Advocating for Disability Access

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore stress among reference library staff in academic and public libraries in one of the European countries. The study has been conducted to ascertain whether members of the reference staff undergo stress, whether they consider the reference work stressful, how often they are exposed to stress, which situations are most stressful and how they cope with stress in the workplace and in their private lives.Design/methodology/approachA semi-structured interview is applied as a data collection technique so that interviewees are able to express their opinions on stress and to describe stress as an individual experience. A convenience sample of members of the reference library staff in ten academic and ten public libraries is prepared.FindingsThe reference library staff in the academic and public libraries is aware of stress causing damage to one’s health and work performance. The reference staff in the public libraries is more frequently exposed to stress than those in the academic libraries. The users are considered the main stressor owing to their complex reference questions, vague information needs and requests, wanting information and materials immediately, not following the library rules, etc.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is small and not representative, including only two types of libraries. The research may serve as a preliminary study, as it offers insights into the work-related stress among the reference staff in the academic and public libraries.Originality/valueThis is the first research on the stress of the reference library staff in the academic and public libraries in the country. It contributes to the understanding of the work-related stress in the libraries. Identifying stressful situations can help the reference staff and employers take appropriate strategies to cope with stress.

<p>Electronic resources (ERs) in academic libraries have become a global phenomenon, and as libraries rely more on these resources managing them effectively becomes crucial. Electronic resource management (ERM) has consequently become a core function which many academic libraries around the globe appear to find challenging to implement effectively. Challenges of managing ERs are particularly pronounced in developing countries such as Ghana where the introduction of ICTs has typically been characterised by inadequate resources. Although there is an extensive literature on both the management and use of ERs, little research has studied how the two aspects could affect each other. Ineffective management of ERs could negatively affect their use; likewise, low usage of ERs could negatively impact on the management of these resources. Studying the concepts of management and usage of ERs together would result in better recommendations to inform practice and eliminate the challenges. In addition, the literature on the management of ERs is predominantly centred around libraries in the developed country context. Moreover, academic libraries in Ghana do not appear to be effective in managing ERs. There is a lack of understanding on how academic libraries in Ghana are managing ERs, and the ways in which this is affecting their usage and vice-versa. The study therefore fills the gaps by exploring the connection between the management and usage of ERs in academic libraries in a developing country context. Placed within a post-positivist worldview, this mixed-methods research employed a multiple case study approach, involving two public and two private universities in Ghana. Stakeholders included in the study were library staff, faculty, students, and consortium executives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with library staff and members of the governing council of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) concurrently with surveys of faculty and postgraduate students of the institutions investigated. These were supported by document analysis. To guide data collection and analysis, the Techniques for Electronic Resource Management (TERMS) framework (Emery & Stone, 2013), and an initial conceptual model of factors developed using constructs from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis 2003) and the literature underpinned the study. The interview findings revealed inadequate planning for ERs in the case institutions owing to operational challenges including inadequate policies for ERs, inadequate funding, and understaffing. Although efforts were being made to follow standard procedures some components of ER workflow were absent in both public and private case libraries, whereas other aspects of the workflow were responsibilities of parties external to the libraries. The document analysis showed that, the total average completeness of collection development policies of case libraries was 25% which indicated the lack of vital elements in these policies. The survey findings showed a generally low awareness and usage of ERs by faculty and students due to inadequate promotional efforts by the case libraries, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of relevant content. Consequently, respondents had a negative perception on the usefulness of the ERs which may have caused the observed low usage. The study also found three main factors as affecting the management and usage of ERs in academic libraries in Ghana which were governmental, organisational and individual factors. Governmental factors such as regulations on staffing, inadequate funding, and nationwide rationing of electricity supply were hindrances. At the organisational level, an enabler was collaboration with stakeholders, whereas obstacles included inadequate policies, staffing challenges, resource-related factors, lack of investment for sustainability, centralised management structure, low institutional commitment, poor communication, and low usage of ERs. Enabling individual factors consisted of religious beliefs, social influence, oral information, and interest in IT. Hindering individual factors comprised negative effects of oral information, resistance to change, fear of speaking against authority, reluctance to submit contents to institutional repository, negative perception on the ERs and lack of time. The findings also established various ways in which the management and usage of ERs affected each other. Low user input in the selection of ERs, access related challenges, inadequate publicity, training, and evaluation of ERs negatively affected the usage of ERs. However, case libraries that occasionally allowed users to schedule training sessions observed increased attendance to training with a corresponding increase in ER usage, which provided a basis for institutional budgetary support. On the other hand, failure of users to attend training programmes after signing up, low referral of students to the ERs by faculty and low usage of ERs of the library negatively affected ERM particularly in the areas of budgeting for ER subscription and sustainability. However, faculty and students facilitated the management of ERs of the library in terms of creating awareness of the ERs among their colleagues and peers, and also accessing the resources using mobile devices to supplement the library’s inadequate computers. The TERMS framework and initial conceptual model of factors were revised based on the findings. The study adds to the Library and Information Science research relevant to the understanding of the management and usage of ERs, factors affecting both concepts and how these two concepts are related. In addition, the study contributes to practice by recommending strategies for effective ERM to encourage increased usage of ERs. It is also hoped that academic libraries in other developing countries can draw lessons from the findings. The study also provides advanced countries with a deeper insight to guide them in providing support to developing countries. The findings also have implications for policy and decision makers in terms of prioritisation and allocation of resources for effective ERM and usage in academic libraries as contemporary issues are revealed. Keywords: Academic institutions, Academic libraries, Electronic resources, Electronic resources in Africa, Electronic resource management, Electronic resource usage</p>

