A cost-effective study of ownership versus access: A case study for St. Patrick's College, Maynooth

This study takes a cost-effective approach to the examination of the alternative methods of article supply, to ascertain not only the cheapest service but also to rank the alternatives according to their effectiveness or performance Three alternative methods of article supply are considered subscribing to a periodical title (ownership), individual article supply (IAS) provided by two electromc document delivery services, ContentsFirst/ArticlesFirst of OCLC FirstSearch and UnCover, and traditional article supply through the British Library Document Supply Centre A comparison of the alternatives is made to identify their differences The elements and measures of a costeffective analysis are discussed and in particular cost-per-use, which is derived for all the alternatives The operational costs of the alternatives are obtained by taking a management accounting approach and are examined in relation to the provision of the services within the library of St. Patrick's College, Maynooth The cost-per-use of owning a periodical title is calculated based on the operational costs of the Periodicals Department of the College, its subscription price and a lifetime use determined by examination of the current requests for articles made through the Inter-Library Loans Department of the library The cost-per-use for the other services are also obtained based on their operational costs and document delivery charges The result of this study shows that based on the cost-per-use of all the alternatives, access should continue to be the method of article supply for all but one title currently taken as ILLs in Maynooth College In Maynooth, article supply by mail should continue to be provided by the BLDSC but consideration should be given to providing fax delivery through UnCover ContentsFirst/ArticlesFirst and the other databases on FirstSearch do provide good title coverage, multi-user and end-user user and predictable costs but as yet does not provide the perfect EDD solution in terms of either Internet access or document delivery. The results can be used by other libraries but may need to be adapted to suit local circumstances, where priorities and costs may be different to those of St Patrick's College, Maynooth. The results and methodology can be used to alert libraries to the cost differential of the different methods of article supply, possible advantages and disadvantages of EDD services studied and can provide an aid to the evaluation and selection of services

The Summon Discovery Tool: Its Implementation and Impact on Usage Statistics at Maynooth University

Poster presented at: CONUL (Consortium of National and University Libraries) Annual Conference 201

Strategies for the Future

Abstract included in text

Strategies for the Future

Abstract included in text

A cost-effectiveness study of ownership versus access

This paper describes a method which was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three different ways of supplying periodical articles in an academic library. The methods considered were: subscribing to a periodical title (ownership); individual article supply provided by two electronic document delivery services, ArticlesFirst of OCLC FirstSearch and UnCover; and traditional article supply through the British Library Document Supply Centre. The operational costs of the alternatives are obtained by taking a management accounting approach and are examined in relation to the provision of the services within the library of St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, Ireland. The cost-per-use of owning a periodical title is calculated based on the operational costs of the Periodicals Department of the library, its subscription price and a lifetime use determined by examination of the current requests for articles made through the library's Inter-Library Loans Department. The cost-per-use for the other services are also calculated based on their operational costs and document delivery charges

A cost-effectiveness study of ownership versus access

This paper describes a method which was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three different ways of supplying periodical articles in an academic library. The methods considered were: subscribing to a periodical title (ownership); individual article supply provided by two electronic document delivery services, ArticlesFirst of OCLC FirstSearch and UnCover; and traditional article supply through the British Library Document Supply Centre. The operational costs of the alternatives are obtained by taking a management accounting approach and are examined in relation to the provision of the services within the library of St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, Ireland. The cost-per-use of owning a periodical title is calculated based on the operational costs of the Periodicals Department of the library, its subscription price and a lifetime use determined by examination of the current requests for articles made through the library's Inter-Library Loans Department. The cost-per-use for the other services are also calculated based on their operational costs and document delivery charges

Stroke survivors' recommendations for the visual representation of movement analysis measures: a technical report

Background:  Stroke survivors do not have routine access to objective feedback on their movement performance. Objective:  To devise visual representation of objective measures of movement performance that are understandable by and meaningful to stroke survivors. Design:  Co-production through interviews and generative discussion. Participants:  Eight people, mean age 65 years, who were at least one year after stroke with low, medium or high functional ability. All provided informed consent. Data collection:  Participants performed standardised upper and lower limb functional tasks. Their movement was measured using the Vicon motion analysis system and surface electromyography. Participants returned six months later when they were shown anonymised visual representations of the movement tasks. Nobody saw their own data. Visual representations were provided of people with low, medium and high functional ability. A generative discussion elicited participants’ views on how the measures should be presented visually to maximise understandability and meaningfulness. Findings:  Participants’ understanding of the visual presentation of movement analysis was enhanced with the addition of everyday symbols such as a stick-figure and a brief explanation from a physiotherapist/researcher. Meaningfulness was seen in terms of motivation to participate in and ownership of their rehabilitation. Implications:  These findings justify further development of objective measures of movement performance for use in routine clinical practice

Patients’ and partners’ views of care and treatment provided for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer in the UK

Objective Documentations of the experiences of patients with advanced prostate cancer and their partners are sparse. Views of care and treatment received for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) are presented here. Methods Structured interviews conducted within 14 days of a systemic therapy for mCRPC starting and 3 months later explored: treatment decisions, information provision, perceived benefits and harms of treatment, and effects of these on patients’ and partners’ lives. Results Thirty-seven patients and 33 partners recruited from UK cancer centres participated. The majority of patients (46%) reported pain was their worst symptom and many wanted to discuss its management (baseline-50%; 3 months-33%). Patients and partners believed treatment would: delay progression (>75%), improve wellbeing (33%), alleviate pain (≈12%) and extend life (15% -patients, 36% -partners). At 3 months most men (42%) said fatigue was the worst treatment-related side effect (SE), 27% experienced unexpected SEs, and 54% needed help with SEs. Most patients received SE information (85% written; 75% verbally); many additionally searched the internet (33%-patients; 55%-partners). Only 54% of patients said nurse support was accessible. Conclusion Pain and other symptom management is not optimal. Increased specialist nurse provision and earlier palliative care links are needed. Dedicated clinics may be justified

The management of hot flushes for men treated with androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer: a survey of UK practice

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is one of the main treatments for prostate cancer. Short-term ADT of between 6 months and 3 years is often used in combination with radiotherapy to treat localised and locally advanced prostate cancer. Permanent or intermittent ADT is used to treat metastatic disease. Hot flushes affect 44-80% of men undergoing ADT for prostate cancer, with around 27% saying they are the most distressing side effect.1 A recent UK survey found 30.7% of men treated with ADT reported moderate or major problems with hot flushes.2 Low testosterone levels are thought to cause dysfunction in thermoregulation in the hypothalamus, resulting in peripheral vasodilatation.3 Symptoms include a feeling of warmth, flushing of the skin, perspiration, chills, anxiety and palpitations. A variety of treatments have been evaluated and there is evidence of efficacy for several of them, however they all have additional side effect profiles. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and European Association of Urology recommend offering medroxyprogesterone or cyproterone acetate.4-5 NICE has said there is currently a lack of evidence to support the use of complementary therapies. Addressing the side-effects of cancer treatment is one of the top ten Living with and Beyond Cancer research priorities established by the National Cancer Research Institute. However, there is little evidence on the standard of care that UK clinicians offer to men suffering with hot flushes