ALAN GRIFFITHS, LESLEY A. ROBINSON and PETER WILLETT
This paper considers the classifications produced by application of the single linkage, complete linkage, group average and Ward clustering methods to the Keen and Cranfield…
Abstract
This paper considers the classifications produced by application of the single linkage, complete linkage, group average and Ward clustering methods to the Keen and Cranfield document test collections. Experiments were carried out to study the structure of the hierarchies produced by the different methods, the extent to which the methods distort the input similarity matrices during the generation of a classification, and the retrieval effectiveness obtainable in cluster based retrieval. The results would suggest that the single linkage method, which has been used extensively in previous work on document clustering, is not the most effective procedure of those tested, although it should be emphasized that the experiments have used only small document test collections.
Lesley Moyo and Ashley Robinson
Provides an overview of a new information literacy initiative at the Penn State University’s Gateway Library. The Research Mentoring Program was designed to address the individual…
Abstract
Provides an overview of a new information literacy initiative at the Penn State University’s Gateway Library. The Research Mentoring Program was designed to address the individual needs of academic library users who are inexperienced in the use of digital/electronic resources and require assistance in identifying, accessing and navigating the myriad digital/electronic resources for their research. Discusses the rationale for such programs, program objectives and activities undertaken to meet these objectives, and program outcomes.
Details
Keywords
Ted Brown, Brett Williams, Shapour Jaberzadeh, Louis Roller, Claire Palermo, Lisa McKenna, Caroline Wright, Marilyn Baird, Michal Schneider‐Kolsky, Lesley Hewitt, Tangerine Holt, Maryam Zoghi and Jenny Sim
Computers and computer‐assisted instruction are being used with increasing frequency in the area of health science student education, yet students’ attitudes towards the use of…
Abstract
Computers and computer‐assisted instruction are being used with increasing frequency in the area of health science student education, yet students’ attitudes towards the use of e‐learning technology and computer‐assisted instruction have received limited attention to date. The purpose of this study was to investigate the significant predictors of health science students’ attitudes towards e‐learning and computer‐assisted instruction. All students enrolled in health science programmes (n=2885) at a large multi‐campus Australian university in 2006‐2007, were asked to complete a questionnaire. This included the Online Learning Environment Survey (OLES), the Computer Attitude Survey (CAS), and the Attitude Toward Computer‐Assisted Instruction Semantic Differential Scale (ATCAISDS). A multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the significant predictors of health science students’ attitudes to e‐learning. The Attitude Toward Computers in General (CASg) and the Attitude Toward Computers in Education (CASe) subscales from the CAS were the dependent (criterion) variables for the regression analysis. A total of 822 usable questionnaires were returned, accounting for a 29.5 per cent response rate. Three significant predictors of CASg and five significant predictors of CASe were found. Respondents’ age and OLES Equity were found to be predictors on both CAS scales. Health science educators need to take the age of students and the extent to which students perceive that they are treated equally by a teacher/tutor/instructor (equity) into consideration when looking at determinants of students’ attitudes towards e‐learning and technology.
Details
Keywords
The study of family mobilities necessitates an examination of how practices are orchestrated in time as well as space. Conventional approaches to the study of family time use…
Abstract
The study of family mobilities necessitates an examination of how practices are orchestrated in time as well as space. Conventional approaches to the study of family time use either quantitative analysis of time-use data or qualitative studies of time pressure and work/life balance. The limitation with these approaches is that they assume a rather static family structure that is dominated by parents with young children. Moreover, these studies do not capture the dualistic quality of time; that time constitutes and is a constituent of family life. In this chapter, I use one-day diaries on organising and experiencing time, collated as part of the UK Mass Observation Project in Autumn 2017, to interrogate the relationality of family time. The analysis examines how family practices maybe sequential, synchronous, planned or serendipitous and how these different temporalities permeate the busyness of time pressure. These one-day accounts confirm how time is experienced through and by family and intimate relationships.
Details
Keywords
Alyson Kettles and Lesley Adams
Travel bursaries enable staff to visit centres of excellence in order to study practice that is different or innovative. This study tour enabled visitors to study the practice in…
Abstract
Travel bursaries enable staff to visit centres of excellence in order to study practice that is different or innovative. This study tour enabled visitors to study the practice in Provincial Forensic Assessment Units, Remand Centres and Prisons, in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada.
