The Missing Piece: Assessing Implementation Fidelity

Two years ago, our library merged three desks as well as people from three different departments to staff that desk. As part of this consolidation, we developed a new model for answering patron questions that incorporated chat/text, an on-call system, and referrals. Before assessing whether this new service model was an improvement for our patrons, we first assessed whether we had implemented the model as it was originally envisioned in order to determine whether any failures were a result of the model itself or how the library had implemented the concept of the model. This recipe will introduce the concept of implementation fidelity, explain our methods for assessing the new service model, and share implications and recommendations for how other libraries can incorporate assessment of implementation fidelity into their evaluations of new services. While libraries are increasingly places of change and innovation, many of these changes are not assessed for their effectiveness, or for how they’re perceived and valued by staff and patrons. Additionally, few libraries attempt to determine whether their implementation of new services and programs is as how library administration envisioned them—and, by extension, how any differences between theory and practice affect staff and patron perceptions of those changes and new services. Libraries should therefore consider assessing the implementation fidelity of future proposed changes in order to avoid abandoning innovations that have failed only in execution

Rubrics as a Method for Assessing & Improving Library Instruction

Taken together, our team of instruction librarians provides course-integrated instruction for 70-80 sections of a sophomore-level research and writing course each semester. In order for the department to assess our instruction of this course consistently across librarians without detracting valuable time from the sessions themselves, an authentic learning exercise and rubric for scoring that exercise were developed and an IRB-approved study of the assessment results undertaken

Undergraduate Student Attitudes About Search Data Privacy in Academic Libraries: A Qualitative Research Study

Purpose and goals This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study on undergraduate students’ attitudes about search data privacy in academic libraries, and their preferences for how librarians should handle information about what they search for, borrow, and download. This is an important topic due to the increasingly data-driven nature of assessment in higher education, contrasted with libraries’ professional commitment to privacy which has historically limited the amount of data collected about student library use. Although the literature is rich with evidence of librarians’ commitment to user privacy, very few studies address user perspectives on this matter. The central research questions that guided this study were: What are undergraduate students’ attitudes about whether academic libraries should collect and maintain user search data, and why? What are acceptable and unacceptable uses of students’ library search data according to undergraduate students, and why? Design, methodology, or approach Using a qualitative approach through the lens of interpretive description, I used the constant comparative method of data collection and analysis to conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews comprised of questions and vignettes with 27 undergraduate students at a large, urban public research institution. Interview transcripts were data-rich and totaled over 700 pages. Through inductive coding, I organized the data into interpretive themes and subthemes to describe students’ attitudes, and developed a conceptual/thematic description that illustrates how they are formed. Findings Students revealed that a variety of life experiences and influences shaped their views on search data privacy in academic libraries. They viewed academic library search data as less personally revealing than internet search data and, as a result, were generally comfortable with libraries collecting search data so long as it is used for their benefit. They were comfortable with data being used to improve library collections and services, but were more ambivalent about use of search data for personalized search results and for learning analytics-based assessment. Most students expressed a desire for de-identification and user control of data. Some expressed concern about search data being used in ways that reflect bias or favoritism, and many were aware that privacy issues may be more significant for marginalized or vulnerable groups. Most participants had little concern about their library search data privacy being used by government agencies to protect public safety. Although some disagreed with the practice in concept, most did not feel that the search data would be useful, nor would it reveal much about their personal interests or selves. Students who were not comfortable with search data collection in academic libraries often held their convictions more strongly than peers who found the practice acceptable, and often identified as members of vulnerable or oppressed groups. Practical implications or value The findings of this study provide some of the first in-depth, exploratory information about student perspectives on search data privacy in academic libraries. The results raise questions useful for shaping future library policies related to privacy. For example, who should librarians primarily focus on when developing privacy policies: the many, or the few? Libraries should investigate whether privacy policies should be based on the most conservative privacy related views held by students, even when those views are infrequent, or more liberal privacy views held by many. This question, and others raised in light of the results of this study, position librarian-researchers to further this line of inquiry in in order to inform libraries’ practices for assessment and evaluation

Imaging light in motion and its application to tracking hidden objects

It is well known that light, the fastest entity in the universe, moves at a staggering speed of 300 millions meters per second. The ability to stop its flight on a centimetre scale or lower requires a detector with temporal resolution of around a hundred picoseconds. Freezing light in motion at this scale is a feat worth achieving, as it leads to a variety of exciting applications, from observing dynamical light phenomena to measuring distances and depths with high precision, as in LIDAR technology. In the past decades, different technologies have been developed to image light in motion; in this thesis, we propose a new method that exploit a recently-developed single-photon detector technology to capture movies of light in motion at very low intensity levels. We use this method to develop novel imaging applications and detection techniques. In particular, this thesis reports on the observation and study of dynamical light phenomena such as laser propagation in air, laser-induced plasma, propagation in optical fibres and slow light. We also show how the ability to record light in motion can be used to capture light signals scattered from around an obstacle, leading to the ability to locate and track moving objects hidden from view

Problem Solving Theory and Practice

This paper will look at some of the problems concerning mathematics--how problem solving can help, and conclude with some problem solving strategies and ideas

Human Rights in North Korea - The Pump Don\u27t Work Cause the Vandals Took the Handles

Many cynics of the universality of international human rights point to persistent large-scale human-rights abusing regimes, such as the Democratic Republic of North Korea, as proof that there is nothing at all universal about human rights. This essay is an attempt to root out the implications of internal national policies on the suitability of international human rights whilst reinforcing their universality. The author of this essay, a military lawyer, reaches the conclusion that the pump of universal human rights don\u27t work within the North Korea cause the vandals took the handle

Non-line-of-sight tracking of people at long range

A remote-sensing system that can determine the position of hidden objects has applications in many critical real-life scenarios, such as search and rescue missions and safe autonomous driving. Previous work has shown the ability to range and image objects hidden from the direct line of sight, employing advanced optical imaging technologies aimed at small objects at short range. In this work we demonstrate a long-range tracking system based on single laser illumination and single-pixel single-photon detection. This enables us to track one or more people hidden from view at a stand-off distance of over 50~m. These results pave the way towards next generation LiDAR systems that will reconstruct not only the direct-view scene but also the main elements hidden behind walls or corners

Classroom Assessment Techniques in One-Shot Instruction Sessions: Balancing Teaching, Learning, and Time

Librarians who teach one-shot instruction sessions often find it difficult to make time for assessment at the expense of teaching content. This session will discuss how librarians can use Classroom Assessment Techniques to not only quickly assess student learning and improve teaching, but also enhance student learning. The presentation will focus on one-shot instruction sessions; however, the principles will apply to a variety of instructional settings. Participants will explore a variety of Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs): exercises and activities administered in the classroom to assess student learning. As opposed to many large scale assessment instruments that demonstrate what students have learned at the conclusion of a course, year, or degree, CATs assess learning so that librarians and instructors can then change and improve lesson plans to better meet student needs prior to final assessment. The presenter will focus on CATs that require minimal time for preparation, implementation, and analysis. CATs that will be discussed include, but are not limited to, misconception/preconception checks, background knowledge probes, focused listing, and a few homegrown techniques. The presenter will explain how classroom assessment can not only assess student learning, but also contribute to enhanced learning by providing opportunities for reflection and active learning. The audience will participate in CATs to assess their own learning throughout the presentation. Overall, the session will encourage participants to consider CATs an integral part of their instruction sessions to assess and enhance student learning and improve teaching--not as yet another activity to squeeze into a session