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21 – 30 of 302Minna Säävälä, Elina Turjanmaa and Anne Alitolppa-Niitamo
School is an institution that provides an opportunity to improve children’s equity and wellbeing and to bridge the potential disadvantage related to ethnic- or language-minority…
Abstract
Purpose
School is an institution that provides an opportunity to improve children’s equity and wellbeing and to bridge the potential disadvantage related to ethnic- or language-minority backgrounds. Information sharing between immigrant homes and school can enhance school achievement, support positive identity formation and provide early support when needed. In this paper, the perspectives of immigrant parents, school welfare personnel and school-going adolescents are analysed in order to understand how they see their respective roles in information flows between home and school. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consist of qualitative group and individual interviews of 34 representatives of school personnel, 13 immigrant parents and 81 young people who have experienced immigration, in the metropolitan area of Helsinki, Finland.
Findings
Despite general goodwill, school personnel may fail to secure the flow of information. Due to structural power imbalance, school personnel are often incapable of engaging the parents in dialogical discourse. Young people of immigrant background in turn try to manipulate the information flow in order to protect their family and ethnic group and to cope with pressures from parents. The patterns of information flows in school as a social field reproduce immigrant homes as subaltern. Adolescents act in a strategically important juncture of information flows between immigrant home and school, which indicates that home-school interaction is actually a triad.
Social implications
Awareness building among school personnel is vital for equity and wellbeing of children of immigrant families.
Originality/value
This triangulated analysis of patterned information flows in school as a social field provides a fresh perspective to those working with children of immigrant families.
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There are a number of portal products and solutions in the library marketplace, many of which have been developed by library management system (LMS) suppliers. The main system…
Abstract
There are a number of portal products and solutions in the library marketplace, many of which have been developed by library management system (LMS) suppliers. The main system features and some of the more significant examples of commercial library portal products are described in this article. These are sophisticated complex systems which can unlock the wealth of digital resources held in libraries. Most require a certain amount of customisation by the individual library and information services. However, for those libraries which can afford the base cost of one of these products, the return on investment is justified by maximised usage of key quality electronic library resources.
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Rachel Hopley, Laura Caulfield and Andrew Jolly
There is evidence that music programmes can have a positive impact on people in contact with the criminal justice system. However, little attention has been paid to the potential…
Abstract
Purpose
There is evidence that music programmes can have a positive impact on people in contact with the criminal justice system. However, little attention has been paid to the potential role of music programmes as people leave prison and re-enter the community. Providing support for former prisoners “through-the-gate” is important to aid resettlement and reduce the risk of reoffending. This paper aims to present research on a programme called Sounding Out: a two-year, London-based programme providing ex-prisoners with longer-term rehabilitative opportunities upon their release to bridge the gap between life inside and outside of prison.
Design/methodology/approach
The study aimed to understand the impact of the Sounding Out programme on ex-prisoners from the perspective of participants, staff and family members. Semi-structured interviews took place with 17 people: ten participants across two Sounding Out projects; six members of staff – three from the Irene Taylor Trust, two musicians and one former prison worker; and one family member of a participant.
Findings
The research provides an understanding of the impact of involvement in a carefully designed programme of music creation, skills development and work placements. Thematic analysis of the data resulted in three key themes: personal impact, focus and direction and interpersonal relationships. The findings are consistent with the body of research that demonstrates the impact of music programmes on prisoners.
Originality/value
The current study adds to the relatively limited body of evidence on the role of music programmes in the reintegration of former prisoners into the community.
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The purpose of this conceptual paper is to attempt to answer the related questions of how and why supply chain partners are chosen. Research objectives are to understand how and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this conceptual paper is to attempt to answer the related questions of how and why supply chain partners are chosen. Research objectives are to understand how and why collaborative partners are chosen, by learning the actual decision‐making processes and key factors in partner selection.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods approach was chosen, comprising: a focused literature review, to identify key issues, and informal interviews, leading to the development of a Partner Negotiation Model; a multiple case study approach, involving formal interviews about two partnerships, supplemented by documentation, contracts, correspondence and other records; and some manual data analysis and a qualitative research tool. The whole resulted in identification of significant issues for partner negotiation and selection.
Findings
Contrary to accepted theory in the alliance, partner selection, and decision‐making literature, the results show that alliance partners are chosen through a complex negotiation process rather than rational selection. The research and interviews with software industry collaborators suggest roles for factors such as complexity, cyclic negotiation, several types of partners, several levels of alliance formation, and hidden factors, such as personal friendship or perceived reputation. Overall, the problem of collaborative partner selection was found to be much more complex than expected.
Research limitations/implications
Research results are limited by the small sample of partnerships reviewed, but the results can be used as a starting‐point for further larger‐scale studies.
Practical implications
Supply chain partners in business can use these results to help them better understand the process and criteria for future supply partner selection.
