To judge from the published literature, recent conference topics, or any listserv where academic reference issues are discussed, reference service reforms are in the air. A steady…
Abstract
To judge from the published literature, recent conference topics, or any listserv where academic reference issues are discussed, reference service reforms are in the air. A steady increase in the sheer number of users seeking reference help, driven largely by the proliferation of new information technologies, has led to a questioning of the traditional structure and mission of the library reference desk. Brandeis University Libraries' approach, which has been described by Virginia Massey‐Burzio, is one example of such a reform. The essential change that the Brandeis model entailed was this: Brandeis' Main Library had included a reference desk at which one librarian at a time was assisted by one graduate student helper. Under the new model, reference services are divided in two: the graduate assistants staff an information desk, which is responsible for concerns like directional questions and quick look‐ups, while the librarians staff a research consultation office where more substantive questions are dealt with at greater length. The primary goal of this tiered approach, which we call the “research consultation model,” was to improve services to the classes of patrons who most need professional reference assistance, while also increasing professional job satisfaction in the face of the ongoing information explosion. (A more complete description of the model is given below under the heading: “Some characteristics of a research consultation model.”)
The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the journal, Reference Services Review, since the editorship of Ilene F. Rockman began in 1986.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the journal, Reference Services Review, since the editorship of Ilene F. Rockman began in 1986.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes how the journal has become one of the most respected in its profession, has encouraged new authors and published several ground‐breaking articles over the past two decades.
Findings
The journal's standard of excellence is high and continues to model a commitment to, and passion for, reference services and collections, utilization of technology to help users and innovation in library instruction and information library programs.
Originality/value
The paper offers a reflection of RSR and its contribution toward equity and social responsibility.
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Emily M. Douglas and Kerry A. Lee
Approximately 1,750–2,000 children die in the United States annually because of child abuse or neglect. Official statistics show that women are more often the perpetrators of…
Abstract
Approximately 1,750–2,000 children die in the United States annually because of child abuse or neglect. Official statistics show that women are more often the perpetrators of abuse and neglect-related deaths, even though child welfare professionals largely attribute these deaths to men. Either acting alone or with another individual, mothers are responsible for roughly 60% of deaths and either together or alone, fathers are responsible for roughly 40% of deaths. Despite the consistency of this information, it is not widely accepted by child welfare workers – the professional group whose job it is to identify risk factors and to protect children from harm. Previous research shows that workers are more likely to believe that men are responsible for children’s deaths and that deaths are perpetrated by non-family members. In this chapter, we explore the potential explanations for workers’ misperceptions including the role of gender norms, ideology, confusion concerning how children die, and also which kinds of cases result in criminal charges and thus, shape the public’s understanding of fatal child maltreatment. Incomplete and inadequate information about the perpetration of maltreatment deaths potentially puts children at risk for future fatalities. Implications for child welfare and social service professionals, their training, and practice are discussed.
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Douglas J. Ernest and Lewis B. Herman
In recent years, guides to hiking trails and wilderness areas have enjoyed an increase in popularity. Here, Douglas J. Ernest and Lewis B. Herman evaluate more than 100 such books.
Redesign activity is taking place within organizations faced with rapidly changing business environments. In this article, the current state of organization redesign, the role of…
Abstract
Redesign activity is taking place within organizations faced with rapidly changing business environments. In this article, the current state of organization redesign, the role of information systems, and the effect of redesign activities on job satisfaction and motivation are reviewed. The current state and projected trends are then related to a field study conducted at the Zeeland, Michigan, machine processing plant (ZMP) of Herman Miller. Interviews with both hourly and managerial personnel were conducted. The results of the interviews suggest that effective redesign efforts focus on the human or intangible aspects, as well as structural changes.
