The paper aims to respond to three questions: Are Canadian organizations committed to sustainability? Are there any links between sustainability and records management and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to respond to three questions: Are Canadian organizations committed to sustainability? Are there any links between sustainability and records management and archives programs? And, to what extent are records managers, archivists and technologists engaged in climate action? The paper also provides background on climate change in the Canadian and global contexts, defines relevant terminology, and presents a literature review that positions sustainability, adaptation and mitigation in relation to records management and archives.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on qualitative participatory research involving expert interviews in 24 government agencies, universities and businesses located in 10 Canadian cities.
Findings
The organizations in the study are committed to sustainability and have developed significant programs and activities in support of this aim. Although the records managers, archivists and technologists interviewed are involved in related activities, there is a gap between what they are doing as a matter of course and the wider sustainability efforts of their parent organizations. As resources are tight, sustainability measurement entails more work and there are no real incentives to add sustainability components to programs, the participants are focused on delivering the programs they are hired to do. As a result, there is a sense of serendipity around outcomes that do occur – “sometimes, green is the outcome”.
Research limitations/implications
This paper presents the results of research conducted at 24 organizations in 10 Canadian cities, a small but meaningful sample that provides a springboard for considering climate action in records and archives. Based on the discussion, there is a need for a records and archives agenda that directly responds the United Nation's climate action targets: strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters; integrating climate change measures into policies, strategies and planning; and improving education, awareness-raising and human institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. In support of this aim, the paper charts possible material topics from the literature and compares these with research findings.
Practical implications
From a top-down perspective, organizations need to expand sustainability programs to address all business areas, including records and archives. From a bottom-up perspective, records managers and archivists should include adaptation in disaster planning and consider the program benefits of developing economic, environmental and social sustainability initiatives to mitigate climate change.
Originality/value
The paper defines resilience, sustainability, adaption and mitigation and positions these terms in records management and archives. The paper examines how records managers, archivists and technologists think about sustainability; where sustainability intersects with records and archives work; and how records managers and archivists can engage in climate action.
Details
Keywords
Lois Evans, Patricia Franks and Hsuanwei Michelle Chen
This study aims to examine how 20 local governments in Canada and the USA operationalize the government–citizen trust relationship through the administration of social media by…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how 20 local governments in Canada and the USA operationalize the government–citizen trust relationship through the administration of social media by answering two questions: Can local governments use social media to increase citizen trust? and if local governments can use social media, what can be learned about the administration of social media that results in an increase in citizen trust of government?
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a normative belief that increasing the trustworthiness of government is a desired outcome, the working proposition is that social media may offer a low-barrier method for engaging citizens and supporting trust-based relationships, if social media programs are administered in a way that operationalizes this objective. Using content analysis of data collected from interview transcripts and documentary sources, this exploratory, process-oriented study emphasizes the social, organizational and functional contexts of social media and social media as records.
Findings
The study found that most cities had extensive programs featuring multiple accounts on a number of common platforms. The cities maintained tight control over content, account creation and employee and audience participation to ensure compliance with federal and provincial or state legislation and to mitigate technology and content-based risks. The cities used social media to broadcast information, respond to service requests and provide issue management. Social media results were measured sporadically on an ad hoc basis for operational purposes and only two cities had dedicated procedures in place for managing social media as records. Contrary to previous research, this study indicates that fiduciary trust relationships do require trust by the agent (i.e. institution) and the principal (i.e. citizen).
Research limitations/implications
To increase generalizability, an effort was made to select cities that were demographically and geographically diverse by selecting a range of population sizes and locations. However, selection was skewed towards cities with well-developed social media programs, and as a result, over half of the cities were national, provincial or state capitals or larger population centres. While these cities experienced economic advantages, the participants in the study identified challenges around resourcing and capacity, and their responses are expected to be of value to cities operating under similar constraints. Additionally, this study represents a point in time, as social media use at the local governments continued to expand and evolve during and after the data collection period.
Practical implications
This paper identifies three scenarios where social media content from local government accounts should be managed as records, including: the documentation of incidents, the on-going collection of city content from high-profile accounts and the “on demand” collection of citizens’ content where cities have asked for citizen input on topics or issues.
Social implications
This study provides an in-depth characterization of social media administration and use by 20 local governments in Canada and the USA. Considering the progress made by cities in e-government using their websites as a base, cities can develop greater capacity for open government, meaning wider participation by citizens in the decisions that affect them on a daily basis. To achieve goals of transparency, accountability and civic participation, cities will need to develop capacity around social media measurement, reporting and procedures for managing social media as records.
Originality/value
In providing a detailed and complete description of social media use in 20 cities in two countries, this study moves beyond a compliance- and requirement-driven approach to consider the larger question of government–citizen trust and the relevance of records within this relationship.
