Online digital special collections in English universities: promoting awareness

Cultural institutions in the UK are repositories of a wealth of historical material. The scholarly importance of such resources is at the basis of the numerous digitisation projects aimed at widening their access worldwide. The lack of national policies has left those institutions alone in engaging in dissemination activities and in raising awareness of their own online material. Of particular interest to the author are the digital special collections hosted in the English Universities. The main activities of these institutions differ from others, such as museums, archives and public libraries, as they do not have the main institutional duties of preserving and the exploiting of their holdings. This article highlights related issues and suggests some of the possible measures to effectively promote and disseminate universities’ online digital special collections.

Online digital special collections in English universities: promoting awareness

Cultural institutions in the UK are repositories of a wealth of historical material. The scholarly importance of such resources is at the basis of the numerous digitisation projects aimed at widening their access worldwide. The lack of national policies has left those institutions alone in engaging in dissemination activities and in raising awareness of their own online material. Of particular interest to the author are the digital special collections hosted in the English Universities. The main activities of these institutions differ from others, such as museums, archives and public libraries, as they do not have the main institutional duties of preserving and the exploiting of their holdings. This article highlights related issues and suggests some of the possible measures to effectively promote and disseminate universities’ online digital special collections.

The observant mind:self-awareness of attentional status

Visual perception is dependent not only on low-level sensory input but also on high-level cognitive factors such as attention. In this paper, we sought to determine whether attentional processes can be internally monitored for the purpose of enhancing behavioural performance. To do so, we developed a novel paradigm involving an orientation discrimination task in which observers had the freedom to delay target presentation--by any amount required--until they judged their attentional focus to be complete. Our results show that discrimination performance is significantly improved when individuals self-monitor their level of visual attention and respond only when they perceive it to be maximal. Although target delay times varied widely from trial-to-trial (range 860 ms-12.84 s), we show that their distribution is Gaussian when plotted on a reciprocal latency scale. We further show that the neural basis of the delay times for judging attentional status is well explained by a linear rise-to-threshold model. We conclude that attentional mechanisms can be self-monitored for the purpose of enhancing human decision-making processes, and that the neural basis of such processes can be understood in terms of a simple, yet broadly applicable, linear rise-to-threshold model.

The relationship between self-awareness of attentional status, behavioral performance and oscillatory brain rhythms

High-level cognitive factors, including self-awareness, are believed to play an important role in human visual perception. The principal aim of this study was to determine whether oscillatory brain rhythms play a role in the neural processes involved in self-monitoring attentional status. To do so we measured cortical activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participants were asked to self-monitor their internal status, only initiating the presentation of a stimulus when they perceived their attentional focus to be maximal. We employed a hierarchical Bayesian method that uses fMRI results as soft-constrained spatial information to solve the MEG inverse problem, allowing us to estimate cortical currents in the order of millimeters and milliseconds. Our results show that, during self-monitoring of internal status, there was a sustained decrease in power within the 7-13 Hz (alpha) range in the rostral cingulate motor area (rCMA) on the human medial wall, beginning approximately 430 msec after the trial start (p < 0.05, FDR corrected). We also show that gamma-band power (41-47 Hz) within this area was positively correlated with task performance from 40-640 msec after the trial start (r = 0.71, p < 0.05). We conclude: (1) the rCMA is involved in processes governing self-monitoring of internal status; and (2) the qualitative differences between alpha and gamma activity are reflective of their different roles in self-monitoring internal states. We suggest that alpha suppression may reflect a strengthening of top-down interareal connections, while a positive correlation between gamma activity and task performance indicates that gamma may play an important role in guiding visuomotor behavior. © 2013 Yamagishi et al.

Purchase decision-making in fair trade and the ethical 'gap':'is there a fair trade twix?'

Children are increasingly being recognised as a significant force in the retail market place, as primary consumers, influencers of others, and as future customers. This paper adds to the literature on children as consumers by exploring their attitudinal responses to a specific group of products: Fair Trade lines. There has been no research to date that has specifically addressed children as consumers of Fair Trade or the ethical purchase decision-making process in this area. The methodological approach taken here is an essentially interpretive and naturalistic analysis of two focus groups of school children. The analysis found that there is an urgent need to develop meaningful Fair Trade brands that combine strong brand knowledge and positive brand images to bridge the ethical purchase gap between the formation of clear ethical attitudes and actual ethical purchase behaviour. Such an approach would both capture more of the children’s primary market and influence future purchase behaviour. It is argued that Fair Trade actors should coordinate new marketing communications campaigns that build brand knowledge structures holistically around the Fair Trade process and that extend beyond merely raising consumer awareness.

