Lana Ivanitskaya

Research Readiness Self-Assessment: Assessing Students' Research Skills and Attitudes

Abstract Librarians and learning researchers at Central Michigan University collaboratively developed an online tool that assesses how student research attitudes and perceptions correlate to their actual research skills in order to educate them about state-of-the-art library resources and prepare them to write high-quality research papers. This article describes the reasons for developing the assessment as well as the design process and technical characteristics.

How Does a Pre-Assessment of Off-Campus Students’ Information Literacy Affect the Effectiveness of Library Instruction?

ABSTRACT This study investigates the impact that pre-tests have on the effectiveness of library instruction when students are given feedback on their pre-test performance. Librarians and academic faculty partnered to measure library instruction outcomes in two Masters degree classes. The Research Readiness Self-Assessment (RRSA) was used as a pre-test (before instruction) and a post-test (after instruction) in Class 1 and as a post-test only in Class 2. Students who completed both tests performed significantly better on a post-test, earning higher scores on obtaining information and overall information literacy. They reported greater library/research experience and less reliance on browsing. Compared to students who did not take a pre-test, students who received pre-test-based feedback had higher scores on library/research experience and lower scores on reliance on browsing. To enhance the effectiveness of library instruction, students can be given pre-test-based feedback that compares their actual and perceived literacy and encourages the use of library databases.

Project Management and Institutional Collaboration in Libraries

Abstract As most libraries in the United States struggle with declining financial support, combined with the ever-increasing need to incorporate new technology into services and the profusion of resources that are available, inter-institutional cooperation is becoming more common. Planning and implementing new projects in libraries is better carried out if the project is formally managed from the beginning to ensure an orderly and efficient completion to the project. Two institutions have developed new services that they sought to expand to other institutions. Though neither project set out to use project-management techniques, the development of the new services illustrates their practical use.

Preferred Sources of Nutrition Information: Contrasts Between Younger and Older Adults

Preferences for sources of nutrition information are determined by age, social relationships, resource familiarity, and electronic literacy. Young adults (ages 18–25) and older adults (ages 60–103) were surveyed. Young adults took Research Readiness Self-Assessments that measure electronic information literacy. Dietitians were preferred by 34% of younger adults and 15% of older adults. Internet was favored by 22% of young adults, but many had trouble evaluating the quality of nutrition Web sites. Older adults in poor health sought out dietitians, while the remainder preferred other health professionals. The youngest adults and many healthy older adults preferred family and friends.

Work-family conflict: differences across generations and life cycles

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, taking into account generational cohort and life cycle stage differences. Design/methodology/approach Survey participants (428 employed individuals with families) represented different generations and life cycles. Key variables were work/family characteristics and centrality, work-family and family-work conflict, and age. Findings Generational differences in both directions were found. Gen X-ers reported the most work-family conflict, followed by Millennials and then Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers exhibited family-work conflict the most, followed by Gen X-ers, and then Millennials, a surprising finding given generational stereotypes. Some of these differences remained after controlling for children in the household (based on life cycle stage theory) and age. Millennials were highest in work centrality, whereas Baby Boomers were highest in family centrality. Employees with children ages 13-18 reported the most work-family conflict, and employees with children under the age of six reported the most family-work conflict. Research limitations/implications This study found that generation and children in the household make a difference in work-family conflict, but it did not support some of the common generational stereotypes. Future studies should use a time-lag technique to study generational differences. To reduce work-family conflict, it is important to consider its directionality, which varies across generations and life cycle stages. Practical implications This informs organizations on how to tailor interventions to help employees balance work/life demands. Originality/value This study is the first to simultaneously examine both generation and life cycle stage (children in the household) in regard to work-family conflict.

The Effectiveness of the Recent Army Captain Retention Program

The United States Army recently implemented a policy aimed at quelling a large-scale exodus of captains. This policy included the provision of a Menu of Incentives Program targeting officers in year groups 1999—2005. This study details the captain attrition problem, evaluates literature regarding retention options, analyzes the efficacy of the Army’s interventions by branch and by year group, and draws conclusions regarding future incentives. Methods used include chi-square and odds ratios analysis. Results reflect high acceptance rates for year groups 1999—2003; however, officers in these year groups may have remained in the service without any additional incentives because they were logically beyond the initial decision point. Findings suggest that seniority, skill, and adequate incentive pay are important considerations for future incentive programs.

