Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Olininfo, Fall 2014, Olin Library

OlinInfo

Newsletter of the Franklin W. Olin Library at Rollins College.

A User-Centered Approach To Addressing Issues Of Discoverability And Access, Nathan Hosburgh, Tess Graham

Faculty Publications

eResource access problems challenge electronic resources librari- ans and frustrate users. Challenges of using library systems can include information overload, links that do not work properly, incorrect metadata, and questionable relevance to search results. Nate Hosburgh, Electronic Resources Librarian at Montana State University, gave a presentation titled “A User-Centered Approach to Addressing Issues of Discoverability and Access” at the Mississippi State University Libraries’ eResource & Emerging Technologies Summit held in the Mitchell Memorial Library on August 2, 2013. Hosburgh spoke of lessons he and his team learned about troubleshooting eResources and his team’s approach to issues of discoverability and access.

From Balinghou To Jiulinghou, China's Millennials Come Of Age, Robert L. Moore, Zhao Chang

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Library Security Gates: Effectiveness And Current Practice, Jonathan H. Harwell

Faculty Publications

For years, library personnel have relied on security gates to prevent theft from their collections. However, recent anecdotal evidence suggests that libraries are removing the gates for various reasons, including cost and patron frustration with false alarms. This study examines current practices via a survey of libraries and security gate vendors and analyzes the effectiveness of security gates by empirical testing of alarms and with loss inventories of collection samples, supplemented by lost item statistics from interlibrary loan. Thus we use three primary methods to assess libraries’ approaches to security gates.

Affect-Marked Lexemes And Their Relational Model Correlates, Robert Moore

Faculty Publications

Four categories of affect-marked lexemes are prominent in a variety of languages, suggesting thereby that all four may be universal, cross-cultural categories: slang, swearwords, honorifics and terms of endearment. Each of these categories (as well as the closely associated ones of nicknames and pet names) is "designed" to serve specific social functions. Data from China and the U.S. indicate that these lexemic categories overlap with each other both functionally and in terms of the specific lexemes that comprise them (Moore et al. 2010). However, they can be distinguished in terms of their prototypical forms and functions. Furthermore, the prototypical functions …

America The Yogiful: Insights Into American Yoga Culture Today, Carolina Castaneda

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Originally a spiritual technology, yoga has been practiced in India and surrounding areas for thousands of years. In the late nineteenth century the practice of yoga gained popularity as a physical, mental and spiritual commodity among the masses in America and the world. Yoga is now a globally recognized fitness routine, part of the everyday lives of men and women seeking relaxation, stretching and mental sanity. In today’s fast paced world it is easy to understand yoga is appealing to the masses, however, as a yoga practitioner myself I often wondered if Americans are gaining all the benefits of the …

Applied Theater: Giving Voice To Low-Income Teenage Immigrants Through Theater, Nadia S. Garzon

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

In the United States, immigration is feared, criticized, and highly misunderstood. The current immigration debate relies on, and reinforces, anti-immigrant myths. This rhetoric negatively impacts the lives of immigrants, especially that of the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants who currently live in the United States. The first chapter of this paper talks about some of the myths associated with immigration, the situation of many immigrants, and some of the root causes of immigration, including the role of the United States. The second chapter describes Augusto Boal’s life and his Theater of the Oppressed. The third chapter describes the process, challenges, and …

Diplomacy & Negotiation, Liefke M. Cox

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Over the course of history when women have been involved in the diplomatic, political, social, and economic structure of a country it has been found they are one of the key ingredients to building an effective and stable democracy. Investing in women strengthens the back bone of any society. Top CEO’s, such as Tupperware’s Rick Goings and Warren Buffett, have also publically supported this assumption. I argue that women in different societies have traits that have been instilled in them culturally which in turn translate directly to their ability to handle diplomatic situations and business negotiations. Societies, however intentionally or …

The Prosocial And Aggressive Driving Inventory (Padi): A Self-Report Measure Of Safe And Unsafe Driving Behaviors, Paul B. Harris, John M. Houston, Jose A. Vazquez, Janan A. Smither, Amanda Harms, Jeffrey A. Dahlke, Daniel A. Sachau

Faculty Publications

Surveys of 1217 undergraduate students supported the reliability (inter-item and test-retest) and validity of the Prosocial and Aggressive Driving Inventory (PADI). Principal component analyses on the PADI items yielded two scales: Prosocial Driving (17 items) and Aggressive Driving (12 items). Prosocial Driving was associated with fewer reported traffic accidents and violations, with participants who were older and female, and with lower Boredom Susceptibility and Hostility scores, and higher scores on Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Neuroticism. Aggressive Driving was associated with more frequent traffic violations, with female participants, and with higher scores on Competitiveness, Sensation Seeking, Hostility, and Extraversion, and lower …

Sarajevo Heart Of Europe? Global Politics, Symbol(Ism) & Liminality In The Centenary Of Ww1, Joan Davison

Faculty Publications

The analysis highlights the inter-connection and intra-connection between societal facts (mythology, symbols, and religion), socio-anthropological concepts (imitation, liminality), and psychological factors (human will and “I will”) with global politics. The approach identifies dynamics and “repetitions” which can affect individuals and societies, perpetuate tension and violence, and constrain certain political outcomes. Thus follows the particular shortcoming of International Relations theory as the product of rational choice, which strives to separate the unconscious from the conscious, to understand and remedy certain socio-political conflicts. Conversely, this analysis employs the theory on mimesis, imitation, hence, memory “me willed” (as the distillate of modernity). The …

A Method For Evaluating Library Liaison Activities In Small Academic Libraries, Jonathan Miller

Faculty Publications

This article presents a practical method for formative, self-reflective assessment of the liaison activities of individual librarians and to evaluate liaison activities in general. Many libraries evaluate their liaison programs, but few evaluate the effectiveness of individual librarians’ efforts within the program.

Librarians of Rollins College redefined and re-branded their liaison program as “Your Librarian.” As part of this effort, the author surveyed the faculty and assessed the program and the effectiveness of individual librarians. The author outlines the liaison responsibilities, the survey instrument, and how the results are analyzed and used in a process of continuous reflective improvement for …

Library Space Assessment: User Learning Behaviors In The Library, Susan Montgomery

Faculty Publications

Library space assessment in academic libraries is beginning to attract attention in the research literature. Libraries need to uncover how as an informal learning space, it contributes to student learning on campus. The Olin Library sought to learn the role of library space in our users’ learning. We surveyed users about their learning behaviors in a specific space prior to a scheduled renovation and then in the same space afterward. We wanted to determine how the renovation changed users’ perceptions of their learning behaviors in that space.