The purpose of this paper is to describe the pilot information literacy programme for undergraduate nursing students as recently developed at Waterford Institute of Technology…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the pilot information literacy programme for undergraduate nursing students as recently developed at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) libraries. The paper outlines the background to the programme, discusses its design and delivery and summarises participating students' initial response to it.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper takes a broadly practical, case study approach in terms of recounting experiences of designing and delivering a dedicated information literacy programme for undergraduate nursing students at WIT.
Findings
Although the project is still at an early or pilot stage, the feedback from the undergraduate students who attended training is very positive. The fact that the programme was so well received in its first year of operation is encouraging and inspiring, going forward.
Practical implications
The paper should be of interest to anyone involved in developing information literacy programmes or in the supply of information to nursing students.
Originality/value
This paper is likely to be of practical interest to academic librarians, who are looking for a fresh approach to information literacy training for undergraduate nursing students at third level institutions of similar scale and size to WIT.
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Although commitment and employability are legitimized in the current world of work, they also have a dark side that has been ignored in the extant literature. To tackle this gap…
Abstract
Purpose
Although commitment and employability are legitimized in the current world of work, they also have a dark side that has been ignored in the extant literature. To tackle this gap, the study developed and examined a comprehensive theoretical framework including learning, motivation, commitment, employability and self-exploitation. Limited research exists that explicitly examines this relationship or explores its potential implications. The author theorizes employability as a cultural fantasy that ends up in self-exploitation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study concretizes Lacan's (1977; 1981 and 1988) psychoanalysis, utilizing a sample of 658 subjects from eight industries. The hypothesized relationships were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS.
Findings
The findings provided support for the hypothesized relationships. Employability escorts to self-exploitation. Those employees who try to remain relevant to their firms continue to engage in employability activities end up being exploited in this process.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides a new roadmap to scholars of employability who wish to explore the domain further.
Practical implications
The theoretical knowledge from this research will inform practice. It will influence managers and policymakers in the organization as well as politicians. Although the macroaspects of the organizational environment are beyond the control of an organization, the development efforts of the organization should be real and should not estrange individuals from their true nature. The real intent should be to unite the individual with its true nature. This way, it will be real development and will empower individuals rather than exploitation.
Social implications
The finding that commitment is linked to self-exploitation via employability has implications for managers and policymakers. To avoid estrangement and exploitation, the organization should focus on employee real development. To have an ideal workplace, where employees unite with their nature, the organization should invest in employees, focus on their real needs, emphasize their career prospects and constantly provide them with learning and growth opportunities. In addition to material compensation, the organization should connect people with their true spirit. An organization that is concerned with people's real needs and real development will have a pool of human capital that will create real value for the organization and society as well.
Originality/value
The dark side of employability has been ignored in the extant literature. Limited research exists that explicitly examines this relationship or explores its potential implications. This study is an initiative for such debate.
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SEPTEMBER was free from large‐scale visits of bombers, and the arrangements the Associations made for meetings were realized. The Library Association, challenging the criticism…
Abstract
SEPTEMBER was free from large‐scale visits of bombers, and the arrangements the Associations made for meetings were realized. The Library Association, challenging the criticism that it was making no programme for the peace, requested its branches to produce ideas. Thus, those who made the criticism were asked to define their terms, as it were. The first outcome was a joint meeting of the London and Home Counties Branch and the A.A.L. which was held at the delightful new St. Marylebone Library on September 24th. Another joint meeting in London was that at the Institution of Electrical Engineers on September 26th, when the British Society of International Bibliography and A.S.L.I.B. actually met in quite substantial numbers to discuss the indexing and listing of periodicals. These activities are expressions of confidence in the future by librarians and those concerned with libraries. If the immediate results are not dramatic they keep us in good heart, and we hope will lead to other meetings.
Pattanee Susomrith, Alan Coetzer and Emmanuel Ampofo
This paper aims to examine whether participation in training and development (T&D) events is associated with employees’ affective commitment and propensity to enact innovative…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether participation in training and development (T&D) events is associated with employees’ affective commitment and propensity to enact innovative behaviours in small professional services firms. The study also investigates associations between both attitudes towards T&D and policy and practice supportive of T&D and levels of participation in T&D events.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 203 employees in small professional services firms employing 50 or fewer staff were analysed using regression analysis and PROCESS macro.
Findings
Only policy and practice supportive of T&D was associated with participation levels. Participation in T&D events was positively related to affective commitment. Furthermore, employees who participated in more T&D events were more likely to enact innovative behaviours, while affective commitment mediated the positive relationship between number of T&D events attended and innovative behaviours. Contrary to expectations, neither participation in just training nor participation in just development was associated with either attitudes or behaviours.
Practical implications
The findings have important implications for small firms which tend to rely on wholly work-based experiences for the development of employees’ knowledge and skills. Such an approach to learning for work may inadvertently shape a workforce that lacks commitment to the organisation and that has a diminished capacity for innovative behaviours.
Originality/value
There is limited research on how T&D affects attitudes and behaviours in small firms. Large and small firms are fundamentally different, thus findings from studies in large firms may not extend to small firms.
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Ana Junça Silva and Deolinda Pinto
The present study used the job-demands and resources (JD-R) framework to understand how the training is transferred to an extreme working context through the analysis of job and…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study used the job-demands and resources (JD-R) framework to understand how the training is transferred to an extreme working context through the analysis of job and personal resources (social support from the leader and colleagues and adaptability). Specifically, the authors tested the mediating role of motivation to transfer in the relationship (1) between the perceived support from the supervisor and colleagues and performance after training and (2) between adaptability and performance in an extreme context of the pandemic crisis – the first peak of COVID-19 in Portugal. Further, an inspection of the factors that predicted knowledge transfer and adaptability under an extreme context was carried out.
Design/methodology/approach
To do so, necessary training about the new safety rules regarding the pandemic crisis of COVID-19 was implemented in a healthcare institution as a strategy to help healthcare workers deal with the increasing uncertainty and complexity that was threatening their work. It consisted of three sessions (each with one hour of training) regarding procedures, rules and safety norms. The training occurred in May 2020. Overall, 291 healthcare workers participated in the study and answered one online questionnaire one week after training completion.
Findings
The results showed that the motivation to transfer had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between colleagues' and supervisors' support and performance and between adaptability and performance. Additionally, complementary analyses showed that the mediations depended on the levels of self-efficacy in such a way that the indirect relationships were stronger when self-efficacy was higher. Thus, adaptability and support, both from colleagues and the supervisor, are determining factors for knowledge transfer and resultant performance in extreme contexts, such as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Lastly, the results showed that the most significant predictors of transference were self-efficacy and the motivation to transfer the learned knowledge. On the other hand, self-efficacy, peer support and the opportunity to use the knowledge were the most significant predictors of adaptability.
Practical implications
These findings provide support for the role of employee motivation to transfer as a mechanism connecting both perceived support and adaptability to performance outcomes under extreme working contexts.
Originality/value
This study, conducted in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic context – an extreme and uncertain working context – shows the relevance of both job and individual factors to predict employees' adaptability to such contexts.