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The purpose of this paper is to present findings of an electronic survey to determine the extent of use of social software programs.

The study was conducted to discover the extent to which students use social software programs, namely Facebook, MySpace, Instant Messaging and Second Life, and to determine their level of desire for having a librarian or library presence within those settings. A web survey was developed and distributed using convenience sampling. The survey was distributed to students at two college campuses located in the state of Colorado in the USA.

The majority of respondents use social software programs, but are apathetic about using these programs for library questions or research.

This research has several limitations to its findings: limited response rate, ambiguous phrasing of survey questions and geographic limitations all affect the results.

Owing to constraints on librarian time and resources, involvement in social software programs should be evaluated on a case‐by‐case basis.

Social software programs are discussed in library literature, but few research projects have been undertaken to determine patron expectations for librarian involvement.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate whether health maintenance organizations (HMO) physicians are more price sensitive than non‐HMO physicians in their prescribing behavior of brand‐name substitutes.

The study uses physician level data and a set of 13 drugs for the years 1997‐2000 to estimate the price sensitivity of HMO and non‐HMO physicians. A two‐part model is used to measure the price elasticity of brand‐name prescribing for HMO physicians. The first part uses a logit model to examine the physician's choice to prescribe the same drug to all patients with the same medical condition, or whether physicians alternate prescriptions among brand‐name substitutes. The second part employs OLS to estimate the influence of managed care, i.e. HMOs, on physician price sensitivity.

The results suggest that HMO physicians are less likely than non‐HMO physicians to prescribe a common drug to all patients with a specific medical condition, but rather HMO physicians exhibit more diversified prescribing behavior. Correspondingly, HMO physicians are more price sensitive in prescribing brand‐name substitutes, than non‐HMO physicians, exhibiting price elasticities of prescribing ranging from −1.707 to −1.823. The analysis suggests that HMOs have a modest influence on encouraging physicians to be more price sensitive in their prescribing of brand‐name substitutes. HMO physicians are more price sensitive in their prescribing behavior than non‐HMO physicians.

This paper provides insight into the effectiveness of HMOs in altering physician prescribing behavior and price sensitivity of pharmaceutical prices. The results provide suggestions on how HMOs can improve the cost‐effectiveness of physician prescribing behavior.

Academic libraries are struggling to support the growing demand for streaming video. The purpose of this paper is to detail the experience of running three long-term pilots with different streaming video platforms, including processes involved, lessons learned and next steps.

This paper uses a mixed methods approach, combining analysis of usage data with case study observations.

The length of the pilots allowed for deep understanding of the needs of this academic library’s community’s engagement with streaming video in the classroom, and confirmed anecdotal information that availability of multiple platforms supports diverse needs which led to continuing access to all platforms, operationalized to be managed within existing processes. Using usage data and feedback from a task force led to decisions to continue with all three platforms that were piloted.

While this research describes the experience at one academic library, the information may be generalizable enough that other libraries may use it for their streaming video collection development decisions.

Long-term pilot studies for streaming video platforms can be challenging for many libraries to undertake. With a modest initial financial commitment, the library was able to explore how the community might use streaming video. Through analysis of usage data, the library was able to see when, where and what was being used and could make better informed decisions about where to concentrate future funds for streaming video support.

Agency is inherently an institution and involves dynamic socio-cultural processes that facilitate development. This paper is written in three parts. The purpose in Part 1 was to represent agency theory as an institutional theory, and consideration was made of the relationship between development, growth and globalisation. In Part 2, the purpose was to explore development with respect to the political context, explaining in terms of culture under what conditions political groups may come to power. Using political frames intended to define their nature and realities, they seek to attract agents in their political sphere to gain administrative power. In this Part 3, the purpose of this paper is to model, using cybernetic agency theory, the nature of development and reduction to instrumentality.

Development theory is a multidisciplinary field in which research and theories are clustered together and set within an adaptive institutional activity system framework. An adaptive activity system has a plural membership of agents represented by agency. In Parts 1 and 2 of this paper, agency was shown to have an institutional basis. Activity system development was also explained as a process of institutional evolution, and its potential was shown to provide power acquisition in a political landscape by competitive political frames which vie for support in a place of potentially susceptible agents. Here in Part 3, agency theory will be used to model the dynamic relationships between political frames and the agents that they wish to attract by projecting both cognitive and emotional structures, this enabling the anticipation of behaviour.

These relate to the three parts of the paper taken together. Agency is an evolutionary institutional system that can represent socio-political development. A model for political development has been created that identifies the conditions under which formal political groups are able to promote frames of policy to attract support from autonomous agents that constitute the membership of the activity system, and hence gain agency status. On the way to this, it connects Bauman’s theory of liquid modernity to Sorokin’s theory of socio-cultural dynamics and cultural stability. One result is the notion of liquid development, an unstable condition of development in adaptive activity systems. Agency theory can usefully explain detailed changes in agency, the relationships between agency agents, and interactions between agencies, this embracing institutional processes.

The implication of this research is that it will allow empirical methods to be used that potentially enables political outcomes in complex socio-political environments to be anticipated, given additional appropriate measurement criteria.

The synergy of agency and institutional theories to explain the process of development is new, as is its application to the political development process in a political landscape. As part of this synergistic process, it has been shown how Bauman’s concept of liquidity relates to Sorokin’s ideas of socio-cultural change.