Academic Library Book Digitization and Contemplative Reading

Since the beginning of this century, academic libraries have been at the forefront of book digitization and access. During this same period, many individuals have made the transition from reading printed materials to reading on screens. This change in reading habits has led to profound shifts in how libraries conceive their mission, how they structure their spaces, how they organize their resources, and where they allocate funds in their budgets. These changes have been reflected in the Library and Information Science literature, which now includes a rich corpus of research on the impact of digitization on librarians and library services. This article seeks to add to these discussions by exploring the literature on how e-resources impact reading habits, and specifically how these resources orient readers to approach texts with a mindset of efficiency rather than contemplation. After exploring this research, I will offer suggestions for how academic librarians can leverage the unique qualities of the physical book to encourage contemplative reading

Dense cores in the L1630 molecular cloud: discovering new protostars with SCUBA

Maps of the 450 micron and 850 micron dust continuum emission from three star-forming condensations within the Lynds 1630 molecular cloud, made with the SCUBA bolometer array, reveal the presence of four new submillimetre sources, each of a few solar masses, two of which are probably Class I, two Class 0, as well as several sources whose existence was previously known. The sources are located in filaments and appear elongated when observed at 450 microns. They likely have dust temperatures in the range 10 to 20 K, in good agreement with previous ammonia temperature estimates. Attempts to fit their structures with power-law and Gaussian density distributions suggest that the central distribution is flatter than expected for a simple singular isothermal sphere. Although the statistics are poor, our results suggest that the ratio of `protostellar core' mass to total virial mass may be similar for both large and small condensations.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, uses mn.st

Radon as a carcinogenic built-environmental pollutant

Radon (222Rn) has been highlighted by a number of authors as a significant public health concern. For example, it is the second most significant cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoking (ca. 1,000-2,000 and 21,000 deaths per year in the UK and USA respectively; US EPA, 2003; Darby et al., 2005; Dixon, 2006; HPA, 2009), yet a very high proportion of the general public appears to be unaware of the risk. This chapter deals with topical radon issues such as radon in the workplace; radon in homes; exposure to radon during leisure activities; radon and water; measurement and monitoring; seasonal correction; remediation; cancer risks; cost-benefit analysis and cost-effectiveness; mapping; future policies; and further research. This assessment of the state of radon research is focused on the UK as an example of a country where radon has been on the governmental agenda since the late 1970s, but also highlights radon issues throughout the world in, for example, the USA, Europe and Asia

Time's up. Descriptive epidemiology of multi-morbidity and time spent on health related activity by older Australians: a time use survey

Most Western health systems remain single illness orientated despite the growing prevalence of multi-morbidity. Identifying how much time people with multiple chronic conditions spend managing their health will help policy makers and health service providers make decisions about areas of patient need for support. This article presents findings from an Australian study concerning the time spent on health related activity by older adults (aged 50 years and over), most of whom had multiple chronic conditions. A recall questionnaire was developed, piloted, and adjusted. Sampling was undertaken through three bodies; the Lung Foundation Australia (COPD sub-sample), National Diabetes Services Scheme (Diabetes sub-sample) and National Seniors Australia (Seniors sub-sample). Questionnaires were mailed out during 2011 to 10,600 older adults living in Australia. 2540 survey responses were received and analysed. Descriptive analyses were completed to obtain median values for the hours spent on each activity per month. The mean number of chronic conditions was 3.7 in the COPD sub-sample, 3.4 in the Diabetes sub-sample and 2.0 in the NSA sub-sample. The study identified a clear trend of increased time use associated with increased number of chronic conditions. Median monthly time use was 5-16 hours per month overall for our three sub-samples. For respondents in the top decile with five or more chronic conditions the median time use was equivalent to two to three hours per day, and if exercise is included in the calculations, respondents spent from between five and eight hours per day: an amount similar to full-time work. Multi-morbidity imposes considerable time burdens on patients. Ageing is associated with increasing rates of multi-morbidity. Many older adults are facing high demands on their time to manage their health in the face of decreasing energy and mobility. Their time use must be considered in health service delivery and health system reform.This work was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council ID (402793, 2006)

European common frog (Rana temporaria) recolonized Switzerland from multiple glacial refugia in northern Italy via trans- and circum-Alpine routes