Liz McDonnell, Lesley Murray, Tamsin Hinton-Smith and Nuno Ferreira
‘Living together apart’ (LTA) is the practice of remaining in close domestic proximity following the ending of an intimate relationship. Using the conceptual framework of families…
Abstract
‘Living together apart’ (LTA) is the practice of remaining in close domestic proximity following the ending of an intimate relationship. Using the conceptual framework of families in motion, in which families are re-envisioned as in flow, responding to all kinds of disruptions, chosen and unchosen, by ‘holding on’, adapting, adjusting and redirecting, this chapter explores the family practices involved in LTA. Using collaborative autoethnography – a research process in which the authors jointly explored data from their own lives – the authors were able to develop an understanding of LTA that was attentive to everyday life and the interconnections of time and space within families. The authors found that when families are living within less normative constellations, there are fewer scripts to rely upon and the potential for non-legitimacy and anxiety increases. The data also showed how deeply families are embedded in practices that are always in relation to an experienced past and imagined future. The importance of having a family story to tell that ‘works’ socially and emotionally, as well as having a home that can spatially encompass such new flows in family lives, is crucial.
Details
Keywords
Sally Robinson and Lesley Chenoweth
A schema for more clearly understanding the emotional and psychological abuse and neglect of people with intellectual disability was developed to support a narrative study with…
Abstract
Purpose
A schema for more clearly understanding the emotional and psychological abuse and neglect of people with intellectual disability was developed to support a narrative study with people with intellectual disability, families and other supporters about the lived experience of this maltreatment in disability accommodation services in Australia. This paper aims to describe the underpinning review of emotional and psychological abuse and neglect and the evolving new framework.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of existing understandings of this form of abuse in research and policy was conducted, and a framework developed and tested for “trustworthiness” with participants in the research.
Findings
A framework of emotional and psychological abuse and neglect is presented. It centres on the misuse of power and control, details behaviours and interactions which can occur when it is inflicted, and is tested against the experiences of people who have experienced this sort of abuse and neglect.
Research limitations/implications
This is an evolving framework, applied through one study only. Further application and research is needed to test the robustness of the framework.
Originality/value
A more complex construction of emotional and psychological abuse and neglect may inform the development of service policy and support education for people with disability, families, and workers.
Details
Keywords
More and more companies are employing senior interim Managers to handle short‐term assignments. The people who handle these fixed‐term contracts are senior, highly experienced…
Abstract
More and more companies are employing senior interim Managers to handle short‐term assignments. The people who handle these fixed‐term contracts are senior, highly experienced managers, who have reached a point in their career where they feel confident to handle almost any challenge. The market is growing and is estimated to be worth £400m per year. Its importance is reflected in the establishment of a number of industry bodies, such as the Institute of Interim Management. Interims are often seen as troubleshooters, which they can be, but more and more companies are recognizing the importance of this senior resource to handle change and to spearhead new projects. It would seem that interims are here to stay, and with a recession on the horizon they could come into their own as a way of handling senior management challenges in a highly cost‐effective way.
Details
Keywords
Raewyn Lesley Hills, Deborah Levy and Barbara Plester
Meetings with colleagues are an essential activity in workplace collaboration. The iterative nature of collaborative work demands spaces that team members can access quickly and…
Abstract
Purpose
Meetings with colleagues are an essential activity in workplace collaboration. The iterative nature of collaborative work demands spaces that team members can access quickly and easily. Creating suitable meeting spaces will become more critical if the hybrid work model continues and the workplace environment becomes the hub for face-to-face collaborative time, learning and training. Workspace and fit-out is expensive so it is crucial that the investment in meeting spaces supports employees’ collaboration activities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a case study of a corporate organisation undertaken in New Zealand to investigate how employees from two business units use their workspace to collaborate within their own team and across other teams in their organisation. The study uses ethnographic techniques, including participant observation and in-depth face-to-face interviews.
Findings
The findings show that the frequency and nature of small group work in collaboration was underestimated in the initial planning of the new workspace. Although participants found the design and fit-out of the formal meeting rooms supportive of collaborative work, the meeting rooms were in high demand, and it was difficult to find a room at short notice. The breakout spaces were confusing because they lacked key design attributes identified by the participants as conducive to small group work. Design shortfalls together with fit-out features perceived as supportive of collaborative work are identified.
Originality/value
The research reports on employees’ perceptions and experiences across two functionally diverse business units, reflecting their different needs and concerns.