Information commons planning: Strategic and operational considerations

This session will introduce you to planning issues and operational elements that you will need to consider when implementing an Information Commons. The planning process, service models, collaboration issues and relationship building will be discussed in context of a case study of the University of Auckland Library’s Information Commons Group. The Information Commons Group consists of the large purpose built Kate Edger Information Commons (established in 2003) on the City Campus, the smaller Grafton Information Commons (established in 2004) on the Medical Campus and the library-based Epsom Information Commons (established in 2006) on the Education Campus. The group comprises three models of co-location, collaboration, integration and innovation successfully operating within the same IT, service and staffing infrastructure. These student-centered learning facilities provide proactive integrated learning support in a collaborative, interdisciplinary physical and virtual learning environment

Doctor communication quality and friends' attitudes influence complementary medicine use in inflammatory bowel disease

AIM: To examine the frequency of regular complementary and alternative therapy (CAM) use in three Australian cohorts of contrasting care setting and geography, and identify independent attitudinal and psychological predictors of CAM use across all cohorts. METHODS: A cross sectional questionnaire was administered to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients in 3 separate cohorts which differed by geographical region and care setting. Demographics and frequency of regular CAM use were assessed, along with attitudes towards IBD medication and psychological parameters such as anxiety, depression, personality traits and quality of life (QOL), and compared across cohorts. Independent attitudinal and psychological predictors of CAM use were determined using binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: In 473 respondents (mean age 50.3 years, 60.2% female) regular CAM use was reported by 45.4%, and did not vary between cohorts. Only 54.1% of users disclosed CAM use to their doctor. Independent predictors of CAM use which confirm those reported previously were: covert conventional medication dose reduction (P < 0.001), seeking psychological treatment (P < 0.001), adverse effects of conventional medication (P = 0.043), and higher QOL (P < 0.001). Newly identified predictors were CAM use by family or friends (P < 0.001), dissatisfaction with patient-doctor communication (P < 0.001), and lower depression scores (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In addition to previously identified predictors of CAM use, these data show that physician attention to communication and the patient-doctor relationship is important as these factors influence CAM use. Patient reluctance to discuss CAM with physicians may promote greater reliance on social contacts to influence CAM decisions.Réme Mountifield, Jane M Andrews, Antonina Mikocka-Walus and Peter Bampto

Data on Gaussian copula modelling of the views of sport club members relating to community sport, Australian sport policy and advocacy

In Australia, community sport plays an essential role in the objectives of national sports organizations and local and national social policy more generally. The opinions of senior community sport club officials (n=53) in rural New South Wales concerning sustainability, policy and advocacy matters impacting upon community sports clubs (CSCs) were identified. Participants were surveyed to establish the level of influence of top-down sport management structures alongside rudimentary views on a coalition to advocate for community sport. Gaussian copula graphical models (GCGMs) were applied to demonstrate the raw and partial correlations between participant responses. While frequently associated with finance, science and medicine, the application of copulas is increasingly common in research in sport where there are multiple variables and relationships involved. GCGMs have been used in, for example, analysis in soccer and across physical education in general

Decreased fertility rates in 9639 women diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease: a United Kingdom population-based cohort study

Background: Clinical studies have reported reduced fertility in women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Aim: To compare fertility rates in women with IBD to those in women without IBD and assess whether the relative fertility differed following IBD diagnosis, flares and surgery. Methods: Women aged 15-44 years in 1990-2010 were identified from a UK primary care database. We estimated overall and age-specific fertility rates by 5-year age bands for women with and without IBD. We used Poisson regression to calculate adjusted fertility rate ratios (AFRR), adjusted for age, smoking and socioeconomic deprivation. Results: There were 46.2 live births per 1000 person-years [95% confidence interval (95% CI); 44.6-47.9] in 9639 women with IBD and 49.3 (95% CI 49.2-49.5) in 2 131 864 without (AFRR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.89-0.96). Excluding periods of contraception use, the AFRR was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.95-1.03). Before diagnosis, the AFRR for women with ulcerative colitis (UC) was 1.07 (95% CI: 0.99-1.16) and was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.81-0.97) for women with CD. After diagnosis, AFRRs were 0.87 (95% CI: 0.82-0.94) for CD and 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86-1.00) for UC. The fertility rate was lower following flares (AFRR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.59-0.82) or surgery (AFRR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.77-0.92). Women with pouch and non-pouch surgery had similar overall fertility though the reduction after surgery was greater for pouches (AFRR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.23-0.99). Conclusions: Women with Crohn's disease have marginally lower fertility rates. These rates decreased following flares and surgical interventions. Fertility rates returned almost to normal when women were not prescribed contraception but the reduction following surgical intervention remained. As the lifetime effect of pouch vs. nonpouch surgery on fertility is small, the reduction post-pouch surgery should be interpreted with caution

