Judith K. Shawcross and Tom W. Ridgman
This paper identifies the activities to be undertaken by students during short industrial placements. The purpose of this paper is to obtain a better understanding of what…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper identifies the activities to be undertaken by students during short industrial placements. The purpose of this paper is to obtain a better understanding of what students do during their placements and provide a framework that supports both teaching and learning. This research focuses on a masters-level programme that contains a series of four, two week industrial placements where groups of two students work on a real and significant issue for the host company.
Design/methodology/approach
A framework, developed from literature, describes a placement in terms of 17 high-level activity groups. A multi-stage action research method was applied to test the framework and develop a more detailed level framework. This used insights gathered from students, tutors and researchers on all 80 placements undertaken during the 2012-2013 academic year.
Findings
The 17 high-level activity groups and their configuration in the framework were confirmed. For the 12 process activity groups, 64 activities were identified and included into a detailed level framework. For the five through-placement activity groups some specific activities were captured and further work remains to capture the others.
Originality/value
These complex industrial placements can now be described consistently to students, companies and tutors using an evidence-based framework. Literature searches have not identified any other equivalent research-based frameworks. Other HE programmes also use similar industrial placements and this framework will provide a basis to support these and add to the body of knowledge in work integrated learning.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of classification structures to efforts at holding perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable using one archival…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of classification structures to efforts at holding perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable using one archival repository in Cambodia as a case study.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary methodology of this paper is a textual analysis of the Documentation Center of Cambodia's classification scheme, as well as a conceptual analysis using the theoretical framework originally posited by Bowker and Star and further developed by Harris and Duff. These analyses were supplemented by interviews with key participants.
Findings
The Documentation Center of Cambodia's classification of Khmer Rouge records by ethnic identity has had a major impact on charging former officials of the regime with genocide in the ongoing human rights tribunal.
Social implications
As this exploration of the DC‐Cam database shows, archival description can be used as a tool to promote accountability in societies coming to terms with difficult histories.
Originality/value
This paper expands and revises Harris and Duff's definition of liberatory description to include Spivak's concept of strategic essentialism, arguing that archivists’ classification choices have important ethical and legal consequences.