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2015

Library and Information Science

Theses/Dissertations

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Education

Currere As A Method For Critical Reflection In The Profession Of Academic Librarianship, Richard A. Stoddart Dec 2015

Currere As A Method For Critical Reflection In The Profession Of Academic Librarianship, Richard A. Stoddart

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Academic librarianship has an intimate association with narratives and stories from their traditional role in curating, caring for, and making collections accessible. Librarians also experience the intricacies and challenges of narrative inquiry through the qualitative research they undertake, oral histories they gather, reflective teaching practices they facilitate, and oral-traditions they interact with. Despite these intersections with reflection and narratives, academic librarianship, and library sciences as a whole, have not fully incorporated their own narratives within their practices. Academic librarianship has the ability but not the spaces to critically reflect in a holistic manner. Shadiow (2013) encourages us all to “recall, …

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Reframing The Academic Research Library In The U.S.: Perceptions Of Change From Library Leaders, Victoria L. Stuart Nov 2015

Reframing The Academic Research Library In The U.S.: Perceptions Of Change From Library Leaders, Victoria L. Stuart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the past five years (2010-2015), U.S. universities experienced a simultaneous downturn in financial support along with rapid changes in technology and increased demand for accountability. Academic libraries, among the most central and visible units in the university system, were often at the forefront of financial cutbacks and increased pressure to demonstrate both unit effectiveness and closer alignment with the overall institutional mission. Little research existed to document academic libraries’ changes during this volatile period in history, or how the role of the academic library as part of the university system evolved during this period. Through interviews with the library …

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The Importance Of Highly Effective School Library Media Programs On School Learning Environments, Alexandra M. Juch Oct 2015

The Importance Of Highly Effective School Library Media Programs On School Learning Environments, Alexandra M. Juch

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of a previously identified successful school library program (SLMP) in a Connecticut public school. The primary goals of this research are to answer these questions by conducting a single case study to examine the nature of this previously identified SLMP so that promising practices identified from this study can be applied to other SLMPs in Connecticut public schools. The data collection methods embodied both qualitative and quantitative instruments that included surveys, interviews and documents. Qualitative data analysis included preparation, familiarization, coding and general meaning that was entered into a table …

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Undergraduate Women In The Stem Fields And The Use Of Academic Library Resources And Services, Rebecca O'Kelly Davis Aug 2015

Undergraduate Women In The Stem Fields And The Use Of Academic Library Resources And Services, Rebecca O'Kelly Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

Women majoring in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are few in number. This research will be conducted in an effort to understand the use of academic library resources and services by undergraduate women in the STEM fields. Data collection methods consisted of three focus groups and five interviews with undergraduate women in the STEM fields, and three focus groups and two interviews with academic librarians and library staff familiar with library resources and services in each of the STEM fields conducted at a Research I University in the USA. Grounded theory principles provided a basis for the …

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Enacting Place: A Comparative Case Study, Anna Grosch Aug 2015

Enacting Place: A Comparative Case Study, Anna Grosch

Theses and Dissertations

As a community-based art educator, I advocate for an arts-based educational environment that embraces postmodern tenets and encourages individuals to reflect on self and society in relation to the places in which they dwell and learn. This thesis is a dialogue on emplaced community-based art education. Issues of urban education, social justice, and critical pedagogy are considered in relation to participants’ enactments of place within two distinct community-based educational settings. In order to investigate the connections between a culture of place, place-based education, and the community-based programs of each site, the role of art and artifacts was carefully considered in …

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Do Stress Levels Differ Between First Semester Nursing Student Early In The Semester Vs. The End Of The Semester?, Alissy Heisey Aug 2015

Do Stress Levels Differ Between First Semester Nursing Student Early In The Semester Vs. The End Of The Semester?, Alissy Heisey

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study intends to determine how stress levels change over time in nursing students in the Baccalaureate program at East Tennessee State University. The instrument utilized for this survey was the Perceived Stress Scale by Mind Garden, Inc. This survey was passed at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester. There was no-significant difference found between the two time spots, leading us to conclude that the level of stress perceived by nursing students is a steady factor during their school semester.