Details
Keywords
BARBARA B. ALEXANDER and BILL PAGE
The Sterling C. Evans Library, Texas A & M University, holds over 3,000,000 microforms. As many of the Evans microform collections are not catalogued, access to them can be…
Abstract
The Sterling C. Evans Library, Texas A & M University, holds over 3,000,000 microforms. As many of the Evans microform collections are not catalogued, access to them can be perplexing to patrons. To ease that problem, the microtext staff created Guide to the Microform Collections in the Sterling C. Evans Library, which describes the microform materials currently housed in six different departments of the Library. Entries are arranged alphabetically by title and are identified by format. The Guide allows patrons to examine a scope note for each set, to discover indexes which enable efficient use of various sets, and to search for microform materials by subject. Call numbers for microform materials, locations, indexes with appropriate call numbers, and subject headings are integral parts of each listing. In addition to describing the current collection, the Guide provides an effective means of assessing collection strengths or weaknesses. The article presents information on selecting materials for inclusion in the Guide, content and form of entries, and updating the guide.
In order to determine the feasibility of offering free online searches to ndergraduates at Texas A&M University's Evans Library, the authors offered free searches to selected…
Abstract
In order to determine the feasibility of offering free online searches to ndergraduates at Texas A&M University's Evans Library, the authors offered free searches to selected Technical Writing classes in the Spring Semester of 1983. The response was surprisingly low, and the offer was extended to Summer Semester classes. As a result of this research project, the authors believe that free or partially‐subsidized searches can be offered, and they suggest ways to make the service available to undergraduates.
Lois James, Michael S. Goldstein, Peter Lecy and Stephen Mase
To add to the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between stress and job performance in policing, we monitored police officers' physiology using Hexoskin shirts while…
Abstract
Purpose
To add to the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between stress and job performance in policing, we monitored police officers' physiology using Hexoskin shirts while they responded to simulated scenarios.
Design/methodology/approach
We employed mixed repeated measures (baseline, intervention, post-intervention), between groups (treatment vs control group) design. Using this approach, our aims were (1) to determine whether an individualized physiological stress profile—a combination of heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), sympathetic nervous system (SNS) index and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) index—could be developed for each participant; (2) to investigate the association between physiological stress and scenario performance and (3) to pilot test an intervention for decreasing physiological stress in real time.
Findings
We found that it was possible to individualize physiological stress profiles for each participant that alerted us when the participant was becoming stressed. We also found that physiological stress was significantly and negatively/inversely associated with scenario performance. However, our intervention to try and decrease participants' stress in real time was not successful. Several key lessons can be taken from our attempt that could inform future efforts in this area.
Research limitations/implications
This was a small pilot study, precluding generalizability of results. Furthermore, our intervention was simplistic and potentially affected by an experimenter effect. Future research should explore better ways to intervene when officers are becoming physiologically stressed to help them overcome stress in real time and safeguard against the cumulative effects of stress on health and performance.
Originality/value
This research adds to the body of knowledge on physiological stress and job-task performance in police officers.
Details
Keywords
On April 2, 1987, IBM unveiled a series of long‐awaited new hardware and software products. The new computer line, dubbed the Personal Systems 30, 50, 60, and 80, seems destined…
Abstract
On April 2, 1987, IBM unveiled a series of long‐awaited new hardware and software products. The new computer line, dubbed the Personal Systems 30, 50, 60, and 80, seems destined to replace the XT and AT models that are the mainstay of the firm's current personal computer offerings. The numerous changes in hardware and software, while representing improvements on previous IBM technology, will require users purchasing additional computers to make difficult choices as to which of the two IBM architectures to adopt.
Harald Pechlaner and Julian Philipp
In a world that is more competitive on a global scale, technologically advanced and demanding than ever before, global situations such as climate change, poverty and inequality…
Abstract
In a world that is more competitive on a global scale, technologically advanced and demanding than ever before, global situations such as climate change, poverty and inequality, health, migration or security are challenging for decision-makers in political, social or environmental contexts. The interplay of these and other tendencies is referred to as wicked problems, as their increasing complexity can often not be understood or distinguished anymore. Too many different crises, such as climate, economic, political or societal crises, are challenging the vulnerability and resilience of political, economic and community-based systems. Accordingly, focussing on battling single challenges without considering the bigger picture or interconnected processes or circumstances has not led to satisfactory results throughout the past decades. In a tourism industry that is traditionally closely interlinked with numerous sectors or stakeholder groups and therefore often associated with these problems, those in responsibility are particularly required to consider various interests and utilise the synergy potentials between the tourism and non-tourism sector. Accordingly, integrative tourism policy-making needs to include many political areas that are relevant within tourism as well as beyond, such as urban or regional development. As a holistic spatial development approach, the ‘ecosystem of hospitality’ (EoH) can facilitate the identification of interfaces between tourism and these political areas and help to foster a cross-stakeholder collaboration.
Details
Keywords
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) causes approximately seven thousand infant deaths in the United States every year. SIDS is the sudden and unexpected death of an apparently…
Abstract
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) causes approximately seven thousand infant deaths in the United States every year. SIDS is the sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant; it is the most common cause of death in infants after their first week of life. Also known as “crib death” or “cot death,” it typically occurs at night when an infant is sleeping.