Nujoud Al-Muomen, Debora Shaw and Michael Courtney
This paper aims to compare how undergraduates in Kuwait and Indiana Universities assess information resources for class assignments.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to compare how undergraduates in Kuwait and Indiana Universities assess information resources for class assignments.
Design/methodology/approach
Social science majors at Kuwait University and Indiana University Bloomington completed the Project Information Literacy survey.
Findings
The students are comparable in how often they ask instructors or classmates for advice, but Kuwaitis are more likely to ask other people for assistance. Kuwaiti students generally are less critical in their evaluation of both library-based and web information resources but are more likely to consider librarian recommendations.
Research limitations/implications
Institution-specific factors that were not specifically addressed include the following: the survey was administered online in Indiana and on paper in Kuwait, and the types of course assignments and/or students’ information literacy instruction may also vary by institution.
Practical implications
Librarians should continue to present information clearly and use a variety of instructional methods so that material is accessible. Librarian recommendations and modeling of evaluative behavior can assist international students. Social media may be useful in working with these students’ more collaborative approach to assessing resources.
Originality/value
The work updates the 2010 Project Information Literacy survey on undergraduates’ evaluation of information resources for coursework. It also extends that survey to identify how students from Kuwait are different than USA undergraduates.
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Michael Courtney, Bussa Gopinath, Matthew Toward, Rajesh Jain and Milind Rao
Managing severe sepsis early has several benefits. Correct early management includes delivering an appropriate fluid challenge. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether…
Abstract
Purpose
Managing severe sepsis early has several benefits. Correct early management includes delivering an appropriate fluid challenge. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether junior doctors prescribe adequate fluid challenges to severely septic patients.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire outlining three scenarios, each involving a patient with severe sepsis, but with varying weights (50/75/100 kg), was distributed to junior doctors, working in two UK hospitals, managing surgical patients. Participants were asked the fluid volume challenge that they would prescribe for each patient. Responses were compared with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign's recommended volume during the study (20 ml/kg).
Findings
Totally, 77 questionnaires were completed. There were 15/231 (6.5 per cent) correct responses. The median volume chosen in each scenario was 500 ml, equating to 5-10 ml/kg. There was no significant difference between doctor grades (FY1 and SHO) in any scenario. With most junior doctors (FY1), there was no difference in responses according to weight; for SHOs the only significant difference was between the 75 and 100 kg scenarios.
Practical implications
Junior doctors are not following guidelines when prescribing fluid challenges to severely septic patients, giving too little and not adjusting volume according to body weight. This implies that high-prevalence, high-mortality conditions are not being treated appropriately by those most likely to treat these patients. More teaching, training and reassessment is required to improve care.
Originality/value
This, the first case-based survey the authors could find, highlights an issue requiring significant improvement. The implications are likely to be relevant to clinicians in all UK hospitals.
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The findings of the Steering Group on Food Freshness in relation to the compulsory date marking of food contained in their Report, reviewed elsewhere in this issue, has brought…
Abstract
The findings of the Steering Group on Food Freshness in relation to the compulsory date marking of food contained in their Report, reviewed elsewhere in this issue, has brought within measurable distance the Regulations which were, in any case, promised for1975. The Group consider that the extension of voluntary open date marking systems will not be sufficiently rapid (or sufficiently comprehensive) to avoid the need or justify the delay in introducing legislation.
Michael Gove is a controversial figure, not least due to his time as secretary of state for education under the Cameron coalition government from 2009 to 2013. Gove’s…
Abstract
Michael Gove is a controversial figure, not least due to his time as secretary of state for education under the Cameron coalition government from 2009 to 2013. Gove’s internationalising policy claimed to be addressing the attainment gap between rich and poor, supporting a workforce for the global markets. Gove appealed to all educational leaders by sending them a Gove-signed King James Bible, and he set up a Victorian school desk as the primary display artefact in the Ministry of Education. These two artefacts provide the analytical lens from which the claims and consequences of Gove’s education policy reforms were experienced by educational leaders and schools. This chapter aligns with the editorial line of this book in three ways. First, it acknowledges context as the most important aspect of understanding reform, in this case the neoliberal market economy of Britain in the 21st century. Second, it affords insight into how the selective use of data and political rhetoric acted as a vehicle for power in and through social relations. Finally, it reveals where disadvantage lies and provides impetus for further research and scholarship to mitigate it.
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Gaea Wimmer, Courtney Meyers, Haley Porter and Martin Shaw
Leadership educators are encouraged to identify and apply new ways to teach leadership. This paper provides the qualitative results of post-secondary students’ reflections of…
Abstract
Leadership educators are encouraged to identify and apply new ways to teach leadership. This paper provides the qualitative results of post-secondary students’ reflections of learning leadership concepts after watching several episodes of the television show, The Office. Students used reflective journaling to record their reactions and evaluation of the episodes. Analysis of the journals indicated that students were able to connect the leadership scenarios shown in the episodes to those they may experience in their real life.
Darbi J. Haynes-Lawrence and Adam R. West
The purpose of this study was to survey parents who have Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and examine issues surrounding their parenting.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to survey parents who have Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and examine issues surrounding their parenting.
Design
Qualitative surveys were used to collect data.
Findings
Findings from the study include three themes: (a) They needed to know; (b) Involving children with treatment; and (c) I can’t do this alone. Discussion of findings and conclusions and recommendations for parents, physicians, and future studies are presented.
Research limitations
Data for the study was collected through self-reports and limited demographic data was collected.
Value
Continued research on MS is needed, especially in the area involving children in at-home treatments and children as caregivers. Children can be a challenging population to investigate, yet as evidenced in this study, children are being involved in MS treatments of their parents. A greater, more in-depth look at the role of a child as caregiver is warranted.
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Many libraries are using Internet access to improve patron services. In the United States, an estimated 21 percent of public libraries have some type of Internet connection, with…
Abstract
Many libraries are using Internet access to improve patron services. In the United States, an estimated 21 percent of public libraries have some type of Internet connection, with libraries in urban areas (having a patron base over one million) connected at a rate of 75 percent. These libraries are taking different approaches to providing Internet and online services to their patrons. Some have connections from terminals located inside the library; others allow dial‐in access from patrons' offices or homes. As services grow in sophistication, so do patron interfaces. Many new computers sport full‐color, mouse‐driven graphic user interfaces (GUIs), which allow access to CD‐ROM products, World Wide Web sites, and other multimedia products.