Krystyna K. Matusiak, Allison Tyler, Catherine Newton and Padma Polepeddi
The purpose of this paper is to examine affordable access and digital preservation solutions for digital collections developed by under-resourced small- and mid-sized cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine affordable access and digital preservation solutions for digital collections developed by under-resourced small- and mid-sized cultural heritage organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a case study of Jeffco Stories, a collection of digitized oral histories created by the Jefferson County Public Library in Colorado.
Findings
This paper describes how the Jefferson County Public Library undertook a migration project of its oral history digital collection into an open-access platform, Omeka, and selected DuraCloud as a hosted digital preservation service.
Research limitations/implications
As a case study, this paper is limited to one institution’s experience with selecting access and digital preservation solutions.
Practical/implications
This paper is relevant to librarians and archivists who are exploring access and preservation solutions for digital collections and to those who are considering migrating to open-access content management systems and cloud-based digital preservation solutions.
Originality/value
This paper presents a case of a public library and the challenges in finding affordable access and digital preservation solutions for small digital collections.
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Existing histories of the free kindergarten movement in South Australia scantily acknowledge the key role of Lucy Spence Morice in helping to found the Kindergarten Union (KUSA…
Abstract
Existing histories of the free kindergarten movement in South Australia scantily acknowledge the key role of Lucy Spence Morice in helping to found the Kindergarten Union (KUSA) in 1905 and subsequently guiding the organisation through financially troubled times, internal conflict with respect to the independence of the Training College (Adelaide KTC) from Education Department control, changes of directorship, and in accordance with its original mission. This article seeks to restore Lucy Spence Morice to a place in South Australian annals alongside that of her distinguished aunt Catherine Helen Spence: teacher, journalist, author, Unitarian Church preacher, philanthropist, political and social reformer, self‐styled ‘new woman’ of the late nineteenth century, and to niece Lucy a dear friend, mentor and inspirational role model. In the light of fresh evidence contained in the papers of Mrs Marjorie Caw (an early KTC graduate), and informed by the work of Caine, Lewis, Ryan, and Goodman and Harrop most especially, it re‐assesses Mrs Morice’s contribution to kindergarten reform from a feminist revisionist historical perspective. I utilise biographical methods and network analysis in order to point up the genesis of Lucy’s zeal for the cause of kindergarten education; also to argue that her informal but expansive social ties, plus her links to professional women and other activists in the fields of child health, welfare and education were central to her work for the Kindergarten Union.
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On January 9th Tony Newton, the Under Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Security, launched the government's £600,000 promotional campaign for the introduction of…
Abstract
On January 9th Tony Newton, the Under Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Security, launched the government's £600,000 promotional campaign for the introduction of the controversial new plastic National Insurance cards. These plastic cards contain the following ‘visible’ information: name, national insurance number and a check digit. What has been of most concern, is that the card contains a magnetic strip that can store information ‘invisible’ to the card holder. As the dhss has announced it is not the intention to include any type of ‘secret information’ on this strip, the current anxiety expressed by certain organisations and individuals has been seen by many as a fuss about nothing; but is there really cause for concern, and what has all this to do with libraries?
The purpose of this paper is to consider the methodological limitations of existing dominant research paradigms in entrepreneurship research. In order to encourage the use of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the methodological limitations of existing dominant research paradigms in entrepreneurship research. In order to encourage the use of little used methodologies to create higher quality data, an alternative approach is proposed whereby data triangulation from conventional quantitative and qualitative methods of the postal survey and the in‐depth interview are combined with biographical data.
Design/methodology/approach
By following a path of research, which embraces data triangulation from both contemporary and historical perspectives, this paper explores the benefits of embracing methods from disciplines outside the conventional confines of business research in order to better inform our understanding of smaller firm behaviour.
Findings
Introducing creativity into the research process mirrors the behaviour of entrepreneurial small firms, which often thrive in non‐linear environments where conventional linear, stepwise research methodologies fail to capture the full picture of owner/manager behaviour. Adoption of a biographical approach to entrepreneurship research can result in the uncovering of rich descriptions of valuable data, which would otherwise remain undiscovered if more conventional approaches were adopted, alone.
Research limitations/implications
Whichever methodological approach is adopted, it will be open to criticism and bias. Biographical research has been criticised for its subjectivity in terms of the biographer imposing his or her own thinking on the process. However, good biographical research utilises the creative “story telling” strengths of the biographer as researcher to uncover clearer truths.
Practical implications
The paper presents a discussion of how to utilise biographical data as a management research tool, either as a stand‐alone method or in conjunction with other research methodologies through the process of data triangulation.
Originality/value
Following a more creative, biographical approach to researching entrepreneurship suggests adopting a more postmodern, or even critical approach. Management researchers can now begin to understand how chaos and fragmentation are located in a world where formal, linear methods of understanding are being superceded by more creative conceptualisations and interpretations of the truth.
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Glenice J. Wood and Janice Newton
To explore the failure of equal opportunity policies to counteract the barrier of children for women in management by considering male and female managers’ views on work culture…
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the failure of equal opportunity policies to counteract the barrier of children for women in management by considering male and female managers’ views on work culture, family division of labour and childlessness.
Design/methodology/approach
Thirty Australian managers (19 male, 11 female) were interviewed as a follow up to a larger study in 1996, in order to extend inquiries around the issues of children, childlessness and senior management aspirations.
Findings
Managers acknowledge the impediment that children are to a woman's career path. They also have an awareness of patterns of delayed childbearing and potential childlessness. This awareness is confirmed through first hand experience in the families and at work. Managers also use a language of sacrifice and loss regarding their own or others’ failure to partner and procreate, as well as some reference to freedom and lifestyle. Furthermore there are diverging discourses on company loyalty and company greed given in relation to competing family loyalties and obligations. Finally, acknowledgement of gendered inequality (and some blindness to it) is indicated by both male and female managers.
Research limitations/implications
Although based on a small sample from one country, the findings do imply that it is unwise to assume that women committed to a career do not want children. The option of having both is not made easy.
Practical implications
Family policy for senior management should continue to be considered.
Originality/value
Recognition of the complexity and diversity of attitudes to children, family and work contributes to a critique of overdrawn notions of types of women (Hakim, 2001).
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The management of children′s literature is a search for value andsuitability. Effective policies in library and educational work arebased firmly on knowledge of materials, and on…
Abstract
The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.