The Information Literacy Challenge

Abstract

Technological changes are occurring rapidly. As one result, students entering college are bringing very disparate computer skills and attitudes. Some students are reluctant to embrace new technologies; others demand electronic resources for all assignments. By considering the computer access and Internet resources available to elementary school students today, we can only imagine what our users of tomorrow will expect from libraries. Although college students may arrive at our libraries with increased computer skills, their knowledge of electronic information may be lacking. Definitions of information literacy and an overview of information literacy skills are outlined. The Digital Information Literacy program at The University of Texas at Austin, as well as the technological environment and facilities at the institution, serve as a case study for integrating information literacy skills into traditional services and partnerships.     

An analysis of variables affecting the ICT literacy level of Korean elementary school students

With the study aim of examining individual- and school-level variables affecting the ICT literacy level of Korean elementary school students, a stratified sample of 11,767 students in 173 schools was analyzed using a two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) and a two-level hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM). Students' ICT literacy level was classified into four levels: below basic, basic, average, and excellent. First, HLM analysis results revealed that male student, completion of computer courses, log usage time for purposes other than study and satisfaction level of students in classes using ICT have positive effects on ICT literacy score, but that log usage time for study has a negative effect at the individual level. In addition, major city, achievement level and number of PCs per student have a positive influence at the school level. At the individual level, the results from HGLM analysis showed that the ICT level of female students was higher than that of male students in average or lower levels. The completion status of computer courses had a significant effect on the probability of attaining a basic or average level. The satisfaction level of students in classes using ICT had a positive influence on attaining a higher level of ICT literacy. At the school level, the number of PCs per student had a significant effect on the probability of attaining an average level. The ICT literacy of schools located in major cities was higher than that in rural area in average level.     

“Why are they commenting on his page?”: Using Facebook profile pages to continue connections with the deceased

This study examines what the living discuss on the Facebook profile pages of deceased loved ones and how these messages change over time. A content analysis of 2533 messages posted on ten deceased individuals’ Facebook profile pages reveals that messages to the deceased reflect three themes: Processing the Death, Remembering the Deceased, and Continuing the Connection. An analysis of messages over time indicates that posts pertaining to processing the death and remembering the deceased peak immediately after loss and then decrease in frequency, while messages signaling continued connections increase with time. In discussing the results, this study seeks to expand upon Continuing Bonds theory and existing literature on grief communication online.     

Reframing Pinterest: Information Literacy for Interior Design Students

This article discusses providing information literacy to interior design students, specifically how over a few years, and several assignment iterations, we moved from a more traditional one-shot library instruction session to a creative Association of College and Research Libraries Framework-inspired assignment using Pinterest as the medium for the students' professionally relevant research project. The outcome of our instruction relied on flexible assignment planning, collaboration as faculty and librarians changed roles, and a focus on information literacy skills needed by professional designers.     

科学素养的内涵在中等职业教学中的解读

通过对科学素养概念的梳理和结合中等职业教育教学的实际情况,分析了科学素养在中等职业教育教学中的表现,从职业教育的层面提出了科学素养的概念。     

Modeling dynamic relationship types for subsets of entity type instances and across entity types

In a traditional ER model, once we specify a subclass or superclass relationship, any changes to that relationship are treated as schema evolution. Further, ER models are rigid in the sense that once a relationship type is specified across a set of entity types, an instance of relationship type occur when one instance of all participating entity types are specified. Therefore, it is difficult to introduce in a simplified manner all relationship types across subsets of given set of entity types. In this paper, we provide mechanisms to model in our extended ER model: (i) specification of dynamic relationship types across subsets of instances of entity types, (ii) a simplified specification of relationships across subsets of given set of entity types, and (iii) mapping our extended ER model to relational database schema. We also show through an e-contract example the utility of our extended ER model.     

Yes I can cook a fish; effects of a five week sensory-based experiential theme course with fish on 11- to 13- year old children’s food literacy and fish eating behaviour – A quasi-experimental study

Danish early-phase adolescents only consume one-third of the officially recommended amount of fish. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of a five week sensory-based experiential theme course with fish on 11- to 13-year old early-phased adolescents’ food literacy and acceptance of fish. Study design was a quasi-experimental intervention. 32 Food Knowledge school classes were recruited from the eastern part of Denmark. Classes were assigned to intervention group (n = 185), control group 1 (n = 123), only baseline and follow-up survey, or control group 2 (n = 75): one oral lecture between baseline and follow-up survey. Mixed methods strategy was applied: baseline and follow-up survey, participant observation, telephone-, and group interviews. Before between study group analysis control groups were pooled. The following key effects of the intervention were observed: knowledge on fish and cooking increased within specific areas, skills related to fish and cooking increased, especially in girls. Furthermore, the social dimension and helping each other were important elements. In the intervention group no positive effects were observed for liking or assessment of fish disgust; however, theme course evaluation showed that 47% had become curious on tasting other kinds of fish and 38% stated a higher liking for fish after participation. Furthermore, teachers reported an increase in acceptance of fish in the children as a result of participating. In conclusion food literacy and fish acceptance were increased through participation in a five week sensory-based experiential theme course with fish.     

The effect of electronic books on enhancing emergent literacy skills of pre-school children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of e-books on enhancing Jordanian preschool children's emergent literacy skills (experimental group), in comparison to children who were exposed to regular printed books (control group). To achieve the objectives of this study, the total of 92 children were assigned to either experimental group (n = 48) and control group (n = 44). The pre- and post-test data was collected on print awareness, vocabulary, alphabetic knowledge and phonological awareness skills to determine the effectiveness of e-books. The results indicated that children in experimental group performed significantly better than the children in control group. Moreover, significant differences were found according to gender, as the female children exhibited superior emergent literacy skills to the male children. Regarding the different emergent literacy skills, children in the experimental group achieved better improvement in the areas of print awareness and vocabulary. Based on these findings, it is recommended that pre-school institutions incorporate e-books activities into their classrooms.     

Using Fuzzy Cost‐Based FMEA,GRA and Profitability Theory for Minimizing Failures at a Healthcare Diagnosis Service

This paper proposes an integrated approach to identify, evaluate and improve the potential failures in a service setting. This integrated approach combines Fuzzy cost‐based service‐specific FMEA (FCS‐FMEA), Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) and profitability theory for better prioritization of the service failures by considering cost as an important issue and using the profitability theory in a way that the corrective actions costs are taken into account. Considering profitability with FCS‐FMEA and GRA reduces the losses caused by failure occurrence. Besides, a maximization linear mathematical problem is used to select the best mix of failures to be repaired. We apply our approach to an academic example concerning the potential failures diagnosis of the Internal Medicine service of a hospital located in Seoul, Korea. We applied our approach and solved the associated maximization problem by a commercial solver, producing an optimal solution which indicates the most convenient mix of failures to be repaired by considering available budget. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Concerning ordered mutation testing of relational operators

The aim of this paper is to correct a misapprehension concerning mutation testing of relational operators in imperative programming languages. An apparently plausible, but fallacious argument is stated concerning the order in which mutants are best considered. Subsequently, a counter-example is presented which disproves the argument.