Jennifer Davis, Debra Lee, Kate Jarvis, Helen Zorbas and Sally Redman
Despite evidence showing the benefits of early diagnosis of breast cancer many Australian women delay seeking advice when they find a change in their breast. This paper describes…
Abstract
Despite evidence showing the benefits of early diagnosis of breast cancer many Australian women delay seeking advice when they find a change in their breast. This paper describes the process evaluation of a national programme to encourage women to see their general practitioner within three months of finding a breast change. The programme used a partnership approach involving different sectors of the community to deliver an inexpensive national programme with sustainable community components. The programme included strategies to promote messages through the news media, television commercials, community meetings across Australia and general practitioner based strategies. This paper reports on a process evaluation of the implementation of the programme; outcome measures will be available at a later stage.
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Marci Hunsaker, Francis Howard, Shu‐Hua Liu and Jennifer Davis
The purpose of this paper is to present a virtual library plan created by library directors of the 23 California State University (CSU) system campuses. The information literacy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a virtual library plan created by library directors of the 23 California State University (CSU) system campuses. The information literacy portion of the project offers a repository of high quality interactive digital learning objects (DLOs) in the MERLOT repository. Therefore, DLOs created locally at the Dr Martin Luther King, Jr Library at San José State University (SJSU) focus on topics that supplement the “core” DLO collection.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study presents planning assumptions for developing local content that complements a California State University (CSU) system collection of high quality interactive information literacy DLOs. The authors also offer suggestions from the professional literature that guide their application of such Web 2.0 tools as wikis, podcasts, and tagging to create supplemental learning modules for their local information literacy instruction program.
Findings
Web 2.0 Digital Learning Objects are essential components of an efficient academic information literacy program comprised of face‐to‐face and “on demand” virtual approaches. The California State University (CSU) system has identified a core set of DLOs, which are easily available in the MERLOT open access repository. Local development efforts, then, focus on the design and creation of DLOs of local significance.
Practical implications
Librarians at the Dr Martin Luther King, Jr Library in San José, California, USA, are developing local content for Web 2.0‐enabled information literacy instruction. These developments occur within the context of a 23 campus initiative, originating at the Chancellor's Office, which has identified high quality information literacy digital learning objects (DLOs). This core open access collection intends to fulfill academic libraries'core instructional needs and is freely available to any library through the open access MERLOT repository by any library
Originality/value
This paper recommends an approach for local production of virtual information literacy content which benefits from harvesting the “best of the best” currently available on the internet.
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The purpose of this paper is to engage with a foundational gendered imaginary in Western medical and popular discourse regarding fetal sexual development. It is an imaginary that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to engage with a foundational gendered imaginary in Western medical and popular discourse regarding fetal sexual development. It is an imaginary that consists of dual narratives that bolster an oppositional complementary model of sex-gender. By these accounts male sexual development results from complex and multi-faceted processes generated by the Y chromosome while female sexual development is straightforward, articulated through a discourse of “default sex” (Jost, 1953). Such apparent truths fit seamlessly with the timeworn notion of maleness and masculinity as always already active, and femaleness and femininity always and inevitably passive. In other words, he does and she is.
Design/methodology/approach
Despite embryogenetic findings thoroughly debunking these ideas, contemporary medical and biological textbooks remain haunted by outdated androcentric models of sex development. This paper attends to biomedical and everyday understandings of sex and gender to demonstrate how fresh lines of inquiry produce conditions that enable new ways of understanding bodies and embodied experiences.
Findings
This paper demonstrates how new ways of thinking can lead to a new understanding with regards to sex, gender, bodies, and experiences.
Originality/value
This paper attends to biomedical and everyday understandings of sex and gender to demonstrate how fresh lines of inquiry produce conditions that enable new ways of understanding bodies and embodied experiences.
