Ubiquitous mobile technology is part of contemporary life, bringing with it the potential for distraction and reduction in performance associated with multitasking. The predisposition toward dysfunctional multitasking may be shaped in part by beliefs that individuals hold about memory and attention. The issue is particularly pressing for college students, given established links between distraction, multitasking, and learning. This project assessed the impact of an online learning module on beliefs about attention, memory, and learning in college students. It also contrasted these beliefs in a college and non-college community sample. Significant reductions in counterproductive beliefs were associated with completing the module; counterproductive beliefs were also no more prevalent in the college vs. the non-college sample. Our findings suggest that brief online modules are a practical way to address counterproductive beliefs related to multitasking with technology, and add to the literature on metacognition, attention, and multitasking in college and non-college populations.

In the current study, two groups of rats (five per group) were administered a single oral dose of 500 mg/kg acetaminophen. For toxicokinetic assessment, the Group 1 animals were bled via conventional sparse (two animals/time point) sublingual vein bleeding (~0.5 ml) with anesthesia, while the Group 2 animals were bled via serial tail vein microsampling (~0.075 ml) without anesthesia. All collected blood was processed for plasma. Each Group 2 plasma sample (~30 μl) was divided into 'wet' and 'dried' (dried plasma spots). All plasma samples were analyzed by LC-MS/MS for acetaminophen and its major metabolites acetaminophen glucuronide and acetaminophen sulfate. In addition, plasma and urine samples were collected for analysis of corticosterone and creatinine to assess stress levels. Comparable plasma exposure to acetaminophen and its two metabolites was observed in the plasma obtained via conventional sparse sublingual vein bleeding and serial tail vein microsampling and between the 'wet' and 'dried' plasma obtained by the latter. Furthermore, comparable corticosterone levels or corticosterone/creatinine ratios between the two groups suggested that serial microsampling without anesthesia did not increase the levels of stress as compared with conventional sampling with anesthesia, confirming the utility of microsampling for plasma or dried plasma spots in rodent toxicokinetic assessment.

Praxis, in Marxist terms, refers to the process of applying theory through practice to develop more informed theory and practice, specifically as it relates to social change. The progressive ideal implied in this is obvious, and is of particular relevance to librarianship. Also, in responding to a challenge for the need of a more theoretical framework to inform library theory and practice, John M. Budd defines praxis for librarianship in progressive terms as “action that carries social and ethical implications and is not reduced to technical performance of tasks” (20). In saying this, however, Budd further agrees with Richard Bernsteinʼs critique that the meaning of praxis has been watered down, in part, due to “an overenthusiastic affinity for technical matters and deference to technical expertise” (Budd 20).

An LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for bioanalysis of clofazimine in human dried blood spot (DBS) samples in support of a clinical study on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in developing countries. The validated assay dynamic range was from 10.0 to 2000 ng/mL using a 1/8 inch DBS punch. The accuracy and precision of the assay were ±11.0% (bias) and ≤13.5% (CV) for the LLOQs (10.0 ng/mL) and ±15% (bias) and ≤15% (CV) for all other QC levels. The assay was proved to be free from the possible impact owing to spot size and storage temperature (e.g. at 60°C, ≤ - 60°C). The validated assay is well suited for the intended clinical study where conventional pharmacokinetic sample collection is not feasible.

