Jane Farmer and Fiona Campbell
Describes a research project for the British Library Research and Innovation Centre which identified and analysed the generic skills and competences of information professionals…
Abstract
Describes a research project for the British Library Research and Innovation Centre which identified and analysed the generic skills and competences of information professionals in the healthcare and oil industry sectors. The study and its findings are described in a pack which is included with this issue of Library Management.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review of investigations into the specific disability of deafness in the field of sociology and other closely related fields.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review of investigations into the specific disability of deafness in the field of sociology and other closely related fields.
Methodology/approach
After a pilot search using databases appropriate to social science research, we developed key search terms and, using an inductive approach, we identified major themes in the literature.
Findings
Our review shows that deafness has been investigated for a long time in sociology and other related fields, that there is a wide range of themes in scholarly work on the experiences of deaf communities and deaf people, and that conceptualizations of deafness and d/Deaf communities have changed over time. We organize this paper around six major themes we identified, and a few highlighted pieces of scholarship illustrate these themes along the way. We particularly focus on scholarship from the late 1960s through the early 1990s as emblematic of seismic shifts in studying deafness, although we do highlight little known nineteenth century work as well.
Research implications
This paper captures the legacy of this past scholarship and reveals that deafness is a rich site of inquiry that can contribute to the field of sociology. It is also a valuable resource for any future sociological research into deafness, deaf people, and deaf communities. We conclude with a discussion of our findings, commentary on the extent to which previous scholarship on the sociology of deafness has or has not figured into current scholarship and suggestions for future research.
The Parliamentary Health Select Committee is currently holding an inquiry into public health. The Democratic Health Network (DHN) gave evidence to the inquiry, based on research…
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The Parliamentary Health Select Committee is currently holding an inquiry into public health. The Democratic Health Network (DHN) gave evidence to the inquiry, based on research among local authorities, on how new health structures are affecting partnership working between health and local government. This article summarises the DHN's evidence, which is based on a broad and inclusive understanding of public health, influenced by many of local government's traditional functions.
Describes the work carried out at doctoral level which investigated the ways in which journalists construct environmental news in Scotland. Focuses on the methods and tacit rules…
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Describes the work carried out at doctoral level which investigated the ways in which journalists construct environmental news in Scotland. Focuses on the methods and tacit rules which reporters employ to locate, select and retrieve information for news stories. Journalists retrieve information from a complex range of sources. Addresses the information sources which are used in the news process. Examines the preference for human sources as opposed to library‐based information and discusses the influence of pragmatic constraints like time and space on the production of news.
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Les Worrall, Fiona Campbell and Cary Cooper
Redundancy, delayering and other forms of organizational change have become increasingly prevalent over the last ten years. This paper is based on a five year UMIST‐Institute of…
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Redundancy, delayering and other forms of organizational change have become increasingly prevalent over the last ten years. This paper is based on a five year UMIST‐Institute of Management research programme which has been used to explore the impact of redundancy on UK managers’ sense of loyalty, motivation, morale and loyalty to the organization. The paper reveals that redundancy is a particularly damaging form of organizational change even on the survivors of redundancy. The research reveals that where redundancy has been used as a means of change surviving managers’ perceptions of their organizations are significantly more adversely affected than where change is enacted without the use of delayering or redundancy. The research raises significant questions about how change is managed in organizations.
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Jane Farmer and Fiona Campbell
Argues that the workplace of today is in a state of perpetual change and that individuals across the professions are faced with economic cutbacks, managerial reorganization and…
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Argues that the workplace of today is in a state of perpetual change and that individuals across the professions are faced with economic cutbacks, managerial reorganization and staff downsizing. In order to cope with/adapt to these changes, professionals have been forced to consider the issue of continuing professional development (CPD). Reports on a questionnaire survey sent out UK‐wide to 175 information professionals in the health and energy/oil sectors. The survey was designed to gain a flavour of these professionals’ attitudes to CPD and to identify their transferable skills. Addresses the problems of a changing workplace, the difficulties attached to career progression for information professionals and the growing need for CPD.
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Les Worrall, Cary L. Cooper and Fiona Campbell‐Jamison
The paper is based on a five year, UMIST‐Institute of Management study into the changing nature of the quality of working life and seeks to uncover differences in the incidence…
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The paper is based on a five year, UMIST‐Institute of Management study into the changing nature of the quality of working life and seeks to uncover differences in the incidence and impact of organizational change on the perceptions and experiences of managers in the public sector, the private sector and the (former public) utilities. The research indicates that there are significant differences in the impact of organizational change on managers in the three sectors with public sector managers and managers from the utilities having been more adversely affected. An analysis of managers’ perceptions of their “organization as a place to work”, prevailing managerial styles in their organization and managers’ perceptions of the “changing nature of their job” also reveals wide differences between managers in the three different sectors.
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Leadership development is a significant issue in public libraries and library administrators debate, among other topics, how to achieve it for the middle-level manager. At the…
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Leadership development is a significant issue in public libraries and library administrators debate, among other topics, how to achieve it for the middle-level manager. At the present time, library organizations use leadership and management workshops, seminars, and institutes to assist with managers’ organizational learning processes. Current literature indicates that additional strategies such as career planning, mentoring, networking, acquiring adequate qualifications and experience, professional involvement, and continuing education are used not only to facilitate middle-level managers’ career development, but also to help organizations fill the leadership gaps within their ranks.