The high mountain ranges of Western Europe had a profound effect on the biotic recolonization of Europe from glacial refugia. The Alps present a particularly interesting case because they form an absolute barrier to dispersal for most taxa, obstructing recolonization from multiple refugia in northern Italy. Here, we investigate the effect of the European Alps on the phylogeographic history of the European common frog Rana temporaria. Based on partial cytochrome b and COXI sequences from Switzerland, we find two mitochondrial lineages roughly north and south of the Alpine ridge, with contact zones between them in eastern and western Switzerland. The northern haplogroup falls within the previously identified Western European haplogroup, while the southern haplogroup is unique to Switzerland. We find that the lineages diverged ~110 kya, at approximately the onset of the last glacial glaciation; this indicates that they are from different glacial refugia. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the northern and southern haplogroups colonized Switzerland via trans- and circum-Alpine routes from at least two separate refugia in northern Italy. Our results illustrate how a complex recolonization history of the central European Alps can arise from the semi-permeable barrier created by high mountains

Partial and Entropic Information Decompositions of a Neuronal Modulatory Interaction

Information processing within neural systems often depends upon selective amplification of relevant signals and suppression of irrelevant signals. This has been shown many times by studies of contextual effects but there is as yet no consensus on how to interpret such studies. Some researchers interpret the effects of context as contributing to the selective receptive field (RF) input about which neurons transmit information. Others interpret context effects as affecting transmission of information about RF input without becoming part of the RF information transmitted. Here we use partial information decomposition (PID) and entropic information decomposition (EID) to study the properties of a form of modulation previously used in neurobiologically plausible neural nets. PID shows that this form of modulation can affect transmission of information in the RF input without the binary output transmitting any information unique to the modulator. EID produces similar decompositions, except that information unique to the modulator and the mechanistic shared component can be negative when modulating and modulated signals are correlated. Synergistic and source shared components were never negative in the conditions studied. Thus, both PID and EID show that modulatory inputs to a local processor can affect the transmission of information from other inputs. Contrary to what was previously assumed, this transmission can occur without the modulatory inputs becoming part of the information transmitted, as shown by the use of PID with the model we consider. Decompositions of psychophysical data from a visual contrast detection task with surrounding context suggest that a similar form of modulation may also occur in real neural systems

User-centred improvements to energy efficiency products and renewable energy systems: research on household adoption and use

The development and rapid consumer adoption of energy efficiency products and renewable energy systems are key elements of the UK and the EU carbon reduction strategies to meet the challenge of climate change. Many such technologies are available for domestic use, but despite government incentives to meet carbon reduction targets consumer adoption has been slow. This Open University research with 111 in-depth interviews plus an on-line survey with nearly 400 responses, investigates consumer adoption, non-adoption and use of these technologies. Results show that it is important to research consumer use experiences, problems and requirements when designing and developing “green” technologies. With results tailored to each technology, this study shows that user-centred improvements are required to improve functionality, ergonomics, inter-connectedness with other systems and symbolic value, and to reduce cost and payback. User-centred research supports new product/system design and development to promote more rapid adoption and carbon-saving use of energy efficient and renewable technologies in homes

Wieler solenoids, Cuntz-Pimsner algebras and K-theory

We study irreducible Smale spaces with totally disconnected stable sets and their associated $K$-theoretic invariants. Such Smale spaces arise as Wieler solenoids, and we restrict to those arising from open surjections. The paper follows three converging tracks: one dynamical, one operator algebraic and one $K$-theoretic. Using Wieler's Theorem, we characterize the unstable set of a finite set of periodic points as a locally trivial fibre bundle with discrete fibres over a compact space. This characterization gives us the tools to analyze an explicit groupoid Morita equivalence between the groupoids of Deaconu-Renault and Putnam-Spielberg, extending results of Thomsen. The Deaconu-Renault groupoid and the explicit Morita equivalence leads to a Cuntz-Pimsner model for the stable Ruelle algebra. The $K$-theoretic invariants of Cuntz-Pimsner algebras are then studied using the Cuntz-Pimsner extension, for which we construct an unbounded representative. To elucidate the power of these constructions we characterize the KMS weights on the stable Ruelle algebra of a Wieler solenoid. We conclude with several examples of Wieler solenoids, their associated algebras and spectral triples