M. Linda, Claire J. Honeybourne and Janet Harrison
Tests the feasibility of an outreach clinical librarian service in an acute hospital setting, providing quality filtered research evidence at the point of clinical need. The…
Abstract
Tests the feasibility of an outreach clinical librarian service in an acute hospital setting, providing quality filtered research evidence at the point of clinical need. The design was based on a six‐month pilot with professional librarians attending clinical meetings responding to information needs raised there by providing appraised summaries of the published evidence, with full text and bibliographic material as appropriate. The main outcomes were usage statistics and clinicians’ evaluation via a 23‐question questionnaire completed each month seeking overall views of the service. Practical issues regarding the provision of the service were tested. Concludes that an outreach information service in the clinical setting can meet the clinical governance agenda of the Trust by supporting evidence‐based practice, teaching and learning and continuing professional development. Earlier models of service are adapted to make the service cost‐effective.
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Samuel Kelechukwu Ibenne, Boyka Simeonova, Janet Harrison and Mark Hepworth
The purpose of this paper is to review key models of people’s information behaviour (IB) exploring the integration of the concepts of information literacy (IL) and knowledge in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review key models of people’s information behaviour (IB) exploring the integration of the concepts of information literacy (IL) and knowledge in their designs. Scholarly perspectives portray IL as providing individuals with capacity for good information practices that result in generating new knowledge. It is surprising that this important perspective is not reflected in the reviewed IB models. This paper contributes to the literature base by proposing a new model highlighting IL and knowledge as important concepts within the IB discourse.
Design/methodology/approach
A discourse of the integration of IL and knowledge, which are integral factors, associated with IB, in selected IB models.
Findings
Identifying a need for information and understanding its context is an IL attribute. IL underpins IB in providing awareness of information sources; how to search and use information appropriately for solving information needs and leveraging generated new knowledge. The generation of new knowledge results from using information, in a process that combines with sense-making and adaption. Correspondingly, the knowledge that develops, increases capability for sense-making and adaptation of information to suit various contexts of need, iteratively.
Originality/value
A new model of IB; the causative and outcome factors of information behaviour (COFIB) is proposed. COFIB stresses that IL and knowledge are prominent factors within the general framework of people’s IB. The model emphasises knowledge generation as the outcome of IB, applied in solving problems within specific contexts.
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Mark Hepworth, Janet Harrison and Nicole James
Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to study the information needs of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the UK. Categories of information need were identified;…
Abstract
Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to study the information needs of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the UK. Categories of information need were identified; their importance and difficulty in obtaining them quantified. The research highlighted how there were significant differences in terms of people’s desire for the information, the topics in which they were interested and how they wanted that information. Information provision to people with MS was found to have improved dramatically over the last seven years, but was found to be inconsistent in terms of subjects covered. However, it should be borne in mind that it may be difficult for people to take on board information for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, different individual needs mean that information provision is a complex task. Many intervening factors can make it fail. The research made it clear how access to relevant information, provided in an appropriate way, could significantly improve the quality of life of the person with MS and that there is considerable scope for improving provision of information to people with MS.
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Marta de la Mano and Janet Harrison
The purpose of this paper is to give the details of the development of the health libraries standards in England during the last decade; to identify and analyse the main features…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to give the details of the development of the health libraries standards in England during the last decade; to identify and analyse the main features and innovations of the new accreditation framework published last year to assess the quality of that type of library, comparing it with the previous accreditation programme, and to present its first results.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a comparative analysis between the two main health libraries’ accreditation programmes developed in England (the Helicon checklist and the LQAF framework), reviewing the goals they intend to achieve, the methodology they propose and the structure and content of their standards. This analysis is built on a wide literature review, including mostly grey resources: technical standards and reports, newsletters, minutes of meetings, and briefings
Findings
In the study, the main changes incorporated in the LQAF framework have been identified both at strategic, tactical and operational levels, delimiting the scope of the “360 degrees review” of the health libraries situation it aims. Besides, the main achievements since the LQAF appeared have been stated: the undertaken of the first National Baseline Assessments against the standards, whose results show the good fitness of English health libraries’ services quality, and the creation of the Innovation Reward. The near future, however, raises some uncertainties prompted by a new revision of the standards.
