Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing The Data Management Environment In A Master's-Level Institution., Anthony Stamatoplos, Tina M. Neville, Deborah Boran Henry

Anthony Stamatoplos

The data management environments at research-intensive institutions have been studied extensively. Few studies, however, have assessed the environments at institutions that are not classified as research-intensive, where scholarship and obtaining external funding is still highly encouraged. Using results from semi-structured interviews with faculty from an array of disciplines, the authors describe the research processes and data concerns at a Master's-level institution. A comparison of the results illustrate that, at least at this institution, faculty face very similar issues as those identified at research-intensive organizations and many of the same practices and services could be implemented on a smaller scale.

Promoting Faculty Scholarship Through The Usfsp Digital Archive., Deborah Boran Henry, Tina M. Neville, Carol G. Hixson

Deborah B. Henry

The USFSP Digital Collections Team at Poynter Library created and manages an institutional repository which provides faculty with a new and professionally beneficial service. These digital portfolios showcase and promote their body of scholarship, on a stable platform and with a permanent URL. The USFSP Digital Archive offers 24/7 open access to the “Faculty Works” collections, provides full-text indexing that is harvested regularly by Google, Google Scholar, and other indexers, and tracks usage to demonstrate the increasing visibility of faculty work to researchers outside of the home institution. From the faculty member’s vita, the Faculty Archive Team researches and prepares …

Reference Classification--Is It Time To Make Some Changes?, Tina M. Neville, Deborah Boran Henry

Deborah B. Henry

In 2005, the authors tested the consistency and ease-of-use of a skill/strategy-based reference question classification system published by Warner in 2001. Results of that test indicated that the Warner system was a significant improvement over the resource-based traditional system. In this study, reference librarians from other institutions were invited to compare the technologysensitive Warner system to the traditional Katz classification system. The results of this larger test mirror the findings of the original study. Overall, classification was more consistent using the Warner system.

Reference Classification--Is It Time To Make Some Changes?, Tina M. Neville, Deborah Boran Henry

Tina M. Neville

In 2005, the authors tested the consistency and ease-of-use of a skill/strategy-based reference question classification system published by Warner in 2001. Results of that test indicated that the Warner system was a significant improvement over the resource-based traditional system. In this study, reference librarians from other institutions were invited to compare the technologysensitive Warner system to the traditional Katz classification system. The results of this larger test mirror the findings of the original study. Overall, classification was more consistent using the Warner system.

Research, Publication, And Service Patterns Of Florida Academic Librarians, Deborah Boran Henry, Tina M. Neville

Tina M. Neville

In an effort to establish benchmarks for comparison to national trends, a web-based survey explored the research, publication, and service activities of Florida academic librarians. Participants ranked the importance of professional activities to the tenure/promotion process. Findings suggest that perceived tenure and promotion demands do influence research productivity.

Support For Research And Service In Florida Academic Libraries, Tina M. Neville, Deborah Boran Henry

Tina M. Neville

Following a 2003 survey that benchmarked the research and publication activities of Florida librarians, administrative support for these efforts was investigated. Library administrators were asked to identify various types and funding levels of travel and research assistance. Results suggest that Florida librarians receive support comparable to national and regional trends.

Testing Classification Systems For Reference Questions, Deborah Boran Henry, Tina M. Neville

Tina M. Neville

Two reference question classification systems were tested using data from a small academic library. Results indicate that a skill/strategy based approach, rather than a system based on resources used or time allocated per question, leads to more consistent classification and provides a more accurate reflection of today's reference desk activity.

Analyzing The Data Management Environment In A Master's-Level Institution., Anthony Stamatoplos, Tina M. Neville, Deborah Boran Henry

Tina M. Neville

The data management environments at research-intensive institutions have been studied extensively. Few studies, however, have assessed the environments at institutions that are not classified as research-intensive, where scholarship and obtaining external funding is still highly encouraged. Using results from semi-structured interviews with faculty from an array of disciplines, the authors describe the research processes and data concerns at a Master's-level institution. A comparison of the results illustrate that, at least at this institution, faculty face very similar issues as those identified at research-intensive organizations and many of the same practices and services could be implemented on a smaller scale.

Going The Distance: Avoiding Mid-Career Plateaus., Deborah Boran Henry, Tina M. Neville

Tina M. Neville

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Scholarly Book Publishers—A Case Study In The Field Of Journalism., Tina M. Neville, Deborah Boran Henry

Tina M. Neville

By adapting multiple metrics used for journal article evaluation and replicating recent publisher metrics, the authors tested methods for evaluating scholarly book publishers. Using monographs published in journalism between 2007 and 2011 as a test case, results indicate these methods may be useful to other scholarly disciplines.

