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MAJOR changes in technology since the invention of the wheel have been, by definition, conceptual ones so consequently, there have been relatively few of them. The propulsion of a boat by the effect of wind in a sail was an early one, later ones, associated with the Industrial Revolution, were the development of steam power and the construction of ships in iron. The combination of the two was a significant step forward.

MAINTENANCE of military aircraft presents a different set of parameters, for example, the aircraft flying rate is much lower with only a few hundred hours per annum compared to airliners which are expected tofly up to 4,000 hours per aircraft per annum. The peacetime military requirement is to meet training objectives whilst maintaining the aircraft ready for war. Civil airlines need to make as much profit as possible — this is not achieved when the aeroplane is on the ground.

THE article which we publish from the pen of Mr. L. Stanley Jast is the first of many which we hope will come from his pen, now that he has release from regular library duties. Anything that Mr. Jast has to say is said with originality even if the subject is not original; his quality has always been to give an independent and novel twist to almost everything he touches. We think our readers will find this to be so when he touches the important question of “The Library and Leisure.”

THE introduction of the pure jet gas turbine propelled aeroplane appeared to herald the demise of the propeller as a means of propulsion for other than small or specialised machines.

When Boeing was finalising the design of the 747, which first flew in early 1969, discussions began in Europe to consider the design and construction of a short/medium range large capacity European airliner.

SINCE the public debut of its progenitor, the Hawker P 1127 at the 1962 Farnborough Air Show its descendants, the Kestrel and the Harrier have continued to astonish and delight the crowds, both hardened professionals and the general public at Air Shows throughout the free world.

One of the library’s most enduring roles has been information provision. It remains especially important today as libraries transition from passive storehouses of books into active community living rooms that offer not just information but a variety of different user experiences. Some libraries have responded by implementing new approaches to information provision that appear to fit this new vision. One such approach is roving information service. Using portable forms of information technology for assistance, librarians now roam the library floor, meeting users where they are rather than the other way around. Its advocates laud its flexibility and user-centeredness. But do roving models support this new, user-centered vision of the library? The answer lies in a deeper understanding of the library floor as a social space and how roving models of service affect perceptions of “centeredness” within it. This report reviews the results of an exploratory, qualitative study involving three libraries: two that use a hybrid model of roving service and one library that uses a fully roving model. The study’s findings indicate that indeed roving service can help create user-centered forms of library space, but a library’s method of implementation will matter.

Universities globally have faced the introduction of research performance assessment systems that provide monetary and ranking rewards based on publication outputs. This study aims to seek an understanding of the implementation of performance-based research funding (PBRF) and its impact on the heads of departments (HoDs) and accounting academics in New Zealand (NZ) tertiary institutions. The study explores NZ accounting academics’ experiences and their workload; the relationship between teaching and research in the accounting discipline and any issues and concerns affecting new and emerging accounting researchers because of PBRF.

Applying an institutional theoretical lens, this paper explores accounting HoDs’ perceptions concerning the PBRF system’s impact on their academic staff. The research used semi-structured interviews to collect data from NZ’s eight universities.

The key findings posit that many institutional processes, some more coercive in nature, whereas others were normative and mimetic, have been put in place to ensure that academics are able to meet the PBRF requirements. HoDs suggest that their staff understand the importance of research, but that PBRF is a challenge to new and emerging researchers and pose threats to their recruitment. New academics must “hit the ground running” as they must demonstrate not only teaching abilities but also already have a track record of research publications; all in all, a daunting experience for new academics to overcome. There is also a teaching and research disconnect. Furthermore, many areas where improvements can be made in the design of this measurement tool remain.

The PBRF system has significantly impacted on accounting academics. Central university research systems were established that subsequently applied coercive institutional pressures onto line managers to ensure that their staff performed. This finding offers scope for future research to explore a better PBRF that measures and rewards research productivity but without the current system’s unintended negative consequences.

Research into the autonomous use of MP3 audio recorders by students in UK higher education demonstrated that students were innovative in their autonomous use of the devices. They used them to capture learning conversations from formal and informal situations to personalise and enhance their learning. However, today smartphones and other smart devices have replaced the necessity for students to carry multiple mobile devices including MP3 recorders. This chapter builds upon the earlier work and presents a small qualitative study into how students are autonomously using their smart devices to support their learning. The research explores the hypothesis that students are being innovative in the ways in which they are using their smart devices to support their formal and informal learning. The study involved five students who own smart devices who were invited to discuss their ownership of smartphone and tablet technologies and the ways they used them in their studies. The students first completed a short questionnaire and were then interviewed in small groups. The results agree with previous research into student use of smart devices and describe autonomous engagement facilitated by personally owned smart technologies. The study identifies continuous patterns of pervasive engagement by students and concludes that more thought should be given to disruptive innovation, digital literacy and employability.

Presents and examines the “live case method” as an increasingly influential means of broadening the thinking of middle managers, prompting them to adopt senior managerial perspectives on problems currently besetting their organizations. Claims that it is the live‐case orientation of the mid‐management seminar programme involved that provides effective linkage between managerial and organizational learning. Considers the value of the method first in relation to its application with middle managers of the ARCO Oil and Gas Company, highlighting the importance also of senior managerial involvement throughout the seminar programme; and then proceeds to illustrate the method′s use at corporate executive level, citing the extension of the approach in 1993 by ARCO′s Atlantic Richfield operation to their corporate executive seminar. Contends that the method exemplifies and encourages effective organizational learning in action at both middle and senior management levels.