Programming has received extensive attention for the embodiment of computational thinking (CT) skills. However, the lack of in‐depth research on the characteristics of college students' CT skills in text‐based programming learning has resulted in the unknown distribution characteristics and evolution patterns of their CT skills, which cannot effectively constitute an effective tracking analysis of their CT skills, thus affecting the cultivation of creative thinking and problem‐solving skills for them. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to explore the characteristics of college students' CT skills through text‐based programming work and discover the overall characteristics, individual differences and evolutionary patterns of their CT skills on the relation between text‐based programming and CT skills through data analysis. It was found that there are roughly five categories of CT difference and four major categories with nine subcategories of CT evolution among college students. The results showed that the Control and Data skills were the students' dominant skills. In contrast, Algorithm skills were relatively weak. Only about 1/3 of the students had the phenomenon of continuous skill improvement, and programming learning did not have a significant impact on the improvement of CT skills for some students. Finally, we propose several suggestions for CT skills development strategies in response to the students' characteristics in CT skills. The study can not only fill the gaps of the current study but also identify the evolutionary characteristics of students' CT skills, which can effectively intervene in college students' programming learning and help improve their CT skills.

Two studies were conducted to examine the use of grounded embodied pedagogy, construction of Imaginary Worlds (Study 1), and context of instructional materials (Study 2) for developing learners' Computational Thinking (CT) Skills and Concept knowledge during the construction of digital artifacts using Scratch, a block-based programming language. Utilizing a conceptual framework for grounded embodied pedagogy called Instructional Embodiment, learners physically enacted (Direct Embodiment) and mentally simulated (Imagined Embodiment) the actions and events as presented within pre-defined Scripts. Instructional Embodiment utilizes action, perception, and environment to create a dynamic, interactive teaching & learning scenario that builds upon previous research in embodied teaching and learning. The two studies described herein examined the effects of Instructional Embodiment, Imaginary World Construction, and Context on the development of specific Computational Thinking Concepts and Skills. In particular, certain CT Concepts, such as Conditionals, Variables, Thread Synchronization, Collision Detection, & Events, and CT Skills, such as abstraction and pattern recognition, were identified and measured within the learners' individual digital artifacts. Presence and/or frequency of these Concepts and Skills were used to determine the extent of Computational Thinking development. In Study 1, fifty-six sixth- and seventh-grade students participated in a fifteen-session curricular program during the academic school day. This study examined the type of instruction and continuity of Imaginary World Construction on the development of certain CT Skills and Concepts used in a visual novel created in Scratch. Main effects were found for learners who physically embodied the pre-defined instructional materials: embodying the pre-defined Scripts led to the learners using significantly more ‘speech’ Blocks in their projects and more Absolute Positioning Blocks for ‘motion’ than those who did not physically embody the same Scripts. Significant main effects were also found for continuity of Imaginary World Construction: learners who were instructed to continue the premise of the first digital artifact (Instructional Artifact) implemented significantly more computational structures in their second digital artifact (Unique Artifact) than those who were instructed to create a Unique Artifact with a premise of their own design. In Study 2, seventy-eight sixth- and seventh-grade students participated in a seventeen-session curricular program during the academic school day. This study examined the type of instruction and context of instructional materials on the development of CT Skills and Concepts during the construction of a video game using Scratch. Similar to Study 1, findings suggest that physically embodying the actions presented within the pre-defined instructional materials leads to greater implementation of many of these same structures during individual artifact construction. The study also showed that as the pre-defined Scripts become more complex (e.g. single-threaded to multi-threaded), the effect of physical embodiment on the development of CT Skills and complex CT Concept structures becomes less pronounced. Findings from this study also suggest that Context has a significant effect on identifying & implementing the CT Skill pattern recognition: learning CT Concepts from an Unfamiliar Context had a significant positive effect on the implementation of both Broadcast/Receive couplings and Conditional Logic & Operator patterns. In sum, the findings suggest that the type of instruction, the continuity of the Imaginary World being constructed, and the context of the instructional materials all play a significant role in the learners' ability to develop certain Computational Thinking Skills and Concept knowledge. The findings also suggest that a physically embodied approach to teaching abstract concepts that is grounded in an unfamiliar context is the most effective way to integrate a grounded embodied approach to pedagogy within a formal instructional setting.

