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The purpose of the study is to describe how four New England state library media consultants are working within their respective states toward the promotion of excellence in school library media centers through the implementation of the elements of Information Power, the current national school library standards. Literature describing the evolution of these standards, the current standards Information Power, and the activities of the school library media specialist and state library consultant associated with accomplishing the desired goals described in these standards are reviewed. This quantitative research project is conducted over a period of three years. Data were gathered through a combination of surveys, field notes, interviews, and questionnaires. Verbatim transcriptions were made of the audiotaped interviews. From these data were gathered responses to nineteen questions designed to provide the framework for the study--implementation activities of the state consultants. Conclusions drawn from these data indicate that the state library media consultants, in spite of having no regulatory powers, work actively in a myriad of ways to promote quality school library programs. Their changing environment brought about by individual perceptions, economics, technology, and educational reform creates a challenge to each of these participants.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed June 11, 2009). Advisor: Natasha Levinson. Keywords: library and information science, information literacy, library instruction, school librarianship, academic librarianship, professionalization of librarianship. Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-256).

Thesis (M.Tech.: Library & Information Studies)- Dept. of Information and Corporate Management, Durban University of Technology, 2007. x, 109 leaves. / The objectives of the study were: 1) to investigate the extent to which workers in library and information services in KwaZulu-Natal are members of LIASA; and 2) if there are substantial numbers of LIS workers who are not currently members, then what are the possible reasons for this? The study surveyed three types of library services in KwaZulu-Natal, namely, academic, public and special libraries with 330 LIS workers participating in the study. A census was done of LIS workers in special libraries and in academic libraries of public higher education institutions in KZN. Simple random sampling was used in selecting public libraries in KZN for participation in the study. All staff in the selected sample of public libraries were surveyed. The research instrument used was a self-administered questionnaire. It was established that a significant number of LIS workers in all three types of libraries surveyed in KZN are currently not members of LIASA for various reasons. LIASA has been unable to draw significant membership from the support staff category in LIS services despite its constitution claiming to embrace all LIS workers. The study recommends that LIASA market itself more aggressively to increase membership levels particularly in the public library sector and among support staff in all LIS services. It also recommends that LIASA should consider involving itself in the industrial concerns of the LIS sector.

During the Spring 1997 semester, students at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona were surveyed on their use of dial-up access to electronic databases provided by libraries. In addition, the community college and public libraries in Maricopa County were surveyed to determine which electronic databases they provide by dial-up access. Comparison between these two forms of data collection revealed that a rich variety of electronic databases are available to community college students. Many of the students have the equipment required to take advantage of these resources, combined with a desire to use these resources to increase the flexibility of their options for performing research. The greatest barrier to use was a lack of realization that such resources were available. Community college libraries should advertise access information to make students aware of these options.

In 2011, 19.2 million households in the United Kingdom had access to the Internet. Online social networks (OSN) such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo and YouTube have proved to be the most popular Internet activity (Office of National Statistics, 2011). 49% of these users have updated or created an OSN profile and are making over 24 million visits a month (Dutton, 2009). These websites are often directed at a broad market i.e. people without disabilities. Unfortunately people with disabilities, especially those with physical impairments, often have a greater risk of experiencing loneliness than people without a disability as a result of their mobility, access and or communication impairments. Conventional communication methods such as face-to-face communication, telephone communication and text message communication are often difficult to use and can limit the opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in successful socialisation with family members and friends (Braithwaiteet al, 1999). Therefore people with disabilities can often see online communication, especially OSNs, as an attractive alternative. Previous studies such as Braithwaite et al(1999), Ellis and Kent (2010) and Dobransky and Hargittai (2006) suggests that OSNs are opening a new world to individuals with disabilities. They help these individuals, especially those exhibiting lifelong physical challenges to carry out social interaction which they would otherwise not be able to do within the analogue world. However due to inaccessible features presented in the technology for example features requiring JavaScript, hard-coded text size and Captcha (AbilityNet, 2008; Cahill and Hollier, 2009 andAsuncion, 2010) access to OSNs is often difficult. The overarching purpose of this PhD research is to understand the experiences and challenges faced when people with the physical disability cerebral palsy (cp) use OSNs. It is estimated that 1 in 400 children born in the UK is affected by cp (Scope Response, 2007). The disability can present itself in a variety of ways and to varying degrees. There is no cure for cp, however management to increase social interaction especially through technological innovations is often encouraged (United Cerebral Palsy, 2001; Sharan, 2005 and Colledge, 2006). Previous studies such as AbilityNet (2008), Cahill and Hollier (2009), and Boudreau (2011) have explored mainstream OSNs use from the perspective of users with disabilities, i.e. blind and visually or cognitively impaired, but have placed great emphasis on investigating inaccessibility of OSNs without involving these users. Other studies such as Manna (2005) and Belchiorb et al (2005) have used statistical methods such as surveys and questionnaires to identify Internet use among people with unspecified disabilities. Conversely Asuncion (2010) has taken a broader approach involving OSN users using high-level taxonomies to classify their disabilities, and Marshall et al (2006) focused on a specific disability type, cognitive impairments, without considering the variety of limitations present within the disability. Other studies such as Pell (1999) have taken a broader yet more specific approach and looked at technology use, especially computer and assistive technology among people with physical disabilities, where only 7 out of 82 surveyed had cp. Whereas Braithwaiteet al (1999) focused on individuals with disabilities, where most were classified has having a physical disability. However the study does not explicitly look at OSNs but rather at online social support within forums for people with disabilities. Studies such as these have not involved the users; defined what constitutes disability or focused on cp without encompassing other disabilities, making it impossible to identify the requirements of OSN users with cp. Initially this PhD research explored the experiences and challenges faced when individuals with cp use OSNs. Fourteen interviews were carried out consisting of participants with variations of the disability. The study identified the reasons for OSN use and non-use and also discovered key themes together with challenges that affected their experiences. This work was followed by an in-context observational study that examined these individuals context of use. The study identified the OSNs and assistive technology used, tasks carried out and users feelings during interaction. As a result of these studies it was determined that changing OSNs prevented and or slowed down these users ability to communicate online. Previous work within human-computer interaction and other disciplines such as software engineering and management science, change is often discussed during software development and is restricted to identifying scenarios and tools that assist change management within information technology (Jarke and Kurkisuonio, 1998). Studies such as these have not considered change deployment or its affect on users, though within HCI such an understanding is limited. Other disciplines i.e. psychology and social sciences have looked at change deployment. Theorists such as Lewin (1952), Lippett (1958) and Griffith (2001) attempt to offer solutions. However no one theory or approach is widely accepted and contradictions, adaptations and exclusions are continually being made. Conversely Woodward and Hendry (2004) and By (2007) have attempted to contend with these difficulties specifically stress as a result of change, believing that if change agents are aware of what an affected individual is thinking during the on set of change it will help to minimise or prevent damage. Studies such as these have focused on software development or organisational change from the perspective of developers or employees, they have not considered OSNs or individuals with cp. To fill this gap a longitudinal OSN monitoring and analysis study was carried out. The study identified how OSN changes are introduced, their affect on users, and the factors that encourage change acceptance or non-acceptance. The study was divided into three studies: two studies investigating realworld examples of OSN change by observing the actions of change agents (Twitter.com and Facebook.com) and their users reactions to the change process. A third study that asked OSN users about their experiences of OSN change was also carried out. A by product of these studies was a unique way of displaying OSN change and user acceptance on a large scale using a infographic and an inductive category model that can be used to examine OSN change. The findings from the five studies were then distilled alongside identified change management approaches and theories to develop an five-stage process for OSN change for change agents to follow. The process defined the requirements for OSN change including the change agent responsibilities before, during and after the change.

