This article discusses the preferences, habits, and needs of graduate students as they relate to spaces for research and study. The findings are based on a large-scale ethnographic study of graduate students at Florida State University conducted between 2010 and 2013. Using a variety of ethnographic methods, researchers found that graduate students have diverse needs and unequal access to appropriate spaces and resources to meet those needs. Libraries can help fill the gaps left by home and academic departments by providing a range of spaces offering different noise levels, resources, and other amenities.etween 2010 and 2013, Florida State University Libraries (FSUL) conducted a study to broaden its understanding of graduate students' academic work behaviors and needs. Recognizing that graduate students have different roles and responsibilities from undergraduate students, FSUL librarians wanted to ensure that they were providing the spaces, services, and resources that graduate students need to be successful. Using ethnographic methods allowed the librarians to gain a more complete understanding of graduate students' lives, allowing them to see better all the factors that can contribute to or impede graduate student success. This analysis explores the implications of graduate students' preferences, behaviors, and needs for spaces to research and study, because space-related issues were frequently discussed in the study and are a topic of key importance for libraries. In 2006, FSUL reorganized its Public Services division to focus on serving the needs of different user populations. The Scholars Commons became a department with services and spaces designed to cater to the needs of graduate students and faculty. The lower floor of the seven-floor main library was renovated in 2008 to include some dedicated quiet study spaces, group spaces, conference rooms, and a computer lab for these scholars so that they would not have to compete with the large undergraduate population for library space. Background 2In 2010, library administration charged a newly formed assessment department with conducting an ethnographic study of the graduate student population. Earlier assessment efforts included limited interviews with graduate students and data from LibQUAL+ and internal surveys, but this study would be more comprehensive in scope. Librarians sought to determine whether the services, resources, and spaces the libraries provided to graduate students effectively aligned with and supported their academic preferences, needs, and behaviors. Review of Selected LiteratureWhile large ethnographic studies have been conducted in libraries since the landmark Rochester study, 3 few of these studies have adopted a holistic, multimethod approach to studying graduate student populations. 4 Most studies of graduate students have focused on specific themes, such as their research needs, how they use the library, how to design a better library website, or how to build a more attractive institutional repository. 5It is difficult to summarize...
Purpose -The purpose of this research paper is to review a selection of articles and books that highlight aspects of spatial theory and literacy from various disciplinary perspectives, along with a review of library space studies. Design/methodology/approach -This study reviews library literature published between 2010 to 2017 that utilizes spatial literacy and its related tools. The authors searched full text in two databases, a library specific database, Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), and in a multi-disciplinary database SCOPUS. The article records were analyzed to find primary research studies, published between 2010 and 2017, which study patron use of library space using various single and hybrid methodologies. Findings -The findings of the literature reveal that of the 26 studies reviewed, 23 have a descriptive research question, three have a relational research question, and zero have a causal research question. Based on the analysis of the research methodologies employed, there is more that can be done in support of a librarian's research efforts as well as the arenas in which research is conducted. Practical implications -These findings highlight ways in which LIS researchers and those who educate them can broaden collective knowledge within the profession regarding spatial theory, literacy, and applicable research methodologies for studying and innovating library space. Originality/value -Current and best practices for designing library space studies that employ spatial literacy to collect and analyze data are identified along with a discussion of future directions for LIS researchers to better assess space and communicate the value of innovated physical space in libraries.
Background Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), either Crohn’s Disease (CD) or Ulcerative Colitis (UC), treated with immunosuppressants and/or biotherapy might have an altered immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of COVID-19 in a French cohort of IBD patients treated with infliximab or vedolizumab during the first epidemic wave and to identify factors associated with the risk of infection. Methods All patients with IBD treated with infliximab or vedolizumab from March to June 2020 in 16 French centres were included and followed for 6 months. At baseline, clinical, demographic, family and socio-professional data were collected. At each of their day hospitalization, patients reported the occurrence of symptoms of COVID-19, and the performance of a diagnostic test, if so. Serum was collected at each visit to detect immunisation by SARS-CoV-2 at the end of follow-up and to measure trough levels. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) were frozen at each visit for 50% of patients to further analyse the immunological changes associated with COVID-19. Results 1079 patients were included (CD n=690, mean age 41.6 years, mean disease duration 13.3 years). Clinical and demographic data at baseline are detailed in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. 143 patients (13.3%) had one or more co-morbidities associated with a risk of severe COVID-19 (hypertension 5.6%, chronic lung disease 5%, diabetes 2.4%, obesity 0.3%). Over the 6 months of follow-up, 458 patients (42%) had active disease defined by an HBI score >4 or Mayo score >2 and/or treatment optimisation (dose increase, shortening of infusion interval, addition of an immunosuppressant or change of biotherapy). 111 patients (10.2%) received corticosteroids at least occasionally (self-medication was not excluded). 341 patients (32%) were tested for COVID-19 by nasal swab, of whom 23 were positive. Three patients were hospitalized. Regarding serology, in the first 13 centres analysed hitherto (886 patients), 20 patients were seropositive at the end of follow-up before the start of the vaccination campaign (January 2021), i.e. 2.2%, compared to 4.5% in the general population at the same period according to Santé Publique France data. Conclusion The preliminary analysis of this French cohort confirms that patients with IBD are not at higher risk of severe COVID-19 despite the use of biotherapy and repeated hospital stays. This population was significantly less infected than the general population. Clinical, demographic and immunological factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection are being analysed as well as factors associated with a lower incidence of infection compared to the general population.
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