Lisa Kruesi, Frada Burstein and Kerry Tanner
The purpose of this study is to assess the opportunity for a distributed, networked open biomedical repository (OBR) using a knowledge management system (KMS) conceptual…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess the opportunity for a distributed, networked open biomedical repository (OBR) using a knowledge management system (KMS) conceptual framework. An innovative KMS conceptual framework is proposed to guide the transition from a traditional, siloed approach to a sustainable OBR.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on a cycle of action research, involving literature review, interviews and focus group with leaders in biomedical research, open science and librarianship, and an audit of elements needed for an Australasian OBR; these, along with an Australian KM standard, informed the resultant KMS framework.
Findings
The proposed KMS framework aligns the requirements for an OBR with the people, process, technology and content elements of the KM standard. It identifies and defines nine processes underpinning biomedical knowledge – discovery, creation, representation, classification, storage, retrieval, dissemination, transfer and translation. The results comprise an explanation of these processes and examples of the people, process, technology and content dimensions of each process. While the repository is an integral cog within the collaborative, distributed open science network, its effectiveness depends on understanding the relationships and linkages between system elements and achieving an appropriate balance between them.
Research limitations/implications
The current research has focused on biomedicine. This research builds on the worldwide effort to reduce barriers, in particular paywalls to health knowledge. The findings present an opportunity to rationalize and improve a KMS integral to biomedical knowledge.
Practical implications
Adoption of the KMS framework for a distributed, networked OBR will facilitate open science through reducing duplication of effort, removing barriers to the flow of knowledge and ensuring effective management of biomedical knowledge.
Social implications
Achieving quality, permanency and discoverability of a region’s digital assets is possible through ongoing usage of the framework for researchers, industry and consumers.
Originality/value
The framework demonstrates the dependencies and interplay of elements and processes to frame an OBR KMS.
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Thoah Kim Thi Ninh, Kerry Tanner, Graeme Johanson and Tom Denison
Higher education reform in Vietnam has recently required university libraries to improve their quality, to evaluate their performance, and to be accountable for the purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher education reform in Vietnam has recently required university libraries to improve their quality, to evaluate their performance, and to be accountable for the purpose of quality assessment and accreditation. Systematic performance measurement is an integral part of this process. The aims of this paper are: to provide an overview of the current state of performance development in Vietnamese university libraries; to address issues related to the measurement of library performance; and to propose an approach to evaluation for university libraries in Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the literature on library performance measurement, with particular focus on university libraries in Vietnam. Relevant documents relating to performance measurement were examined, and two case studies of performance measurement in university libraries in Vietnam were carried out.
Findings
It is critical that university libraries in Vietnam develop systematic performance measures and apply different methods and tools for performance measurement. To succeed, cooperation between the administering authority, university administration and library management is essential.
Research limitations/implications
This paper reports on the first phase of a doctoral research project at Monash University. Further research is being undertaken to develop a framework for quality assurance and performance measurement for Vietnamese university libraries. The efficacy if this framework is yet to be tested through its deployment in practice.
Originality/value
While performance measurement is well established in Western countries, it is less so in Vietnam. The current research is seeking to develop a performance measurement framework for university libraries that is attuned to the Vietnamese context. The paper stresses the urgent need for the development of effective performance measures and systematic performance measurement systems amongst this sector.
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Adel Moslehi, Henry Linger and Kerry Tanner
The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of k-networks in knowledge creation, as existing literature argues that network structure does not provide sufficient…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of k-networks in knowledge creation, as existing literature argues that network structure does not provide sufficient explanation per se. This paper proposed diversity as an important construct to explain knowledge creation in SMEs’ k-networks.
Design/methodology/approach
First, by reviewing the literature, this paper proposes a hypothesis that predicts a positive association of content and knowledge creation. Then, focusing on patent co-authorship networks of the biotechnology industry in Victoria, this research used an explanatory multiple case study approach to test the formulated hypothesis.
Findings
By introducing new constructs, the results provide more insight on the positive association of knowledge content and knowledge creation. Based on the emergent constructs, rival hypotheses are also developed for further research.
Originality/value
Beyond the role of network structure, which has dominated the knowledge network literature, this research highlights how other factors like knowledge diversity are needed to be consider.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine recent literature for a review of the concepts of collaboration in library and information science and related disciplines and to develop a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine recent literature for a review of the concepts of collaboration in library and information science and related disciplines and to develop a conceptual framework for application in academic contexts globally.
Design/methodology/approach
An investigation of literature exploring the multifaceted meanings and dimensions of collaboration and subsequent development of a framework for analysis. To exemplify the use of the framework in analysing collaboration between academics and librarians, and to demonstrate the impact of context on collaboration, the paper explores the situation and educational contexts in two national settings – one a developed country (Australia) and the other a developing country (Vietnam).
Findings
Contextual factors have a substantial impact on the nature of collaboration between academics and librarians. The collaboration framework developed is applied to academic settings in two countries, Vietnam and Australia, and dimensions of collaboration are compared and contrasted in the two countries. Insights and implications are drawn concerning the distinctive features of effective collaboration as well as the achievements and challenges of such collaborative partnerships.
Research limitations/implications
This literature-based article reports on the first part of a larger research project. Further development and application of the conceptual framework in studying the collaborative relationship between academics and librarians empirically are deemed important.
Originality/value
This paper provides insights into the current condition and challenges in developing collaboration between academics and librarians. The proposed framework is beneficial to academics, librarians and universities interested in addressing the issues of this partnership in various academic contexts.
