A Library "Installation"

A Library That Hangs from a Tree

Part art work and part "working library" of a limited duration. Visitors were invited to selected a book and supply one of their own.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/185140234658488983/

<more at https://www.pinterest.com/pin/185140234658488983/>

Student Retention

How Universities Are Using Data to Stop Students Dropping Out

As universities accept students from increasingly diverse backgrounds, institutions are finding new ways to target support effectively

Louise Tickle | June 30, 2015

According to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce), more than 8% of undergraduates drop out in their first year of study. This costs universities around £33,000 per student [Blogger's note: ~ U.S. $51,480 at today's exchange rate] – and costs students lost time, money (spent or borrowed), and the devastating confidence knock from failing. 

<more at http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-professional/2015/jun/30/how-universities-are-using-data-to-stop-students-dropping-out; related link: http://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/AIR-CALDER-Understanding-the-College-Dropout-Population-Jan14.pdf  (America’s College Drop-Out Epidemic: Understanding the College Drop-Out Population, January 2014) [Abstract: Over 40% of full time four-year college students fail to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years, and many never complete their education. This paper describes this sizeable fraction of the U.S. higher education market and estimates counterfactual predicted probabilities of degree completion, had students made different initial postsecondary enrollment choices. Using data from the NLSY97, a rich nationally representative data set, we make several observations. First, policies aimed at increasing postsecondary degree attainment by encouraging college enrollment are likely to be unproductive, given that students who are currently not enrolling in postsecondary education have very low predicted probabilities of completion, due to their low academic preparedness. This holds true for enrollment in both two-year and four-year colleges. Second, we find that students who drop-out of four-year colleges generally also have very low predicted probabilities of completion, although this varies across student groups. Finally, we conclude that had four-year college drop-outs begun their postsecondary careers at a two-year college, their predicted probabilities of postsecondary degree completion would be significantly higher. While most of this increase in degree completion comes through increased associate’s degree attainment, about a third of four-year college drop-outs would have a higher chance of bachelor’s degree completion, had they begun college at a two-year institution. While our results are only a descriptive analysis, and should not be interpreted as causal findings, until more is understood about the types of students who drop-out of college and potential reasons why, there will likely be little progress in reducing the college failure rate in the U.S.>

Sleep

Sleeping on the Job? Actually, That's a Good Thing

University of Michigan | June 29, 2015

Employees seeking to boost their productivity at work should take a nap—yes, sleeping on the job can be a good thing.
A new University of Michigan study finds that taking a nap may be an effective strategy to counteract impulsive behavior and to boost tolerance for frustration.

<more at http://phys.org/news/2015-06-job-good.html; related link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886915003943 (Napping to modulate frustration and impulsivity: A pilot study) [Abstract: Recent research has shown that napping can increase positive mood, and improve immune functioning, demonstrating the additional benefits of naps beyond reducing sleepiness and fatigue. Because prolonged wakefulness is becoming more common, it is becoming increasingly important to identify effective approaches to decrease resultant cognitive deficiencies. The present study aimed to examine the impact of a brief, midday nap on an aspect of executive functioning, emotional control. 40 subjects were randomized into a nap or no-nap condition, and emotional control was measured with a self-report impulsivity measure and frustration tolerance task. Results revealed that nappers showed a decrease in self-reported impulsivity and increased tolerance for frustration, while those in the no-nap condition showed the opposite pattern. These results indicate that emotional control may become impaired from wakefulness that builds across the day, and that napping may be an effective countermeasure.]>

New Kind of College (Rhode Island)

A New Kind Of College Wins State Approval In Rhode Island (+Video)

Anya Kamenetz | May 27, 2015

...College Unbound is the creation of education innovator Dennis Littky, who built it on this principle: Treat students from nontraditional backgrounds to the kind of special, individualized attention found in the most elite educational settings. Allow their own passions and interests to be paramount. Help them craft their own path to a degree.

Source: http://www.collegeunbound.org/apps/video/watch.jsp?v=83176

<more at http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/05/27/408793531/a-new-kind-of-college-wins-state-approval-in-rhode-island; related link: http://www.collegeunbound.org/ (SPOTLIGHT: Our mission is to reinvent higher education for underrepresented returning adult learners, using a model that is individualized, interest-based, project-driven, workplace-enhanced, cohort-supported, flexible, supportive, and affordable. College Unbound integrates the students’ own purposes for learning with the needs of their workplaces and communities, improving the lives of the students and the lives of those they touch. As a degree completion college, College Unbound provides access, support through completion, and career placement, ensuring that students get in, stay in, and move forward.)>

Privatizing Libraries

Editorial: Privatizing Our Libraries? (Ocala, Florida)

Ocala Star Banner | June 28, 2015

If you aren’t one of the thousands of Marion County residents who visit one of our public libraries regularly, well, let me tell, they’re pretty nice. More than just repositories for books, they have movies and magazines and are technology centers. They house Marion County’s historical archives and host scores of community meetings and events. And there is staff to help you in a heartbeat.

<more at http://www.ocala.com/article/20150628/OPINION/150629766>

Future of Paper

Why the Future of Paper is More Complicated Than You Think

Matt Hansen | June 30, 2015

Americans are pessimistic about many things: When surveyed, they expect the world will get hotter, the oceans will get dirtier, and water will be harder to come by in decades to come. But, a 2010 Pew survey on science and technology found, there's one area where they see a brighter future: More than 60 percent of Americans think our future will be at least partly free of paper.

Source: http://www.technicia.net/cms2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73:paper-industry&catid=29&Itemid=339

<more at http://theweek.com/articles/562853/why-future-paper-more-complicated-than-think>

Unions at Public Colleges

Supreme Court to Consider Case That Could Upend Unions at Public Colleges

Andy Thomason | June 30, 2015

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to take a case that could upend how unions are financed at public colleges. The New York Times reports that the court will hear arguments in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which was brought by public-school teachers in California who argue that being forced to pay union fees violates their First Amendment rights.

<more at http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/supreme-court-will-consider-case-that-could-upend-unions-at-public-colleges/101337?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en; related link: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/01/supreme-court-takes-case-could-threaten-financing-most-faculty-unions (Threat to Faculty Unions, July 1, 2015)>