//Please excuse the somewhat stern-looking face on the poster, but don’t miss my drop-in today. I’m a friendly person and moreover interested in how I can help with your research. It’s raining outside (where else would it be?) and it’s taking place opposite the Book & Latte, so why not grab a coffee and chat about your latest assignment?
//Are you struggling with your assignment? Why not visit our Academic Writing Support drop-ins from Monday to Thursday:
Monday 11.00 – 13.00
Tuesday 12.00 – 13.00
Wednesday 9.00 – 10.00
Thursday 14.00 – 16.00
If you bring along your assignment draft, we can give you advice on matters like whether you have:
This is the team: Cheryl, Daren, Judith. The drop-in sessions take place in the Learning Development room on the ground floor of the Library.
//Amongst our notable additions to our library collection this week is the Big Short (2015), a film about the sub-prime housing market in the US and the fall from grace of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) when the takeover by U.S. Treasury split the financial world.
@GCWLibrary now has the The Big Short DVD, a film about causes of the Credit Crunch (preview inc.) https://t.co/5EfGRlsGME via @YouTube
— Daren (@LINCLibrarian) March 28, 2017
//Creating graphs yourself can be a lengthy process, especially if you’re struggling to meet a deadline. At the University of Lincoln we have the Snipping Tool software that enables you to capture images, which you can then either paste it into your document or save it and upload the image onto a web-based platform, such as a blog.
First decide on what image you want to capture, and have the graph ready to capture on your screen (this one is about the worth of global marine ports & services 2007-11 from the Marketline database). Always remember to properly reference though!
Marketine (2012, 8).
Reference
Marketine. (2012). Global – Marine Ports & Services. Figure 1: Global marine ports & services market value: $ million, 2007–11. [industry profile] Available from: http://advantage.marketline.com/Product?ptype=Industries&pid=MLIP0408-0001 [accessed 27th March 2017].
//A systematic review is a type of literature review that collects and critically analyses multiple research studies or papers. In the University of Lincoln Library we are mainly supporting PhD and Masters level students with the process of defining their question and developing criteria for searching and then how they should conduct their searches. Oonagh Monaghan, the Psychology and Sports Subject Librarian, has just launched a useful guide on systematic reviews.
//
It is the Holy Grail of understanding student progress: whether tutors can predict student outcome. It was, until recently, more unusual to use textbooks as a method of assessment but the digital era has changed all that. Now academic achievement progress can be pinned down to percentages, charts and reports throughout the year.
The advent of digital textbooks is a relatively new phenomenon that is revolutionising the publishing world, as authors go straight to electronic format, before any print books are published. This gives the publishers some indicative analysis whether they’re going to sell or not, and inform the decision to publish in hard copy.
Digital textbooks are also an ideal platform to uncover a plethora of learning analytics (which is the “measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs” according to Siemens 2010, cited in Junco & Clem, 2015, 54) such as formative assessment. How do they work? Naturally, reading textbooks is an integral part of study, but the particular gift of digital textbooks is that they record quiz scores, student engagement (completing exercises, et al), significantly the number of annotations and highlighting, time spent reading outside of office hours, and time spent re-reading (i.e. the retention of knowledge). Their interactivity provides a welcome contrast to a traditional assessment model that is primarily summative; marking essays at the end of the term, or taking exams and so forth. It is a form of academic monitoring, particularly understandable in the context when electronic registers for seminars are so commonplace, and electronic surveillance is routine. More research needs to be carried out to find reliable data on learning analytics and digital textbooks, but I find it a fascinating area and one that will no doubt become more and more popular across universities as tutors become more aware of their capability. Where does that leave libraries? Hopefully involved.
Reference list
Junco, R. & Clem, C. (2015). Predicting course outcomes with digital textbook usage data. Internet and Higher Education. Vol. 27, 54–63.
Siemens, G. (2010). 1st international conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge. Available from: https://tekri.athabascau.ca/analytics/. [accessed 21st March 2017].
