Ironically, many library systems departments, even those of major research libraries, have no Web presence at all, or their pages are “hidden” beneath layers of links. Yet a…
Abstract
Ironically, many library systems departments, even those of major research libraries, have no Web presence at all, or their pages are “hidden” beneath layers of links. Yet a well‐designed systems department Web page can be a valuable tool for users by offering all kinds of useful information about the system’s capabilities and quirks, best ways of access, what to do when problems arise, etc. This article surveys library systems departments Web pages and provides a closer look at some of the best of them.
Lisa Dethridge and Brian Quinn
This paper aims to examine how media play a role in community responses to disaster. The authors explore how communication technology may allow new relationships between community…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how media play a role in community responses to disaster. The authors explore how communication technology may allow new relationships between community groups and emergency agencies. The authors examine the context within which warnings and risk communication are interpreted by media services. The authors observe how, in an emergency context, the thinking about media may change from that of a linear framework of information provision to one of shared resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors focus on Second Life, a shared, online space which uses 3D graphic images to simulate a virtual environment. Second Life is posited as a media tool with clear advantages for the training of emergency services professionals and citizens in the community. The authors observe emergency training scenarios and advantages for training for critical thinking and decision-making.
Findings
The authors observe then how virtual worlds such as Second Life provide an online forum in which participants can interact, communicate and simulate action in a complex 3D graphic environment. Second Life may be a useful medium for simulating and testing geo-physical and social manoeuvres using the modeling tools. This may allow for collaborative decision-making in simulations which can prepare or rehearse people for emergency conditions. It may be useful in an emergency with information streamed and coordinated at a single online site. A shared network like Second Life may be shared by many people co-synchronously or a-synchronously, despite their geographic distance. Second Life applications may also be useful in the aftermath of emergencies for design and rebuilding, for analytical and educational purposes.
Research limitations/implications
It is clear that social networks like Second Life provide a valuable tool with which to learn about and share data and information about bushfires, community emergencies and safety precautions in a social setting. It can also provide, at the local level, a forum for community information and discussion, as well as for counselling and reconstruction in the aftermath.
Practical implications
The authors suggest that the range and flexibility of tools and their excellent geographic visualization and social networking functions may in future allow for learning and decision-making among diverse and disparate groups who can come together in virtual space. It is especially useful in remote communities as a means of uniting people who are otherwise isolated by distance or trapped in emergency situations. Second Life is useful for sharing information, organizational and local knowledge about disaster and mitigation management. This media-rich platform is valuable to a community that is increasingly adept with shared, 3D graphic computer interfaces.
Social implications
Applications like Second Life may provide a space where users can access a range of tools as a means of informing, educating, empowering and warning participants in emergency scenarios, both real and simulated. They are more than virtual spaces; they are also social spaces. A platform like Second Life may provide a virtual solution for such communication challenges especially where communities are too remote, too dispersed or even too many in number to be easily accessible in the field.
Originality/value
This paper contains new and significant information about emerging communication systems and platforms that may be of use to those researching and planning around disaster management, mitigation and resilience. It addresses the use of new techniques which are the result of innovation in technology, software design and network design. It applies a discussion of these techniques to several hypothetical and real-life scenarios to explore the potential for virtual tools as a way of providing enriched information, mapping and communication tools across a range of disaster response scenarios.
Details
Keywords
Certain forms of online behaviour are increasingly being referred to in medical terms and treated as diseases, a process known as “medicalisation”. This study examines the process…
Abstract
Certain forms of online behaviour are increasingly being referred to in medical terms and treated as diseases, a process known as “medicalisation”. This study examines the process by which online behaviour appears to be increasingly medicalised and suggests some possible reasons why non‐medical problems are defined and treated as forms of illness. Particular attention is paid to a condition that is increasingly referred to by medical professionals as “online addiction” or “Internet dependence”. The study then explains some of the social and psychological consequences of medicalisation for online users who have been diagnosed as “ill”. These include guilt, a loss of self‐confidence, social ostracism, and self‐fulfilling behaviour. Some weaknesses of the medicalisation construct are discussed, and alternative explanations are offered.
Details
Keywords
Successful online searching is more than simply a matter of mastering search technique. Emotions, attitudes and environmental factors like stress also play a crucial role in…
Abstract
Successful online searching is more than simply a matter of mastering search technique. Emotions, attitudes and environmental factors like stress also play a crucial role in determining whether an online search will be successful or not. Focuses on the important relationship between emotion and cognition, how they affect each other, and what the implications are for online searchers. Investigates how affect and mood influence key cognitive functions and can pose psychological hurdles related to motivation, arousal, attention, concentration, self‐confidence, and self‐efficacy, all of which can be significant factors in determining the effectiveness of a search. Viewing searching behavior as a form of mental and physical performance similar to that of an athlete or performing artist, draws on the growing body of psychological research on performance which suggests that having the proper mindset can make an important difference in whether a searcher is successful.
Details
Keywords
Although the telephone constitutes an important aspect of reference service in many libraries, it is frequently taken for granted or overlooked by both patrons and professional…
Abstract
Although the telephone constitutes an important aspect of reference service in many libraries, it is frequently taken for granted or overlooked by both patrons and professional staff alike. Often, it is seen by librarians as merely an adjunct service, or even something of a nuisance. In this view, telephone reference is considered secondary and subordinate to serving on‐site patrons.
Many traditional companies have formalized the process of brainstorming, reducing it to an activity often characterized as the untrained leading the unwilling to do the…
Abstract
Many traditional companies have formalized the process of brainstorming, reducing it to an activity often characterized as the untrained leading the unwilling to do the unnecessary. However, many, if not most, successful innovations come from the “wrong” places—nonconformists with an obsession, individuals stumbling on new discoveries by accident, people finding new uses for products intended for different markets, and so on. After twenty‐five years of studying IBM, General Electric, Polaroid, and Xerox, James Brian Quinn of the Amos Tuck Business School at Dartmouth College found that not a single major product had come from the formal planning process.
The Planning Forum's Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. posted another attendance record. Some 1300 senior executives exchanged war stories, business theories, and points of…
Abstract
The Planning Forum's Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. posted another attendance record. Some 1300 senior executives exchanged war stories, business theories, and points of view with each other while attending three days of presentations by major company CEOs, consultants to leading corporations, noted academics, and practitioners of strategic management.
Contrary to popular belief, the United States never has been dominantly a manufacturing country. More people have always been employed in the service sector. They now account for…
Abstract
Contrary to popular belief, the United States never has been dominantly a manufacturing country. More people have always been employed in the service sector. They now account for about 78 percent of all employment in the U.S., although that does not include the additional 12 percent of employees in manufacturing companies who perform service activities.
Corporate innovation is an often misunderstood process, largely because managing it successfully requires inherently contradictory aims, such as control and freedom. This article…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate innovation is an often misunderstood process, largely because managing it successfully requires inherently contradictory aims, such as control and freedom. This article looks at a variety of approaches by leading authorities.
Design/methodology/approach
A number of recent books have examined the paradoxical tensions at the heart of the innovation process. The article assesses the guidance they offer practitioners on how to manage a process replete with conflict and contradictions.
Findings
Several authors suggest unconventional approaches to unleash the talents of individuals and groups in ways that are productive for the organization.
Practical implications
One of the main challenges in leading innovation is to cultivate both cohesion and dissent.
Originality/value
This masterclass is a useful primer for practitioners leading an innovation initiative.