The de-gaying and re-gaying of AIDS:contested homophobias in lesbian and gay awareness training

From the first recognition of AIDS as a disease, it was publicly conceptualized as a 'gay plague'. In response, health education and diversity training sought to counter this association claiming that AIDS is an 'equal opportunity' virus - that it can affect anyone. In this article, we analyse talk about HIV/AIDS within a data corpus of 13 tape-recorded lesbian and gay awareness training sessions. Counter to the way in which interactions are described in the lesbian and gay awareness training literature, we found that it was trainees, rather than trainers, who pursued discussions about HIV/AIDS, and who did so in order to claim the 'de-gaying' of AIDS, which they treated as representing a 'non-prejudiced' position. By contrast, and in response to trainees' insistence on de-gaying AIDS, trainers were 're-gaying' AIDS. Our analysis highlights that in these sessions - designed explicitly to counter homophobic attitudes - apparently 'factual' claims and counter-claims about infection rates and risk groups are underpinned by essentially contested definitions of what constitutes a 'homophobic' attitude. We conclude by pointing to the value of detailed analysis of talk-in-interaction for understanding professional practices, and suggest strategies for improving the pedagogic value of training. Copyright © 2005 SAGE Publications.

Women beware women: detective fiction and critical discourse stylistics

This article examines the work of four contemporary writers of detective fiction (P.D. James, Amanda Cross, Sara Paretsky and Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine) from a critical discourse stylistics perspective with the objective of raising the reader’s awareness of the ideological processes that are manifested in the language of these texts. It considers how these writers deal with stereotypical assumptions, how they cope with socially-determined traditional roles and verify whether their choices result in the articulation of an alternative discourse. The investigation arrives at some identifiable cultural and linguistic characteristics which may be singular to this new group of writers. We suggest that by challenging traditional representations of women, these writers may be offering a reconstruction of the genre.

Raising rivals' fixed costs

This paper analyses the strategic use of fixed costs to deter entry or monopolize a market in a standard Cournot framework. First of all a general case shows how the presence of fixed costs can affect the possible equilibria to the Cournot game. It is shown that the presence of a firm with a first-mover advantage can have important implications if fixed costs are raised. In addition the forward induction process becomes important in determining plausible equilibria. The use of firstly regulation and secondly ‘nuisance’ law-suits are considered as strategies to increase fixed costs.

Raising the bar for systematic conservation planning

Mathematical methods in systematic conservation planning (SCP) represent a significant step toward cost-effective, transparent allocation of resources for biodiversity conservation. However, research demonstrates important consequences of uncertainties in SCP. Current research often relies on simplified case studies with unknown forms and amounts of uncertainty and low statistical power for generalizing results. Consequently, conservation managers have little evidence for the true performance of conservation planning methods in their own complex, uncertain applications. SCP needs to build evidence for predictive models of error and robustness to multiple, simultaneous uncertainties across a wide range of problems of known complexity. Only then can we determine true performance rather than how a method appears to perform on data with unknown uncertainty.

Hospital pharmacists' awareness of a new antibiotic guideline in the UK:implications for practice

Objectives: Pharmacists play an important role in the review of local hospital guidelines. British Thoracic Society (BTS) guidelines for the management of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were updated in 2001, and it is important that individual hospital recommendations are based upon this national guidance. The aim of this study was to identify UK Chief Pharmacists' awareness of these updated guidelines one year after their publication. Secondary aims were to identify whether pharmacists had subsequently initiated revision of institutional CAP guidelines, and what roles different professional staff had performed in this process. Method: A self-completion postal questionnaire was sent to the Chief Pharmacist (or their nominated staff) in 253 UK NHS hospitals in November 2002. This aimed to identify issues relating to their awareness of the 2001 BTS guidelines and subsequent revision of their hospital's guidelines. Results:188 questionnaires were returned (a response rate of 74%), of which 164 hospitals had local antibiotic prescribing guidelines. Respondents in 29% of these hospitals were unaware of the 2001 BTS publication and institutional guidelines had been revised in only 51% of hospitals where the Chief Pharmacist was purportedly aware of the new BTS guidance. Generally, more staff types were involved in revising guidelines than initiating revision. Conclusions:Variability existed in both Chief Pharmacists' awareness of new national guidance and subsequent review processes operating in individual hospitals. A lack of proactive reaction to new national guidance was identified in some hospitals, and it is hoped that the establishment of specialist "infectious diseases pharmacists" will facilitate the review of institutional antibiotic prescribing guidelines in the future. © Springer 2005.

