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The purpose of this paper is to examine sex differences in mental health service usage among upper-middle, lower-middle, and low-income countries (LICs).

Data from 62 low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs) were collected with the World Health Organization – Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS). Sex differences in mental health service utilization were assessed by comparing the proportion female in the general population with the proportion female treated for mental illness in five different types of mental health facility.

Two-sided t-tests for significance (a=0.05) revealed a significant difference between the proportion female in the population and the proportion treated in inpatient facilities (community-based and mental hospitals) in LICs. There was also a trend toward decreased use of outpatient facilities by women in LICs (p=0.08). Lower-middle and upper-middle income countries showed no differences. In day treatment facilities for the entire sample, there was a significant difference between the proportion female in the population and the proportion treated female (weighted mean difference overall=0.10, p=0.035).

The authors found significantly reduced utilization of mental health services by women in LICs in community-based inpatient facilities and mental hospitals and a trend toward decreased use in outpatient facilities. Future studies investigating the factors contributing to the lower utilization of services by women in LICs are essential.

This study presents the first comprehensive study of mental health service usage by sex in 62 LAMICs.

Neuropsychiatric disorders account for a substantial proportion of disease burden and disability in Africa. Despite this, mental health systems are under-resourced in Africa, as in most parts of the world, creating a “treatment gap” and denying the African population the right to mental health achieved through access to mental health services. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The mental health systems of African countries were compared with figures for all low- and middle-income countries (LAMICS) using data from the World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems. Comparable global figures were also available for some indicators from the WHO's World Mental Health Atlas 2011.

Selected indicators of mental health systems are presented for 14 African countries and shows that they are lower as compared to figures for all other LAMICS and also global figures. The treatment gap for mental disorders is much higher in Africa than comparable global figures. For example, the treatment gap for mood disorders has been estimated from 95 to 100 per cent for some African countries.

There is an imbalance between need and service provision in the area of mental health across the world but particularly in Africa. Despite this, there are a greater number of outpatient than inpatient services in Africa which provides an opportunity for development of community-based services. There are also many encouraging examples of effective approaches to reducing the burden of neuropsychiatic disease in Africa.

The purpose of this study is to analyze one Instant Messaging (IM) reference service to determine to what extent instruction is or can be offered in this medium and whether patrons want or expect it.

The authors surveyed IM patrons over a seven week period to determine whether they felt they could and did learn from chat transactions. Transcript content was analyzed to find out whether and how instruction is being offered.

Results show that patrons overwhelmingly welcome instruction and that it is provided in a large majority of cases, using a variety of bibliographic instruction techniques. The way the question is phrased, however, affects the likelihood of instruction to some extent.

The results of this study indicate that librarians should make a habit of practicing instruction in IM reference even when patrons do not appear to be asking for it.

The relationship between instruction and virtual reference has not been fully explored in the literature. Reference and instruction librarians will benefit from this study's exploration of instruction in the IM medium.

This article analyzes survey results of university students who used Morris Messenger, the instant messaging (IM) reference service at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Morris Library. It focuses on the complete results of two surveys, including a comparison of IM reference and traditional reference desk experiences. An overview of the IM reference system and usage data are also discussed. Survey respondents indicated overall enthusiasm for the IM reference service and provided useful suggestions for improvements, which are also listed.

Libraries need to routinely redesign their Web sites, and using a database to manage the content will improve the process considerably. This case study describes how a Perl‐driven database improved Web site organization and patron access, made subsequent revisions much easier, and allowed non‐HTML savvy staff to update content.

Children’s fruit intake is a part of healthy nutrition. Several children’s food products “look like” fruit; hence potentially fruit substitutes. Packaging includes brand names, indicators, and health claims related to fruit. These packaging cues may potentially lead to misperceptions of the products. The purpose of this paper is to examine at-risk parents’ substitutions of children’s fruit-branded products for real fruit. At-risk parents are of particular interest as they are a vulnerable segment when it comes to nutrition.

At-risk families (n=149) completed a survey of their perceptions of children’s nutritional needs, fruit product substitutions, and brand purchase behavior.

At-risk parents report erroneous perceptions of children’s nutritional fruit intake needs. The results suggest that parents believe fruit-branded products are equivalent to real fruit. Parents’ knowledge and beliefs of fruit equivalency impact purchase decisions.

Limitations include potential self-reporting and convenience sampling bias. The study did not attend to the complete product nutritional profile; only on fruit content. Future research should investigate other factors affecting food purchase decisions.

Industry and policy implications include the balance between governmental regulation of food marketing, voluntary corporate responsibility, and the need for education.

This study provides insights into children’s food product packaging on at-risk family perceptions of real fruit substitutes and purchase behaviors. With the market for these products increasing, there is limited research investigating the impact of these products on children’s nutritional intake.

