An Examination of the Relationships of Liaison Librarians and Academic Departments, Based Upon the Experiences of Librarians at a New Zealand Academic Institution

<p>The objective of this research was to examine how liaison librarians interacted with their academic departments, and what factors impacted on their interaction. Interviews were conducted with twelve liaison librarians at an academic institution and documents such as web pages were examined. Among the techniques employed by liaison librarians were emails, newsletters, creation of course resource web pages, provision of teaching sessions and personal visits to departments. Librarians concentrated on different techniques in response to perceptions of what worked for the academic department. As librarians became established in their role they needed to balance the need to liaise with the significant time commitment involved in the delivery of the service. Liaison librarians regarded personal contact as extremely important to establishing and maintaining relationships. This could be difficult the further the liaison librarian was physically located from a department. Some librarians saw the standardization of procedures across the library system offered a barrier to the personal service they offered to academics. The small sample interviewed cannot be regarded as being applicable to all liaison librarians in all academic institutions. However, the study is a beginning point, and further research in this neglected area is needed.</p>

An Examination of the Relationships of Liaison Librarians and Academic Departments, Based Upon the Experiences of Librarians at a New Zealand Academic Institution

<p>The objective of this research was to examine how liaison librarians interacted with their academic departments, and what factors impacted on their interaction. Interviews were conducted with twelve liaison librarians at an academic institution and documents such as web pages were examined. Among the techniques employed by liaison librarians were emails, newsletters, creation of course resource web pages, provision of teaching sessions and personal visits to departments. Librarians concentrated on different techniques in response to perceptions of what worked for the academic department. As librarians became established in their role they needed to balance the need to liaise with the significant time commitment involved in the delivery of the service. Liaison librarians regarded personal contact as extremely important to establishing and maintaining relationships. This could be difficult the further the liaison librarian was physically located from a department. Some librarians saw the standardization of procedures across the library system offered a barrier to the personal service they offered to academics. The small sample interviewed cannot be regarded as being applicable to all liaison librarians in all academic institutions. However, the study is a beginning point, and further research in this neglected area is needed.</p>

A Review of Some Agricultural Wastes in Nigeria for Sustainability in the Production of Structural Concrete

A review of agricultural wastes available in Nigeria that is suitable for use in concrete industry, in order to attain sustainability in structural concrete production and practice, is presented in this paper. The wastes reviewed are: Cassava Peel Ash (CPA), Empty Palm Oil Fruit Brunch Ash (EPO-FBA), Rice Husk Ash (RHA), and Saw Dust Ash (SDA). Others were Palm Kernel Shell Ash (PKSA), Groundnut Husk Ash (GHA), Corncob Ash (CA), and Egg Shell Powder (ESP). The study revealed that some agricultural wastes that have potential for use as supplementary cementing material (SCM) for cement in the production of structural concrete abounds in Nigeria. It was also revealed that the necessity of standardization of procedures for testing of such wastes so that structural performance index can be compared. In addition, there is also the need for the development of classification methods similar to that of fly ash, so that their use can be enhanced. Using these waste materials in concrete will lead to sustainability in concrete production, reduction in the use of natural non-renewable resources, innovativeness in the use of wastes, and the development of small-scale industries.

Assay Harmonization and Use of Biological Standards To Improve the Reproducibility of the Hemagglutination Inhibition Assay: a FLUCOP Collaborative Study

The hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assay is the most commonly used serology assay to detect antibodies from influenza vaccination or influenza virus infection. This assay has been used for decades but requires improved standardization of procedures to provide meaningful data.

Standardization of Procedures to Contain Cost and Reduce Variability of Care After the Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed many aspects of our private and professional routine. In particular, the lockdowns have severely affected the entire healthcare system and hospital activities, forcing it to rethink the protocols in force. We suggest that this scenario, in spite of the new challenges involving so far complex healthcare providers, may lead to the unique opportunity to rethink pathways and management of patients. Indeed, having to resume institutional activity after a long interruption that has completely canceled the previously existing schemes, healthcare providers have the unique opportunity to overcome obsolete and “we have always done in this way” model on the wave of the general desire to resume a normal life. Furthermore, the pandemic has highlighted some flaws in our health system, highlighting those critical issues that most need to be addressed. This article is a review of pre-pandemic literature addressing the use of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and standardization processes in thoracic surgery to improve efficiency. Our goal is to identify the main issues that could be successfully improved along the entire pathway of a patient from the first referral to diagnosis, hospitalization, and surgical operation up to convalescence. Furthermore, we aim to identify the standardization processes that have been implemented to achieve significant improvements in patient outcomes while reducing costs. The methods and goals that could be used in the near future to modernize our healthcare systems are drawn up from a careful reading and interpretation in light of the pandemic of the most significant review articles in the literature.