Explaining and Forecasting Attrition in the Army Pharmacy Technician Course

The Army pharmacy technician (68Q) course trains--260 students per year, with a mean graduation rate of 71.3%. In support of this course, a research team conducted a study using multiple analytical methods to evaluate, to explain, and potentially to forecast failures, because the 28.7% of students who do not graduate are associated with both opportunity and real costs. Results of this study indicated that largely uncontrollable population demographic characteristics, such as rank and enrollment status, along with controllable Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery skilled technical test scores, were related to graduation rates. The results of this study may be used to assist individuals at risk of failure or to establish additional admission criteria to increase the likelihood of success.

Sources of variability in hospital administrative data: Clinical coding of postoperative ileus:

Background: Multiple studies have questioned the validity of clinical codes in hospital administrative data. We examined variability in reporting a postoperative ileus (POI). Objective: We aimed to analyse sources of coding variations to understand how clinical coding professionals arrive at POI coding decisions and to verify existing knowledge that current clinical coding practices lack standardised applications of regulatory guidelines. Method: Two medical records (cases 1 and 2) were provided to 15 clinical coders employed by a midsize nonprofit hospital in the northwest region of the United States. After coding these cases, the study participants completed a survey, reported on the application of guidelines, and participated in a focus group led by a health information management regulatory compliance expert. Results: Only 5 of the 15 clinical coders correctly indicated no POI complication in case 1 where the physician documentation did not establish a link between the POI as a complication of care and the surgery. In contrast, 13 of the 15 study participants correctly coded case 2, which included clear physician documentation and contained the clinical parameters for the coding of the POI as a complication of care. Clinical coder education, credentials, certifications, and experience did not relate to the coding performance. The clinical coders inconsistently prioritised coding rules and valued experience more than education. Conclusion and implications: The application of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification; coding conventions; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services coding guidelines; and American Hospital Association coding clinic advice was subject to the clinical coders’ interpretation; they perceived them as conflicting guidance. Their reliance on subjective experience in dealing with this conflicting guidance may limit the accuracy of reporting outcomes of clinical performance.

Prioritization of Inpatient Hospital Services to Prisoners: A Method for Justifying Care and Costs

As a response to rising health care costs and substantial cuts in state funding for correctional health care in Texas, we developed and applied a process framework for systematically prioritizing the provision of inpatient hospital services to prisoners. Specifically, all inpatient services provided from September 2009 through August 2011 at the University of Texas Medical Branch/Texas Department of Criminal Justice Hospital were sorted according to levels of care consistent with those previously defined by the Oregon Department of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Nearly all inpatient services (94%) were deemed medically mandatory (Level 1) or medically necessary (Level 2). These services must be funded to ensure an adequate level of care, and capitated-funding mechanisms may not be sufficiently flexible to cover their costs. Correctional health care systems may adapt the framework used here to inform state policymakers regarding provision of inpatient services and funding requirements.

Healthcare providers: will they come to work during an influenza pandemic?

The objective of the study was to examine available evidence on healthcare providers’ willingness to report to work during a pandemic influenza and on related measures. Limited to scholarly journals, a search in nine databases produced 206 studies, 28 of which met inclusion criteria and were discussed in depth this review. Six studies posed an avian influenza scenario, four studies were conducted during the 2009/2010 global H1N1 pandemic influenza and the remaining 18 studies examined willingness to report to work under a scenario that was related to a pandemic influenza but the type of flu was under-specified. Willingness to report to work varied dramatically among the 28 studies, from a low of 23.1% to a high of 93.1%. Heterogeneous methods employed by researchers make it hard to generalize and draw practical conclusions. Preliminary evidence suggests that physicians may be more willing to report to work than nurses. Given the current state of the literature and the need to estimate workforce availability for preparedness planning, worst case scenario planners may cautiously assume that 1 in 4 healthcare providers will be willing to report to work during a pandemic influenza, not accounting for those who are ill. Because physicians demonstrated higher willingness, the 1 in 4 estimate could be adjusted upward for this provider group.