Information professionals and copyright literacy: a multinational study

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a multinational survey on copyright literacy of specialists from libraries and other cultural institutions. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a multinational survey of copyright literacy competencies of Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals and those who work in the cultural heritage sector (archives and museums), conducted in 13 countries, namely Bulgaria (BG), Croatia (CR), Finland (FI), France (FR), Hungary (HU), Lithuania (LT), Mexico (MX), Norway (NO), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Turkey (TR), UK and USA in the period July 2013-March 2015. An online survey instrument was developed in order to collect data from professionals regarding their familiarity with, knowledge and awareness of, and opinions on copyright-related issues. Findings: Findings of this study highlight gaps in existing knowledge of copyright, and information about the level of copyright literacy of LIS and cultural sector professionals. Also attitudes toward copyright learning content in academic education and continuing professional development training programs are investigated. Originality/value: This study aimed to address a gap in the literature by encompassing specialists from the cultural institutions in an international comparative context. The paper offers guidance for further understanding of copyright in a wider framework of digital and information literacy; and for the implementation of copyright policy, and the establishment of copyright advisor positions in cultural institutions. The recommendations support a revision of academic and continuing education programs learning curriculum and methods

Routine Rapid HIV Screening in Six Community Health Centers Serving Populations at Risk

In 2006, to increase opportunities for patients to become aware of their HIV status, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidelines for routine, opt-out HIV screening of adults, adolescents, and pregnant women in healthcare settings. To date, there are few documented applications of these recommendations. To measure the impact of application of the guidelines for routine screening in health centers serving communities disproportionately affected by HIV in the southeastern US. A multi-site program implementation study, describing patients tested and not tested and assessing changes in testing frequency before and after new guidelines were implemented. All patients aged 13 to 64 seen in participating health centers. Routine rapid HIV screening in accord with CDC guidelines. The frequency of testing before and after routine screening was in place and demographic differences in offering and receipt of testing. Compared to approximately 3,000 patients in the year prior to implementation, 16,148 patients were offered testing with 10,769 tested. Of 39 rapid tests resulting in preliminary positives, 17 were newly detected infections. Among these patients, 12 of 14 receiving referrals were linked to HIV care. Nineteen were false positives. Younger patients, African Americans and Latinos were more likely to receive testing. By integrating CDC-recommended guidelines and applying rapid test technology, health centers were able to provide new access to HIV testing. Variation across centers in offering and receiving tests may indicate that clinical training could enhance universal access

Screening Protocols for Group B Streptococcus: Are Transport Media Appropriate?

Objective: To evaluate group B streptococcus (GBS) detection in an in vitro setting, using a low and controlled inoculum from swabs directly inoculated into a selective medium, as compared to delayed inoculation following a period in a commercial Amies transport medium with charcoal (Venturi Transystem(™) Copan, Italy). Study design: Clinical isolates of GBS (n = 103), were inoculated into the Amies transport medium with charcoal in a concentration of 100 colony-forming units (cfu)/ml (10 cfu/swab). Swabs were then transferred to an enrichment broth (NPC) at time intervals of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 24 hours. Broths were then incubated for 18–24 hours at 35(°)C in air, before being transferred to New Granada Medium Modified (NGM) for GBS detection and incubated for a further 18–24 hours at 35(°)C in air. If the characteristic orange pigmented colonies were observed after this period, the specimen was recorded as + (1–10 colonies) or ++ (more than 10 colonies). Results: Overall 92.2% (95/103) of isolates were detected in all tubes and at all times. An additional two isolates were non-hemolytic, non-pigment forming GBS. Of note, 3.9% (4/103) were negative until 2 hours delayed inoculation and 1.9% (2/103) gave inconsistent results, likely due to the low inoculum used. Conclusion: Delayed inoculation into selective enrichment broth following a period in transport medium, even with a low inoculum, gave a similar and acceptable GBS detection rate to direct inoculation. Hence, Amies transport medium with charcoal is an appropriate transport medium to use, where it is not practical for clinical specimens to be directly inoculated into selective enrichment broth and as endorsed in the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) Guidelines, 2002