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The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of formal learning from a web-based training and informal (workplace) learning afterwards on the behaviour of general practitioners (GPs) with respect to prescription of antibiotics.

To obtain insight in various learning processes, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 GPs. These interviews were transcribed and analysed with a theory-based template, that had been defined beforehand, but with an open mind for emerging themes.

The web-based training was perceived by GPs to change their prescription behaviour, mostly as a result of informal learning processes. Being a research participant and being a supervisor appeared to create most opportunities for informal learning.

The current research shows that being a research participant and/or a supervisor enhance informal learning activities, for example, reflection and social interaction, and thereby formal training becomes more effective. It is recommended to remind GPs regularly to reflect on their prescribing behaviour and to stimulate them to reflect and seek social interaction besides participating in formal training.

Our study adds to the existing literature by considering informal learning processes in an evaluation of the perceived effects of formal training. Our findings have implications for the design and evaluation of formal trainings with the purpose of behavioural change of doctors.

Algermissen, Virginia, Penny Billings, Sandra Grace, Barbara Guidry, and John Blair. “Subminute Telefacsimile for ILL Document Delivery.” Information Technology and Libraries, I (Sept., 1982), 274–5.

The examination and identification of solvents and binder resins in particular has been discussed in detail previously. It is the sole purpose of this section to indicate the means available for obtaining these substances from finished paints in such a way as to facilitate their analysis. For example, the ASTM (15) has published a standard procedure for examining the solvent portion of paints by direct injection on to a GC. In this case, so as to prevent blockage of the column by the resin and pigment components, the sample was injected either via a glass injection port sleeve or on to a glass wool plug positioned in the heated injection port. Hence solvent analysis could be carried out without the need to apply any preliminary separation procedures. If however, both solvent and binder resin are to be examined then a procedure for separating these constituents must be applied.

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.

Current issues of Publishers' Weekly are reporting serious shortages of paper, binders board, cloth, and other essential book manufacturing materials. Let us assure you these shortages are very real and quite severe.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

Idiosyncratic jobs occur when formal job duties match the abilities or interests of a specific person. New duties can accrue or be negotiated to match an existing employee or a potential hire. Idiosyncratic jobs can help organizations deal with changing contexts, and influence organizational goals and structure. They can affect job holders’ careers and organizational job structures. The evolutionary accumulation of idiosyncratic jobs can potentially generate unplanned organizational learning. Promising research frontiers include links to work on job crafting, I-Deals, negotiated joining, and ecologies of jobs. Deeper exploration of these domains can advance core theories of job design and organizational transformation and inform normative theory on organizational use of idiosyncratic jobs without falling into cronyism, inefficiency, or injustice.