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Mei H. Chen and Brian H. Kleiner
This article discusses the pay packages of executive officers at internetrelated business. Generally, the executives’ total compensation include salary, bonuses, commissions…
Abstract
This article discusses the pay packages of executive officers at internetrelated business. Generally, the executives’ total compensation include salary, bonuses, commissions, stock options, and other financial compensation, such as forgiveness of loans, automobile expenses, etc. The 70 to 80 percent of the CEOs’ compensations are from gains of exercising stocks. In this tumbling market, shareholders are suffering the loss from the declining stock prices. However, many CEOs are still left with a mountain of wealth. Meanwhile, the board of directors also raises the stock options to retain their top talents even to those who are under‐performing. Besides CEOs’ compensations, we will also compare the CEO pay with non‐CEO pay packages. The CEOs compensations are still the highest. Furthermore, the average CEO made 42 times the average hourly worker’s pay in 1980, 85 times in 1990, and a staggering 531 times in 2000. Many shareholders are against these out of control pay packages. We conclude that it is time to review the process of determining the CEOs compensation, and that the significant presence of pay‐by‐performance should be taken into account in any examination of the practice and regulation of corporate governance.
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William M. Slonaker, Ann C. Wendt and Scott David Williams
While every instance of race‐based employment discrimination is important, this study finds that managers need to devote extra attention to the discharge of male, African American…
Abstract
While every instance of race‐based employment discrimination is important, this study finds that managers need to devote extra attention to the discharge of male, African American employees. During the past three decades, efforts to create fair procedures and promote perceptions of fair treatment have focused on hiring activities, the “front door”. However, this study of actualemployment discrimination claims finds that discrimination against African American menmay be particularly acute in the realm of employee discharge, the “back door”. In addition, this study suggests that the employees’ immediate supervisors should be trained and monitored in order to reduce this form of racial discrimination.
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The purpose of this paper is to prepare for a campus sustainability audit at the main campus of Brock University, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to prepare for a campus sustainability audit at the main campus of Brock University, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
An inductive, qualitative approach was undertaken with data comprised of analyses of key stakeholder interviews, a review of literature, and a systematic collation of campus‐based sustainability initiatives taking place in 2008‐2009.
Findings
The study offers qualitatively analyzed evidence that even smaller and mid‐size Canadian campuses with limited budgets can successfully move forward with sustainability initiatives in multi‐systemic, synergistic partnerships that cross‐professional and disciplinary boundaries. Furthermore, inductive methodologies should not be overlooked in this process. While most of the sample of interviewees in this exploratory study agreed to be involved in current and future sustainability initiatives, interestingly, there were also concerns that discovery of any negative findings could cast a shadow on “green” efforts already underway. The findings also indicate a number of leading edge initiatives taking place at Brock University including a co‐generation power plant, and “green” construction of new buildings as well as those in the planning stages. Without a formal governance structure or a common theoretical framework in place, a broad spectrum of definitions on “sustainability” from key stakeholders was found ranging from an environmental focus to those based solely upon economics, and a combination of the two were prevalent. The absence of any systemic, coordinated and comprehensive approach on the university's main campus was the main negative finding – one that previously hampered growth of synergistic partnerships.
Originality/value
Owing to its geographical location in the Canada's Niagara Escarpment as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Biospheres and its recent emergence as a comprehensive university, it is apparent that Brock University is well placed with potential for a leadership role in promoting ethical and green consumption practices on its campuses and within the region. This qualitative study provides a contemporary, interdisciplinary conceptual framework for understanding how important synergies may be brought to bear in this new policy arena within and beyond academia.
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The purpose of this study is to learn what factors liaison librarians in academic research libraries consider in determining whether to refer chat reference patrons to subject…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to learn what factors liaison librarians in academic research libraries consider in determining whether to refer chat reference patrons to subject specialists.
Design/methodology/approach
Subject specialists were asked what policies guided their decisions to refer to a specialist and then assessed unreferred chat session transcripts both within and outside their specializations to determine need for a referral.