Visual consciousness: the binocular rivalry explosion

A new behavioural technique solves a long-standing puzzle of binocular suppression, demonstrating that adapting reciprocal inhibition governs visual sensitivity, and raising key questions about visual awareness.

Real options and multinational investments : an empirical study of risk, performance and organisational awareness

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT This thesis is a cross-disciplinary study of the empirical impact of real options theory in the fields of decision sciences and performance management. Borrowing from the economics, strategy and operations research literature, the research examines the risk and performance implications of real options in firms’ strategic investments and multinational operations. An emphasis is placed on the flexibility potential and competitive advantage of multinational corporations to explore the extent to which real options analysis can be classified as best practice in management research. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques the evidence suggests that, if real options are explored and exploited appropriately, real options management can result in superior performance for multinational companies. The qualitative findings give an overview of the practical advantages and disadvantages of real options and the statistical results reveal that firms which have developed a high awareness of their real options are, as predicted by the theory, able to reduce their downside risk and increase profits through flexibility, organisational slack and multinationality. Although real options awareness does not systematically guarantee higher returns from operations, supplementary findings indicate that firms with evidence of significant investments in the acquisition of real options knowledge tend to outperform competitors which are unaware of their real options. There are three contributions of this research. First, it extends the real options and capacity planning literature to path-dependent contingent-claims analysis to underline the benefits of average type options in capacity allocation. Second, it is thought to be the first to explicitly examine the performance effects of real options on a sample of firms which have developed partial capabilities in real options analysis suggesting that real options diffusion can be key to value creation. Third, it builds a new decision-aiding framework to facilitate the use of real options in projects appraisal and strategic planning.

The growth and awareness of health and safety at work, 1780-1900

This thesis examines the growth and awareness of health and safety at work between 1780 and 1900. In this period the hazards at work were increased by the intensification of production brought about by the Industrial Revolution, and new risks to health arose from the wider range of toxic substances in use by manufacturing industry. There is discussion in the thesis of the extent to which the problems were identified in an age of short life expectancy and limited medical knowledge. The sources studied have been largely medical, governmental, trade and press reports. The emphasis is on the first effects seen and recommendations made, and where possible, the extent of the problem and the effectiveness of any preventative measures adopted and examined. There is discussion of the growing involvement of the Government in industrial health and safety. The subject is viewed in the light of modern thinking on industrial health but uses a classification appropriate to historical resources. Psychological and minor afflictions, neglected in the 19th century, are not considered. The available literature is reviewed in each section. Three detailed case studies conclude the thesis, two on the notoriously dangerous occupations of metal grinding and pottery, and one on occupational eye injuries. Each study is based on a different type of source material. The thesis overall shows that there was extensive concern for health and safety at work, but no systematic approach and only ad hoc implementation of preventative measures; and that the rate at which conditions improved varied between different industries and different categories of workers . However, some modern principles of health and safety at work can be seen emerging, and the period laid the necessary medical, technical and legal foundations for developments in the present century.

By writers for writers: developing a writer-centred model of the writing process

This thesis, set within an Action Research framework, details the development and validation of a writer-centred model of the writing process. The model was synthesised within the boundaries of a writers’ group for MA students. The initial data collected, and analysed using the principles of grounded theory, were retrospective descriptions of group members’ writing processes. After initial analysis, additional data, from group members’ writing, and from audio recordings, were used for further analysis, and to form a model of the writing process. To ascertain whether the model had value outside the specific context in which it was made, it was validated from three different perspectives. Firstly, the retrospective descriptions of other writers were collected and analysed, using the model as a framework. Secondly, the model was presented at academic conferences; comments about the model, made by members of the audience, were collected and analysed. Finally, the model was used in writing courses for PhD students. Comments from these students, along with questionnaire responses, were collected and the content analysed. Upon examination of all data sources, the model was updated to reflect additional insights arising from the analysis. Analysis of the data also indicated that the model is useable outside its original context. Potential uses for the model are 1) raising awareness of the process of writing, 2) putting writers at ease, 3) serving as a starting point for individuals or groups to design their own models of the writing process, and 4) as a tool to help writers take control of their writing processes.