Originality/value
This is the first study about the new LQAF framework and it also provides the first comparison in the literature and a unique view of the main health libraries’ national accreditation programmes in England.
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Thomas Köllen, Marja-Liisa Kakkuri-Knuuttila and Regine Bendl
There seems to exist a widespread, unquestioned and unquestionable consent, both in research and practice, that there is a moral value inherent in equality and related initiatives…
Abstract
Purpose
There seems to exist a widespread, unquestioned and unquestionable consent, both in research and practice, that there is a moral value inherent in equality and related initiatives toward diversity and inclusion. However, this consent is primarily based on political convictions and emotional reasons, and is without any strong ethical grounding. Whilst a considerable volume of research has been carried out into different facets of the economic value of initiatives toward equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), comparatively little research has been undertaken into its moral value. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to structure the moral perspectives on EDI more precisely and more critically.
Design/methodology/approach
After discussing the interrelation of the three concepts equality, diversity and inclusion, the authors discuss the way in which initiatives toward diversity and inclusion are justified morally in literature. The authors point out the crucial position of equality, and then, subsequently, outline how different approaches to equality try to achieve moral legitimacy. Being an important group of initiatives in this debate, the authors subsequently reflect upon the moral (il)legitimacy of affirmative action (AA). The concluding section of this paper provides a brief summary of the findings.
Findings
The moral evaluation of equality, diversity and inclusion remains an under-theorized field. Within the discourse on equality, diversity and inclusion, the term “justice” is largely used in an intuitive way, rather than being rooted in a specific moral philosophy. As there are several conceivable, differing moral perspectives on EDI, one cannot expect an indisputable answer to the question as to whether a given approach toward equality, diversity and inclusion is morally praiseworthy or just. However, the widespread assumption that equality is morally praiseworthy per se, and that striving for equality morally justifies any initiative toward diversity and inclusion, is untenable.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the lack of theorizing on the moral value of initiatives toward equality, diversity, and inclusion, such as diversity management, AA or various equal opportunity approaches. Future research could enrich the discourse on the moral evaluation of diversity management, inclusion programs and organizational equality approaches with new philosophical facets and perspectives, perspectives that might differ from those taken in the predominantly American discourse.
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Jennifer A. Harrison, Janet A. Boekhorst and Yin Yu
The purpose of this paper is to apply insights from the moral legitimacy theory to understand how climate for inclusion (CFI) is cultivated at the individual and collective…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply insights from the moral legitimacy theory to understand how climate for inclusion (CFI) is cultivated at the individual and collective levels, thereby highlighting the influence of employee perceptions of inclusion-oriented high-performance work systems (HPWS) on CFI.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-level conceptual framework is introduced to explain how employee perceptions develop about the moral legitimacy of inclusion-oriented HPWS and the subsequent influence on CFI.
Findings
CFI is theorized to manifest when employees perceive inclusion-oriented HPWS as morally legitimate according to four unit-level features. Employees with a strong moral identity will be particularly attuned to the moral legitimacy of each of the unit-level HPWS features, thereby strengthening the perceived HPWS and CFI relationship at the individual level. The convergence of individual-level perceptions of CFI to the collective level will be strongest when climate variability is low for majority and minority groups.
Practical implications
Organizations seeking to develop CFI should consider the role of HPWS and the perceived moral legitimacy of such systems. This consideration may involve policy amendments to include a broadened scope of HPWS.
Originality/value
This paper explores how employee perceptions of the moral legitimacy of HPWS can help or hinder CFI, thereby offering a novel framework for future inclusion and human resource management research.