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Rowena Yeats, Peter Reddy, Anne Wheeler, Carl Senior and John Murray
Academic writing is often considered to be a weakness in contemporary students, while good reporting and writing skills are highly valued by graduate employers. A number of…
Abstract
Purpose
Academic writing is often considered to be a weakness in contemporary students, while good reporting and writing skills are highly valued by graduate employers. A number of universities have introduced writing centres aimed at addressing this problem; however, the evaluation of such centres is usually qualitative. The paper seeks to consider the efficacy of a writing centre by looking at the impact of attendance on two “real world” quantitative outcomes – achievement and progression.
Design/methodology/approach
Data mining was used to obtain records of 806 first‐year students, of whom 45 had attended the writing centre and 761 had not.
Findings
A highly significant association between writing centre attendance and achievement was found. Progression to year two was also significantly associated with writing centre attendance.
Originality/value
Further, quantitative evaluation of writing centres is advocated using random allocation to a comparison condition to control for potential confounds such as motivation.
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A hobby is any purposeful use of leisure time. Due in part to an increase in the amount of leisure time available to most Americans, the hobby and recreation industries have grown…
Abstract
A hobby is any purposeful use of leisure time. Due in part to an increase in the amount of leisure time available to most Americans, the hobby and recreation industries have grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. There are countless publications on hobbies ranging from genealogy to doll collecting, from painting to needlepoint. Obviously, a compilation such as this cannot include publications on every imaginable hobby, so rather than appear biased, this author has attempted to include primarily publications that discuss many different hobbies, or deal with one major group of hobbies.
Carl Senior and Robert Cubbidge
The purpose of this paper is to place all of the contributions to this special issue into a theoretical framework and to highlight the role that the so‐called “information age…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to place all of the contributions to this special issue into a theoretical framework and to highlight the role that the so‐called “information age mindset” has in the facilitation of employability skills.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses the major themes of this special issue.
Findings
Undergraduate students do see the importance of technological innovation in the classroom but they see the development of experiential or work‐based skills to be more important.
Practical implications
Future curriculum design should consider the expectations and attitudes of the modern day undergraduate student to ensure that potential employability is maximised.
Originality/value
The findings are placed into the wider context of the emerging field of evolutionary educational psychology.
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Anne Sharp, Meagan Wheeler and Marcia Kreinhold
Single-use plastic bags given to shoppers by retailers have increasingly become a key target for sustainability initiatives, with bans being introduced around the world. The…
Abstract
Single-use plastic bags given to shoppers by retailers have increasingly become a key target for sustainability initiatives, with bans being introduced around the world. The rationale for such bans is based on the environmental impact of single-use bags, compared to their multi-use alternatives. The arguments for bans are underpinned by assumptions about how consumers will respond to the changes, yet do not account for the known patterns of buyer and consumer behaviour from the social sciences. This lessens the delivery of desired outcomes and hampers implementation strategies. This chapter draws upon this established knowledge to demonstrate how such marketing knowledge of fundamental buyer and consumer behaviour is critical when developing and implementing a public policy programme, using the example of a retail ban on the use of single-use plastic bags in Australia. It illustrates how these known patterns hold in this context and shows how social marketing can be used to help shape programme implementation and uptake and the reinforcement of new positive behaviours.
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Cameron M. Pierson, Anne Goulding and Jennifer Campbell-Meier
The purpose of this paper is to review literature on librarian professional identity to develop a more integrated understanding of this topic.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review literature on librarian professional identity to develop a more integrated understanding of this topic.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature was retrieved and analysed with no date or geographic limit from nine databases on the subject of librarian professional identity. A combination of keywords and database specific controlled language was utilized to increase retrieval, as well as inspection of reference lists. Exclusion criteria were applied.
Findings
The review found 14 characteristics or themes relevant to librarian professional identity formation and development, understood as process over time. This process is in part defined by benchmark events, such as critical incidents, as well as highly personal aspects, such as perception of these incidents. This review also introduces an original conceptual model of librarian professional identity formation and development.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this review was that only English-language literature was considered. A further limitation is the omission of works that have not been formally published. Additionally, the model introduced is untested.
Originality/value
By reviewing librarian professional identity literature, this paper offers an integrated understanding of this topic and introduces a new, original model to understand the process of librarian professional identity and development. It further offers an examination based on a sociological lens to examine this identity.
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At least three demographic trends in the twentieth century are having a tremendous impact on the patterns of women's lives. With increased life expectancy, reduced birth‐rate, and…
Abstract
At least three demographic trends in the twentieth century are having a tremendous impact on the patterns of women's lives. With increased life expectancy, reduced birth‐rate, and expanded occupational mobility, the life cycle of the American female has undergone great change. At midlife, many women today begin roles new to them—widow/divorcee, student, salaried employee, head‐of‐household are usually discussed. They may be confronted with new challenges—entering or reentering the labor force, returning to school, renewing old skills and roles—or may merely be struggling to survive. Rarely mentioned are the never‐married women and the fact that most people work because they must acquire the basics for themselves and/or for others.