A Review of “Managing Electronic Government Information in Libraries,Issues and Practices”

ABSTRACT

Included in this bibliography are Internet sites pertaining to the United States Congress. Covered are the official sites from Congress and its supporting agencies. In addition, there are unofficial sites that contain Congress-related information. These include general Web sites of interest groups, document collections sites, general Congress-related sites, voter information and e-mail sites, as well as sites providing access to newsgroups, newsletters, and bulletin boards.

There is a great deal of information on Congress to be found on the Internet. With public Internet stations popping up in libraries, and the increase in personal Internet accounts, the Internet can help technology meet democracy. And with the ever-increasing trend by government agencies, including the Government Printing Office, to move toward electronic information, it will be important to know where to find the information. Hopefully, this bibliography will help you locate the information you are seeking on Congress.     

Energy-efficiency skeptics and advocates: the debate heats up as the stakes rise

Energy efficiency (EE) is rapidly growing in many markets today, but its its cost-effectiveness and potential for growth are being hotly debated. These controversies impede public and private investment in efficiency programs, products, and services. As the stakes rise, the debate has heated up and the need grows to clarify the disagreements and disputes. We review the arguments of skeptics and advocates on 10 key questions concerning energy efficiency, attempting to answer three overriding questions: does an EE gap exist, how big is the gap, and how can the gap be shrunk? We tackle 10 areas of contention: the significance of market failures, the efficiency of investment levels, energy intensity as a measure of efficiency, the treatment of naturally occurring EE, the application of discount rates, accounting for transaction costs, treatment of the rebound effect, the practice of EE delivery, the integration of EE into utility business models, and opportunities for EE growth. Research needs in each of these areas are also described. By examining the divergent views of skeptics and advocates and by addressing the limitations of current knowledge, policymakers and stakeholders can make better-informed decisions supported by more defensible analysis.     

Obituary: Jacquelin R. Goldman (1934–2008).

Presents an obituary for Jacquelin R. Goldman, professor emeritus in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology and the Department of Psychology at the University of Florida, died November 3, 2008, at the age of 74 in Gainesville, Florida. She spent her entire career of 35-plus years at the University of Florida. She mentored 24 doctoral students, authored and edited three psychology textbooks, and published more than 40 professional articles and book chapters. She was an active contributor to university governance and was involved in teaching, research, clinical supervision, and the provision of clinical services to children. She was also an active contributor to the profession, having served as president of the Florida State Board of Examiners of Psychology (1975–1977), chair of the Southeastern Regional Board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (1983–1993), and president of the American Board of Professional Psychology (1990–1991), among other professional involvements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test-retest stability of injured workers' MMPI-2 profiles.

94 workers completed the (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) MMPI-2 on 2 separate occasions, with an average lag of 21.3 months (SD?=?14.1, range--2-75), within the context of a psychological assessment after suffering an injury due to crime or accident. MMPI-2 profiles were moderately consistent, with correlation coefficients ranging from .61 to .73 for clinical scales, from .52 to .80 for supplementary scales, from .65 to .78 for content scales, and from .32 to .73 for the Personality Psychopathology Five scales (A. R. Harkness et al, 1995). The results suggest that the MMPI 2 provides consistent and stable results across time in injured workers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bringing forth worlds

Kress encourages us to understand writing as “transformative engagement in the world,” and his emphasis on the materiality of modes draws our attention to the multiple possibilities offered by different materials and sensory channels. Writing involves the transformation of all aspects of the resources for meaning; thus writing is always an ethical act, and the worlds that different cultures and communities bring forth through their semiotic work offer different possibilities of being.     

AudioBrowser: a mobile browsable information access for the visually impaired

Although a large amount of research has been conducted on building interfaces for the visually impaired that allows users to read web pages and generate and access information on computers, little development addresses two problems faced by the blind users. First, sighted users can rapidly browse and select information they find useful, and second, sighted users can make much useful information portable through the recent proliferation of personal digital assistants (PDAs). These possibilities are not currently available for blind users. This paper describes an interface that has been built on a standard PDA and allows its user to browse the information stored on it through a combination of screen touches coupled with auditory feedback. The system also supports the storage and management of personal information so that addresses, music, directions, and other supportive information can be readily created and then accessed anytime and anywhere by the PDA user. The paper describes the system along with the related design choices and design rationale. A user study is also reported.     