A high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the quantitative analysis of loratadine, an H1 histamine antagonist, in human dried blood spot (DBS) samples following a single self-administered 10 or 20 mg oral dose. The samples were produced by spotting approximately 30 Ill of whole blood onto PE-226 cards. Two 3-mm discs were cut from the DBS samples and extracted using aqueous methanol containing the internal standard. After transfer and drying of the resulting sample extract, the reconstituted residues were chromatographed using a Waters XSelect C-18 column and isocratic elution for MS/MS detection. The possible impact due to hematocrit, volume of blood sample spotted, storage temperature, and humidity, on the accuracy of measured DBS results were investigated. The results showed that only spotted blood volume might have an impact; a small volume (10 mu l) tended to give a larger negative bias in the measured value than the large volume ones (>= 20 mu l). The current method was fully validated over a dynamic range of 0.200-20.0 ng/ml with correlation coefficients (r(2)) for three validation batches equal to or better than 0.990. The intra-day accuracy and precision at the LLOQwere -11.5 to 0.0% bias and 6.4 to 8.9% CV, respectively. For the other QC samples (0.600, 3.00, 10.0 and 15.0 ng/ml), the precision ranged from 4.2 to 9.8% CV and from 6.3 to 8.1% CV, respectively, in the intra-day and inter-day evaluations; the accuracy ranged from -1.7 to 10.0% and 2.7 to 5.3% bias, respectively, in the intra-day and inter-day batches. Loratadine is stable in the DBS samples for at least 271 days at ambient temperature in a desiccator, for at least 24h at 60 degrees C and under 80% relative humidity, followed by re-conditioning at ambient temperature in a desiccator. The current methodology has been applied to determine the loratadine levels in DBS samples collected by subjects in a clinical research study to evaluate pharmacokinetic sampling in point-of-care setting. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Facetiously described as the “third generation” of distance learning, blended learning is now the new kid on the block in the deployment of technology to support teaching and learning. Its versatility as a pedagogical strategy for creating learner-centered instruction lies in the capacity to exploit the potentials of both the traditional face-to-face instruction and online learning modality in order to provide students with multiple pathways of learning. Yet, developing a blended course to take advantage of these duo capabilities is a monumental challenge for faculty. This chapter presents an analysis of approaches and models employed by faculty at Northern Arizona University to develop and deliver two blended courses as part of the institution's strategy of using technology to enhance undergraduate student engagement and retention. The analysis shows that a multimodal approach that infuses technologies and media and a proactive institutional policy in favor of blended learning, coupled with strategic faculty development, provides the best pathway to developing robust blended courses that are truly learner-centered.

Quantitative bioanalysis of dried plasma spots (DPS) is not subject to the impact of hematocrit and sample non-homogeneity that are often encountered in dried blood spot (DBS) assay. In the present report, an evaluation of plasma microsampling for DPS has been conducted for the first time using ritonavir as a model compound orally administered to dogs. For this evaluation, an LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated according to the current health authorities' guidance and industry practice for the analysis of ritonavir in DPS samples. The measured ritonavir concentrations in the DPS samples prepared using SAFE-TEC devices and directly from the conventional wet plasma using standard pipette were compared with each other and against those of conventional wet plasma. Both DPS results correlated well with each other and were comparable to those of the wet plasma. Good incurred sample reanalysis results were obtained for the two sets of DPS samples and wet plasma as well. The current plasma microsampling for DPS can serve as an alternative to DPS sampling via standard pipetting and wet plasma in in vivo studies.

Using backward design coupled with a focus on intentional learning, a series of platform-independent podcasts were created to address the need to increase student information literacy competency. The design team used a collaborative process where all members of the team worked in an iterative fashion, from the specification of student learning outcomes to the creation of the final assessments. The project brought to light the importance of clearly specifying student learning outcomes, creating meaningful assessments, strong project management, and the composition and dynamics of the design team.

Background: In support of a pilot clinical trial using acetaminophen as the model compound to assess dried blood spot (DBS) sampling as the method for clinical pharmacokinetic sample collection, a novel sensitive LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of acetaminophen and its major metabolites, acetaminophen glucuronide and sulfate, in human DBS samples collected by subjects via fingerprick. Results: The validated assay dynamic range was from 50.0 to 5000 ng/ml for each compound using a 1/8 '' (3-mm) disc punched from a DBS sample. Baseline separation of the three analytes was achieved to eliminate the possible impact of insource fragmentation of the conjugated metabolites on the analysis of the parent. The overall extraction efficiency was from 61.3 to 78.8% for the three analytes by direct extraction using methanol. Conclusion: The validated method was successfully implemented in the pilot clinical study with the obtained pharmacokinetic parameters in agreement with the values reported in literature.

Using backward design coupled with a focus on intentional learning, a series of platform-independent podcasts were created to address the need to increase student information literacy competency. The design team used a collaborative process where all members of the team worked in an iterative fashion from the specification of student learning outcomes to the creation of the final assessments. As a case study, this project brought to light the importance of clearly specifying student learning outcomes, creating meaningful assessments, employing strong project management, and efficiently utilizing the composition and dynamics of the design team.

This chapter discusses the role that technology can play in a first-year Honors seminar. For the purposes of the chapter, blended learning is defined as re-tasking face-to-face time or out of class time to build community and meet course objectives more effectively. The challenge in an Honors seminar, however, is to apply this when technology is not considered a viable solution to potential course challenges. The chapter presents four strategies to build community through interaction and engagement: (1) icebreakers can be moved online to build more student interaction; (2) online journals can facilitate better engagement with the course and the texts; (3) documents can be delivered online to model good practice and promote sustainability; and (4) quizzes can be used to develop metacognitive skills outside of class. Technology, it is concluded, allows instructors to explore effective and engaging mediated instruction in multiple formats.

