After Broadband: A Study of Organizational Use of Broadband in Southwest Alaska

The purpose of this research was to gain a preliminary understanding of how organizations including large and small businesses, Native corporations and organizations, and local and regional governments are using broadband that is now available in much of southwest Alaska. To learn about community access to broadband, interviews were also conducted with library and school staff in communities where broadband had been installed under the OWL (Online with Libraries) program. Further, the study identifies research from other sources that could help to predict what socio-economic impacts the availability and adoption of broadband may have in rural Alaska. Financial institutions use online connections for teller services and credit and debit card processing, and stated that more people in rural communities now have debit cards that they can use for online purchases and bill paying. Large retailers use online services for payroll, for pointof-sale (POS) transactions, and online ordering. Seafood processors rely heavily on connectivity with their head offices (generally in the lower 48) for administrative services including payroll, accounting, shipping and receiving, purchasing, and ERP (enterprise resource planning), and access data base software to track fish tickets. Seafood processors also provide Internet access for their employees, most of whom are seasonal and from other states or countries. Tourism businesses use broadband for online reservation systems and for guests, who increasingly demand connectivity even for remote vacations. Village corporations and tribal councils use online services to help their residents obtain hunting and fishing licenses and fishing permits, to learn about funding opportunities, and to file reports on grants. Local Governments connect online for interoffice communications and for payroll and other administrative functions. Other online applications and services include providing remote desktop access from other agency sites, use of online tools for land management and mapping, training including webinars for workforce development, and providing access to social services for clients. An economic development organization sends newsletters to communities electronically and packets of documents to its board members rather than relying on fax or courier. Websites are important for tourism-related businesses to advertise and promote their businesses and for nonprofits and local governments to provide information about their services. 5 Broadband now plays many roles in rural education. Most students are required to use the Internet for class assignments. High school students can connect to classes in advanced subjects in other communities, and may complete online courses for college credit. Libraries remain important locations for community access, with residents going online to connect with friends on Facebook, as well as to download content for e-books, file income tax, and apply for jobs and government benefits. School and library Wi-Fi provides access inside and near the buildings for residents with smartphones. Despite enthusiasm for broadband and the adoption of many broadband-based applications and services, most organizations interviewed identified problems with broadband, particularly with the pricing, stating that the terrestrial broadband network is too costly for them to take full advantage of online services and applications. While the scope of this study was too limited to estimate long-term benefits, it found that broadband is highly valued and increasingly important to businesses and nonprofit organizations and local governments in southwest Alaska. Broadband helps businesses to be more efficient in their operations and to extend their reach to new customers and suppliers. It also helps to improve the effectiveness of public sector services such as those provided by borough and city governments and extends access to education and training. Broadband is also likely to be an important component of strategies to develop ecotourism and other ecosystem services.Support for this research came from Connect Alaska with funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for the work of the State of Alaska Broadband Task Force, with additional support from GCI.Executive Summary / Introduction / Research Methodology / Technologies and Technical Support / Broadband Applications / Education and Community Access / Health Care / Benefits of Broadband in Southwest Alaska / Problems and Limitations / Potential Long-Term Social and Economic Impacts / Conclusions and Recommendations / Referemce

A thematic analysis of library association policies on services to persons with disabilities

Purpose Library association policies and guidelines are important to study because they reflect consensus values of the profession. As such, they can shape the association, itself, and set the tone for the values of its individual members in their professional practice. From the titles alone, these documents proclaim themselves to be guides for the development of individual library policy. Additionally, as library and information science (LIS) graduate education programs are accredited by national associations, LIS schools pay attention to association policies and guidelines to help shape professional and continuing education. In these ways, they have a role in shaping professional ideology around a topic. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The services to persons with disabilities policies from three national-level LIS organizations were analyzed through a thematic analysis. Findings The guidelines speak to a shared understanding of disability and accessibility around the themes of library staff, library policies and library resources and services. While not surprising, additional themes around disability context and legislation show a shared understanding of accessibility that is much broader than what the legislation requires. Originality/value An analysis of guidelines on services to persons with disabilities from the American Library Association (ALA), Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) is of interest because of the ways these organizations intersect. The ALA and ALIA have reciprocal agreements so that students in LIS education programs are recognized as equivalents. Second, the ALA accredits library education programs in Canada. Given these intersecting relationships, the guidelines-shared notions of accessibility become of high interest

Ontario public libraries, accessibility, and justice: A capability approach.

The Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act is developing standards for accessibility across the province. The Canadian Library Association has had service standards in place since 1997, so addressing accessibility in Ontario libraries is nothing new. Public libraries are, however facing new challenges to providing service as they transition from non-binding library association policy to binding legislation. This paper outlines a study of accessibility in Ontario public libraries through a capability approach lens as described by Amartya Sen

Disability and accessibility in the library and information science literature: a content analysis.

Abstract The library profession is a strong and vocal proponent of increased information access for people with disabilities. With the discipline\u27s longstanding interest in the subject of services to people with disabilities, questions arise about how the profession perceives the phenomenon. How is library and information science (LIS), as a discipline, conceptualizing disability and accessibility? A content analysis of the LIS literature was conducted to examine this question. The literature provides a fertile ground for study as it reflects the profession\u27s approaches to, and perceptions of, a topic. This research identifies the major issues and trends in the research about accessibility and disability in the LIS literature throughout a 10-year period, 2000–2010. The strongest theme in the literature is accessibility as it relates to web, database, and software, while the prevailing disability of focus is visual disabilities. The overall environment emphasizes technology more than attitudinal aspects associated with disabilities. The research could benefit from increased direct participation of people with disabilities. Highlights ► Content analysis was performed on accessibility and disability in the LIS literature. ► Coded themes included disability types and participation of those with disabilities. ► The literature focuses on electronic accessibility and visual disabilities. ► People with disabilities are rarely active participants in the literature

Rhetorical Genre Theory and the Enactment of Faith in the Composition Classroom

In James Berlin’s Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900-1985 he argues that “every rhetorical system is based on epistemological assumptions about the nature of reality, the nature of the knower, and the rules governing the discovery and communication of the known” (4). Beginning with the debates between Plato and the sophists and running through the history of rhetoric to the likes of Wayne Booth on one side and William Covino on the other, rhetorical theorists have always been interested in debating the nature of reality, knowledge, morality, ethics, and T/truth. How one defines the status of these, what Kenneth Burke calls “God Terms,” has a significant impact on the relationship that rhetoric has to these ideas. Over the years, composition scholars have taken up this debate as well and have discussed how this debate may influence our pedagogical practices within composition classrooms. As Christians, we believe in the objective nature of the Truth of God’s Word (II Timothy 3:16), and therefore do not need to debate that fact. However, the ways that belief influences our pedagogical practices is still in need of discussion. Therefore, in this paper, I will discuss my own composition courses and address how I attempt to integrate faith and learning through the use of rhetorical genre theory

More Wounding Than Wounds: Hysterectomy, Phenomenology, and the Pain(s) of Excorporation

Focusing on the pain experience of hysterectomy, this article applies and interrogates the foundational descriptive process on which phenomenology is based and suggests that feminism and phenomenology are more compatible than previously asserted. Building upon the work of feminist philosophers who have also explored how feminist and phenomenological approaches share similar methods and intentions—especially in connection with the former’s significant attention to lived experience as a source for the theory feminism employs—the article engages with the philosophies of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Samuel Mallin who maintain a consistent attention to the body in their phenomenological approaches. Arguing that Mallin’s method of “body hermeneutics” is especially valuable for constructing a feminist phenomenological approach, the article applies Mallin’s theories to the hysterectomy experience, thus revealing how other female-coded experiences of pain, intrusion, shame, and vulnerability are intertwined with hysterectomy. Moreover, the article posits the pain experience of hysterectomy as a particularly emphatic form of phenomenological excorporation in which hidden and habituated assumptions—in this case, the previously unnoticed and unexamined association of a woman’s womb with what it means to be a woman—are painfully brought to light. As the womb becomes more present in the notion and reality of its absence, what does this mean for the many women who experience the shared phenomenon of hysterectomy—including feminist women who enter the experience with a more explicit understanding of themselves as gendered subjects

The Development and evaluation of a safety skill intervention for child victims of neglect

Child neglect is the least studied, yet most frequently indicated, type of child maltreatment. Still, there are few assessment and treatment methods specifically designed for victims of child neglect. Unintentional injuries have long remained the leading cause of death for children in the United States after the first year of life, and research suggests the majority of these child fatalities are actually the result of child neglect. Homes of neglectful families are often inundated with safety hazards but child-focused home safety skill interventions have yet to be developed. Thus, the present study focused on the development and initial evaluation of a child-focused home safety skills training program for victims of child neglect. The child-training was incorporated into Family Behavior Therapy (FBT), an in-home parent-focused treatment program for child neglect and maternal substance abuse. The original development and initial evaluation of the training in uncontrolled case trials are reviewed. The current study involved two controlled multiple baseline evaluations for child participants. Results after training indicated improvements in children\u27s skills relevant to ameliorating identified home hazards, and suggest the training is promising and worthy of future study