To most minds libraries exist at the periphery of debates over education and educational reform. However, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how, in 1910, the Melbourne…
Abstract
Purpose
To most minds libraries exist at the periphery of debates over education and educational reform. However, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how, in 1910, the Melbourne Public Library (now the State Library of Victoria) was central, rather than peripheral, to a conflict which focussed on the role of the library in education and how the library and its collection could best be organised to meet this purpose. It will be argued that libraries and the way they are organised act as indices of the dominant views about education and can be seen as social and educational artefacts. As artefacts they encapsulate community beliefs about how learning could best occur at a given time and what knowledge was esteemed, made available and to whom.
Design/methodology/approach
To illustrate this point of view and illuminate the broader issues, this paper will use a particular set of events and a particular group of protagonists in Australian history as a case study.
Findings
This case study illuminates conflicting ideas about the place of libraries and the organisation of their collections in early twentieth‐century society and demonstrates how these ideas continued to have an impact on the place of libraries in educational reform agendas in Australia in the following decades.
Social implications
The argument reported as “the disaffection in the library” was both philosophical and practical and illuminated ongoing debates surrounding the place of the library in education. The outcome influenced the shape and place of libraries in Australia and demonstrates broader concerns at work in Federation Australia.
Originality/value
The paper casts a new light on the relationship between libraries and education and the place of libraries in the educational process. The network of influence in Federation Australia and the impact of this on the development of institutions and professions in Australia is also examined.
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– The purpose of this paper is to estimate the influence of workplace teams on wages and wage dispersion within UK establishments.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the influence of workplace teams on wages and wage dispersion within UK establishments.
Design/methodology/approach
Four types of workplace teams are analyzed using linked employer and employee data from the British Workplace Employee Relations Survey.
Findings
Workplace teams are positively associated with wages but negatively associated with wage dispersion within establishments. The four team variables examined have the same directional influence on both wages and dispersion suggesting that it is the use of teams that is important not necessarily the particular characteristics of teams that are being used. The role of occupation is also examined as teams may be more likely to form in certain occupations. The team results for both wages and wage dispersion are robust to the inclusion of detailed occupational information.
Originality/value
The influence of workplace teams is examined on both employee wages and wage dispersion within establishments. Additionally, the paper extends the previous empirical literature on teams by controlling for occupations at a fine level of detail not previously explored.
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James Nutaro, Phani Teja Kuruganti, Mallikarjun Shankar, Laurie Miller and Sara Mullen
This paper aims to address a central concern in modeling and simulating electric grids and the information infrastructure that monitors and controls them. The paper discusses the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address a central concern in modeling and simulating electric grids and the information infrastructure that monitors and controls them. The paper discusses the need for and methods to construct simulation models that include important interactions between the physical and computational elements of a large power system.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper offers a particular approach to modeling and simulation of hybrid systems as an enabling technology for analysis (via simulation) of modern electric power grids. The approach, based on the discrete event system specification, integrates existing simulation tools into a unified simulation scheme. The paper demonstrates this approach with an integrated information and electric grid model of a distributed, automatic frequency maintenance activity.
Findings
Power grid modernization efforts need powerful modeling and simulation tools for hybrid systems.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this approach is a lack of advanced simulation tools that support it. Existing commercial offerings are not designed to support integration with other simulation software products. The approach to integrating continuous and discrete event simulation models can overcome this problem by allowing specific tools to focus on continuous or discrete event dynamics. This will require, however, adjustments to the underlying simulation technology.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates an approach to simulating complex hybrid systems that can, in principle, be supported by existing simulation tools. It also indicates how existing tools must be modified to support our approach.
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This chapter examines the inauguration of the university study of Education in Scotland and its relation to teacher education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century…
Abstract
This chapter examines the inauguration of the university study of Education in Scotland and its relation to teacher education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The chapter outlines moves to establish Education as a disciplinary field in higher education and the junctures at which this movement aligns with and is in tension with concurrent moves to advance teaching as a profession. Academisation and professionalisation are the twin poles of this debate. This is not a parochial or obsolete debate. The place of teacher preparation in higher education has been the focus of sustained discussion across Anglophone nations. Three examples – the inauguration of chairs and lectureships, the governance of teacher education and deliberation on the content and purpose of a degree in Education – are used to help explain the apparent paradox between the historic place of education in Scottish culture and identity and the relatively recent full involvement of Scotland's universities in the professional preparation of teachers. Investigating the activities of the first academic community of educationists in Scotland may help to understand continuing struggles over jurisdiction and authority in this contested and yet neglected field.