Don’T Leave Without Them: Dispensing Asthma Medications To Pediatric Patients Upon Discharge Is Associated With Decreased Hospital Readmissions, Kelly J. Hiteshew, Thaddeus T. Franz, Kristen Lamberjack, Aleda M.H. Chen

Kelly J. Wright, R.Ph., Pharm.D.

Purpose: Asthma exacerbations are a leading cause of hospital and emergency department admissions at pediatric institutions. The objective of this study was to determine if patients who obtain discharge medications from a pediatric institution’s outpatient pharmacy after an admission for asthma have a lower thirty-day readmission rate than those who do not obtain discharge medications from the outpatient pharmacy. Methods: This multi-phase retrospective study included an initial chart review, an intervention period, and a second chart review of the intervention period. The chart reviews included patients ages two years and older with a discharge diagnosis of asthma or wheezing. During …

Lichens Of Six Vernal Pools In Acadia National Park, Maine, Usa, Jason Barton, Brett Ciccotelli, Jillian E. Gall, Fred C. Olday, Bruce Connery, Tanner B. Harris, Alan M. Fryday, Nishanta Rajakaruna

Nishanta Rajakaruna

Whereas lichen-habitat relations have been well-documented globally, literature on lichens of vernal pools is scant. We surveyed six vernal pools at Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA for their lichen diversity. Sixty-seven species were identified, including seven species that are new reports for Acadia National Park: Fuscidea arboricola, Hypogymnia incurvoides, Lepraria finkii, Phaeographis inusta, Ropalospora viridis, Usnea flammea, and Violella fucata. Five species are considered uncommon or only locally common in New England: Everniastrum catawbiense, Hypogymnia krogiae, Pseudevernia cladonia, Usnea flammea, and Usnea merrillii. This …

Additional Lichen Records And Minerological Data From Metal-Contaminated Sites In Maine, Ian D. Medeiros, Alan M. Fryday, Nishanta Rajakaruna

Nishanta Rajakaruna

Geochemistry and mineralogy of rocks play important roles in the occurrence of individual lichen species and assembly of lichen communities. Whereas lichens of metal-enriched settings have been a focus of study for many decades, only a few such lichen inventories exist for North America. We reexamined the lichen biota of Pine Hill, a serpentine outcrop on Little Deer Isle, Maine and Callahan Mine, a copper- and zinc-enriched Superfund site in Brooksville, Maine by conducting additional field surveys and reexamining unidentified taxa from previous collections. To better characterize the substrates upon which the lichens were found, we conducted elemental analyses via …

How Effective Are Current Household Recycling Policies? Results From A National Survey Of U.S. Households, Hilary Nixon, Jean-Daniel M. Saphores

Hilary Nixon

This paper analyzes a unique dataset collected during a 2006 national survey of U.S. households to explore the effectiveness of common household recycling policies for metals, glass, and plastics: curbside recycling, drop-off recycling, deposit–refund systems (bottle bills), and marginal pricing for household waste. After estimating either generalized ordered logit or multinomial logit models, we find that the most important determinants of household recycling are people's attitudes toward recycling. Our results also suggest that omitting internal variables (perceived recycling obstacles and benefits as well as moral considerations) may bias policy coefficients. Socio-economic variables are typically not statistically significant, with the exceptions …

Don’T Leave Without Them: Dispensing Asthma Medications To Pediatric Patients Upon Discharge Is Associated With Decreased Hospital Readmissions, Kelly J. Hiteshew, Thaddeus T. Franz, Kristen Lamberjack, Aleda M.H. Chen

Kelly J. Wright, R.Ph., Pharm.D.

Purpose: Asthma exacerbations are a leading cause of hospital and emergency department admissions at pediatric institutions. The objective of this study was to determine if patients who obtain discharge medications from a pediatric institution’s outpatient pharmacy after an admission for asthma have a lower thirty-day readmission rate than those who do not obtain discharge medications from the outpatient pharmacy. Methods: This multi-phase retrospective study included an initial chart review, an intervention period, and a second chart review of the intervention period. The chart reviews included patients ages two years and older with a discharge diagnosis of asthma or wheezing. During …

Age-Related Concomitants Of Obtaining Mental Health Care In Adulthood, Erin L. Woodhead, R. C. Cronkite, R. H. Moos, H. Valenstein, C. Timko

Erin L. Woodhead

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Older Adults’ Experience With Psychotherapy On Treatment Engagement, Erin L. Woodhead, I. I. Ivan, E. E. Emery