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The author is revisiting the body of his papers on Herman Melville's Moby Dick, which he began writing some 15 years ago. Though these writings have remained an “unwritten book”…
Abstract
Purpose
The author is revisiting the body of his papers on Herman Melville's Moby Dick, which he began writing some 15 years ago. Though these writings have remained an “unwritten book”, Melville's works had a lasting impact on his thinking and writing up to the present. The purpose of this paper is to reveal some of the experiences and emotions concomitant with academic writing that remain more often than not hidden from the reader.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a personal reminiscence on the experience of academic writing for about four decades. It is a story of how an academic becomes acquainted with and then influenced/inspired by a piece of literature and discovers how many organisational topics may be illuminated by works of literature.
Findings
Even an unwritten book does not necessarily lead to completely neglecting what had been written. This may be a relief and an encouragement to others, who realize they are not alone in this respect.
Originality/value
The paper adds some further insight into the not‐so‐obvious and broadly hidden experience of the “production process” of academic writing and illustrates the relevance and importance of literature for further thinking on such topics as management and organization.
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The religious tradition of male circumcision has come increasingly under attack across a number of European states. While critics of the practice argue that the problem is about…
Abstract
The religious tradition of male circumcision has come increasingly under attack across a number of European states. While critics of the practice argue that the problem is about children’s rights and the proper relationship between secular and religious traditions, Jews tend to see these attacks within the longer history of attempts to assimilate and remake them according to the norms of the majority. Using the 2012 German legal controversy concerning the issue as my vantage point, I explore how contemporary criticism of male circumcision remains entangled with ambivalence toward Judaism and the Jews as the “other.” Through a close reading of the arguments, I show how opponents use the seemingly neutral language of universal human rights to (re)make Jewish difference according to the norms of the majority. I conclude by arguing that such an approach to this issue runs the risk of turning Jews once again into strangers at a time when cultural anxieties are troubling European societies.
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Mark Peterson and Matthew B. Lunde
This paper reviews recent developments in marketing-related sustainable business practices (SBP) that macromarketing scholars have researched and debated for four decades. Such…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews recent developments in marketing-related sustainable business practices (SBP) that macromarketing scholars have researched and debated for four decades. Such SBPs should be regarded as positive steps toward a future where business does more good than harm in society.
Methodology/approach
Using the approach of a literature review, this paper highlights the actions of entrepreneurs and firms to implement SBPs resulting from analysis of the interplay between markets, marketing and society. Such analysis is in the tradition of macromarketing scholarship.
Findings
The study identifies important developments about an important shift toward adopting SBPs among many firms, as well as among consumers − especially, in developed countries of the world.
Research implications
The study suggests that taking a macromarketing view offers scholars a broad lens on current complex marketplace phenomena that will prove effective in better understanding sustainability issues.
Practical implications
The results of the study underline the value of macromarketing scholarship through the last four decades. By being daring enough to consider other stakeholders other than marketers and owners of firms, macromarketers have provided scholars a more holistic understanding of business’ role in society.
Originality/value
Today, enlightened practitioners who utilize knowledge from macromarketing scholarship can gain a competitive advantage as they navigate markets increasingly influenced by a wider set of stakeholders. Such influential stakeholders include partner firms, employees, society and local communities, NGOs, media, government, as well as the environment and future generations. Scholars can gain perspective on the phenomena they investigate with such a macromarketing lens.
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Westland plc recently announced the formation of a wholly‐owned subsidiary company, Westland Inc. to represent Westland Group activities in the United States, Central America and…
Abstract
Westland plc recently announced the formation of a wholly‐owned subsidiary company, Westland Inc. to represent Westland Group activities in the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. The company will be headquartered in the Washington DC area and will be responsible for expanding existing markets and customer support activities for the various divisions, the development of new business opportunities, and the administration of all Westland personnel in the area.
This chapter re-assesses the stories of three important Asian American women in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. Like many undocumented migrants in…
Abstract
This chapter re-assesses the stories of three important Asian American women in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. Like many undocumented migrants in our current day, they each “discovered,” as children and as young adults, that they and other members of their families had a “pariah status,” as immigrants, as women of color, and as persons who could not enjoy the rights and opportunities of citizens of the United States. This chapter explores how they coped with being “unlawful,” with their precarious status, both by evading the law and then also by becoming critics of the law itself.