The popularity of Bravo channel's Project Runway has translated into increased interest in fashion and design among the general public and prompted a rise in students applying to apparel design and textile science programs. Parson's The New School for Design (where Project Runway is filmed) has seen a 22 percent increase in enrollment applications. (1) The trade publication Women's Wear Daily notes that Otis College, Savannah College of Art, Fashion Institute of Technology, and Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising have also felt the effects of an increase in public awareness. The continued success of Project Runway and other shows that stress the role of fashion in our lives, has given rise to new demands on the fashion and textile collections in both public and academic libraries. To address the need to evaluate these collections, Monique Delatte and Lore A. Guilmartin have compiled a collection guide designed for large public libraries with populations interested in fashion in general and for academic libraries that serve programs in textile-related studies including fashion design, costume history, textile science, fashion merchandising, the social psychology of dress, and clothing and textile economics. Delatte and Guilmartin are well qualified to suggest materials for such a core collection. Delatte is a reference librarian in the County of Los Angeles Public Library system. She holds a B.S. in Apparel and Textile Design from Louisiana State University, and an M.S.I.S. in Library and Information Science from The University of Texas at Austin. Guilmartin is a reference and instruction librarian at the University of Houston-Downtown. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University and an M.S. in Textiles and Clothing from Iowa State University. She earned an M.S.I.S. in Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin. This guide grew out of survey work the authors conducted in 2007. Delatte and Guilmartin contacted administrators, educators, and subject librarians at forty-four public and private colleges and universities, asking questions about core resources in the field. They used the results of the survey, an exhaustive literature review, and their own expertise to create this list of key titles and resources.--Editor BOOKS AND REFERENCE TITLES Though some of the monographs listed below are out of print, each is a valuable component to a well-balanced textiles and clothing collection. Libraries currently owning these titles should retain them, as they provide depth and breadth to the collection and are classic resources. Abling, Bina. Model Drawing. New York: Fairchild Books & Visuals, 2003 (ISBN: 978-1563672750). An excellent addition to the academic library working collection for design students, chapters include Close-up Studies, Fashion Anatomy for Children, Men's Posing Dynamics, and Styling, iLayout, and Composition for Women. The CD-ROM included in this text is especially useful for fashion illustration students as it allows users to shift the poses of models and then rotate the models. American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. AATCC Technical Manual. New York: Published for the Association by Howes Publishing, 1963--(ISSN: 0734-8894). Published annually, the AATCC Technical Manual lists and describes the standardized textile testing methods that are integral to assessing textile characteristics and quality. This manual is an indispensable tool for all textile scientists. Boucher, Francois, and Yvonne Deslandres. 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1987 (ISBN: 978-0-8109-1693-7). Based primarily on artwork, Boucher's costume history depicts the fashions of the European elite from prehistory to the mid-twentieth century. The text summarizes the evolution of costume within the western world and offers useful background to students of costume history. …

<span lang="EN-US">Based on the study, computational thinking skills are influenced by science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills, and there is a relationship between computational thinking skills and 21st-century skills. However, studies related to STEM attitudes, computational thinking and their impact on 21st-century skills are still very few and limited. The purpose of our study was to examine the impact of STEM attitudes and computational thinking on 21st-century. This research uses a quantitative approach. The participants of this study were students of a vocational school in Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (N=290). Research data in STEM attitude, computational thinking, and 21st-century skills using a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques using the Smart PLS application. The results of the study obtained several findings, including: the model proposed in this study was valid; STEM attitude has a positive and significant effect on computational thinking; and computational thinking has a positive and significant effect on 21-st century skills. It can be argued that when STEM attitudes and computational thinking are more positive, 21-st century skills will improve. These findings have implications that curriculum development and STEM learning practices have to develop students’ computational thinking skills and 21st-century skills, especially in vocational schools.</span>

