The Human Factor: Managing Chaos and Change in Times of Uncertainty

The unrelenting, unabating organizational, political, and human resource stressors library managers faced pushed the boundaries of their capacity to keep pace with the longer-term demands of this catastrophic time; however, their dedication and resilience, bolstered by wisdom from the models and theories discussed here, hold promise for a positive future

Valoración Económica Ambiental del recurso aire en el cantón Francisco de Orellana

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo efectuar la valoración económica ambiental del aire en el Cantón Francisco de Orellana empleando el método de valoración contingente. Para lo cual, se empezó estableciendo la línea base de calidad del aire, a partir de la información técnica del monitoreo de emisiones atmosféricas, proporcionada por el gobierno autónomo descentralizado de la Provincia de Orellana (GADPO), que documentó la concentración anual de seis contaminantes: material particulado (MP10), Monóxido de carbono (CO), Dióxido de nitrógeno (NO2), dióxido de azufre (SO2), compuestos orgánicos volátiles (COVs) y ácido sulfhídrico (H2S), en 17 estaciones de monitoreo durante los años 2011 a 2019, a excepción de dos años (2016 y 2017) debido a complicaciones técnicas; para luego aplicar una encuesta de 21 ítems, a una muestra representativa que incluyó personas, mayores de edad y distribuidas en tres estratos: el urbano, urbano marginal y rural. De los cuatro contaminantes criterio, únicamente el CO cumple por completo con la NECA, el NO2 y PM10 cumplen parcialmente y el SO2 no cumple, mientras la información de la encuesta fue procesada, generando gráficas de barras cruzadas, y estimando el valor de disposición a pagar (DAP) individual de 0,9036; 1,6516 y 0,4847 dólares, para los estratos urbano, urbano marginal y rural, respectivamente, dando un DAP promedio de aproximadamente 1 dólar al año, por medio del análisis de varianza (ANOVA) se encontró que existe diferencia estadística significativa entre el DAP del estrato urbano marginal frente a los dos restantes. Concluyendo que 96,6 % de la población de estudio estuvo dispuesta a contribuir con valor anual por hogar de 1,00 dólar para la ejecución de monitoreos de control de la calidad del aire. Se recomienda repotenciar los monitoreos de emisiones y realizar estudios de valoración económica ambiental adicionales para reajustar el DAP.The aim of this research was to carry out an environmental economic valuation of the air in Francisco de Orellana County with the use of the contingent valuation method. So, it was necessary to establish the air quality baseline, using the technical information obtained from the monitoring of atmospheric emissions provided by the decentralized and autonomous government of Orellana Province (GADPO), which documented the annual concentration of six pollutants like: Particulate Matter (PM10), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), in 17 monitoring stations from 2011 to 2019, except for 2016 and 2017 due to technical problems. Then, it was necessary to apply a 21- item survey for a representative sample including older people divided in three groups: urban, marginal / urban and rural. Of the four criteria pollutants, only CO fully complies NECA parameter, NO2 and PM10 partially complies and SO2 does not comply. Once the survey information was processed, it generated cross bar graphs, and estimated the individual willingness to pay (WTP) in 0.9036; 1.6516 and 0.4847 dollars, for the urban, marginal / urban and rural strata respectively and resulting in an average of approximately 1 dollar per year. By means of ANOVA variance analysis, it was possible to evidence a significant statistical difference between the WTP of the marginal / urban stratum in contrast with the other strata. It was concluded that 96.6% of the population considered are willing to contribute US$1.00 a year per family for the implementation of air quality control monitoring. It is recommended to improve the emissions monitoring and carry out additional environmental and economic valuation studies to readjust the WTP

Is Information Literacy a Public Concern? A Practice in Search of a Policy

Since its emergence in the 1970s, information literacy has developed in theory, practice, and scope. In the United States, librarians, business leaders, and political stakeholders have emphasized that information literacy is essential to an informed twenty-first-century citizenry. But despite the pervading feeling that the subject is important, there is as yet no clearly identifiable public policy on information literacy. Public policy may be defined as governmental action or inaction, decided upon and taken by the public, the state, and other actors. Public policies are usually enacted as the result of sustained effort to place them on the public policy agenda, that is, bring them to the attention of the public, and gain support from critical interest groups, influential individuals, and politicians at different levels of government. The authors contend that information literacy is not yet part of the public agenda. Rather, information literacy is claimed by a relatively narrow group of stakeholders, lacks name recognition and broad-based public support, is not mandated in U.S. primary and secondary education (“K-12”), and therefore remains fundamentally ineffective in implementation. This article considers whether information literacy is a legitimate public interest, and therefore the degree to which it merits a public policy and where such a policy might best be located. However, locating information literacy within education policy, although this seems intuitive, appears to be problematical. The authors discuss how policy options emerge, identify barriers to doing so, and provide recommendations for advancing the critical development and dissemination of information literacy.published or submitted for publicatio

