Bonnie A. Nardi and Vicki L. O'Day
In a previous paper (Nardi & O'Day 1996), we chose to begin thinking about intelligent software agents with a detailed look at what human agents do. Our interest is in agents that…
Abstract
In a previous paper (Nardi & O'Day 1996), we chose to begin thinking about intelligent software agents with a detailed look at what human agents do. Our interest is in agents that provide expert services to end users. We analysed data from two studies of reference librarians to see how they provide value to their clients, considering the librarians as exemplary human agents. Shneiderman (1995) observes that claims about intelligent software agents are vague, dreamy and unrealised: we wanted to bring some precision and optimistic realism to the discussion.
For much of its peak popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, women in action films were relegated to the damsel in distress and/or the romantic interest for the male lead. This was…
Abstract
For much of its peak popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, women in action films were relegated to the damsel in distress and/or the romantic interest for the male lead. This was particularly evident in action films where women were depicted as being petite and submissive, especially towards the heroic male. Rarely did women occupy the primary focus in action films. Nowadays women are more frequently occupying positions of creative power as producers and actors, and there are some notable examples of progressive female roles in modern film. Female action stars tended to occupy one of two roles, that of what Marc O'Day (2004) labelled ‘action babe’ cinema, using the colloquial and dismissive term ‘babe’ as an indication of the derogatory nature of the female action hero who was often just a supermodel with a gun. However, there has emerged another type of female action star, the tough, aggressive and physically capable female action star, such as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1992).
Yvonne Tasker coined the term ‘musculinity’ to define this new model of tough women; female action stars who appropriate what are considered traditionally masculine traits (developed muscles, aggression, confidence, leadership skills, bravery). The presence of athletic women in action films, especially when compared to their male counterparts, defies expectations for women, and as such provides a unique example to analyse in terms of gender dynamics. This is especially true of combat sports, where aggression is a feature of the sport and still considered a testosterone-oriented attribute. Indeed, in the 1970s and 1980s, the peak of the male action star, martial arts and associated combat sports provided opportunities for many former athletes to transition into action films. Using Tasker's framework of musculinity, I will examine Haywire (2011) as a notable progression in the representation of female action stars and musculinity. Focusing on a case study of Gina Carano's role in Haywire, and her subsequent career narrative, this chapter highlights how perceptions of masculinity and femininity in both combat sports and action films have previously limited roles for women and how much that has shifted in contemporary filmmaking.
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Elizabeth (Bess) Sadler and Lisa M. Given
This study seeks to apply ecological psychology's concept of “affordance” to graduate students' information behavior in the academic library, and to explore the extent to which…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to apply ecological psychology's concept of “affordance” to graduate students' information behavior in the academic library, and to explore the extent to which the affordances experienced by graduate students differed from the affordances librarians were attempting to provide.
Design/methodology/approach
In‐depth, qualitative interviews with graduate students and academic librarians explored how the students perceived and used the library's various “opportunities for action” (e.g. books, databases, instructional sessions, librarians, physical space, etc.) and compared these perceptions and behavior with librarians' intentions and expectations.
Findings
Findings indicate a disparity between expectations and experience and point to graduate students as an underserved population in this context, especially in terms of the library's outreach efforts. In addition, because graduate students are increasingly teaching introductory undergraduate courses, communication methods that bypass graduate students tend to miss undergraduate students as well.
Practical implications
Practical implications discussed in this paper include possible methods of improving communication channels between graduate students and academic librarians, and considerations for information literacy instruction.
Originality/value
This paper presents a unique perspective by using affordance theory to frame students and librarians' expectations about library services. The findings are particularly valuable for their implications for library‐patron communication and information literacy.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the book Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester edited by Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the book Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester edited by Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons.
Design/methodology/approach
The review first examines the methods used in the Rochester study, and then considers the conclusions for their local implications as well as their meaning for the library profession.
Findings
The Rochester study should serve as a wake‐up call for librarians that imagine they understand their user‐base. Over and over again in this book the authors note how much they learned about the students after studying them systematically and how surprising they found the results. It seems unlikely that the Rochester experience is unique.
Originality/value
The transformation that took place at the University of Rochester Libraries should serve as an example for the profession as a whole.