A Preliminary Usability Study of Follett's Destiny Basic and Visual Search Functions

This poster examines the results of a usability study of the basic and visual search functions of Follett’s Destiny catalog for K-12 schools. The study was conducted with a sample of seven middle school students. Overall, the results indicate that the participants found the system usable. Suggestions are offered for the design of the software. A larger study examining the additional features of Destiny is planned for the future.ye

Does Gender Matter? University Library Access and Career Preparedness

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine how the gender of distance learning students related to variables such as the perception of the availability of library resources, technology available at home and work, technology provided by a university for distance learning, and career preparedness. A total of 166 master’s students in the last semester of their degree program submitted answers to a self-administered online survey designed to collect information about their degree program experiences. The results of the study indicated that female students felt more prepared by their degree programs when they felt library resources were accessible. Females were also more likely to feel library materials were available if they believed the university’s distance learning technology was reliable and that web-based technology provided by the university was adequate. Both genders were more likely to feel they had access to library resources when they felt they had adequate information technology at home or work. Based on these results, it is recommended that faculty collaborate with librarians to market library services so that students are aware of the resources that are available to them. Moreover, implementing strategies such as differentiated learning and optional gender-based library training sessions that utilize learning styles preferred by each gender may be beneficial for students

Comparative Efficacy of Novel Endolysins in Queso Fresco

Listeria monocytogenes is problematic for the manufacturing, storage, and consumption of ready-to-eat foods. This bacterium may cause listeriosis upon consumption often with deadly complications. Queso Fresco (QF), a pasteurized Hispanic-style fresh cheese (HSFC), has been shown to support the growth of L. monocytogenes. QF is the most widely produced and implicated HSFC in the U.S., representing a significant health hazard to at risk populations such as infants, pregnant women, elderly, and the immunocompromised. The objective of this research project is to evaluate the efficacy of ten novel antimicrobial endolysins in combatting L. monocytogenes contamination in a miniaturized lab-scale queso fresco model over a 28 day shelf life

Impact of Nb vacancies and p-type doping of the NbCoSn-NbCoSb half-Heusler thermoelectrics

Nb vacancies maintain a semiconducting electron count and cause strong mass fluctuation phonon scattering enabling good thermoelectric performance.</p

Leg Dominance and Its Affect on Variables Related to Leap Performance

INTRODUCTION: To achieve the desired aesthetics of leaping in dance it is necessary that these movements are performed equally well from either leg. However, these leaps may naturally be better performed from the dominant leg than the non-dominant leg. A lack of relevant experimental evidence precludes an assessment of this idea. PURPOSE: To determine whether a dancer executes a leap from her dominant leg better than from her non-dominant leg. METHODS: Ten experienced college aged dancers, (20 ± 1.0 yr, 62.3 ± 8.3 kg, 1.67 ± 0.1 m), performed six trials of a stationary leap off of a force plate. Limb dominance in each participant was determined. Trials were filmed using a digital camera operating at 60 Hz. The right and left hip, knee, and ankle were digitized to determine knee angle. Maximum knee flexion in the plié, prior to take-off, was identified. Vertical velocity of the center of mass was computed using the force-time record. Mean differences in maximum knee flexion and take-off velocity between dominant and non-dominant leg jumps were evaluated using paired t-tests. An alpha level of 0.05 was used to assess significance. RESULTS: Maximum knee flexion was not significantly different between the dominant (73.2 ± 5.4 degrees) and non-dominant (73.2 ± 5.4 degrees) leg jumps, respectively (t(10) = .002, p=.999). Furthermore, take-off velocity for the dominant (2.25 ± 0.30 m/s) and non-dominant (2.09 ± 0.29 m/s) leg jumps was not significantly different (t(10) = 1.295, p=.228). CONCLUSION: This suggests that experienced dancers have acquired the ability to perform leaps equally well of off both legs

Race and Leadership in Library and Information Science Education: A Study of African American Administrators

The recent US presidential campaigns and the subsequent election have laid bare many highly charged political and social issues that historically remained unresolved but have over the years slipped into a sphere of topics avoided in polite and civil conversation. Among the many discussions and topics that took hold as a result of Hilary Clinton’s campaign for US president was that of the glass ceiling. The reemergence of the discussion of racial and gender barriers in politics and professional life in America provides an opportunity to revisit the history of racial barriers in the library profession, particularly in library education. This essay provides a framework for understanding the racial and social dynamics that led to the development of a separate but unequal system for educating African American librarians in America. And, of equal or perhaps greater significance at this stage in our profession’s evolution, it highlights the significant contributions of African American leaders in library education who also overcame tremendous obstacles and systemic barriers, and ultimately changed the profession regarding who it invites in, and who and how it seeks to serve

Net-work: Irish Sea Crossings with and beyond Infrastructure

This article explores the co-constitution of networks and infrastructure in the context of late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century culture. We consider Maria Edgeworth’s conceptualization of the term network with and alongside infrastructure in her Harry and Lucy stories (1801–25) and offer an analysis of a manuscript tour by Mary Anne Eade from 1802. Eade’s tour has been annotated and marked up in the Recogito semantic annotation framework using eXtensible Markup Language (XML) files created by the AHRC-funded Curious Travellers project. The article offers a discussion of the reuse, enhancement, and open sharing of annotated source material and makes the case for using mature tools such as Recogito in order to shape new questions about the experience of travel during a period of technological change. We suggest that an expanded understanding of the co-dependence of network and infrastructure has implications for the allocation of time and resources within the digital humanities research and practice of scholars seeking to visualize and analyse nineteenth-century tours and letters

Preparing library professionals for data literacy leadership: Administrator perspectives

Schools, public libraries, and other civic institutions are being called upon to improve efficiency and effectiveness with decision-making processes driven by data. The Preparing Librarians for Data Literacy Leadership Project was launched to prepare school and public library professionals for facilitating data-informed decision-making through the systematic development of competencies in the master’s-level pre-service professional preparation programs at the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University. This paper reports on a survey developed to investigate the use of data in decision-making processes and administered to school and public library administrators across the State of Texas

Preparing library professionals for data literacy leadership: Administrator perspectives

Schools, public libraries, and other civic institutions are being called upon to improve efficiency and effectiveness with decision-making processes driven by data. The Preparing Librarians for Data Literacy Leadership Project was launched to prepare school and public library professionals for facilitating data-informed decision-making through the systematic development of competencies in the master’s-level pre-service professional preparation programs at the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University. This paper reports on a survey developed to investigate the use of data in decision-making processes and administered to school and public library administrators across the State of Texas