ADELIE - Antarctic Drifter Experiment: Links to Isobaths and Ecosystems

The goal of the ADELIE research project is to map, for the first time, the near surface currents around the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and to determine the role of these currents in the retention or dispersion of krill. Specifically, we will test the hypothesis that pathways to the west near the continent link current systems on the western and eastern sides of the the Peninsula. The influence of bathymetry controlling the splitting and steering of these frontal jets will also be studied. Data for the ADELIE project was collected during cruise JR158. We seek to resolve two important features of the current system around the margin of Antarctica, the Antarctic Slope Front and the Antarctic Coastal Current (see schematic in Figure 1). These currents both flow westward around the continent and are important for the transport of krill, for preconditioning the shelf waters, for the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water, and for supplying waters beneath ice shelves thus melting the underside of the ice shelf. The Antarctic Slope Front defines the boundary between cold, fresh waters filling the Antarctic continental shelf, and the warmer, more saline waters further offshore and is identified by a strong horizontal gradient in temperature and salinity. The Antarctic Coastal Current is a fast, shallow flow over the continental shelf often associated with the front of the ice shelf. The Coastal Current and the Slope Front may merge where the shelf is narrow, but over broad regions of the continental shelf the flows split into two distinct systems. The study area for JR158 is from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula across the continental shelf and slope to the east and into the deep Weddell Sea (Figure 2). A CTD and Lowered ADCP section were conducted along this transect moving from east to west. This transect was selected to complement the western end of the WOCE SR4 time series, repeated annually by Eberhard Fahrbach and colleagues at the Alfred Wegener Institut (AWI) during the 1990’s. Due to the complexity of the topography in this region, Eulerian measurements at one site are not necessarily representative of the current system a short distance away. Therefore we also deployed surface drifters and Lagrangian floats as a means of tracking the currents. While surface drifters have been successfully released near the Antarctic continent during previous cruises, these drifters provide the first Lagrangian measurements of the current system on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. New instruments were also tested during JR158 including a microstructure profiler and a dissolved gas mass spectrometer. The microstructure profiler, which is used to resolve smallscale diapycnal mixing, will be used extensively during a mixing study near Kerguelen Island in 2008. The mass spectrometer measures dissolved oxygen/argon ratios that allow estimates of net community production over larger spatial scale with high temporal resolution

ADELIE - Antarctic Drifter Experiment: Links to Isobaths and Ecosystems

The goal of the ADELIE research project is to map, for the first time, the near surface currents around the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and to determine the role of these currents in the retention or dispersion of krill. Specifically, we will test the hypothesis that pathways to the west near the continent link current systems on the western and eastern sides of the the Peninsula. The influence of bathymetry controlling the splitting and steering of these frontal jets will also be studied. Data for the ADELIE project was collected during cruise JR158. We seek to resolve two important features of the current system around the margin of Antarctica, the Antarctic Slope Front and the Antarctic Coastal Current (see schematic in Figure 1). These currents both flow westward around the continent and are important for the transport of krill, for preconditioning the shelf waters, for the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water, and for supplying waters beneath ice shelves thus melting the underside of the ice shelf. The Antarctic Slope Front defines the boundary between cold, fresh waters filling the Antarctic continental shelf, and the warmer, more saline waters further offshore and is identified by a strong horizontal gradient in temperature and salinity. The Antarctic Coastal Current is a fast, shallow flow over the continental shelf often associated with the front of the ice shelf. The Coastal Current and the Slope Front may merge where the shelf is narrow, but over broad regions of the continental shelf the flows split into two distinct systems. The study area for JR158 is from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula across the continental shelf and slope to the east and into the deep Weddell Sea (Figure 2). A CTD and Lowered ADCP section were conducted along this transect moving from east to west. This transect was selected to complement the western end of the WOCE SR4 time series, repeated annually by Eberhard Fahrbach and colleagues at the Alfred Wegener Institut (AWI) during the 1990’s. Due to the complexity of the topography in this region, Eulerian measurements at one site are not necessarily representative of the current system a short distance away. Therefore we also deployed surface drifters and Lagrangian floats as a means of tracking the currents. While surface drifters have been successfully released near the Antarctic continent during previous cruises, these drifters provide the first Lagrangian measurements of the current system on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. New instruments were also tested during JR158 including a microstructure profiler and a dissolved gas mass spectrometer. The microstructure profiler, which is used to resolve smallscale diapycnal mixing, will be used extensively during a mixing study near Kerguelen Island in 2008. The mass spectrometer measures dissolved oxygen/argon ratios that allow estimates of net community production over larger spatial scale with high temporal resolution

The Kate Edger Information Commons : a student-centred learning environment and catalyst for integrated learning suport and e-Literacy development

At the University of Auckland the University Library has been a strong voice in lobbying for a more coherent and integrated approach to developing computer and information literacy skills across the university. Several plans and reports such as the Academic plan, draft IT and Information Literacy policy, graduate attributes and recommendations from the Student Life Commission and Curriculum Commission highlighted the need for collaboration between stakeholders to put plans into action. Progress in implementing recommendations and developing initiatives had been slow until the opening of the Kate Edger Information Commons at the end of April 2003. The Kate Edger Information Commons very quickly became the heart of the City Campus and a catalyst for change and collaboration. The Information Commons, the University of Auckland’s leading edge student-centred learning facility, provides a collaborative interdisciplinary environment where over 500 full-productivity workstations, electronic classrooms, and an additional 500+ flexible study and social spaces have been combined with proactive, integrated learning support and e-Literacy skills development. It provides the infrastructure for the functional integration of the information and the technology services, information literacy, learning support and language skills development offered by the University Library, IT Directorate, Student Learning Centre and English Language Self-Access Centre, consequently creating an enhanced learning environment that reflects the transformations in higher education. The development of IT and information literacy (e-Literacy skills) is a key focus for the Information Commons and opportunities for skills development are integrated into all aspects of service delivery. The paper will look at new partnerships and new service models and initiatives that have arisen from the various collaborations, together with a growing integrated approach to e-Literacy development