The one component of collection development most difficult for librarians is the evaluation of the collection. Various methods can be employed to evaluate the collection including…
Abstract
The one component of collection development most difficult for librarians is the evaluation of the collection. Various methods can be employed to evaluate the collection including statistical analysis, list checking, user opinions, direct observation, and applying standards. All of these methods have strengths and weaknesses, and numerous opinions exist on the value of each method. However, almost all experts agree that libraries need to invest a great deal of time, staff, and budget for any evaluation to be considered valuable. The process becomes even more complex when evaluating interdisciplinary areas such as women's studies. Collection development issues for women's studies has been well covered in the literature, but very little exists on the evaluation of women's studies collections. This article will discuss one method for collection evaluation, the Research Libraries Group (RLG) Conspectus, and outline the process of using the Conspectus to evaluate the women's studies collection at the Pennsylvania State University Libraries. Given the importance of information needs for diversity materials and the number of librarians who select women's studies materials among their many other responsibilities, this information will be valuable for all librarians engaged in interdisciplinary collection development in both public and academic libraries.
E. Christian Wells and Karla L. Davis-Salazar
This chapter examines the historical relationship between Honduran Lenca worldview and how ecological resources are managed through ritual practice. The way in which the Lenca…
Abstract
This chapter examines the historical relationship between Honduran Lenca worldview and how ecological resources are managed through ritual practice. The way in which the Lenca conceive of the biophysical environment is an active process of meaning-making that takes place through their interaction with the environment. The Lenca codify this relationship in the compostura, a complex set of ceremonial performances linked to economic practices that mediate human needs and desires with those of the ancestors who animate the landscapes surrounding households and communities. Through an examination of contemporary, historical, and archeological cases in western Honduras, this chapter explores how ritual economy shapes, and is shaped by, environmental worldview.
The accuracy, completeness and authenticity of a record assure its reliability as an acceptable informational and evidential document. An evaluative, historical survey of the…
Abstract
The accuracy, completeness and authenticity of a record assure its reliability as an acceptable informational and evidential document. An evaluative, historical survey of the possibility and desirability of achieving reliability in records with special application to the pupil records at Bruton School for Girls, Sunny Hill, Bruton, Somerset, UK indicates that such reliability has not been achieved since records began with the Sumerians, although every generation of record‐keepers has invented methods to aim to ensure it. Because definitions of accuracy or what makes a true record have not been universally accepted, although reliability is desirable for most record keepers, deliberate and accidental error occurs. Aiming for eradication of error by installing efficient records management systems will ensure a better approximation to the truth of a record.
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What can it be like to lead a life where the future is as unpredictable as the throw of a dice, where the balance of life rests on a knife edge between adequate food and…
The practical issues associated with digitisation in the hybrid library context are discussed, based on work undertaken by the BUILDER Project in delivering two products: a pilot…
Abstract
The practical issues associated with digitisation in the hybrid library context are discussed, based on work undertaken by the BUILDER Project in delivering two products: a pilot Electronic Key Texts service and a digital back‐run of the scholarly journal Midland History from 1971‐1998. In analysing document attributes, digitisation options, archival and delivery formats and detailing specific costs, there are two key lessons identified. Firstly, that scanning is only one stage in a complex workflow of inter‐related activities involved in delivering a digital resource; and secondly that costs need to be monitored as these can accrue very quickly due to the intensive use of staff resource involved in developing digitisation products. It rests with library managers to define where digitisation fits into their institutions, if at all, based on local needs and the collections they manage.
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Josep Bisbe, Anne-Marie Kruis and Paola Madini
Recent accounting research has connected the coercive and enabling types of formalisation (C/E) (Adler and Borys, 1996) with the distinction between diagnostic and interactive…
Abstract
Recent accounting research has connected the coercive and enabling types of formalisation (C/E) (Adler and Borys, 1996) with the distinction between diagnostic and interactive controls (D/I) proposed by Simons (1995, 2000) to tackle research questions on complex control situations involving both the degree of employee autonomy and patterns of management attention. The diverse conceptual approaches used for connecting C/E and D/I have led to fragmentation in the literature and raise concerns about their conceptual clarity. In this paper, we assess the conceptual clarity of various forms of connection between C/E and D/I. Firstly, we conduct an in-depth content analysis of 59 recent papers, and inductively identify three points of conceptual ambiguity and divergence in the literature (namely, the perspective from which a phenomenon is studied; whether categories capture choices driven by design or by style-of-use; and the properties of control systems). We also observe that the literature proposes various forms of connection (i.e. coexistence, inclusion, and combination approaches). Secondly, we use the three detected points of ambiguity and divergence as assessment criteria, and evaluate the extent to which conceptual clarity is at risk under each form of connection. Based on this assessment, we provide guidelines to enhance the conceptual clarity of the connections between C/E and D/I, propose several research models, and indicate opportunities for future research in this area.
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Stéphane Renaud, Lucie Morin and Anne Marie Fray
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of two instrumental organizational attributes (innovative perks and training) and one symbolic organizational attribute…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of two instrumental organizational attributes (innovative perks and training) and one symbolic organizational attribute (ethics) on applicant attraction.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of business undergraduates in their final year (n=339) and a policy-capturing approach, the authors tested a 2 (absence/presence of innovative perks) ×2 (few/many training opportunities) ×2 (ethics is not very important/is important) quasi-experimental design using ANCOVA.
Findings
In regard to main effects, results show that all attributes have a significant effect on applicant attraction, the “ethics” organizational attribute having the strongest direct effect followed by “training” and then “innovative perks.” In regard to all interaction effects, findings are only significant for two two-way interaction effects: “innovative perks×training” and “innovative perks×ethics.” Specifically, results indicate that offering innovative perks only had a positive and significant effect on applicant attraction when: a firm offered few training opportunities and ethics was important for the firm.
Originality/value
This study compared three key organizational attributes where most studies only tested one. Understanding which organizational attributes have the greatest influence on potential candidates’ attraction can help organizations optimize recruiting. The results suggest that developing an organizational brand that focuses particularly on ethics and training constitutes a winning recruitment strategy. This experiment is the first to provide causal conclusions on the relationship between innovative perks and attraction.