Erin L. Woodhead

The goal of the study was to characterize older adults' experience with psychotherapy and examine its impact on engagement in psychotherapy. The study included 50 adults over age 60 who screened positive for depression and participated in the BRIGHTEN Program, an interdisciplinary geriatric mental health program. Qualitative analyses revealed five themes leading to treatment initiation: health concerns, family issues, the experience of depressive symptoms, beliefs about what participants could get from psychotherapy, and positive outcomes seen in others. Those without a history of mental health treatment were more likely to endorse health concerns as a treatment motivator and were more …

Low-Stress Bicycling And Network Connectivity, M. Mekuria, P. Furth, Hilary Nixon

Hilary Nixon

For a bicycling network to attract the widest possible segment of the population, its most fundamental attribute should be low-stress connectivity, that is, providing routes between people’s origins and destinations that do not require cyclists to use links that exceed their tolerance for traffic stress, and that do not involve an undue level of detour. The objective of this study is to develop measures of low-stress connectivity that can be used to evaluate and guide bicycle network planning. We propose a set of criteria by which road segments can be classified into four levels of traffic stress (LTS). LTS 1 …

Highly Relevant Mentoring (Hrm) As A Faculty Development Model For Web-Based Instruction / Highly Relevant Mentoring (Hrm) (Mentorat Haute Efficacité), Un Modèle De Formation Du Corps Professoral À L’Enseignement En Réseau, Lorraine Carter, Vincent L. Salyers, Aroha Page, Lynda Williams, Liz Alba, Clarence Hofsink

Dr. Vincent L Salyers

This paper describes a faculty development model called the highly relevant mentoring (HRM) model; the model includes a framework as well as some practical strategies for meeting the professional development needs of faculty who teach web-based courses. The paper further emphasizes the need for faculty and administrative buy-in for HRM and examines relevant theories that may be used to guide HRM in web-based teaching environments. Of note is that HRM was conceived by the instructional design staff who contributed to this paper before the concept of high impact mentoring appeared in the recent literature (2009). While the model is appropriate …

What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options To Support Public Transit, Highways, And Local Streets And Roads? Results From Year 3 Of A National Survey, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon, Vinay Murthy

Hilary Nixon

This report summarizes the results of a national random-digit-dial public opinion poll that asked 1,519 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues, with a special focus on understanding support for increasing revenues for public transit. Eleven specific tax options tested were variations on raising the federal gas tax rate and creating a new mileage tax, and creating a new federal sales tax. Other questions probed various perceptions related to public transit, including knowledge and opinions about federal taxes to support transit. In addition, the survey collected data on standard socio-demographic factors, travel behavior (public …

Little Evidence For Local Adaptation To Soils Or Microclimate In The Postfire Recruitment Of Three Californian Shrubs, A Bieger, N Rajakaruna, S P. Harrison

Nishanta Rajakaruna

Background: Seedling recruitment following fire is an infrequent yet critical demographic transition for woody plants in Mediterranean ecosystems. Aims: Here we examine whether post-fire seedling recruitment of three widespread Californian chaparral shrubs is affected by local adaptation within an edaphically and topographically complex landscape. Methods: We reciprocally transplanted 6-month-old seedlings of Adenostema fasciculatum, Ceanothus cuneatus and Eriodictyon californicum to serpentine and sandstone soils, and cool northerly and warm southerly slopes. Results: At the age of 2 years, none of the species manifested higher survival or growth on ‘home’ compared with ‘away’ soils or slopes, indicating an absence of local adaptation …

Mycorrhizal Colonization Of Hypericum Perforatum L. (Hypericaceae) On Adjacent Serpentine And Granite Outcrops On The Deer Isles, Maine, Usa, N Davoodian, J Bosworth, N Rajakaruna

Nishanta Rajakaruna

Given the paucity of literature on plant-fungal interactions on serpentine soils and limited investigation of serpentine geoecology in eastern North America, we examined mycorrhizal colonization of Hypericum perforatum from adjacent serpentine and granite outcrops on the Deer Isles, ME to determine whether plants were differentially colonized based on substrate. We coincided our sampling with three phenologic stages of H. perforatum (preflowering, flowering, postflowering) to determine possible differences in colonization based on plant phenology. The levels of mycorrhizal colonization in H. perforatum were not significantly different between serpentine and granite sites, while levels of colonization in postflowering plants were significantly higher …

Stressors And Threats To The Flora Of Acadia National Park, Maine: Current Knowledge, Information Gaps, And Future Directions, T B. Harris, N Rajakaruna, S J. Nelson, P D. Vaux

Nishanta Rajakaruna

Stressors and threats to the flora of Acadia National Park, Maine: Current knowledge, information gaps, and future directions. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 139: 323–344. 2012.— Acadia National Park is a center of plant diversity in northeastern North America. The Park's varied habitats and flora are sensitive to a number of natural and anthropogenic perturbations. Stressors such as invasive plants, pest and pathogens, ozone, acidic fog and sulfur deposition, nitrogen deposition, heavy metals, fire and fire suppression, over-browsing, visitor use, hurricanes, and climate change have all had effects on the Park's habitats and plant species at some point and it is …

