulfonation (DS) of a particular SPEEK polymer determines the proton conducting ability, as well as the long term durability. For SPEEK with high DS, the proton conduction is facile, but the mechanical stability of the polymer decreases almost proportionally. While low DS SPEEK does not have sufficient sulfonic acid density for fast proton conduction in the membrane, the membrane keeps its mechanical integrity under fully saturated conditions. The main purpose of this work was to address both issues encountered with SPEEK sulfonated to low and high DS. The addition of both solid acids and synthetic cross-links were studied to address the main downfalls of the respective SPEEK polymers. Optimization of these techniques led to increased understanding of PEMs and notably better electrochemical performance of these fuel cell materials. Oxo-acids such as tungsten (VI) oxide (WO3) and phosphotungstic acid (PTA) have been identified as candidate materials for creating SPEEK composite membranes. The chemistry of these oxo-acids is well known, with their use as highly acidic catalyst iv centers adopted for countless homogeneous and heterogeneous, organic and inorganic reactions. Uniform dispersion of WO3 hydrate in SPEEK solution was done by a sol-gel process in which the filler particles were grown in an ionomer solution, cast and allowed to dry. PTA composites were made by adding the solid acid directly to a solution of the ionomer and casting. The latter casting was allowed to dry and Cs+ - exchanged to stabilize the PTA from dissolution and leaching from the membrane. The chemical and physical properties of these membranes were characterized and evaluated using mainly conductometric and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic methods. Composite SPEEK/ PTA membranes showed a 50% decrease in PEM resistance under hydrogen fuel cell testing conditions, while SPEEK/ WO3 composites demonstrated a ten-fold increase in the membrane\u27s in-plane proton conductivity. The chemical and physical properties of these composites changed with respect to their synthesis and fabrication procedures. This study will expound upon their relations

Experiences of Transport Tourism

This thesis presents an analysis of tourists‟ experiences of travelling whilst participating in transport tourism. The study defines transport tourism as tourism in which transport provides the main context for the tourist experience, for example coach tours, cruises and cycling holidays. Existing research tends to focus on the individual transport tourism product types and usually only considers one aspect of experience. Consequently, current understandings of tourists‟ experiences of transport tourism are fragmented and lack a unifying model. It is the development of such a tourist experience model that applies to transport tourism that forms the purpose of this thesis. The thesis demonstrates that transport is a component of all holidays in order to facilitate travel to, back from and around destinations, and that tourists‟ experiences of this travel differ. However, tourists participating in transport tourism will also travel as part of the main tourist experience, and these experiences will vary depending on the nature of tourists‟ involvement with transport. Accordingly, a theoretical typology of four transport tourist experiences is developed in this study: the positive, the reluctant, the passive and the active transport tourist experiences. The primary research focuses upon the passive and active transport tourist experiences and adopts a phenomenographic research strategy. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 20 transport tourists: 10 interviewees were passive transport tourists (coach and cruise) and 10 were active transport tourists (cycling and sailing). Data were coded and categories of description were identified, analysed and linkages between the categories were induced. The findings demonstrate that although experiences of transport tourism vary depending on whether tourists are passive or active transport tourists, commonality is apparent and a more broadly applicable model can developed. In general, tourists‟ experiences of transport tourism are predominantly visual and relate to the things seen along the route including landscapes, human and animal life. The mode of transport also influences tourists‟ experiences of transport tourism, as does social interaction with other people (family, friends and other tourists). Least influential of all are destinations. However, this component does not refer to tourists‟ experiences at the destination itself, rather their anticipation of future and memories of previously visited destination. The differences between passive and active transport tourist experiences that emerged reveal that tourism operators were influential in the passive transport tourist experience through the provision of entertainment and information; active transport tourists‟ direct involvement with the operation and navigation of the mode of transport (bicycle or sailing boat) and the nature of the route posed a series of challenges that had to be conquered. The findings demonstrate that experiences of transport tourism, although predominantly visual, are not exclusively so and perceptions of auditory and haptic sensing also occur. The contribution to knowledge of this thesis is the analysis of experiences of transport tourism; this contribution has two cumulative phases. First is the presentation of an original theoretical typology and its four constituent transport tourist types. This contribution provides a framework for other researchers studying the experiences of iii tourists using transport in its various forms to situate their work within a broader range of experiences, a framework that was lacking hitherto. The analysis of the primary data facilitated the development of the tourist experience model that applies to transport tourism. In doing so, it moves away from the fragmented approach taken in previous research and the model represents the experiences of transport tourism that transcends individual transport tourism product types. Additionally, because of the study‟s interpretive, inductive approach, it also provides an understanding of travel from the perspective of the tourist, a perspective that is often overlooked in other research, and the resultant model is generated from their accounts of their experiences