This research aims to create a tool for assessing students' computational thinking (CT) skills in relation to biology concepts. The study followed a research and development approach, utilizing a modified 4D design model, with the dissemination phase excluded. Various data collection techniques were employed, including observations, literature reviews, documentation, surveys, interviews, and tests. The findings showed that the developed instrument was valid, having been evaluated by three experts. The material expert rated it at 95%, the assessment and evaluation expert at 88%, and the linguist at 90%. In terms of readability, the instrument scored 75%, indicating a "good" rating. The overall validity of the instrument was found to be 0.70, placing it in the high validity range, while its reliability score was 0.82, reflecting a very high level of dependability. The assessment of students' computational thinking skills in biology revealed that 25% of students scored in the low range, 28% in the medium range, and 57% in the high range. From these findings, it can be concluded that the CT test tool is both valid and appropriate for evaluating students' computational thinking skills.

This research aims to examine the effect of Mind Games activities on problem-solving skills and computational thinking skills of 5th grade students. Sequential explanatory design, one of the mixed research methods, was used in the research. The research was carried out in a quasi-experimental design pretest-posttest without a control group with 17 5th grade students in a secondary school in Adıyaman. The research was carried out with an experimental period of 6 weeks. Before the experimental study, the problem-solving skills and computational thinking skills scales were applied to the students as a pre-test. Kapsul game activity was performed in the first week of the experimental study. ABC Baglama activity was held during the week. Sudoku activity was held in the 3rd week. In the 4th week, Three Stone game activities were held. Kendoku game activity was held in the 5th week. In the 6th week, Kakuro game activity was held. Statistical values in the study were calculated using the SPSS program. To collect quantitative data, a pre-test of problem-solving skills and computational thinking skills was applied to the students before the experimental process. After the experimental process, problem-solving skills and computational thinking skills scales were applied as a posttest. The applied pre-test and post-test results were analyzed with the paired sample t-test. Additionally, to collect qualitative data to strengthen the research, an interview form was applied to obtain the opinions of the students about the experimental process. In line with the findings obtained because of the experimental study, it can be said that the mind game activities have a positive effect on the students' computational thinking and problem-solving skills, and the lesson turns into more fun.

Introducing e-books into Swedish libraries has been influenced by the idea of equal access to all media for all Swedish citizens as well as by librarians’ wish to provide the best possible service to their users. Libraries perceived this new resource and service as a way of fulfilling their specific function in a democratic society, which is usually described as mediation (or transfer) of knowledge and culture to all. This is a common basis for the incorporation of new media and information resources (including e-books) into Swedish academic and public libraries. Apart from this common platform, we see other similarities in working with e-books in both types of libraries, but also a number of differences. Most of them relate to the position of libraries within their respective context and in relation to their specific role. Academic libraries are quite influential players in the global scholarly communication and supporters of both research and study processes. As such they are embedded in a mainly international market of scientific information and scholarly materials. They have significant resources provided by their parent universities for the acquisition of scholarly material and a wide choice of commercially available material from different providers. They are also incorporated into a national library consortium with great negotiation power. Thus, they have more freedom to experiment with a variety of business and pricing models offered on the international market. They also have a high competence in publishing and are often publishers themselves. Their involvement in research processes and in open access initiatives puts them in a position to provide expertise to researchers in the areas of publishing and intellectual property protection. Public libraries are part of the local cultural and educational landscape. As such, they depend on the production of media and content in national languages which helps cater to the needs and demands of the local population. They are also customers on the limited market of publishing, entertainment and education-related materials which help fulfil their function as educators. As public libraries offer open and free access to their resources to the entire population of a certain area, eventually covering the whole country, they are regarded as a disruptive element in the market economy. This perceived threat from public libraries was reborn with the emergence of e-books. Despite their differences, both academic and public libraries face similar challenges and problems relating to the management of their collections, creating metadata, and providing access to their content. So far, there haven’t been any mutually satisfactory solutions.

Computational thinking skill is an important skill individuals should acquire to meet the requirements of the digital age. The aim of the study is to predict the computational thinking skills of middle school students through ANFIS approach, which is an adaptive neural network-based fuzzy logic. Students' computational thinking skill scores were predicted by creating a model based on grade level and academic achievement variables. Grade level and academic achievement served as the model's input variables, and computational thinking skill scores served as the model's output variable. Data were collected using personal information form and computational thinking scale. A comparison was made between students' real and artificial computational thinking skill scores using statistical methods. In the study, a strong and favorable association between the artificial scores produced using the ANFIS technique and the actual scores was discovered. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference between the real and artificial scores for computational thinking skills. These results indicate that the ANFIS approach is a suitable alternative analysis method for predicting students' computational thinking skills. The study provides a good example in the field of education where artificial intelligence can be used to predict students' educational characteristics.