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Accommodating Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Museums, William S. Tyler May 2015

Accommodating Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Museums, William S. Tyler

History Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the question of how current museum access programs meet the needs of individuals with Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is an umbrella classification that presents many challenges for individuals in terms of social development and academic growth. It is important that all individuals are given the opportunity to experience the museum setting to their full ability. With this population of individuals at the forefront, an analysis will be done to examine what needs are present and how museum programming serves them. There are a variety of strategies and accommodations that museums can …

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Old Ideas In New Skins: Examining Discourses Of Diversity On The Websites Of 10 Urban-Serving Universities, Simone Smith May 2015

Old Ideas In New Skins: Examining Discourses Of Diversity On The Websites Of 10 Urban-Serving Universities, Simone Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Deficit discourse, the idea that minorities "lack" intellectually, runs through current ideas about diversity in higher education. Diversity is viewed as a policy that helps the deficient. Recent litigation about diversity, Fisher v. University of Texas (2013), embodied the alignment of deficit and diversity. This study examined portrayals, visual and textual, of diversity on the websites of ten urban-serving universities, using a method of critical discourse analysis and a lens of critical race theory, to uncover the ways they defined diversity and if notions of deficit were attached. This study also addressed the ways these universities, a part of the …

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Using A Pearl Harvested Synonym Ring For The Creation Of A Digital Index On Giftedness, Nichole E. Mortimer Apr 2015

Using A Pearl Harvested Synonym Ring For The Creation Of A Digital Index On Giftedness, Nichole E. Mortimer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examined the use of a pearl harvested synonym ring in the creation of a digital index on the subject of giftedness, with the goal of better defining the available information in the field and facilitating information retrieval. The pearl harvested synonym ring was used in the retrieval of citations relating to giftedness in the ERIC database. A content analysis of these citations provided the list of topics that would form the basis of a digital index. When the topics retrieved using the pearl harvested synonym ring were compared to the indices of two textbooks on gifted education, they …

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Assessment Of A Professional Development Program On Adult Learning Theory, Melinda Malik Apr 2015

Assessment Of A Professional Development Program On Adult Learning Theory, Melinda Malik

Higher Education Student Work

Librarians at colleges and universities invested in graduate education must understand and incorporate adult learning theories in their reference and instruction interactions with graduate students to more effectively support the students’ learning. After participating in a professional development program about adult learning theory, librarians in this study reported that, in many ways, they already employed teaching and learning strategies grounded in one or more adult learning theories. They also indicated gaining a greater awareness of student development, enabling them to more successfully tailor their interactions.

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Creating A Comprehensive Search Strategy For Research On Learning Disabilities Using The Pearl Harvesting Information Retrieval Framework, Salsabel Almanssori Mar 2015

Creating A Comprehensive Search Strategy For Research On Learning Disabilities Using The Pearl Harvesting Information Retrieval Framework, Salsabel Almanssori

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The migration of libraries to the digital realm has created new opportunities for information sharing; however, the abundance of available literature has made locating relevant research studies on specific learning disabilities a difficult task, one that existing search strategies have not adequately addressed. Moreover, definitions of specific learning disabilities have evolved and the nature of this field is interdisciplinary, creating a confusion of possible search terms for the topic. The present investigation used the Pearl Harvesting Information Retrieval Framework to create a comprehensive search strategy for locating research on learning disabilities. The analysis produced four groups of harvested search terms …

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Comparing Basic Computer Literacy Self-Assessment Test And Actual Skills Test In Hospital Employees, Jolly Peter Isaac Jan 2015

Comparing Basic Computer Literacy Self-Assessment Test And Actual Skills Test In Hospital Employees, Jolly Peter Isaac

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A new hospital in United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to adopt health information technology (HIT) and become fully digitalized once operational. The hospital has identified a need to assess basic computer literacy of new employees prior to offering them training on various HIT applications. Lack of research in identifying an accurate assessment method for basic computer literacy among health care professionals led to this explanatory correlational research study, which compared self-assessment scores and a simulated actual computer skills test to find an appropriate tool for assessing computer literacy. The theoretical framework of the study was based on constructivist learning theory …

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Impact Of A California Community College's General Education Information Literacy Requirement, Phyllis Usina Jan 2015

Impact Of A California Community College's General Education Information Literacy Requirement, Phyllis Usina

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Budget cuts at a California community college prompted stakeholders to consider dropping the college's general education information literacy (IL) requirement. Broad institutional outcomes data showed learning gains, but no targeted assessment existed regarding the IL requirement's impact on those gains. This quantitative study used Astin and Antonio's Inputs-Environment-Outcomes (I-E-O) assessment model to address relationships among student characteristics of demographic and prior preparation (Inputs), the IL requirement (Environment), and student reports of information critical analysis behavior and confidence (Outcomes). Study participants were 525 students aged 18 years and older who had completed the IL course with a grade of 2.0 or …

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