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Verena Raab, Brigitte Petersen and Judith Kreyenschmidt
An optimal temperature monitoring is a prerequisite for cold chain management and thus for the production and supply of high quality and safe products as well as for the reduction…
Abstract
Purpose
An optimal temperature monitoring is a prerequisite for cold chain management and thus for the production and supply of high quality and safe products as well as for the reduction of waste and economic losses. The aim of this paper is to identify and compare already existing temperature monitoring solutions in operation and novel temperature monitoring solutions with a view to their use for optimal temperature monitoring in meat supply chains. A special focus is placed on the identification and specification of challenges by the implementation of temperature monitoring systems which allow an optimal control of the temperature conditions in meat supply chains, as required by the new European food law.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a literature review of existing and novel temperature monitoring systems and challenges faced by the practical implementation of monitoring systems which allow continuous control of the temperature conditions in meat supply chains. First, the relevant literature relating to these aspects was examined and second, expert knowledge was applied with system developers of temperature monitoring and information management systems, participants in the meat supply chains and researchers
Findings
In the article different intra‐ as well as inter‐organisational challenges relating to the practical implementation of optimal temperature monitoring solutions have been identified and described.
Originality/value
The paper provides a holistic perspective of temperature monitoring solutions in meat supply chains. The challenges met when implementing temperature monitoring solutions have not been widely discussed in the literature. The proposed solutions to the specified challenges make an important contribution to developing guidelines for the implementation of optimal temperature monitoring systems in meat supply chains, resulting in improvements in food quality and safety.
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Victoria Stobo, Kerry Patterson, Kristofer Erickson and Ronan Deazley
The inability of cultural institutions to make available digital reproductions of collected material highlights a shortcoming with the existing copyright framework in a number of…
Abstract
Purpose
The inability of cultural institutions to make available digital reproductions of collected material highlights a shortcoming with the existing copyright framework in a number of national jurisdictions. Overlapping efforts to remedy the situation were recently undertaken in the form of EU Directive 2012/28/EU, the “Orphan Works” directive, and a new licensing scheme introduced by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate both the EU and UK policy approaches, drawing on data collected during a live rights clearance simulation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors attempted to clear rights in a sample of 432 items contained in the mixed-media Edwin Morgan Scrapbooks collection held by the University of Glasgow Library. Data were collected on the resource costs incurred at each stage of the rights clearance process, from initial audit of the collection, through to compliance with diligent search requirements under EU Directive 2012/28/EU and the UKIPO licensing procedures.
Findings
Comparing results against the two current policy options for the use of orphan works, the authors find that the UKIPO licensing scheme offers a moderate degree of legal certainty but also the highest cost to institutions (the cost of diligent search in addition to licence fees). The EU exception to copyright provides less legal certainty in the case of rightsholder re-emergence, but also retains high diligent search costs. Both policy options may be suitable for institutions wishing to make use of a small number of high-risk works, but neither approach is currently suitable for mass digitisation.
Research limitations/implications
This rights clearance exercise is focussed on a single case study with unique properties (with a high proportion of partial works embedded in a work of bricolage). Consequently, the results obtained in this study reflect differences from simulation studies on other types of orphan works. However, by adopting similar methodological and reporting standards to previous empirical studies, the authors can compare rights clearance costs between collections of different works.
Originality/value
This study is the first to empirically assess the 2014 UK orphan works licensing scheme from an institutional perspective. The authors hope that it will contribute to an understanding of how policy could more effectively assist libraries and archives in their digitisation efforts.
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Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to trace the history of the cultural myth that children, especially boys, experience an abrupt heterosexual awakening during pubescence…
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to trace the history of the cultural myth that children, especially boys, experience an abrupt heterosexual awakening during pubescence, from its origin during the 1950s to the present, with particular attention to a decrease in the age posited for such an awakening, from fourteen or fifteen to eight or nine or even earlier, until finally children are presented as heterosexually desiring from birth.
Methodology – The methodology is a content analysis of a sample of mass media texts starring or featuring prepubescent or pubescent boys, including films, television programs, comic books, comic strips, and juvenile novels, appearing in the United States between 1950 and 2007.
Findings – The rapid decrease in the age is correlated with an increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adolescents, leading to the conclusion that it results from an attempt to privilege heterosexuality by making it appear a natural, inevitable outcome of biological maturation that is absent until puberty, whereas at the same time addressing homophobic insistence that no juvenile character be presented as gay by ensuring all characters, regardless of age, express heterosexual desire.
Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to a single causal factor, but it illustrates a complex cultural phenomenon, a shift in the way childhood is constructed, so there are doubtless other factors that should be explored. It is also necessary to explore why the change from presumed pubescent heterosexual awakening to presumed constitutional heterosexuality occurred at different rates depending on the race and social class of the character and the medium presented.
Daniel Briggs, Tim Turner, Kerri David and Tara De Courcey
There is an immense public health concern about the effects of binge drinking across the Western world, in particular about British youth on holiday abroad. While existing UK…
Abstract
There is an immense public health concern about the effects of binge drinking across the Western world, in particular about British youth on holiday abroad. While existing UK research has shed some light on binge drinking and its consequences, this has largely been restricted to surveys. Therefore, an analysis of the social context of British youth and binge drinking abroad currently remains absent. This article attempts to fill that gap by offering an insight into the social context of binge drinking in a holiday resort in Ibiza. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork and makes use of one field note to highlight what Hunt and colleagues (2010) refer to as ‘important relationships between youth, pleasure and context’, to explore the social interactions of binge‐drinking British youth abroad.