Originality/value
The results may be used to develop a set of partner selection recommendations for practitioners. For specific firms that become involved in organizing supply chain alliances, the results of this work will provide decision support in terms of choosing among partners or indeed whether to engage in a particular relationship.
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Anne Morris and Stephen Barnacle
The introduction and use of new technology is becoming increasingly commonplace in today's libraries. Technological advances have made possible impressive achievements in…
Abstract
The introduction and use of new technology is becoming increasingly commonplace in today's libraries. Technological advances have made possible impressive achievements in improving services and streamlining operations. However, these achievements are often forfeited by managers failing to examine the human effects of automation. This paper highlights the need to consider the human component in the system and reviews health and safety aspects, the ergonomics of library automation, workplace design and job organisation. It concludes that consideration of these factors, combined with detailed knowledge about the needs and habits of personnel, can go a long way to ensure that staff are happy and healthy and that the system runs smoothly and efficiently.
The purpose of this paper is to recount Stanley C. Hollander's own educational experiences and career paths. This is a reprint (with permission) of Stanley C. Hollander's article…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to recount Stanley C. Hollander's own educational experiences and career paths. This is a reprint (with permission) of Stanley C. Hollander's article which first appeared in the Journal of Macromarketing in 1995.
Design/methodology/approach
An autobiographical description of the author's early years.
Findings
The paper reveals many of Stanley C. Hollander's personal thoughts, reflections and some regrets.
Originality/value
The paper provides valuable personal insights from the late Stanley C. Hollander.
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The most obvious symptom of the most obvious trend in the building of new libraries is the fact that, as yet, no spade has entered the ground of the site on Euston Road, London…
Abstract
The most obvious symptom of the most obvious trend in the building of new libraries is the fact that, as yet, no spade has entered the ground of the site on Euston Road, London, upon which the new building for the British Library Reference Division has to be erected. Some twenty years of continued negotiation and discussion finally resulted in the choice of this site. The UK and much more of the world awaits with anticipation what could and should be the major building library of the twentieth century. The planning and design of a library building, however large or small, is, relatively speaking, a major operation, and deserves time, care and patience if the best results are to be produced.
Some months ago a national organisation established to keep a watchful eye on the Nation's diet expressed concern over the eating trends of people in what to them appeared to be…
Abstract
Some months ago a national organisation established to keep a watchful eye on the Nation's diet expressed concern over the eating trends of people in what to them appeared to be developing inbalances of necessary nutrient factors and the inadeuacy not so much of calories and energy values but in the nature and quality of main food factors. It was recommended that the national diet should be improved, but the authorities pointed to the National Food Survey results to show that the diet was not deficient; that the average daily intake of protein, vitamins, minerals and overall energy requirements were satisfied; all of which is true for the not‐too‐generous levels set. Even the pensioner households included in the Survey sample appear well‐fed. What causes concern is the year‐by‐year decrease in staple foods consumed—milk, red meat, bread, fresh vegetables—and the heavy reliance on refined, processed foods. In its annual reports on NFS reviews, the BFJ has almost monotonously referred to this downward trend. Individual NFS Reports do not reveal any serious deficiencies, as yet, but in the trend over the years—and herein lies the real value of the Survey and its data—few if any of the changes have been for the better; movements in food groups have tended to be downwards. If these trends continue, the time must surely come when there will be real deficiencies; that substitution within a food group cannot make good essential foods severely rationed by high prices.
It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields…
Abstract
It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.
Renate Ortlieb and Barbara Sieben
The purpose of this paper is to examine the representation of migrant employees in German organizations and to demonstrate that their employment opportunities are outcomes of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the representation of migrant employees in German organizations and to demonstrate that their employment opportunities are outcomes of diversity strategies – i.e. patterns of personnel practices and the reasons that cause them or are alleged to do so.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a typology of diversity strategies where elements of strategy and diversity research are combined with resource dependence theory. Propositions on the strategies’ relation to personnel structures and practices are examined through empirical data stemming from telephone interviews conducted with HR managers of 500 German companies.
Findings
Empirical analyses revealed that diversity strategies are tightly related to personnel structures and practices. The best employment opportunities and career prospects for skilled migrants are offered by companies pursuing a diversity strategy labelled learning. In addition, the findings demonstrate the robustness of this typology.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical data suffer from common method bias: information was gathered on the pursued strategy, the personnel structure and practices of each company by interviewing one single person. Moreover, to dig more deeply into the relation with career prospects, a supplementary qualitative approach would be fruitful.
Practical implications
The results highlight conditions which are beneficial for advocating the integration of migrant employees. Equally, they may incentivise organizational decision makers with the “good reasons” to employ migrants.
Originality/value
By this paper's typology of diversity strategies, an innovative approach is contributed to the theoretical foundation of diversity research as their relation to personnel structures and practices is empirically analysed for the first time.
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