//Missed the guest lecture by Jürgen Maier, Chief Executive of Siemens UK? Well, fortunately it’s embedded here, courtesy of YouTube.
//Combine, truncate and locate! Why not use a few of our Boolean search tips for @GCWLibrary databases in our new presentation via Sway.com, and sharpen your research skills to razor-sharp perfection…
//Spring finally is here! To celebrate this momentous occasion we have some new library books that have arrived this month to support the Lincoln International Business School.
//Following on from my previous post about reflective writing, I’ve written an article about using your intuition at work and published it via LinkedIn, the professional networking site. It’s my first article on LinkedIn and hope it may be one of many. It also gives me a wonderful opportunity to foray into areas beyond librarianship (my normal arena of publishing activity), and put ideas on paper, or at least onto a PC screen. It’s a kind of liberation, in a way.
LinkedIn also has other surprising benefits. Not only am I able to connect to colleagues and those outside of my area of specialism, but I am able to help graduate employability in terms of them developing a portfolio in a tough job market. Simply by endorsing a skill, for instance, you’re helping them progress in a competitive world.
//Yesterday, I submitted a ‘letter to myself’ to my past self as part of an upcoming event at Lincoln’s Drill Hall. Reflection ought to be embedded into our personal and work lives so that it becomes part of our daily routine. If not, why not? I find that reflective practice helps me change, if not always for the better, I always believe that I’m going forward. Life is about learning afterall. Some criticise that reflection is too backward-looking, turning over historical events in an already over-ploughed field; or simply navel-gazing (at worst). I disagree, but then I would. As Socrates (allegedly) said at his (less than unfortunate) trial: “An un-examined life is not worth living”.
N. B. I’ve embedded these slides from a code I retrieved from my account on Scribd, the document sharing platform. PS. It’s the free version!
Reflective Writing slides by Daren Mansfield on Scribd
//Another week, another coup. Pioneering businesswoman and philanthropist Dame Stephanie ‘Steve’ Shirley will deliver a free public talk at the University of Lincoln, UK, offering a fascinating insight into her life and career and open an equality centre.
Starting life as an unaccompanied Austrian child refugee in 1939; someone who benefited from the Kindertransport which saved 10,000 children, she went on to build a ground-breaking all-woman software company, which was valued at $3 billion and made millionaires of 70 of her team members.
Her ground-breaking employee initiatives are to be admired as she battled against discrimination. She founded a software company in 1962 from her dining room table with just £6 and soon after adopted the name ‘Steve’ to aid her in the business world. She employed only women until the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act made it illegal to do so. She offered part-time and flexible employment to professional women with dependants, pioneered new work practices, and changed the position of professional women (especially in the hi-tech industry) along the way.
Her talk, entitled A Woman’s Story, will take place on Tuesday 21st March in the Stephen Langton Building on the University of Lincoln’s Brayford Pool Campus, starting at 6.15 pm, with an exhibition beforehand. All are welcome.
As a taster, here’s a ‘Why do ambitious women have flat heads?’ It’s both moving and inspiring because it’s about someone who has made a success of their lives, against all the odds.
//What would you write in a letter to yourself, to either your past, present or future self? I’m taking part in this journey of self-discovery, choosing to write about my past self. Enough there already. It’s taking place today from 11.30-14.30 near the library entrance. There’s even free chocolate. It’s also part of a show at Lincoln’s Drill Hall – if you’re interested, pop along!
//This newly-produced Articulate tutorial is about refining your research strategy; uniquely based on a student house-hunting expedition. This idea was devised by the Psychology, Sports and Education Subject Librarian, Oonagh Monaghan. We hope you like it.
//Do you need a book that’s not in the Library? Request books/ebooks for the Library to purchase through More Books! https://t.co/rQ03ms9vSx pic.twitter.com/Mzr8RO496d
— UOL Library (@GCWLibrary) February 10, 2017