Rachel Esson, Alison Stevenson, Maureen Gildea and Sue Roberts
Like any other customer‐centred organisation, the library has a variety of methods at its disposal to gather information from and about its customers, such as usage data, survey…
Abstract
Purpose
Like any other customer‐centred organisation, the library has a variety of methods at its disposal to gather information from and about its customers, such as usage data, survey results, focus groups, and face‐to‐face opportunistic encounters. Given that using survey instruments is currently the main way that libraries engage with their customers this paper seeks to look at how librarians can ensure that their surveys are of the best possible quality. It then aims to present two case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses successful methods for engaging customers, both online and in person, in conversation with particular reference to new generation learners, and the need to demonstrate to participants that their opinions are heard and have an impact. The paper then discusses two case studies of work undertaken at Victoria University of Wellington Library. In the first case the Library sought student participation and input to Te RōpŪ Whakamanawa, a working group convened to address the needs of Māori and Pasifika academic staff and students. In the second case the Library undertook a larger process of gathering client and stakeholder feedback as part of a wider ranging “Library services for the future” review. The customer engagement was extensive and robust, including 32 focus group sessions with a diverse range of people, and additional online feedback channels for wider university engagement.
Findings
The future‐focussed academic library must be distinguished by the scope and quality of its service programs. To be successful the design and development of those services have to be shaped and informed by the customers.
Originality/value
The paper examines the ways in which academic libraries can seek to understand the expectations of their customers, particularly those in minority groups, in order to be able to plan for the future.
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This chapter examines the changes proposed to the current media ethics and regulation regime in Australia following a government inquiry by former Federal Court judge Ray…
Abstract
This chapter examines the changes proposed to the current media ethics and regulation regime in Australia following a government inquiry by former Federal Court judge Ray Finkelstein. The inquiry was prompted by The News of the World phone hacking scandal in the United Kingdom, which resulted in that publication being closed down by its publisher, News International, and principal shareholder Rupert Murdoch. While finding no evidence of similar misbehaviour by journalists and proprietors in Australia, Finkelstein recommended the establishment of a statutory News Media Council, and the inclusion of online media outlets in this new regulatory regime. This chapter argues that such a regime is unlikely to come into effect, given that it will be opposed by media proprietors and working journalists alike, as well the Federal Opposition, and the taxpayer funded ABC, and that a government with low levels of political capital is unlikely to risk much of that capital in a fight with the media industries in an election year.
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THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTION, though not the only one, has been made by Scottish authors, both by the well‐known ones, such as R. L. Stevenson and J. M. Barrie, in whose work their…
Abstract
THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTION, though not the only one, has been made by Scottish authors, both by the well‐known ones, such as R. L. Stevenson and J. M. Barrie, in whose work their Scottish origin has played its part, and by others, like Norman Macleod and Ian Maclaren, whose reputation scarcely extended outside their native country or has been since forgotten.
Intermediate care has featured strongly in evolving strategy for support provision for older people in England. In Scotland the concept appears to have been rejected in favour of…
Abstract
Intermediate care has featured strongly in evolving strategy for support provision for older people in England. In Scotland the concept appears to have been rejected in favour of an emphasis on integrated care. This apparent divergence is explored in the broader context of policy variation post‐devolution and against the aspirations for a whole‐system approach.
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Raymond P. Fisk, Alison M. Dean, Linda Alkire (née Nasr), Alison Joubert, Josephine Previte, Nichola Robertson and Mark Scott Rosenbaum
The purpose of this paper is to challenge service researchers to design for service inclusion, with an overall goal of achieving inclusion by 2050. The authors present service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to challenge service researchers to design for service inclusion, with an overall goal of achieving inclusion by 2050. The authors present service inclusion as an egalitarian system that provides customers with fair access to a service, fair treatment during a service and fair opportunity to exit a service.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on transformative service research, a transformative, human-centered approach to service design is proposed to foster service inclusion and to provide a platform for managerial action. This conceptual study explores the history of service exclusion and examines contemporary demographic trends that suggest the possibility of worsening service exclusion for consumers worldwide.
Findings
Service inclusion represents a paradigm shift to higher levels of understanding of service systems and their fundamental role in human well-being. The authors argue that focused design for service inclusion is necessary to make service systems more egalitarian.
Research limitations/implications
The authors propose four pillars of service inclusion: enabling opportunity, offering choice, relieving suffering and fostering happiness.
Practical implications
Service organizations are encouraged to design their offerings in a manner that promotes inclusion and permits customers to realize value.
Originality/value
This comprehensive research agenda challenges service scholars to use design to create inclusive service systems worldwide by the year 2050. The authors establish the moral imperative of design for service inclusion.
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Discusses organisation, automation and performance measurementaspects of interlibrary loan department management, and developments incharging for and the preservation of ILL…
Abstract
Discusses organisation, automation and performance measurement aspects of interlibrary loan department management, and developments in charging for and the preservation of ILL items. Highlights the problems of ILL in developing countries, and changes and developments in the rest of the world. Considers electronic document delivery systems, the effect of technological advances on libraries and the “Burgundy effect”.
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The management of children′s literature is a search for value andsuitability. Effective policies in library and educational work arebased firmly on knowledge of materials, and on…
Abstract
The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.
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The purpose of this study is to provide new insight into the modern slavery threat and to enhance its detection in supply chains by understanding and addressing barriers to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide new insight into the modern slavery threat and to enhance its detection in supply chains by understanding and addressing barriers to whistleblowing. A broad definition of a whistle-blower is adopted, which includes any witness internal or external to an organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a viewpoint paper that includes using news reports and other secondary data sources on a recent modern slavery scandal in garment factories in Leicester, UK and the lens of the bystander effect from the social psychology literature. The core focus is on whistleblowing by members of the local community in which an operation or supply chain is embedded.
Findings
The phenomenon of modern slavery being an “open secret” within the local community is highlighted. But rather than the case being characterised by widespread whistleblowing, the problem only came into full focus when poor working conditions and forced labour during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions contributed to the spread of the virus. It is argued that overcoming this “bystander effect” can lead to the greater mobilisation of modern slavery whistleblowing.
Research limitations/implications
Two sets of propositions and a conceptual model are provided and seven future research suggestions are outlined, including extending the present study to whistleblowing by victims and other internal members of an organisation or supply chain.
Practical implications
If it can be mobilised, then whistleblowing has the potential to be an important part of detecting modern slavery, either temporarily replacing audits where they are not possible due to social distancing restrictions or directing the use of limited auditing resources to high-risk factories. In this way, combinations of practices can be effectively used to tackle the threat.
Social implications
This contributes to addressing an important societal problem and one of the grandest challenges facing modern-day supply chains. This, it has been argued, is an even bigger problem now than ever before given the economic and market conditions created by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to focus on operationalising the practice of whistleblowing as a source of greater supply chain intelligence to aid modern slavery detection. Causes of the bystander effect include the perceived low-emergency threat of modern slavery, the high-ambiguity environment, a low bystander responsibility and low assistance/intervention incentive. Countermeasures include elevating the emergency status of modern slavery, creating a shared sense of responsibility for tackling the problem, having clear reporting channels and taking swift and consistent action when instances of modern slavery are detected.