Findings
Few respondents were guided by formal policies. Contrary to an initial hypothesis, subject area was not a key factor in referring chat. A broader set of criteria included reference interviewing, provision of relevant resources and information literacy instruction. Respondents valued both the depth that subject specialists can provide to reference interactions and the ability of a skilled generalist to support information literacy.
Research limitations/implications
Findings are most applicable to large, public doctoral universities with liaison librarian programs. Assignment of respondents to subject specialist categories was complicated by their broad range of background and expertise.
Practical implications
The study contributes new understanding of referrals to subject specialists who have potential to guide development of formal referral policies in academic library virtual reference services.
Originality/value
The study is the first empirical examination of chat reference referral decisions.
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Jennifer C. Mann and Alison McGlinn Turner
This study aims to explore the stories of two young refugee women, Sue Mar and Amora, and how their adolescent identities, experiences, and beliefs, partially shaped by their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the stories of two young refugee women, Sue Mar and Amora, and how their adolescent identities, experiences, and beliefs, partially shaped by their English teacher, helped pave their paths to higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is guided by the lens of critical literacy as “a way of being and doing” (Vasquez et al., 2019). The authors chose portraiture, a participant-centered methodology, as a response to the historical marginalization of refugees, to bring their voices to the forefront (Lawrence-Lightfoot and Davis, 1997). They draw from interviews conducted with Sue Mar and Amora, document analysis, and an interview with the English teacher.
Findings
In Sue Mar and Amora’s portraits, aspiration and determination are seen as primary factors in their college-going. In addition, Sue Mar and Amora were propelled by their English teacher’s support through the cultivation of a loving relationship, high expectations, and critical pedagogical practices. Their family and community fostered beliefs about the power and potential of education, and other refugees served as important role models.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers should explore refugee students’ experiences accessing higher education.
Practical implications
English educators should connect literature to the lived experiences of their students to show that they value their students’ knowledge and past experiences.
Social implications
Policymakers should consider the role that community colleges play in the lives of refugee students and should support programs including tuition reduction for refugee students.
Originality/value
As only 6% of refugees currently attend college (UNHCR, 2023), it is essential to understand factors that contributed to students’ college-going.
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“Process” vs “product”: this concept was originally introduced by Ian Davis in 1978 in Shelter After Disaster. However, 40 years later, in the halls of universities, it would…
Abstract
Purpose
“Process” vs “product”: this concept was originally introduced by Ian Davis in 1978 in Shelter After Disaster. However, 40 years later, in the halls of universities, it would appear a long way from having settled in the minds of upcoming engineers and architects looking to contribute to the field of disaster management. This key understanding is a major steppingstone to those pursuing careers in the shelter and settlements sector. However, the clarity of the argument and its importance still fails to reach some humanitarians in the early stages of their career. This perspective reflects on the key arguments for and against process over product and reflects on the reasons for the lack of recognition of this concept in early stage academics in the shelter and settlements sector. It also discusses the academic practitioner divide and pathways for learning within the sector.
Design/methodology/approach
This perspective reflects on discussions over four years of a progression into the humanitarian shelter and settlements sector from a construction and engineering background. It discusses the author’s personal progression in understanding process over product and observations of other early stage researchers taking similar pathways. It also examines literature in the sector and the key texts which affect this progression. Furthermore, this perspective provides comments from experts in the shelter and settlements sector through a small series of informal interviews. This provides insight into their experience with upcoming architects and engineers, and key messages for early stage researchers.
Findings
This reflection found that upcoming architects and engineering students still undergo a journey of understanding over “process vs product” despite changes in the industry. These students can benefit from the understanding of shelter as a process.
Originality/value
The concept of process vs product is not a new one. It is arguably one of the most central arguments to the shelter and settlements sector. However, there is very little written on the learning of this concept or the effects it has on understanding the broader aspects of the sector. This reflection can provide significant value to early stage researchers who have yet to engage with this concept, and further highlight its importance of learning pathways to the sector.