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The challenges of providing housing that sustains its inhabitants socially, economically and environmentally, and is inherently sustainable for the planet as a whole, requires a…
Abstract
Purpose
The challenges of providing housing that sustains its inhabitants socially, economically and environmentally, and is inherently sustainable for the planet as a whole, requires a holistic systems approach that considers the product, the supply chain and the market, as well as the interdependencies within and between each of these process points. The purpose of the research is to identify factors that impact the sustainability performance outcomes of residential dwellings and the diffusion of sustainable housing into the mainstream housing market.
Design/methodology/approach
This research represents a snapshot in time: a recording of the experiences of seven Australian families who are “early adopters” of leading edge sustainable homes within a specific sustainable urban development in subtropical Queensland. The research adopts a qualitative approach to compare the goals and expectations of these families with the actual sustainability aspects incorporated into their homes and lifestyles.
Findings
The results show that the “product” – a sustainable house – is difficult to define; that sustainability outcomes were strongly influenced by individual concerns and the contextual urban environment; and that economic comparisons with “standard” housing are challenging.
Research limitations/implications
This qualitative study is based on seven families (13 individuals) in an Ecovillage in southeast Queensland. Although the findings make a significant contribution to knowledge, they may not be generalisable to the wider population.
Originality/value
The experiences of these early adopter families suggest that the housing market and regulators play critical roles, through actions and language, in limiting or enhancing the diffusion of sustainable housing into the market.
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Laurie Brown, Annie Abello, Ben Phillips and Ann Harding
Sakthi Mahenthiran, Robert Mackoy and Jane L. Y. Terpstra-Tong
This study examines how budgetary support (BS), teamwork, and organizational commitment to employees (OCE) affect firm performance across two countries, Malaysia and the United…
Abstract
This study examines how budgetary support (BS), teamwork, and organizational commitment to employees (OCE) affect firm performance across two countries, Malaysia and the United States. By surveying senior managers of 165 small and medium enterprises, this study finds that teamwork and BS each has a direct effect on OCE and firm performance. Further, results indicate that OCE mediates the relationship between BS, teamwork, and firm performance. In Malaysia, but not in the United States, we find that teamwork affects performance directly. In the United States, but not in Malaysia, we find that BS affects performance, and there is an interaction effect between BS and management influence. We attribute the effects to the different national cultures and social-exchange relations and highlight the contributions to the budgeting research, organizational commitment literature, and to practice.
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Linda Miller, Tracey Ann Wood, Jackie Halligan, Laurie Keller, Claire Hutchinson‐Pike, Diana Kornbrot and Julie deLotz
The rise of all forms of information systems has been one of the major factors affecting the nature of work over the last decade. This article reports on research that suggests…
Abstract
The rise of all forms of information systems has been one of the major factors affecting the nature of work over the last decade. This article reports on research that suggests that whilst females may now gain more experience of computers and information systems at an earlier age, this does not appear to lead to more favourable evaluations of jobs involving computers. If women overcome initial negative perceptions of jobs involving computers then the particular style, manner, skills or approach that are seen as prerequisite for success, can constitute an additional barrier over and above that of the “glass ceiling”. The study looked at factors influencing initial attitudes towards computers, female attitudes to jobs involving computers and factors influencing self‐selection into gender‐typical and atypical jobs, including IT‐based jobs. The article considers the actions required from managers in many roles, including those with responsibility for staff development, marketing and recruitment.
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Emily Barnes and Christopher Gearin
This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to investigate the perspectives of 11 leaders in higher education. Specifically, we addressed the following research…
Abstract
This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to investigate the perspectives of 11 leaders in higher education. Specifically, we addressed the following research question: How do millennial leaders approach leadership in higher education? The study framework included adaptive leadership as a guide to understand the perspectives of newer leaders within higher education institutions. Our results support a relationship between adaptive leadership and millennial leaders in higher education. They also highlight the importance of leadership mentoring in developing a person’s capacity to adapt to constantly changing environments.
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Higher-education institutions have an increasing responsibility to foster “global citizenship,” enabling students to recognize injustice and pursue equity. As a first step to…
Abstract
Higher-education institutions have an increasing responsibility to foster “global citizenship,” enabling students to recognize injustice and pursue equity. As a first step to creating a larger “hub” for global justice, McMaster University set out to develop an interdisciplinary course on the topic. With high-level institutional support, a cross-campus, interdisciplinary course design team was formed to further investigate effective pedagogy. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) was considered a foundation for other learning strategies within the course because of its evidenced ability to instigate a process of “learning by doing,” requiring students to both self-direct their education and develop their capacities as independent learners. To provide a further evidence base, a student member of the committee also conducted a pan-Ontario study surveying relevant instructors on successful global justice pedagogies. Collectively, these findings were integrated to inform the development of “Global Justice Inquiry,” which is characterized by its small course size, open-inquiry style, and engagement of alumni, community partners, and faculty from across campus. This chapter details the process followed to develop this course, presenting it as a model that might be helpful to others looking to develop interdisciplinary inquiry offerings.