Tania Yordanova Todorova, Serap Kurbanoglu, Joumana Boustany, Güleda Dogan, Laura Saunders, Aleksandra Horvat, Ana Lúcia Terra, Ane Landøy, Angela Repanovici, Chris Morrison, Egbert J. Sanchez Vanderkast, Jane Secker, Jurgita Rudzioniene, Terttu Kortelainen and Tibor Koltay
The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a multinational survey on copyright literacy of specialists from libraries and other cultural institutions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a multinational survey on copyright literacy of specialists from libraries and other cultural institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a multinational survey of copyright literacy competencies of Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals and those who work in the cultural heritage sector (archives and museums), conducted in 13 countries, namely Bulgaria (BG), Croatia (CR), Finland (FI), France (FR), Hungary (HU), Lithuania (LT), Mexico (MX), Norway (NO), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Turkey (TR), UK and USA in the period July 2013-March 2015. An online survey instrument was developed in order to collect data from professionals regarding their familiarity with, knowledge and awareness of, and opinions on copyright-related issues.
Findings
Findings of this study highlight gaps in existing knowledge of copyright, and information about the level of copyright literacy of LIS and cultural sector professionals. Also attitudes toward copyright learning content in academic education and continuing professional development training programs are investigated.
Originality/value
This study aimed to address a gap in the literature by encompassing specialists from the cultural institutions in an international comparative context. The paper offers guidance for further understanding of copyright in a wider framework of digital and information literacy; and for the implementation of copyright policy, and the establishment of copyright advisor positions in cultural institutions. The recommendations support a revision of academic and continuing education programs learning curriculum and methods.
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Laura Simmons, Arwel W. Jones, Niro Siriwardena and Christopher Bridle
Sickness absence is a major concern for healthcare services and their employees with healthcare workers having higher sickness absence rates compared to the general population…
Abstract
Purpose
Sickness absence is a major concern for healthcare services and their employees with healthcare workers having higher sickness absence rates compared to the general population. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review randomised control trials (RCTs) that aimed to reduce sickness absence among healthcare workers.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review was conducted that aimed to include RCTs with study participants who were employed in any part of the healthcare sector. This review included any type of intervention with the primary outcome measure being sickness absence.
Findings
Seven studies were included in the review and consisted of one exercise-only intervention, three multicomponent intervention programmes, two influenza vaccination interventions and one process consultation. Three studies (exercise-only, one multicomponent intervention programme and one influenza vaccination intervention) were able to demonstrate a reduction in sickness absence compared to control.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the lack of high-quality evidence, this review identified that there are currently no interventions that healthcare organisations are able to use to effectively reduce sickness absence among their employees. This review also highlights the importance of a standardised measure of sickness absence for healthcare staff, such as shifts.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review to synthesise such evidence among healthcare workers.
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Laura Saunders, Rachel Williams, Genevieve Galarneau and Gianna C. Gifford
The purpose of this study was to get a baseline understanding of the state of reference services in urban public libraries in the United States.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to get a baseline understanding of the state of reference services in urban public libraries in the United States.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers surveyed all members of the Urban Libraries Council, a network of public library systems in urban centers across the country. The survey asked about their reference services, including how reference is offered, volume and types of questions and staff responsibilities. Participants were also asked how reference has changed in the past 5–10 years and what changes they anticipate in the future.
Findings
This study found that the vast majority of urban public libraries still maintain a physical reference desk, but most also offer reference services in other formats as well. Most libraries have seen numbers of reference questions decline. Reference staff members are engaged in instruction, programming and community outreach as well. Looking ahead, some libraries expect reference questions to continue to decline and demand for virtual services to increase.
Practical implications
Directors and reference staff of public libraries, especially those in urban and suburban settings, will find these results useful for benchmarking against their own experiences and for planning for future changes.
Originality/value
While discussions of changes in reference service and volumes of reference questions are plentiful, as are predictions of how these declines will impact reference services, there is little current research on the actual state of those services. This study fills a gap in the literature by providing a baseline overview of the reference services in urban public libraries.
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This study aims to explore the effectiveness and learning outcomes of two reference interview assignments – one in which students worked with a family member or friend and a…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the effectiveness and learning outcomes of two reference interview assignments – one in which students worked with a family member or friend and a “practice-based” assignment in which students were paired with other graduate students working on a class assignment.
Design/methodology/approach
Students completed reflective essay and submitted a survey rating their perceptions of their patrons’ satisfaction, completeness of the answer and overall success of the transaction.
Findings
Students in both classes were successful and applied the skills and competencies of the reference interview, but students with the practice-based assignment had a more realistic experience and were somewhat less confident about their performance.
Practical implications
The study offers some implications and suggestions for a more effective and realistic approach to teaching the reference interview.
Originality/value
There is a lack of literature on how to teach the reference interview and on the effectiveness of different types of assignments. This study addresses that gap and the results of this study will be of interest to Library and Information Science faculty, as well as library directors and reference managers who might offer training to staff.
