Michele Hampshire and Cathy E. Sanford
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current status and challenges of providing library services to commuter populations living in the fastest‐growing region of the San…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current status and challenges of providing library services to commuter populations living in the fastest‐growing region of the San Francisco Bay Area, where the closest library building can be more than 20 miles distant.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the impetus for, and experience of, introducing to the USA familiar ATM‐style technology adapted to lend books.
Findings
The paper suggests ways to correct inequities in delivery of library services to those who are disadvantaged by lack of proximity to a library building.
Originality/value
The paper provides an example of a library implementing, testing, evaluating, and expanding an innovative service.
Details
Keywords
Paula MacKinnon and Cathy Sanford
The purpose of this paper is to describe why and how Contra Costa County Library is using two‐dimensional barcodes called (QR, quick response) codes and a mobile patron support…
Abstract
Puropose
The purpose of this paper is to describe why and how Contra Costa County Library is using two‐dimensional barcodes called (QR, quick response) codes and a mobile patron support system to deliver library service to mobile phone users through a service called “Snap & Go”.
Desing/methodology/approach
The paper finds that case study to review the process of defining and delivering mobile library service through the use of QR codes.
Findings
QR codes provide a quick and easy way for library patrons with mobile phones to access relevant information and service both inside the library and out in the community.
Originality/value
The paper discusses one library's initiative to pilot the use of QR codes to deliver mobile library service.
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Keywords
International educational research has shown that high quality coaching, mentoring, and induction for beginning teachers can enhance development and retention of highly effective…
Abstract
International educational research has shown that high quality coaching, mentoring, and induction for beginning teachers can enhance development and retention of highly effective teachers and, ultimately, increase student success. In Canada, like many jurisdictions, teacher induction programs have grown in popularity as a means to support beginning teachers, yet programs vary greatly in terms of delivery and effectiveness. This chapter presents the findings from a qualitative case study that examined one bespoke teacher induction program in the Western Québec School Board (WQSB). Specifically, it reports on the experience of mentor–coaches (MC) who are part of the school district’s Mentoring and Coaching Fellowship (MCF). In the district, mentoring and coaching are viewed as distinct, yet interconnected components of an effective induction program. In the WQSB, teaching fellows and MCs learn together in a social and situated context (Lave & Wenger, 1991) as they focus on four key elements: the practice of teaching, navigating school and district culture, what it means to be a teacher, and the formation of a teaching identity. Research has shown effective coaching and mentoring programs not only enhance teaching and learning, but also they offer powerful benefits to veteran teachers. With mentoring and coaching practice highly diverse and inconsistent depending on the quality of the relationship and the context, it is clear that effective selection, support and professional learning and development for MCs is essential. This chapter examines the strengths and challenges of the school district’s Mentor–Coach Professional Learning Network (MC PLN) from the perspective of network members. Data collected from questionnaires, focus groups and semi-structured interviews were abductively analyzed with and against Brown and Poortman’s (2018) five supporting conditions for effective PLNs. Study findings indicated that the MC PLN offers valuable professional learning and development for participants and is a critical feature in a powerful induction program that also focuses on “growing the top.” However, challenges also emerged that highlight the need for the district to ensure ongoing attention to the PLN’s structure and processes in order to sustain MC motivation, engagement, and commitment.
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The purpose of this article is to investigate whether managers in hotels have sufficient financial skills to help them effectively manage their areas, within the context of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate whether managers in hotels have sufficient financial skills to help them effectively manage their areas, within the context of a changing industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Additional findings from a series of recent research projects amongst hospitality financial controllers have been utilised to give an alternative viewpoint to those found from literature.
Findings
A review of literature identified a strong need for managers to have financial skills, but there is little recent evidence as to whether they actually hold these skills. Hotels are changing fast with pressure to maintain profits resulting in new approaches to management, but there is concern that the development of systems has meant an over‐reliance on these to control costs. Financial controllers consider that departmental and general managers do not have enough business skills – and finance skills in particular – to optimise costs and revenues and hence maintain profits.
Research limitations/implications
The findings were based on a fairly small sample of respondents, utilising projects designed for alternative purposes. However, the findings raise questions as to the trust that hotel companies have placed in their systems and approaches.
Practical implications
If the concerns expressed by controllers are not addressed by hotels, then inevitably standards of control will suffer, costs will rise and hence profitability will be negatively affected
Originality/value
There has been little recent consideration of the realities and the impact of systems changes on management, the majority of earlier projects considering the need for skills rather than the actual possession of these amongst managers.
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This article uses the case of paid domestic work in Los Angeles to argue that affluent and middle‐class members of U.S. society constitute important participants in the informal…
Abstract
This article uses the case of paid domestic work in Los Angeles to argue that affluent and middle‐class members of U.S. society constitute important participants in the informal economy. In‐depth, tape‐recorded interviews conducted with thirty‐five employers of nannies and house cleaners, and survey responses of 154 Latina house cleaners and nannies shows that compliance with government regulations, as indicated by payment of Social Security, Medicare and federal tax withholdings, are rare. Affluent citizens may not directly depend on informally generated income, but as employers of paid domestic workers and nannies, they do depend on informally organized and remunerated services. Employers of paid domestic workers rely on three major narrative strategies to distance themselves from the regulations, arguing that the standards should be followed by certain categories of people (attorneys, celebrities, the very wealthy), that the regulations apply only to those employing full‐time help, and that the regulations are illegitimate because both undocumented workers and the state lack legitimacy. These rationalizations allow them to simultaneously condemn Zoe Baird and yet follow the same practices. Upgrading the occupation requires state support and the education of employers. This process would lead to greater recognition of paid domestic work as an occupation, one that merits the protections and regulatory guidelines governing other jobs.
Through a survey of 200 employees working in five of the thirty establishments analysed in previous research about the microeconomic effects of reducing the working time (Cahier…
Abstract
Through a survey of 200 employees working in five of the thirty establishments analysed in previous research about the microeconomic effects of reducing the working time (Cahier 25), the consequences on employees of such a reduction can be assessed; and relevant attitudes and aspirations better known.
Cinthia Salinas and Brooke Blevins
In this qualitative case study, we examine pre-service teachers’ understandings’ of history as narrative. This analysis specifically explores the kinds of new historical…
Abstract
In this qualitative case study, we examine pre-service teachers’ understandings’ of history as narrative. This analysis specifically explores the kinds of new historical narratives pre-service teachers create as a result of purposeful secondary social studies methods instruction that juxtaposes traditional narratives (e.g. individual achievement and motivation) and alternative narratives (e.g. those attentive to empathy and race, class, and gender) in an effort to help future teachers understand the nature of critical historical inquiry. In examining the understandings and initial efforts of young secondary social studies teachers, the study concludes that while troubling the traditional narrative is viable and likely event, the challenges of developing critical historical inquiry are clear and persistent.
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Film provides an alternative medium for assessing our interpretations of cultural icons. This selective list looks at the film and video sources for information on and…
Abstract
Film provides an alternative medium for assessing our interpretations of cultural icons. This selective list looks at the film and video sources for information on and interpretations of the life of Woody Guthrie.