France Like Nobody’s Watching: My Undercover Observations and Experiences in the Country I Love

This text is a series of 18 creative nonfiction essays that examine France, the author’s many experiences there, and her opinions of French culture and what sets the French apart from Americans. In a lighthearted, sarcastic tone, these first-person essays use narrative, anecdotes, and statistics to study, discuss, and, in some instances, contradict many of the stereotypes about the French. The work follows in the tradition of many other travel writers, such as Mark Twain and David Sedaris, who have used France as their primary subject. It was directly influenced by Dave Barry and his France-related columns, Adam Gopnik’s From Paris to the Moon, as well as the book layouts and visual style of Janice MacLeod’s A Paris Year. The manuscript will eventually be accompanied by photos and formatted as a book

Professional Development in Libraries: One Size Does Not Fit All

With the constantly changing landscape in 21st-century libraries, it would seem that professional development would be more important than ever. However, research indicates that few libraries have formal professional development programs, and there are mixed messages from library leaders regarding the necessity and importance of professional development. It is no secret that libraries always seem to be facing budget cuts, and funding for professional development is often seen as a low priority. We were curious to understand how professional development is viewed and executed in other academic libraries. Professional development means different things to different people. To some, professional development means giving (or receiving) money each year to be used in a manner determined by the employee. For others, it means attending an ALA or other library-specific conference or participating in external training or conference within or outside the realm of librarianship. It may also include participation in online offerings, such as webinars, MOOCs, academic classes, and/or in-person trainings and workshops focused on specific skill development such as leadership. In the session, the facilitators shared current research findings about how libraries define professional development in order to find out how participants defined professional development and the challenges they faced at their institutions. In addition, online polling software and the 15% solution and 1-2- 4- All facilitations from the book The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures: Simple Rules to Unleash a Culture of Innovation (Lipmanowicz & McCandless, 2013) were used to get the group to define workable solutions to their professional development dilemmas that they could take back to their workplaces. At the end of the session, participants wrote their takeaway solutions on a postcard so that the session facilitators could mail the solutions to the participants after 30 days as a way of following up on the exercise

Contrasting Professional Development and Continuing Education Opportunities for Library Professionals: Offerings Both within and Outside the Profession

By design or not, most librarians restrict their professional organization involvement to professional librarian organizations. Limiting professional involvement to only library related organizations will not provide the depth of professional knowledge that today’s librarian needs to have in order to keep up with the requirements of the profession. Library budgets and funding have been slashed due to economic downturns, and patrons are turning to libraries for assistance with a variety of concerns that libraries did not have to address in previous times. Reaching beyond the scope of the profession, librarians can broaden their knowledge base and use that broader knowledge base to benefit their patrons and communities

Shop Your Way to Service Excellence: Secret Shopping for Academic Libraries

Secret or mystery shopping is a standard method of evaluating customer service in the retail and hospitality world. While many public libraries have implemented mystery shopping practices few academic institutions have done so. The University Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro conducted two mystery shopper exercises in 2010 and 2012. Students were recruited from a Hospitality Management class to serve as the secret shoppers. They attended a 90 minute training session and received scripted questions to use. “Shoppers” completed a rating sheet for each encounter that was based on customer service values established by the Libraries. Averages of the overall results of the first exercise in 2010 were shared with the entire library and more specific departmental information shared with the appropriate supervisor. Findings were generally quite positive but indicated that we could improve “going the extra mile” and “confirming satisfaction.” As a result, we developed training sessions for public services staff which were delivered during summer 2011. A LibGuide that included training videos was created for students and all public services students were required to view the videos and provide comments. In addition, we developed more specific public service standards for procedures such as answering the telephone, confirming satisfaction and referring patrons to other offices. The Secret Shopper assessment was administered again in spring 2012 to see if scores improved. In the interim the Special Collections unit added a service point so it was added to the study. The results in the second study indicated improvement

Mock Interviews for ACE Scholars: Preparing for the Professional Job Search

The article discusses the mock interviews conducted among student members of the Academic Cultural Enrichment (ACE) Scholars cohort at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (UNCG). The interviews are divided into two phases, the first of which consisted of simulated telephone interviews and the second consisted of a simulate search committee interview. Students were requested to submit a completed application package to allow review of cover letters and resumes they will submit to actual employers. According to the authors, the activity has provided a positive learning experience for librarians and students