The lithium—iodine cell for medical and commercial applications

The lithium—iodine solid electrolyte pacemaker cell is described along with other versions of the cell intended for watches, CMOS memories and oil well data logging applications. Process modifications are mentioned which can increase the current density of the system from 1 μA/cm² in pacemaker cells to 60 μA/cm² in button cells for watches and D cells. A 14 ampere-hour D cell is described which can supply 10 mA at room temperature or up to 500 mA at 130 °C.     

Aerobic exercise equipment preferences among older adults: a preliminary investigation

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument that would measure the aerobic exercise equipment preferences of a frail older population and to see, despite a small sample size, if a many-facet Rasch analysis would provide useful information concerning the construct validity of the instrument and the equipment preferences of the sample. Sixteen ambulatory seniors (M = 82.0 yr +/- 6.6; 4 males and 12 females), who resided in a local retirement community and were involved in a structured fitness program, evaluated the following exercise equipment: Schwinn Air-Dyne, Nu-Step Recumbent Stepper; Monark bicycle ergometer; Stairmaster; and PTS Turbo Recumbent Bicycle. Participants used the equipment for 5 min. and then completed the survey via a structured interview technique. Test-retest reliability coefficients indicated the participants' responses were stable across days for each piece of exercise equipment (proportions of agreement >.83; km >.77). A many-facet (equipment, items, participants) Rasch analysis verified that 12 closed format items defined a linear construct of equipment preference (separation = 1.8; reliability =.77). The pieces of equipment were placed on the linear continuum according to their equipment preference measures (separation = 3.21; reliability =.91) derived from the participants' response patterns to the items (separation = 1.43; reliability =.67). Although the MNSQ infit and outfit statistics were acceptable for each facet, the items did not target the equipment very well. Suggested changes to the instrument include converting questions to statements to use with Likert response categories; converting negative wording to positive phrasing, and adding items related to seat comfort, foot pedal placement, and visibility of display panel. The Nu-Step and Schwinn were the most preferred pieces of equipment while the Stairmaster was the least preferred. This preliminary investigation illustrates how useful information can be obtained from a many-facet Rasch analysis to guide instrument revision and better understand exercise equipment preferences among a frail older population.     

Integrating writing into psychotherapy practice: A matrix of change processes and structural dimensions.

Research on therapeutic writing indicates that it can offer a range of physical and psychological benefits. There is no consensus, however, concerning how writing achieves these benefits. To address this question, the authors propose a matrix framework with emotional-cognitive change processes (what can be activated) along its horizontal dimension and abstract-concrete structure (how the processes are activated) along its vertical dimension. On the horizontal dimension, writing can encourage clients who are distant from their emotional world to approach or to modulate emotional intensity, and to create meaning and coherence. Along the vertical dimension, these processes can be activated through tasks that vary in structure, including programmed writing, diaries, journaling, autobiography, storytelling, and poetry. Finally, the authors consider constraints on writing that apply to particular client groups. The matrix framework is meant to encourage clinicians to use therapeutic writing and to assist researchers in framing questions to advance our knowledge of writing as a therapeutic practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dopamine D? receptor stimulation of the nucleus accumbens or the medial preoptic area promotes the onset of maternal behavior in pregnancy-terminated rats.

There is good evidence that interference with the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system results in impaired maternal responding in postpartum female rats. However, whether activation of the mesolimbic DA system is capable of promoting maternal behavior has not been investigated. This study examined whether increasing DA activity in various brain regions of pregnancy-terminated, naive female rats would stimulate the onset of maternal behavior. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects of microinjection of various doses (0, 0.2, or 0.5 μg/0.5 μl/side) of a D? DA receptor agonist, SKF 38393, or a D? DA receptor agonist, quinpirole, into the nucleus accumbens (NA) on latency to show full maternal behavior, and Experiment 3 determined the effects of SKF 38393 injection into a control site. Finally, because the medial preoptic area (MPOA) is also important for maternal behavior, receives DA input, and expresses DA receptors, the authors examined whether microinjection of SKF 38393 into MPOA was capable of stimulating the onset of maternal behavior. Results indicated that microinjection of SKF 38393 into either the NA or the MPOA facilitates maternal responding in pregnancy-terminated rats. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)