An investigation of computer literacy and attitudes amongst Greek post-graduate dental students

An accurate assessment of the computer skills of students is a pre-requisite for the success of any e-learning interventions. The aim of the present study was to assess objectively the computer literacy and attitudes in a group of Greek post-graduate students, using a task-oriented questionnaire developed and validated in the University of Malmö, Sweden. 50 post-graduate students in the Athens University School of Dentistry in April 2005 took part in the study. A total competence score of 0-49 was calculated. Socio-demographic characteristics were recorded. Attitudes towards computer use were assessed. Descriptive statistics and linear regression modeling were employed for data analysis. Total competence score was normally distributed (Shapiro-Wilk test: W = 0.99, V = 0.40, P = 0.97) and ranged from 5 to 42.5, with a mean of 22.6 (+/-8.4). Multivariate analysis revealed 'gender', 'e-mail ownership' and 'enrollment in non-clinical programs' as significant predictors of computer literacy. Conclusively, computer literacy of Greek post-graduate dental students was increased amongst males, students in non-clinical programs and those with more positive attitudes towards the implementation of computer assisted learning.

Preparing writing centers and tutors for literacy mediation for working class campus-staff

Writing centers work with writers; traditionally services have been focused on undergraduates taking composition classes. More recently, centers have started to attract a wider client base including: students taking labs that require writing; graduate students; and ESL students learning the conventions of U.S. communication. There are very few centers, however, which identify themselves as open to working with all members of the campus-community. Michigan Technological University has one such center. In the Michigan Tech writing center, doors are open to “all students, faculty and staff.” While graduate students, post docs, and professors preparing articles for publication have used the center, for the first time in the collective memory of the center UAW staff members requested center appointments in the summer of 2008. These working class employees were in the process of filling out a work related document, the UAW Position Audit, an approximately seven-page form. This form was their one avenue for requesting a review of the job they were doing; the review was the first step in requesting a raise in job level and pay. This study grew out of the realization that implicit literacy expectations between working class United Auto Workers (UAW) staff and professional class staff were complicating the filling out and filing of the position audit form. Professional class supervisors had designed the form as a measure of fairness, in that each UAW employee on campus was responding to the same set of questions about their work. However, the implicit literacy expectations of supervisors were different from those of many of the employees who were to fill out the form. As a result, questions that were meant to be straightforward to answer were in the eyes of the employees filling out the form, complex. Before coming to the writing center UAW staff had spent months writing out responses to the form; they expressed concerns that their responses still would not meet audience expectations. These writers recognized that they did not yet know exactly what the audience was expecting. The results of this study include a framework for planning writing center sessions that facilitate the acquisition of literacy practices which are new to the user. One important realization from this dissertation is that the social nature of literacy must be kept in the forefront when both planning sessions and when educating tutors to lead these sessions. Literacy scholars such as James Paul Gee, Brian Street, and Shirley Brice Heath are used to show that a person can only know those literacy practices that they have previously acquired. In order to acquire new literacy practices, a person must have social opportunities for hands-on practice and mentoring from someone with experience. The writing center can adapt theory and practices from this dissertation that will facilitate sessions for a range of writers wishing to learn “new” literacy practices. This study also calls for specific changes to writing center tutor education.

Two Approaches to Collaborative Information Literacy Instruction at a Small Engineering School

Two librarians at a small STEM academic library have partnered with professors to develop and teach chemistry and writing courses. These librarians have successfully worked with professors to serve as an active presence within the classroom. This article describes the challenges of navigating the typical obstacles librarians face when attempting to integrate information literacy into the curriculum, reflects on the benefits of these collaborations, and touches on strategies for implementing similar programs at other institutions. It outlines two distinct approaches to collaborating with professors on credit-bearing information literacy courses, along with the key steps involved in planning and implementing these courses, including generating institutional buy-in, identifying potential collaborators, negotiating workload and responsibilities with collaborators, and planning to sustain courses beyond a single academic year. Suggestions for overcoming obstacles, supplemented by experience-based recommendations, are discussed.

Teaching Information Literacy to Undergraduate Students: Reflecting on the Past, Present and Future of Library Instruction

The need to teach information literacy skills to undergraduate students is often framed as a 21st century concern, but debate over the value and practice of teaching this set of skills can be found as far back as the early 1900’s. This article reviews the history of information literacy instruction in academic libraries from its origins to the present, examines the current state of information literacy instruction in academic libraries, and explores possible future directions that this instruction may take. Looking to the past, present and future shows that while library instruction has evolved, many central concerns remain unanswered.

Google Books and Fair Use: A Tale of Two Copyrights?

On 14 November 2013, the US District Court of the Southern District of New York issued a major ruling in favour of the Google Books project, concluding that Google’s unauthorized scanning and indexing of millions of copyrighted books in the collections of participating libraries and subsequently making snippets of these works available online through the “Google Books” search tool qualifies as a fair use under section 107 USCA. After assuming that Google’s actions constitute a prima facie case of copyright infringement, Judge Chin examined the four factors in section 107 USCA and concluded in favour of fair use on the grounds that the project provides “significant public benefits,” that the unauthorized use of copyrighted works (a search tool of scanned full-text books) is “highly transformative” and that it does not supersede or supplant these works. The fair use defence also excluded Google’s liability for making copies of scanned books available to the libraries (as well as under secondary liability since library actions were also found to be protected by fair use): it is aimed at enhancing lawful uses of the digitized books by the libraries for the advancement of the arts and sciences. A previous ruling by the same court of 22 March 2011 had rejected a settlement agreement proposed by the parties, on the grounds that it was “not fair, adequate, and reasonable”. The Authors Guild has appealed the ruling.

Translated Literature in the Bulgarian Middle Ages as a Social and Cultural Phenomenon

The study reviews the Medieval Bulgarian translations from Greek as a multi-centennial process, preconditioned by the constant contacts between Byzantium and its Slavonic neighbor and dependant on the historical and cultural circumstances in Medieval Bulgaria. The facts are discussed from the prospective of two basic determining factors: social and cultural environment (spiritual needs of the age, political and cultural ideology, translationsʼ initiator, centers of translation activities, degree of education/literacy). The chronological and typological analysis of the thematic and genre range of the translated literature enables the outlining of five main stages: (1) Cyrillo-Methodian period (the middle of the 9th centuty – 885) – reception of the corpus needed for missionary purposes; (2) The First Bulgarian Tsardom period (885–1018) – intensive translation activities, founding the Christian literature in Bulgaria; (3) The period of The Byzantine rule (1018–1185) – a standstill in the translation activities and single translations of low-level literature texts; (4) The Second Bulgarian Tsardom – the period of Asenevtsi dynasty (the late 12th and the 13th centuries) – a partial revision of the liturgical and paraliturgical books; (5) The Second Bulgarian Tsardom – the Athonite-Tarnovo period (the 14th – early 15th century) – extensive relations with Byzantium and alignment to the then-current Byzantine models, intensifications of the translations flow and a broad range of the translation stream. (taken from: http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/issuedetails.aspx?issueid=fb876e89-ce0b-48a8-9373-a3d1e4d579a6&articleId=3056800e-cac7-4138-959e-8813abc311d9, 10.12.2013)