The present study evaluated the ability of humans to discriminate temperature decreases in the noxious and innocuous cold range. Two groups of five subjects detected changes in cold stimuli applied to the maxillary face. For five subjects, adapting temperatures of 22 degrees, 16 degrees, 6 degrees and 0 degrees C were used, and thresholds for detecting temperature decreases were determined using an adaptive psychophysical paradigm. Visual analogue scale (VAS) ratings of cold and pain sensation were also recorded at 5-min intervals throughout each session. A second group of five subjects performed a similar detection task, but in this case using classical psychophysical techniques (method of constant stimuli) and adapting temperatures of 22 degrees, 16 degrees, 10 degrees and 6 degrees C. These subjects described the quality of the detected change in sensation, in addition to rating overall cold and pain sensation throughout the session. Detection thresholds were 0.27 degrees, 0.48 degrees, 4.8 degrees, 8.0 degrees and >10.0 degrees C for baselines of 22 degrees, 16 degrees, 10 degrees, 6 degrees and 0 degrees C, respectively, indicating that discrimination was better in the innocuous cool (22 degrees and 16 degrees C) than in the noxious and near-noxious cold (10-0 degrees C) range (P < 0.05). Tonic adapting temperatures of 22 degrees and 16 degrees C were always rated as cool but not painful, whereas adapting temperatures of 10 degrees and 6 degrees were sometimes and 0 degrees C usually rated as painful. Phasic temperature decreases from 22 degrees and 16 degrees C always produced cooling sensations, whereas decreases from baselines of 10 degrees and 6 degrees C produced primarily sensations of painful and non-painful prickle. These data suggest that different afferent channels mediate cool and noxious cold perception and add support to the hypothesis that noxious cold sensation is mediated by subdermal nociceptors.

Information literacy is a core research topic in the field of library and information science. The developmental context of this field can be examined through a long-term retrospective analysis of relevant literature. This study explored the research trends and potential research issues in the top 100 most frequently cited articles on information literacy in higher education published from 2011 to 2020. In addition to a systematic review, this study employed bibliometric methods, including co-citation network analysis, to identify four main research streams in the field of information literacy in higher education: (a) the relationships among students’ information literacy beliefs, competencies, attitudes and behaviour; (b) teachers’, librarians’ and students’ perspectives on information literacy; (c) the relationship between students’ information literacy and epistemic beliefs; and (d) the web search behaviour of digital natives. Accordingly, potential directions for future research and practitioner notes related to information literacy in higher education are proposed herein as a reference for researchers, teachers and policymakers. Implications for practice or policy: For administrators of higher educational institutions, understanding the challenges of new digital technologies and providing training to develop information literacy skills are crucial. For teachers, designing teaching materials and pedagogy based on the latest information literacy standards and framework is useful. Collaboration with professionals from different disciplines is also useful for teachers to integrate information literacy into subject learning activities to cultivate the information literacy competencies of students.

Over the past few decades, organizational learning has become a significant concept for the development of organizations. Numerous scholars and experts in librarianship have advocated the importance of creating a learning library for handling various challenges, such as the rapid development of the Internet and digital technology. However, an effective learning organization relies on a positive learning culture and starts with an individual’s commitment to learn. This study investigated the learning methods that are commonly adopted by staff in Taiwan’s university and college libraries, measuring their values regarding the organizational learning culture and knowledge performance, and exploring the relationships among individual learning methods, organizational learning culture, and knowledge performance in these libraries. Based on the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) and previous studies, this study designed and conducted a questionnaire survey of 478 library employees in 162 universities and colleges across Taiwan. Some key findings of this study included: (1) the individual learning method of “self-learning by using Internet resources” is adopted most frequently by library staff in Taiwan’s universities and colleges; (2) the overall values of staff members regarding their organizational learning cultures are not strong; (3) the two dimensions “creating continuous learning opportunities” and “creating systems to capture and share learning” can influence the methods of library staffs’ learning formally and informally, and they can positively contribute to enhance the knowledge performance of the library. In addition, informal learning methods are likely to enhance organizational knowledge performance.

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