Dry needling and exercise for chronic whiplash - a randomised controlled trial

Chronic whiplash is a common and costly problem. Sensory hypersensitivity is a feature of chronic whiplash that is associated with poor responsiveness to physical treatments such as exercise. Modalities such as dry-needling have shown some capacity to modulate sensory hypersensitivity, suggesting that when combined with advice and exercise, such an approach may be more effective in the management of chronic whiplash. The primary aim of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of dry-needling, advice and exercise for chronic whiplash

Orion Portable Fire Extinguisher Performance Testing Against a Laptop Lithium-Ion Battery Stored-Energy Fire-Method, Magnesium Fires, and Combustion By-Product Toxicity

As part of the qualification of the International Space Station (ISS) fine water mist portable fire extinguisher (PFE), several test methods were developed to determine firefighting capability against stored-energy sources. The most challenging of these devised stored-energy fire test methods proved to be the Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery fire test scenario. The Orion crew capsule will utilize a different PFE technology from ISS (water spray rather than water mist), which spurred the need for the same type of evaluation focused on the sources of stored energy slated for use on Orion. Laptops were identified as a realistic source for stored-energy fires, requiring a modified Li-ion battery fire test scenario. In addition to open test cell (ambient oxygen concentration) testing to evaluate new proposed PFE performance, sealed chamber (20.9% and elevated oxygen concentration) testing was also performed. Chamber testing included combustion product sampling at various fire progression points for analysis and application to Orion emergency equipment design and response planning. The PFE stored-energy fire test methodology was modified and testing performed. Initial tests indicated ignition of the laptop magnesium laptop cases was possible. Additional tests were performed to characterize the laptop magnesium case fire behavior in various configurations. The new water spray PFE technology proved effective in extinguishing laptop stored-energy fires, and much was learned in the way these types of fires progressed. Findings indicate potential laptop magnesium case ignition mitigation strategies need to be further investigated

Relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal volume, and episodic memory in a population at risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Introduction: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been shown to be related to brain health in older adults. In individuals at risk for developing Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD), CRF may be a modifiable risk factor that could attenuate anticipated declines in brain volume and episodic memory. The objective of this study was to determine the association between CRF and both hippocampal volume and episodic memory in a cohort of cognitively healthy older adults with familial and/or genetic risk for Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). Methods: Eighty‐six enrollees from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer\u27s Prevention participated in this study. Participants performed a graded maximal exercise test, underwent a T‐1 anatomical magnetic resonance imaging scan, and completed the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Results: There were no significant relationships between CRF and HV or RAVLT memory scores for the entire sample. When the sample was explored on the basis of gender, CRF was significantly associated with hippocampal volume for women. For men, significant positive associations were observed between CRF and RAVLT memory scores. Summary: These results suggest that CRF may be protective against both hippocampal volume and episodic memory decline in older adults at risk for AD, but that the relationships may be gender specific

UNLV Libraries’ Peer Mentor Cohort: A Model for Successful Allyship and Support amongst Womxn Faculty

In 2020, 10 womxn from a variety of racial, ethnic, and professional backgrounds formed an unique support network for faculty librarians hired between June 2019-July 2020 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries (Fig 1 & 2 & Table 1). The group benefits from diverse voices and unique perspectives. We consist of early and mid-career academic librarian, newly relocated staff, womxn of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community (Fig 2 & Table 1). Our group holds expertise across health sciences, sciences, social sciences, acquisitions, cataloging, data services, special collections, and scholarly communications. We span 7 departments and 4 divisions, adding a holistic view of organizational culture and structure as well as the tenure process. Our aim is to support each other through the tenure-track process and promote retention among group members

Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Data: a contribution toward Indigenous Research Sovereignty

Indigenous Peoples' right to sovereignty forms the foundation for advocacy and actions toward greater Indigenous self-determination and control across a range of domains that impact Indigenous Peoples' communities and cultures. Declarations for sovereignty are rising throughout Indigenous communities and across diverse fields, including Network Sovereignty, Food Sovereignty, Energy Sovereignty, and Data Sovereignty. Indigenous Research Sovereignty draws in the sovereignty discourse of these initiatives to consider their applications to the broader research ecosystem. Our exploration of Indigenous Research Sovereignty, or Indigenous self-determination in the context of research activities, has been focused on the relationship between Indigenous Data Sovereignty and efforts to describe Indigenous Peoples' Rights in data

Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Data: a contribution toward Indigenous Research Sovereignty

Indigenous Peoples' right to sovereignty forms the foundation for advocacy and actions toward greater Indigenous self-determination and control across a range of domains that impact Indigenous Peoples' communities and cultures. Declarations for sovereignty are rising throughout Indigenous communities and across diverse fields, including Network Sovereignty, Food Sovereignty, Energy Sovereignty, and Data Sovereignty. Indigenous Research Sovereignty draws in the sovereignty discourse of these initiatives to consider their applications to the broader research ecosystem. Our exploration of Indigenous Research Sovereignty, or Indigenous self-determination in the context of research activities, has been focused on the relationship between Indigenous Data Sovereignty and efforts to describe Indigenous Peoples' Rights in data