A detailed examination of John Budd's book, Framing Library Instruction, including discussion of cognitive theories and the state of information literacy instruction.

INTRODUCTION The adoption of educational technology tends to be based on the technology itself as opposed to the pedagogical needs it can serve--what we like to think of as a solution in search of a problem. In this paper we contend that appropriate application of educational technology to produce certain face-to-face outcomes in a composition seminar can improve the student experience in the course. We frame our discussion in Mishra's and Koehler's TPACK theoretical framework (2006), where the quality teacher becomes the content expert who knows what to teach and how to teach to the novice learner while also understanding how a non-pedagogical technology can facilitate learning. Our discussion shows how we used online discussion to build a of learners in a busy first-year honors seminar. THE PROBLEM We teach first-year honors courses that fulfill the university writing requirement. One of the program-level requirements is that instructors choose texts and films that cover a broad chronological range in order to give students an historical context for the reading materials, to make connections between past and present, and to suggest the thematic, conceptual, literary, historical, cultural, and philosophical roots of their reading materials. Essential to success in this course and any honors course is student-instructor interaction. Garrison and Anderson note that technology can support and enhance even traditional interactions such as the lecture. For example, educational technology can help instructors sign off on high-impact interactions so that they can focus their time and instruction in ways that more effectively use their time. Technology also can take us back to the future, to a learning theory framed on communities of inquiry or, as Garrison and Anderson note, a community where individual experiences and ideas are recognized and discussed in light of societal knowledge, norms, and values (4). Such a is difficult to create. One of the goals of our honors program is to explore the opportunities presented by a liberal education, especially in the light of William Cronon's humanistic definition of liberal education as a place for students to begin making connections among themselves and with their texts. Such connections necessitate a classroom of trusting students--not, in and of itself, a specified learning outcome but nevertheless essential to successful learning in our honors courses. The dilemma we faced in designing our course was how to meet the intrinsic need for and connection without unduly sacrificing the programmatic outcomes in the process. A (NOT THE ONLY) SOLUTION We have tried a variety of ways to build communities and connections. Our university made the decision to deliver all electronic readings through our course management system (initially WebCT Vista, then Blackboard Vista) a few years ago, thus necessitating that all courses have a Vista shell each time they are delivered. In other words, even though we taught in-person, face-to-face classes, we still needed to have our students access Vista in order to get some of the supplemental readings. We saw this necessity as an opportunity to rethink our pedagogy by re-tasking some face-to-face activities to Vista, enhancing the quality of face-to-face interaction in class, and giving more time to focus on required learning outcomes. One strategy we employed was introductory icebreakers, which are important to the establishment of a learning and climate (Knowles). We encountered a problem with icebreakers, however: students are resistant when they are experiencing them for the umpteenth time. We also wondered if icebreakers need to happen in, and only in, the first class. …

Theory is increasingly important as libraries transition traditional reference practices to online learning environments. This paper suggests and explores the boundaries of a new theory of reference interaction in the online environment that is grounded in online learning theories and the educational theory of transactional distance. The paper examines an operational definition of the librarian’s instructional intent in e-mail reference service, considering it the level of customized content in canned, instructional messages at institutions that provide e-mail reference service. This definition is tested statistically, suggesting that when a canned response is edited for content by the responder more instruction is likely to occur and transactional distance is overcome.

Theory is increasingly important as libraries transition traditional reference practices to online learning environments. This paper suggests and explores the boundaries of a new theory of reference interaction in the online environment that is grounded in online learning theories and the educational theory of transactional distance. The paper examines an operational definition of the librarian's instructional intent in e-mail reference service, considering it the level of customized content in canned, instructional messages at institutions that provide e-mail reference set-vice. This definition is tested statistically, suggesting that when a canned response is edited for content by the responder more instruction is likely to occur and transactional distance is overcome.

The Information Literacy agenda of academic libraries has recently been critically examined to uncover some of its inherent problems. This paper frames these discussions in the critical theoretical perspective present in educational research, suggesting that the emergence of critical information literacy is long overdue and in need of serious examination by library practitioners who wish to empower student learning.

ABSTRACT The author argues that trends in library literature mask the inherently patriarchal aspects of reference services. Through the critical educational theories of Paulo Freire and others, it is suggested here that there is a need to transform reference services in order to better serve the needs of today's users and that innovative technologies provide an opportunity to do so.