This two-year study illuminates the experiences of technology coaches (digital learning coaches [DL] and science technology engineering and mathematics/literacy coaches [STEM/L]) as they engaged in their own professional learning (PL) facilitated by a faculty researcher.

Technology coaches from different school districts and their respective colleagues participated in book studies as part of their PL. They reflected and debriefed individually and collaboratively with a researcher facilitator. Data were collected through interviews, field notes at meetings, observations, researchers’ reflections and artefacts. Qualitative data analysis methods were employed.

The findings offer a glimpse into (1) benefits of cross-district collaboration, (2) challenges finding resources for coaching, (3) career-long desire to learn and (4) time to build and sustain cross-collaborations.

Conclusions suggest that DL and STEM/L coaches benefit from their own dedicated, differentiated programme of PL supported by each other (as from other districts) and a researcher facilitator. Educational implications are offered for researchers and other school district stakeholders for consideration for them to foster coaches’ collaborative PL.

Importantly, this project is an exemplar of how to support coaches’ PL and growth through researcher facilitation of cross-district collaborative learning.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between trait and situational empathy, and the effect of educational activities on empathy of nursing students towards people living with dementia.

This embedded mixed-methods study compared trait and situational empathy examined situational empathy pre/post didactic and experiential activities with nursing students and used qualitative data from focus group discussions to corroborate the quantitative data.

There was no significant difference between trait and situational empathy. Post intervention scores (situational) demonstrated improvements on empathic concern, shared affect, empathic imagination, helping motivation and cognitive empathy. Focus group discussions supported quantitative findings and also included distress.

Limitations include lack of generalizability, single group threats and exclusion of stakeholder input. Single group threats include absence of a control group, familiarity with the CSES from pre-test to post-test and reactive measurements, as the students were observed by faculty while completing the Dementia Live activity. The perspective of stakeholders would strengthen the impact of the results on implementation.

Information gleaned from this study can help inform administrators in education and in practice. CliftonStrengths assessment and Dementia Live simulation activities can be used for administrators, faculty and students in schools of nursing as well as administrators and health-care workers.

Information from this study can impact those living with dementia as well as their caregivers.

Most studies involving health-care students and empathy do not delineate between trait and situational empathy. This study is unique in that it measured both and sought a relationship between the two. Determining one's personal attributes such as trait empathy, can help students capitalize on their strengths and ultimately enhance patient care.

Server‐side include (SSI) codes allow Webmasters to insert content into their Web pages on‐the‐fly without programming knowledge. Using these codes effectively can mean an exponential decrease in the time spent maintaining a large or medium‐sized Web site. Most Web servers have server‐side functionality to some extent; a few allow great flexibility with if‐then statements and the ability to set variables. This article describes the functionality of SSI, how to enable the codes on a Web server, and a step‐by‐step process for implementing them. Examples of their use on a large academic library’s Web site are included for illustration.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the adoption of major exhibitions, often called blockbusters, as a sub-branding strategy for art museums. Focusing the experience around one location but drawing on a wide data set for comparative purposes, the authors examine the blockbuster phenomenon as exhibition packages sourced from international institutions, based on an artist or collection of quality and significance. The authors answer the questions: what drives an art museum to adopt an exhibition sub-brand strategy that sees exhibitions become blockbusters? What are the characteristics of the blockbuster sub-brand?

Using extant literature, interviews and content analysis in a comparative case study format, this paper has three aims: first, to embed exhibitions within the marketing and branding literature; second, to identify the drivers of a blockbuster strategy; and third, to explore the key characteristics of blockbuster exhibitions.

The authors present a theoretical model of major exhibitions as a sub-brand. The drivers identified include the entrepreneurial characteristics of pro-activeness, innovation and risk-taking, while the four key characteristics of the blockbuster are celebrity; spectacle; inclusivity; and authenticity.

These exhibitions are used to augment a host art museum’s own collection for its stakeholders and differentiate it in the wider cultural marketplace. While art museum curators seek to develop quality exhibitions, sometimes they become blockbusters. While blockbusters are a household word, the terms is contested and the authors know little about them from a marketing perspective.

Art museums are non-profit, social organisations that serve the community. Art museums therefore meet the needs of multiple stakeholders in a political environment with competing interests. The study draws on the experiences of a major regional art museum, examining the characteristics of exhibition sub-brands and the paradox of the sub-brand being used to differentiate the art museum. This paper fills a gap in both the arts marketing and broader marketing literature.

The use of the identified characteristics develops theory where the literature has been silent on the blockbuster sub-brand from a marketing perspective. It provides an exemplar for institutional learning on how to initiate and manage quality by popular exhibition strategies.