Gathering and using patron and librarian perceptions of question-answering success

This paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of patrons and reference librarians as sources of data for the evaluation of reference question-answering effectiveness, along with ways to enhance the usefulness of data from each source. It describes the Wisconsin-Ohio Reference Evaluation Program and discusses some illustrative statistics from the project, including data on relationships between patron perceived answering success and factors such as staffing patterns, effort spent on answering questions, types and sources of questions, and collection size.published or submitted for publicatio

Ethics and the reference librarian

The intent of this paper is to help reference librarians and others answer the question, "What is ethical reference practice?" or "How should the librarian act or behave in providing reference service?" The emphasis will be on the individual reference librarian's interactions with clients. Ethical concerns of the library as a whole or of librarians in general, such as fees for service and equitable availability of service, will be left to other papers at this institute. The paper will set out a group of norms or obligations that should guide the reference librarian's service to clients. Guidelines for following these norms will be put forward, along with strategies for applying them.published or submitted for publicatio

Fluid reasoning and the developing brain.

Fluid reasoning is the cornerstone of human cognition, both during development and in adulthood. Despite this, the neural mechanisms underlying the development of fluid reasoning are largely unknown. In this review, we provide an overview of this important cognitive ability, the method of measurement, its changes over the childhood and adolescence of an individual, and its underlying neurobiological underpinnings. We review important findings from psychometric, cognitive, and neuroscientific literatures, and outline important future directions for this interdisciplinary research

Bunge’s Mathematical Structuralism Is Not a Fiction

In this paper, I explore Bunge’s fictionism in philosophy of mathematics. After an overview of Bunge’s views, in particular his mathematical structuralism, I argue that the comparison between mathematical objects and fictions ultimately fails. I then sketch a different ontology for mathematics, based on Thomasson’s metaphysical work. I conclude that mathematics deserves its own ontology, and that, in the end, much work remains to be done to clarify the various forms of dependence that are involved in mathematical knowledge, in particular its dependence on mental/brain states and material objects

Axiomatic foundations of quantum mechanics revisited: the case for systems

We present an axiomatization of non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics for a system with an arbitrary number of components. The interpretation of our system of axioms is realistic and objective. The EPR paradox and its relation with realism is discussed in this framework. It is shown that there is no contradiction between realism and recent experimental results.Comment: submitted to International Journal of Theoretical Physics, uses Latex, no figure