This study attempts to enhance high school learners' computational thinking and mathematical resilience skills. This study employs quantitative approaches with a quasi-experimental research design, and the type of research is Non-Equivalent Group Design. The tools used in this study were computational thinking skills tests and mathematical resilience questionnaires. From the results of the survey conducted, it is known that: 1) the Project Learning model accompanied by GeoGebra significantly improves computational thinking skills, and Project-Based Learning model has moderate improvement; 2) computational thinking skills of high school students who were taught through Project-Based Learning model aided by GeoGebra improved significantly compared to those taught with the Project-Based Learning model; 3) Project-Based Learning model aided by GeoGebra has a positive effect on the mathematical resilience of high school students, but only to a moderate extent.

<span>This study investigates the necessity of computational thinking (CT) skills integration among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) secondary school teachers, focusing on the development of the </span><em><span>McodE</span></em><span> pedagogical module for the topic of heat in solar still projects. Utilizing a design and development research (DDR) approach, the research aimed to design and develop a CT module tailored to enhance teachers’ pedagogical strategies in solar still project. The case study was employed with 32 STEM secondary school teachers, through purposive sampling participated in the study based on their experience in integrating technology into pedagogy. A pre-test and post-test design was employed during a two-day workshop to assess the participants’ CT skills before and after the intervention. An additional open-ended interview was conducted among three teachers to support the quantitative data. The results revealed significant improvements in various aspects of CT application. The findings demonstrated substantial increases in teachers’ abilities to integrate CT into their teaching practices. The mean for pre-test score was 43.25, which significantly increased to 67.37 in the post-test, indicating a marked enhancement in CT skills. The t-test statistics for the pre-test (t=31.04, df=31, p<.001) and post-test (t=49.94, df=31, p<.001) confirmed a highly significant differences between the pre-test and post-test scores. The <br /> open-ended interview also showed the strong interest and necessity of the CT module among the respondents. The study concludes that there is a critical need for CT module among STEM teachers to better prepare students for the demands of modern STEM education.</span>

The graphics calculator (GC) is a hand-held technology. With it, students visualize and understand concepts in mathematics and science better. It also allows them to make real-world connections, binding together advanced graphing functionality and conceptual science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). As they gain a deeper understanding of abstract concepts, they acquire creative and critical thinking and problem- solving skills they need to reach greater academic successes. In learning, GC plays several roles in increasing students’ computational thinking and procedural skills. Despite being a learning tool that satisfies science and mathematics curriculum needs, the calculator often has been used as an add-on to traditional teaching methodology rather than central and in more integrated ways. This study looks into the potential of developing computational thinking skills using GC technology. The data of the study was obtained from secondary sources through a systematic review method. The study showed that GC seems to be effective tools to practice STEAM education as well as to develop students’ computational thinking through analysing and decompose real problem as well as engaging in the abstraction process and developing an algorithm using coding. The findings provides justifications on the impact of GC in developing computational thinking skills thereby maximizing the pedagogical benefits to students.

PLoS Chairman of the Board Harold Varmus applauds the newly enacted NIH public access policy as a positive step toward ensuring greater access to and better use of the scientific literature.

Computational thinking has become a crucial skill for students because it gives them the tools to solve complicated issues using organized methods. Implementing Problem-based learning and Design-based learning in science learning has significantly enhanced students' skills. This research aims to ascertain which of the two models is better for facilitating computational thinking skills among middle school students in science learning. The study used a sample of 69 middle school students selected through random sampling. This research employs a quasi-experimental, multi-group, post-test-only design. The instrument utilized in this research is a computational thinking skills test comprising five questions. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA to test the hypotheses. Tukey test results indicate that the mean difference score between the PBL and DBL groups is 1.2609, with a significance value greater than 0.05. The study confirms that Problem-based learning is more effective than Design-based learning in facilitating students' computational thinking skills. However, the difference between the two is not particularly noteworthy. PBL and DBL represent viable pedagogical approaches that can enhance middle school students' computational thinking skills in science learning. Keywords: problem-based learning, design-based learning, computational thinking skill. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23960/jpmipa/v25i3.pp1214-1223