Comparison of oral and vaginal metronidazole for treatment of bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy: impact on fastidious bacteria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common condition that is associated with preterm birth and acquisition of complex communities of vaginal bacteria that include several fastidious species. Treatment of BV in pregnancy has mixed effects on the risk of preterm delivery, which some hypothesize is due to variable antibiotic efficacy for the fastidious bacteria. Both oral and intravaginal metronidazole can be used to treat bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy, but little is known about the impact of different routes of antibiotic administration on concentrations of fastidious vaginal bacteria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a sub-study of a larger randomized trial of oral versus vaginal metronidazole for treatment of BV in pregnancy. Fifty-three women were evaluated, including 30 women who received oral metronidazole and 23 who received intravaginal metronidazole. Bacterial taxon-specific quantitative PCR assays were used to measure concentrations of bacterial vaginosis associated bacterium (BVAB) 1, 2, and 3, <it>Gardnerella vaginalis, Atopobium </it>species, <it>Leptotrichia/Sneathia </it>species, <it>Megasphaera </it>species, and <it>Lactobacillus crispatus </it>before and after antibiotic treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Concentrations of <it>Leptotrichia </it>and <it>Sneathia </it>spp. and the fastidious Clostridia-like bacterium designated BVAB1 decreased significantly with oral (p = .002, p = .02) but not vaginal therapy (p = .141, p = .126). The fastidious bacterium BVAB3 did not significantly decrease with either treatment. Concentrations of <it>Atopobium </it>spp., reportedly resistant to metronidazole <it>in vitro</it>, dropped significantly with oral (p = .002) and vaginal (p = .001) treatment. There was no significant difference in the magnitude of change in bacterial concentrations between oral and vaginal treatment arms for any of the bacterial species. <it>Lactobacillus crispatus </it>concentrations did not change.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Both oral and vaginal metronidazole therapy in pregnant women result in a significant decrease in concentrations of most BV-associated anaerobic bacteria, with the exception that <it>Leptotrichia, Sneathia </it>and BVAB1 do not significantly decrease with vaginal metronidazole therapy. These data suggest that the route of antibiotic administration has a minor impact on bacterial eradication in pregnant women with BV.</p> <p>Trail Registration</p> <p>This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00153517</p

Evaluation of a Medical and Mental Health Unit compared with standard care for older people whose emergency admission to an acute general hospital is complicated by concurrent 'confusion': a controlled clinical trial. Acronym: TEAM: Trial of an Elderly Acute care Medical and mental health unit

Background: Patients with delirium and dementia admitted to general hospitals have poor outcomes, and their carers report poor experiences. We developed an acute geriatric medical ward into a specialist Medical and Mental Health Unit over an eighteen month period. Additional specialist mental health staff were employed, other staff were trained in the ‘person-centred’ dementia care approach, a programme of meaningful activity was devised, the environment adapted to the needs of people with cognitive impairment, and attention given to communication with family carers. We hypothesise that patients managed on this ward will have better outcomes than those receiving standard care, and that such care will be cost-effective. Methods/design: We will perform a controlled clinical trial comparing in-patient management on a specialist Medical and Mental Health Unit with standard care. Study participants are patients over the age of 65, admitted as an emergency to a single general hospital, and identified on the Acute Medical Admissions Unit as being ‘confused’. Sample size is 300 per group. The evaluation design has been adapted to accommodate pressures on bed management and patient flows. If beds are available on the specialist Unit, the clinical service allocates patients at random between the Unit and standard care on general or geriatric medical wards. Once admitted, randomised patients and their carers are invited to take part in a follow up study, and baseline data are collected. Quality of care and patient experience are assessed in a non-participant observer study. Outcomes are ascertained at a follow up home visit 90 days after randomisation, by a researcher blind to allocation. The primary outcome is days spent at home (for those admitted from home), or days spent in the same care home (if admitted from a care home). Secondary outcomes include mortality, institutionalisation, resource use, and scaled outcome measures, including quality of life, cognitive function, disability, behavioural and psychological symptoms, carer strain and carer satisfaction with hospital care. Analyses will comprise comparisons of process, outcomes and costs between the specialist unit and standard care treatment groups. Trial Registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT0113614

Diagnoses, problems and healthcare interventions amongst older people with an unscheduled hospital admission who have concurrent mental health problems: a prevalence study

Background Frail older people with mental health problems including delirium, dementia and depression are often admitted to general hospitals. However, hospital admission may cause distress, and can be associated with complications. Some commentators suggest that their healthcare needs could be better met elsewhere. Methods We studied consecutive patients aged 70 or older admitted for emergency medical or trauma care to an 1800 bed general hospital which provided sole emergency medical and trauma services for its local population. Patients were screened for mental health problems, and those screening positive were invited to take part. 250 participants were recruited and a sub-sample of 53 patients was assessed by a geriatrician for diagnoses, impairments and disabilities, healthcare interventions and outstanding needs. Results Median age was 86 years, median Mini-Mental State Examination score at admission was 16/30, and 45% had delirium. 19% lived in a care home prior to admission. All the patients were complex. A wide range of main admission diagnoses was recorded, and these were usually complicated by falls, immobility, pain, delirium, dehydration or incontinence. There was a median of six active diagnoses, and eight active problems. One quarter of problems was unexplained. A median of 13 interventions was recorded, and a median of a further four interventions suggested by the geriatrician. Those with more severe cognitive impairment had no less medical need. Conclusions This patient group, admitted to hospital in the United Kingdom, had numerous healthcare problems, and by implication, extensive healthcare needs. Patients with simpler conditions were not identified, but may have already been rapidly discharged or redirected to non-hospital services by the time assessments were made. To meet the needs of this group outside the hospital would need considerable investment in medical, nursing, therapy and diagnostic facilities. In the meantime, acute hospitals should adapt to deliver comprehensive geriatric assessment, and provide for their mental health needs