Open Science in Spain: Towards a Coordinated Strategy

Research is being transformed by transparency, collaboration, public engagement and shareability, which are key elements of the Open Science (OS) movement. Open Access (OA), one of its main areas of action, aims to make all research freely available. Benefits of OA have already triggered a shift toward its implementation at the European and international level, with funders creating new platforms to support an ecosystem of open publications and data. Despite remarkable early contributions by Spain in terms of OS pilot initiatives and specifically OA publication performance, the latter has declined by more than a third since 2016. Moreover, no new indicators have been put forward since, even though openness remains to be deemed a strength. In this policy memo, we examine policy options to support OS in the country, with a focus on OA. These could be structured by a National Strategy for Openness, including actions to ensure OA for all publicly funded research, standardization of procedures, and the re-design of assessment criteria to incorporate reproducibility of outputs, knowledge dissemination and transfer.

Technical Procedures for Preparation and Administration of Platelet-Rich Plasma and Related Products: A Scoping Review

IntroductionPlatelet-rich plasma is widely used for different types of clinical situations, but universal standardization of procedures for its preparation is still lacking.MethodsScoping review of comparative studies that have assessed at least two alternatives in one or more stages of preparation, storage and/or administration of PRP or its related products. A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, and LILACS. Two authors screened references independently. Data extraction was performed iteratively, and results were presented for each included comparison.ResultsThirty-nine studies were included after assessing full texts, focusing on the comparison of PRP to a related product, types of anticoagulants, centrifugation protocols, commercial kits, processing time, methods for activation, and application concomitantly to other substances. Only laboratory outcomes were assessed, as platelet, leukocyte and growth factor concentrations.ConclusionResults showed great variability related to methods employed in different stages of PRP processing, which may explain the variability observed in clinical trials assessing the efficacy of PRP for different clinical situations.

Post-Disaster Collaboration between Governmental and Non-Governmental Stakeholders: The Case of Bam Earthquake, Iran

Research on cross-sector collaboration has grown over the past decade. This model of collaboration brings organizations in two or more sectors together, to link or share information, resources, activities and capabilities when no single organization has enough time, money, knowledge or authority to address them alone. In a post-disaster period, the governmental organizations particularly in developing countries usually are unable to provide all necessary services alone; hence, collaboration with other agencies is required. In the last decades, studies have used the viewpoint of collaboration between NGOs and the government, and shown a beneficial relationship between them. Most studies have focused on the structures of the collaboration in the aftermath of disasters with hierarchies, protocols, authoritarian roles and the standardization of procedures but there is a gap in analysing the process factors and the interaction of process and structural factors influencing the collaboration during post-disaster period. In this study, the aim is to identify the main factors of process and structures influencing the collaboration between Iranian government and NGOs after the earthquake in Bam city in Iran in 2003. Analysing the content of the previous studies showed that lack of experience on how to deal with disasters and unclear tasks as well as insufficient trust and mutual understanding between the actors were the main reasons of failure in collaboration. The lack of specific organizational tasks at a given time led to exacerbate the tension in the process of working together; increase the lack of common understanding, and fail to achieve the mutual goal.

Global health in the making: health demonstration areas in Europe, 1950s and 1960s

Global health is a multifaceted concept that entails the standardization of procedures in healthcare domains in accordance with a doctrine agreed upon by experts. This essay focus on the creation of health demonstration areas by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to establish core nodes for integrated state-of-the-art health services. It explores the origins, theoretical basis and aims of this technique and reviews several European experiences during the first 20 years of the WHO. Particular attention is paid to the historical importance of technical cooperative activities carried out by the WHO in regard to the implementation of health services, a long-term strategic move that contributed to the thematic upsurge of primary health care in the late 1970s.