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Bharat Mehra, Vandana Singh, Natasha Hollenbach and Robert P. Partee
This chapter discusses the application of community informatics (CI) principles in the rural Southern and Central Appalachian (SCA) region to further the teaching of information…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter discusses the application of community informatics (CI) principles in the rural Southern and Central Appalachian (SCA) region to further the teaching of information and communication technologies (ICT) literacy concepts in courses that formed part of two externally funded grants, “Information Technology Rural Librarian Master’s Scholarship Program Part I” (ITRL) and “Part II” (ITRL2), awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program to the School of Information Sciences (SIS) at the University of Tennessee (UT).
Design/Methodology/Approach
The chapter documents ICT use in ITRL and ITRL2 to extend librarian technology literacy training, allowing these public information providers to become change agents in the twenty-first century. It discusses aspects of CI that influenced these two projects and shaped the training of future rural library leaders embedded in traditionally underrepresented areas to further social justice and progressive changes in the region’s rural communities.
Findings
The chapter demonstrates the role that CI principles played in the context of ITRL and ITRL2 from project inception to the graduation of the rural librarians with examples of tangible IT services/products that the students developed in their courses that were directly applicable and tailored to their SCA contexts.
Originality/Value
ITRL and ITRL2 provided a unique opportunity to apply a CI approach to train information librarians as agents of change in the SCA regions to further economic and cultural development via technology and management competencies. These change agents will continue to play a significant role in community building and community development efforts in the future.
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– The purpose of this article is to report on sessions presented at QQML 2013.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to report on sessions presented at QQML 2013.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is an informal review of sessions attended.
Findings
This conference report includes the author's brief notes after attending various sessions.
Originality/value
This is an original conference report written after attendance at QQML.
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Sofia Garcia-Torres, Laura Albareda, Marta Rey-Garcia and Stefan Seuring
This paper aims to examine how companies enact traceability in their global supply chains (SCs) to achieve sustainability goals and how this so-called traceability for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how companies enact traceability in their global supply chains (SCs) to achieve sustainability goals and how this so-called traceability for sustainability (TfS) can contribute to (sustainable) supply chain management ([S]SCM). For this, the paper focuses on the paramount example of the apparel industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents an integrative and systematic literature review of 89 peer-reviewed journal articles on the confluence of traceability and sustainability in global apparel SCs. It comprises content analysis and abductive category-building based on previous literature.
Findings
A conceptual framework emerges to describe TfS as an evolving cycle, comprising three dimensions: governance, collaboration and tracking and tracing. Resources and capabilities literature set the foundations for conceiving TfS as a distinctive meta-capability construct. Hence, besides being associated to increased performance, risk management and SC process transformation, TfS ultimately blurs boundaries and integrates non-traditional SC actors into the same ecosystem with important implications for sustainability and (S)SCM. This study refers to the industrial upgrading potential of global SCs to explain how leveraging enabling technologies for TfS may help to improve the triple-bottom-line (TBL) performance of the actors in the broad ecosystem while reducing the risks associated to those technologies. Thus, TfS can contribute to (S)SCM and to TBL sustainability within and beyond SC boundaries.
Originality/value
This study conceptually frames (S)SCM exploring TfS as a meta-capability and contributes to the underexplored question of how to achieve sustainability in global SCs.
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Daniela Fishbein, Siddhartha Nambiar, Kendall McKenzie, Maria Mayorga, Kristen Miller, Kevin Tran, Laura Schubel, Joseph Agor, Tracy Kim and Muge Capan
Workload is a critical concept in the evaluation of performance and quality in healthcare systems, but its definition relies on the perspective (e.g. individual clinician-level vs…
Abstract
Purpose
Workload is a critical concept in the evaluation of performance and quality in healthcare systems, but its definition relies on the perspective (e.g. individual clinician-level vs unit-level workload) and type of available metrics (e.g. objective vs subjective measures). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of objective measures of workload associated with direct care delivery in tertiary healthcare settings, with a focus on measures that can be obtained from electronic records to inform operationalization of workload measurement.
Design/methodology/approach
Relevant papers published between January 2008 and July 2018 were identified through a search in Pubmed and Compendex databases using the Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research Type framework. Identified measures were classified into four levels of workload: task, patient, clinician and unit.
Findings
Of 30 papers reviewed, 9 used task-level metrics, 14 used patient-level metrics, 7 used clinician-level metrics and 20 used unit-level metrics. Key objective measures of workload include: patient turnover (n=9), volume of patients (n=6), acuity (n=6), nurse-to-patient ratios (n=5) and direct care time (n=5). Several methods for operationalization of these metrics into measurement tools were identified.
Originality/value
This review highlights the key objective workload measures available in electronic records that can be utilized to develop an operational approach for quantifying workload. Insights gained from this review can inform the design of processes to track workload and mitigate the effects of increased workload on patient outcomes and clinician performance.