Managing access to the Internet in public libraries in the UK – the findings of the MAIPLE project

Paper presented at the Annual International Conference on Library and Information Science, 4-7 August 2014, Athens, Greece. One of the key purposes of the public library is to provide access to information. In the UK, information is provided in printed formats and for the last decade via public access Internet workstations installed as part of the People’s Network initiative. Recent figures reveal that UK public libraries provide approximately 43,000 computer terminals offering users around 83,000,000 hours across more than 4,300 service points. In addition, increasing numbers of public libraries allow users to connect devices such as tablets or smart phones to the Internet via a wireless network access point (Wi-Fi). How do public library staff manage this? What about users viewing harmful or illegal content? What are the implications for a profession committed to freedom of access to information and opposition to censorship? MAIPLE, a two-year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has been investigating this issue, as little was known about how UK public libraries manage Internet content control including illegal material. MAIPLE has drawn on an extensive review of the literature, an online survey which all UK public library services (PLS) were invited to complete (39 per cent response rate) and case studies with five services (two in England, one in Scotland, one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland) to examine the ways these issues are managed and their implications for staff. This paper will explore the prevalence of tools such as filtering software, Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs), user authentication, booking software and visual monitoring by staff and consider their efficacy and desirability in the provision of public Internet access. It will consider the professional dilemmas inherent with managing content and access. Finally, it will highlight some of the more important themes emerging from the findings and their implications for practitioners and policy makers

Open Access and the REF: Issues and Potential Solutions Workshop

This report provides a summary of the discussion and findings of the Open Access and the REF: Issues and Potential Solutions workshop held as part of the End-to-End Project. The workshop was highly interactive and feedback received indicated it was considered an excellent event, and that it was vital and useful to bring together various key stakeholders to discuss problems and procedures and develop ideas

Regulating internet access in UK public libraries: legal compliance and ethical dilemmas

Purpose – This paper aims to consider selected results from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded “Managing Access to the internet in Public Libraries” (MAIPLE) project, from 2012-2014. MAIPLE has explored the ways in which public library services manage use of the internet connections that they provide for the public. This included the how public library services balance their legal obligations and the needs of their communities in a public space and the ethical dilemmas that arise. Design/methodology/approach - The researchers used a mixed-method approach involving a review of the literature, legal analysis, a questionnaire survey and case studies in five public library authorities. Findings - UK public library services use a range of methods to regulate internet access. The research also confirms previous findings that filtering software is an ubiquitous tool for controlling access to and protecting library users from “inappropriate”, illegal and harmful internet content. There is a general, if sometimes reluctant, acceptance of filtering software as a practical tool by library staff, which seems to contrast with professional codes of ethics and attitudes in other countries. The research indicates that public library internet access will be a valued service for some time to come, but that some aspects of how public library services regulate internet access is currently managed can have socially undesirable consequences, including blocking legitimate sites and preventing users from accessing government services. Education could play a greater part in helping the general population to exercise judgement in selection of materials to view and use. This does not preclude implementing stricter controls to protect children, whilst allowing public libraries to continue providing a social good to those who are unable to otherwise participate in the digital age. Research limitations/implications – The response to the survey was 39 per cent meaning that findings may not apply across the whole of the UK. The findings of this study are compared with and supplemented by other quantitative sources, but a strength of this study is the depth of understanding afforded by the use of case studies. Originality/value - This paper provides both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of how internet access is managed in UK public libraries, including how library services fulfil their legal obligations and the ethical implications of how they balance their role in facilitating access to information with their perceived role as a safe and trusted environment for all members of their communities. The findings add to the international discussion on this issue and stimulate debate and policy making in the UK

Phase relationships for molecular salts

The pharmaceutical industry has for many years been interested in the formation of salts as a means of controlling the chemical/physical properties of API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) molecules. While current interest in cocrystals has led to study of their formation and phase behaviour, comparatively little data is available for salts. This work aims to come some way to redress that balance. Initial studies focussed on a single base manually ground with a number of acids (leading on from previous solution work). Salt formation was noted in a significant number of cases. The work was followed by two more detailed and contrasting case studies. These case studies are ephedrine with pimelic acid and benzoic acid. Both mono- and di-basic salts of ephedrine and pimelic acid were formed both by grinding and solution methods. Binary and aqueous ternary phase diagrams were measured to allow assessment of pure phase regions. The ideality of the systems was assessed and, while the binary phase diagram showed some relatively ideal regions, the ternary system appeared highly non-ideal. Effects on the shape and size of phase regions have been considered, especially the role ionisation plays in the ternary non-ideality. Using fundamental equations solubility has been determined as a function of pH and compared to experimental data. The pH value has also been calculated using concentrations of acid and base along the experimental liquidus of the ternary phase diagram and comparisons made with measured pH values. From these comparisons it was determined that the non-ideality and shape of the liquidus in the ephedrine/pimelic acid/water ternary phase diagram is not solely due to ionisation of the components. Some major issues that may arise in attempted salt formation studies are discussed in relation to the ephedrine and benzoic acid system. Aqueous salt formation was not successful; therefore reasons for this failure are discussed. It is concluded that while the ternary phase behaviour of a salt should be considered, it does not mean the ionisation behaviour (and hence the speciation diagram) should be ignored. These two sources of information should be assessed in conjunction with one another in order to gain the most accurate insight into a system.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Managing access to the internet in public libraries [MAIPLE]

Managing access to the internet in public libraries [MAIPLE

Filtering access to the Internet in public libraries: an ethical dilemma?

This paper considers the contentious question of whether or not internet access in public libraries should be filtered. It would seem that, in the UK at least, librarians and users think it should, according to findings from the Managing Access to the Internet in Public Libraries (MAIPLE) project. This paper uses the application of the IFLA Code of Ethics and other professional ethical guides to argue that this situation is contrary to our professional ethics, and to propose that we consider alternative approaches to protecting users from ‘harmful’ online content

What Are the Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics and Needs of Mothers Who Access Acute Postpartum Psychiatric Care and Have Children’s Social Care Involvement?

Mothers with severe postpartum psychiatric diagnoses are more likely to have children’s social care involvement with their infants, but little is known about the needs or experiences of this group of women. With input from a lived experience advisory group, we carried out secondary analysis of data collected from 278 mother-infant dyads where the mother accessed acute psychiatric care in England or Wales postnatally. We explored the characteristics, needs, and service use experiences of mother-infant dyads with (n = 99) and without (n = 179) children’s social care involvement. We found that mothers with social care involvement were often experiencing wider adversity and inequity across multiple areas of their lives. These mothers were also less satisfied with their mental health care and had more unmet needs after discharge from acute services. We built multivariable logistic regression models to examine factors associated with children’s social care involvement during the acute admission and one year later. We found that having social care involvement during an acute postpartum admission was associated with being deprived, reporting a maternal history of childhood trauma, experiencing domestic abuse, having a diagnosis of personality disorder or schizophrenia, and having a history of previous psychiatric admissions. At one-year follow-up, factors associated with children’s social care involvement included deprivation, experiencing childhood trauma, having been single at the time of the postpartum admission, and having been readmitted to acute psychiatric services following the postpartum admission. Our findings suggest that mothers with children’s social services involvement in the context of an acute postpartum psychiatric diagnosis may have high levels of support needs, but services may struggle to meet their needs fully. We argue that an increased focus on supporting mothers with histories of trauma, adversity, and deprivation, along with greater collaboration between mental health, children’s social care, and third sector services may help improve experiences and outcomes

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead