Discusses the debate about whether or not the less developedcountries of the world are going to be allowed greater access andcontrol over their information. Looks at the results…
Abstract
Discusses the debate about whether or not the less developed countries of the world are going to be allowed greater access and control over their information. Looks at the results of a research project based on information gathering including appraisal of IT support services available and presents the main conclusions. Notes that it is not just the volume of people and groups using the new technologies in this field but the new ways and new applications to which the technology is being put that is so interesting.
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Gracie Irvine, Natasha Pauli, Renata Varea and Bryan Boruff
The Ba River catchment and delta on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji, supports a wealth of livelihoods and is populated by diverse communities who are living with an increased…
Abstract
The Ba River catchment and delta on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji, supports a wealth of livelihoods and is populated by diverse communities who are living with an increased frequency and intensity of hydro-meteorological hazards (floods, cyclones and droughts). Participatory mapping as part of focus group discussions is a tool that can be used to elucidate communities’ understanding of the differing impacts of multiple hazards, as well as the strategies used to prepare and respond to different hazards. In this chapter, the authors present the results of qualitative research undertaken with members of three communities along the Ba River, from the Nausori highlands to the coastal mangroves, with a particular focus on recent floods (2009, 2012) and Tropical Cyclone Winston (2016). The communities draw on a wide range of livelihood strategies from fishing and agriculture to tourism and outside work. Natural hazard events vary in their impact on these livelihood strategies across the landscape and seascape, so that community members can adjust their activities accordingly. The temporal ‘signatures’ of ongoing impacts are also variable across communities and resources. The results suggest that taking a broad, landscape (and seascape) approach to understanding how communities draw livelihoods is valuable in informing effective and inclusive adaptation strategies for environmental change. Furthermore, documenting how the landscape is used in a mapped output may be a valuable tool for future social impact assessment for resource extraction activities.
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Andrea Jones, Flis Henwood and Angie Hart
This paper examines the factors that made services more or less effective in using electronic patient record systems to produce clinical information for clinical audit and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the factors that made services more or less effective in using electronic patient record systems to produce clinical information for clinical audit and research.
Design/methodology/approach
Case studies of the use of electronic patient record systems in three maternity services in England, using qualitative research methods (semi‐structured interviews, observations and shadowing).
Findings
There were many contributing factors in each case site. The three main groups of determining factors were these: the resources devoted to, and acceptability to midwives of, the “IT midwife”; maternity managers prioritisation of information related matters; the relationship of maternity information systems with Trust‐wide systems.
Originality/value
Provides services with lists of factors they need to consider if they want to maximise the benefits realised for clinical audit and research from existing and new electronic patient record systems.
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Ravi K. Perry and Andrea Owens-Jones
Purpose – To examine how Black mayors in majority-White cities successfully incorporate the interests of African-Americans into their overall agenda for the city and the said…
Abstract
Purpose – To examine how Black mayors in majority-White cities successfully incorporate the interests of African-Americans into their overall agenda for the city and the said effectiveness of this strategy electorally.Design/methodology/approach – Utilizing data from elite interviews and local newspaper articles, we apply the theory of targeted universalism to the governing approach of Jack Ford.Findings – Mayors of color often come into office with the dual responsibility of being an advocate for their respective racial group and a leader for the city as a whole. Jack Ford, the first African-American to be elected as mayor in Toledo, Ohio, took this challenge on gladly, but with mixed success. We find that Jack Ford used his powers as mayor to improve social conditions for Blacks in Toledo, yet also faced challenges in trying to better their economic opportunities. Moreover, he failed to parlay these particularistic efforts into a second electoral victory. In this case, a targeted universalistic policy approach to advancing Black interests had limited effectiveness. The single mayoral term of Jack Ford suggests that Black executives must walk a fine line between their (assumed or expected) racial empowerment role and their duty to advance the various interests that exist among residents of their city. Hence, we find that in order to have lasting electoral success Black mayors must be acutely aware of what is expected of them by the various constituencies they serve and govern accordingly.Research limitations/implications – Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.Practical implications – The chapter includes implications for the development of an effecting Black mayoral governing strategy wherein the mayor can successfully advocate for the advancement of black interests in majority-White cities with specific policy proposals and programmatic developments.Originality/value – This chapter fulfills an identified need to study the governance of Black mayors in medium-sized cities and their representation of Black interests in the majority White municipal context.
Barrie Pittock and G. Dale Hess
Sustainable atmospheric management today involves a complex set of issues arising from the deliberate or inadvertent use of the atmosphere as a repository for waste products…
Abstract
Sustainable atmospheric management today involves a complex set of issues arising from the deliberate or inadvertent use of the atmosphere as a repository for waste products arising from human activities. Urban pollution affects human health, building materials and vegetation. Acidic emissions and excess nutrients produce both acid rain and dry deposition that affect terrestrial, freshwater and ocean chemistry and ecosystems. The production and effects of atmospheric pollution can transcend national boundaries and thus mitigation will require cooperation on regional and global levels, as well as local action. Global pollution includes greenhouse gases and atmospheric particles which are changing the global climate and affecting human health. While technological solutions will play an important part, the large reductions in emissions necessary to achieve sustainability will involve adopting lifestyles that conserve energy and minimise pollution. These concerns were foreshadowed in the writings of Fritz Schumacher.
Debbie H. Kim, Jeannette A. Colyvas and Allen K. Kim
Despite a legacy of research that emphasizes contradictions and their role in explaining change, less is understood about their character or the mechanisms that support them. This…
Abstract
Despite a legacy of research that emphasizes contradictions and their role in explaining change, less is understood about their character or the mechanisms that support them. This gap is especially problematic when making causal claims about the sources of institutional change and our overall conceptions of how institutions matter in social meanings and organizational practices. If we treat contradictions as a persistent societal feature, then a primary analytic task is to distinguish their prevalence from their effects. We address this gap in the context of US electoral discourse and education through an analysis of presidential platforms. We ask how contradictions take hold, persist, and might be observed prior to, or independently of, their strategic use. Through a novel combination of content analysis and computational linguistics, we observe contradictions in qualitative differences in form and quantitative differences in degree. Whereas much work predicts that ideologies produce contradictions between groups, our analysis demonstrates that they actually support convergence in meaning between groups while promoting contradiction within groups.
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Ruth Kerns, Terry Hanstock, Allan Bunch and Edwin Fleming
National issues included: (1) a resolution from the Intellectual Freedom Committee calling on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to expunge the files maintained on their…
Abstract
National issues included: (1) a resolution from the Intellectual Freedom Committee calling on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to expunge the files maintained on their FBI Library Awareness program after giving any individuals involved an opportunity to request their records; (2) another resolution which would subject television news services with commercials being marketed to schools to the same selection guidelines as other materials considered for school media collections; (3) a national policy on permanent paper; and (4) encouraging libraries to celebrate Earth Day in April 1990 to provide information on environmental concerns to their communities.
Reports on a library study visit to France, Spain and Portugal.Describes visits to libraries in all three countries to exploreco‐operation in the field of public sector libraries…
Abstract
Reports on a library study visit to France, Spain and Portugal. Describes visits to libraries in all three countries to explore co‐operation in the field of public sector libraries and information services. Concludes that very senior librarians in Britain may have good links to colleagues in Europe but at the ground level the contacts are few yet the profession would benefit from frequent working contact.