An Examination Of Women’S Representation And Participation In Bicycle Advisory Committees In California, Hilary Nixon, C. Deluca

Hilary Nixon

In the United States, women bicycle at significantly lower rates than men. One method of remedying this disparity is to ensure that women are engaged in bicycle planning and policy making through, for example, participation in bicycle advisory committees (BACs). No research has been conducted on women’s representation and participation in these committees. This study attempts to fill that gap by examining women’s membership levels in and experiences serving on California bicycle advisory committees and bicycle/pedestrian advisory committees. In addition, we explore some of the barriers to participation faced by female cyclists. A survey of 42 committees revealed that women …

Prevalence Of Colorectal Cancer Screening Among A Multimorbid Rural Appalachian Population, Steven T. Fleming, Nancy E. Schoenberg, Yelena N. Tarasenko, Kevin A. Pearce

Yelena N. Tarasenko

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the relation among multiple morbidities and the prevalence of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among older adult Appalachian residents of Kentucky. This is the first known study to address multiple morbidities exclusively with a health-disparities population.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 1153 subjects, aged 50 to 76 years, from Appalachian Kentucky.

Results: White race, post-high school education, and perception of having more than enough income on which to survive were associated with higher rates of any guideline concordant CRC screening. Statistically significant trends in the outcome of …

The Role Of Social Support In Multiple Morbidity Self-Management Among Rural Residents, Shoshana Bardach, Yelena N. Tarasenko, Nancy E. Schoenberg

Yelena N. Tarasenko

Social support generally is considered a valuable asset that may compensate for health service deficiencies among rural populations. Employing a mixed methods approach, we explored how vulnerable rural residents described social support in the context of self-management for multiple chronic conditions. Participants generally felt support was available, though emotional/ informational support was perceived as less available than other types of support. Participants did not rely heavily on informal support to help them manage their multiple morbidities, preferring to call on their doctor and their own resources. We discuss implications of these findings for meeting this vulnerable population’s self-management needs.

A Preliminary Study Of The Vegetation Of Vernal Pools Of Acadia National Park, Maine, U.S.A, Brett Ciccotelli, Tanner B. Harris, Bruce Connery, Nishanta Rajakaruna

Nishanta Rajakaruna

We conducted a preliminary floristic study of six vernal pools in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Plant species were recorded on three sampling dates from April to October, 2008. Sixty-five vascular plant species from 26 families were recorded. Of these, 27 are considered occasional or uncommon in Acadia National Park. Thirteen species are new reports for vernal pools in the northeastern United States. This represents the first published study of the vernal pool flora of Acadia National Park.

What Do Americans Think About Federal Transportation Tax Options? Results From Year 2 Of A National Survey, Asha W. Agrawal, Hilary Nixon

Hilary Nixon

This report summarizes the results of a national random-digit-dial public opinion poll that asked 1,516 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues. The 11 specific tax options tested were variations on raising the federal gas tax rate, creating a new mileage tax, and creating a new federal sales tax. In addition, the survey collected standard socio-demographic data, some minimal travel behavior data, and attitudinal data about how respondents view the quality of their local transportation system and their priorities for government spending on transportation in their state. All of this information is used to …

The Emergency Department As A Potential Intervention Recruitment Venue Among Vulnerable Rural Residents, Yelena N. Tarasenko, Nancy E. Schoenberg, Keisa L. Bennett

Yelena N. Tarasenko

Meeting the health care needs of rural residents is complicated by their substantial medical burdens that frequently outstrip patient and community resources. Nowhere is this more evident than in central Appalachia. Preventive procedures are often sacrificed as patients and providers attend to more pressing medical issues. We report the results of a pilot study designed to explore the need for and appropriateness of a potential intervention placed in an emergency department (ED), with the eventual goal of using the ED to link traditionally underserved patients to preventive services. We used a convenience sample of 49 ED patients to explore their …

Decisional Strategy Determines Whether Frame Influences Treatment Preferences For Medical Decisions, Erin L. Woodhead, E. B. Lynch, B. A. Edelstein

Erin L. Woodhead

Decision makers are influenced by the frame of information such that preferences vary depending on whether survival or mortality data are presented. Research is inconsistent as to whether and how age impacts framing effects. This paper presents two studies that used qualitative analyses of think-aloud protocols to understand how the type of information used in the decision making process varies by frame and age. In Study 1, 40 older adults, age 65 to 89, and 40 younger adults, age 18 to 24, responded to a hypothetical lung cancer scenario in a within-subject design. Participants received both a survival and mortality …