The motivation for this research was the publication in 1995 of the Calman-Hine report. This provided a strategic framework for the delivery of cancer care by creating a network of cancer care centres in England and Wales to enable patients to receive a uniformly high standard of care. The report acknowledged the fact that although the evidence on optimal cancer care used to prepare the report was based on two key sources (i) medical literature and (ii) audit data provided by UK cancer registries, they did not lend themselves to controlled experiments as most information came from retrospective analyses; hence they were subject to a number of possible flaws and biases. Yet the report recommended some key structural changes to be implemented. The focus of the research described in this thesis was centred on the recommendation of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) review of patients prior to a treatment decision, both in general cancer units as well as in specialised cancer centres. Given the mandate to implement these recommendations, the research questions addressed were “can the current configuration support this recommendation?”, “what evidence was there to support the effectiveness of the MDT?” and “was there a model of care to support the service delivery of cancer care?” A literature review established that there was no existing template upon which MDT services could be set up. This research therefore set out to develop an MDT model to support operational delivery of care in the setting of a cancer centre. The clinical specialty in which this research was undertaken was that of lung cancer. The research successfully developed a conceptual model. However, in the process, a number of operational and practical constraints were identified within the revised service configuration designed to deliver high quality cancer care through the incorporation of the MDT service, and this ultimately limited the extent to which the model could be deployed in the particular clinical setting. Nevertheless, the modelling process did enable a range of core issues to be identified, enabling design solutions to be formulated and tested, thereby confirming the effectiveness of the MDT model. In particular, the adoption of a soft modelling approach was shown to be beneficial in addressing operational problems. By engaging clinical and other end-users right from the start in the modelling process, the models did become operationally accepted, allowing resistance to change to be overcome and the solution to be integrated into the business process. MDT services are now well established, both in cancer units and cancer centres and published data on their effectiveness in the treatment of lung cancer, although not conclusive; demonstrate an increase in resection rates. However, assessing the long-term impact of MDTs on lung cancer outcomes remains a topic for future research.

Working with two small group of domain experts I evaluate human-centered approaches to application development which are applicable to geovisualization, following an ISO13407 taxonomy that covers context of use, eliciting requirements, and design. These approaches include field studies and contextual analysis of subjects' context; establishing requirements using a template, via a lecture to communicate geovisualization to subjects and by communicating subjects' context to geovisualization experts with a scenario; autoethnography to understand the geovisualization design process; wireframe, paper and digital interactive prototyping with alternative protocols; and a decision making process for prioritising application improvement. I find that the acquisition and use of real user data is key; that a template approach and teaching subjects about visualization tools and interactions both fail to elicit useful requirements for a visualization application. Consulting geovisualization experts with a scenario of user context and samples of user data does yield suggestions for tools and interactions of use to a visualization designer. The complex and composite natures of both visualization and human-centered domains, incorporating learning from both domains, with user context, makes design challenging. Wireframe, paper and digital interactive prototypes mediate between the user and visualization domains successfully, eliciting exploratory behaviour and suggestions to improve prototypes. Paper prototypes are particularly successful at eliciting suggestions and especially novel visualization improvements. Decision-making techniques prove useful for prioritising different possible improvements, although domain subjects select data-related features over more novel alternative and rank these more inconsistently. The research concludes that understanding subject context of use and data is important and occurs throughout the process of engagement with domain experts, and that standard requirements elicitation techniques are unsuccessful for geovisualization. Engagement with subjects at an early stage with simple prototypes incorporating real subject data and moving to successively more complex prototypes holds the best promise for creating successful geovisualization applications.