Implementing an Evidence-Based Pressure Injury Bundle to Reduce Acquired Pressure Injuries in a Long-Term Care Facility

Background: Pressure injuries in the United States affect between 1-3 million people. Of the percentage of patients affected by pressure injuries, a range from 2% to 28% of those patients are in long-term care facilities. In Alabama, the pressure injury rate in long-term care facilities ranges from 2.3% to 18.4%. According to this long-term care facility\u27s November 2022 quality improvement report, the acquired pressure rate rose from 2.2% to 8.3% in a year. A total of nineteen newly acquired pressure injuries were reported. Eleven of the nineteen pressure injuries occurred in the long-term stay unit, accounting for almost 58% of this facility\u27s acquired pressure injuries. In the United States, pressure ulcers cost $9.1-$11.6 billion per year of health care cost. Pressure causes pain, decreased mobility, decreased quality of life, increased chances of developing an infection, and increased risk of morbidity and mortality. This practice improvement project aimed to reduce acquired pressure injuries in a long-term care facility over eight weeks. Purpose: This project was intended to reduce the percentage of acquired pressure injuries to less than 3% in eight weeks by implementing an evidence-based pressure injury prevention bundle. The secondary goal is to evaluate the impact of implementing an evidence-based pressure injury bundle on acquired pressure injuries in a long-term care unit in rural Alabama compared to the facility\u27s current plan in place, which only consisted of standard orders for treating pressure injuries rather than preventive measures. Method: This project will utilize a pretest and posttest design to compare the rate of pressure injuries acquired before and after the intervention. Additionally, it will evaluate the effectiveness of the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality\u27s Pressure Injury Prevention Injury Pathway for Acute Care in preventing pressure injuries, as compared to the current plan adopted by the facility, which involves treating pressure injuries through standing orders after they have occurred. Results: Preintervention data showed that eleven of the fifty-eight residents assigned to the long-term care unit developed pressure injuries accounting for 0.19% of the residents in that unit. Postintervention data concluded that after implementing the Pressure Injury Prevention Injury Pathway for Acute Care bundle, the rate of acquired pressure injuries dropped to 9%, proving a 10% decrease in acquired pressure injuries in the long-term care unit consisting of fifty-eight long-term care residents. Conclusion: Although the objective of reducing the rate of acquired pressure injuries to less than 3% in an eight-week timeframe was not achieved, the adoption of AHRQ\u27s Pressure Injury Prevention Injury Pathway for Acute Care bundle proved to be more advantageous in minimizing the occurrence of acquired pressure injuries compared to the conventional approach of addressing such injuries only after they have occurred. Keywords: pressure injury prevention bundle, pressure ulcers, long-term care, pressure injury prevention method

Without liberalism, democracy is dreadful. Fortunately we have both

It is quite all right to hate democracy. T. F. Rhoden dislikes democracy immensely. Without classical liberalism, he argues, it is normal to mistrust democracy in its purer form. Democracy is dreadful without the classifier “liberal” in front – because liberalism is a safeguard against democracy’s inherent decadence of rule by the people

Hotel or home at the seaside? Challenges and opportunities for family wellbeing

This project explores front line practitioners’ perceptions of challenges and opportunities for housing, social care and wellbeing needs of families living in poor privately rented housing in Margate. Addressing multiple deprivation in the area is complex as new families move into the area seeking low cost housing. Addressing privately rented housing conditions can involve lengthy legal processes. The fluid community presents difficulties in nurturing stability and cohesion with challenges for developing social capital. Findings also demonstrate the enormous commitment to local families and the support offered by a range of statutory and non statutory organisations working together in the area and an ongoing effort to evaluate and improve housing and allied services in seeking to help nurture and develop individual and community wellbeing in a highly complex setting