David T. Gamage, Peter Sipple and Peter Partridge
Reports on a research project undertaken in 1992‐93, involving 66 state schools which aimed to ascertain the overall effectiveness of school‐based management in the Australian…
Abstract
Reports on a research project undertaken in 1992‐93, involving 66 state schools which aimed to ascertain the overall effectiveness of school‐based management in the Australian state of Victoria. Discusses the evolution of democratic devolution and reviews previous research.
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To provide an in-depth survey and review of innovation in library and information services (LIS) and to identify future trends in innovative research and its practical application…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an in-depth survey and review of innovation in library and information services (LIS) and to identify future trends in innovative research and its practical application in the field.
Methodology/approach
An in-depth review and summation of relevant literature over the last twenty years, along with an analysis and summary of the other papers in the volume.
Findings
Innovation in library and information work varies between the evolutionary and the discontinuous. A taxonomy of innovatory approaches to development and provision in the sector is provided, along with a detailed listing of the key elements of successful and not-so-successful innovative practice.
Research limitations/implications
The work is dependent on existing literature rather than direct empirical work. However, because it draws together all major aspects of the topic, it has the potential to be used as a springboard for further generic studies and also specific programmes of work.
Practical implications
The need for innovation in LIS will be ever more pressing. The present chapter provides a necessary and rigorous overview of the necessary elements required for success in this area. It will be useful as a reference tool for intending researchers in library and information provision in a wide range of environments.
Originality/value
Because the chapter brings together a substantial body of information on the topic of innovation, it provides a comprehensive study of major developments and likely future trends in the field.
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The year has been notable for the publication of the first volume of the British Union‐Catalogue of Periodicals. Under the agreement with the publishers, Messrs. Butterworth &…
Abstract
The year has been notable for the publication of the first volume of the British Union‐Catalogue of Periodicals. Under the agreement with the publishers, Messrs. Butterworth & Co., Ltd., the work will be issued in four volumes; and this first volume, covering the letters A‐C, was published simultaneously here and in the United States on 3rd October 1955.
Diane L. Barlow and Ann E. Prentice
This chapter presents a brief history of the James Partridge Award from its founding in 1997 to the present day.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter presents a brief history of the James Partridge Award from its founding in 1997 to the present day.
Methodology/approach
The history of the James Partridge Award is told as a narrative account. Both authors were personally involved in the founding and early development of the award.
Findings
The James Partridge Award has celebrated the accomplishments of African American information professionals since the first award was presented in 1998. The award is an important part of the Conference on Inclusion and Diversity in Library and Information Science.
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The primary intention of this research paper is to systemically identify and discuss the longitudinal embedding of the nature of the changing role of first‐tier managers (FTMs) �…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary intention of this research paper is to systemically identify and discuss the longitudinal embedding of the nature of the changing role of first‐tier managers (FTMs) – drawing particular attention to the trends, typical characteristics and complexities associated with their role.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper carried out a literature survey using a long‐cycle approach – a systemic and in‐depth survey of the literature from the early Industrial Revolution era to the twenty‐first century in order to pin‐point the main phases of the transition of the FTM's people management role. The author's four‐factor framework for decision making vis‐à‐vis the role of FTMs was used to trace whether the characteristics and issues linked with the role today are typical of those associated with the role in the past, and the degree to which lessons have been learned.
Findings
Importantly, the long‐cycle analysis revealed that the FTM's role has been through three core phases from the early industrial revolution era, and is currently in the fourth phase. That is, the manager‐in‐charge, the manager‐in‐the‐middle, the manager‐on‐the‐margin and the manager‐in‐charge‐plus. Whilst drawing attention to the complexities associated with the evolution process, the cycle shows that it is possible to conceptualise each phase and identify the key factors linked to the FTM's changing role successively. This drew attention to the fact that the success or failure of this role can be determined by five key factors, which characterise it – definition of the role, training/development of FTMs, perception/attitude of the primary stakeholders of the role (including FTMs), broader organisational support of FTMs (whether lacking or present), and their performance/performance management. Furthermore, the findings showed that, if these key factors are not considered from an in‐depth historical perspective, the FTM's people management role will remain a major organisational dilemma.
Research limitations/implications
The literature survey was quite general, although the literature on the manufacturing industry and the UK are the main focus.
Originality/value
The paper establishes the trends in the management of FTMs and their people management role using a long‐cycle approach. To date, few integrated studies on people management devolution to FTMs have been undertaken that seek to identify the key phases of the transition and the complexities associated with the evolution of the role during these times. Therefore, the paper addresses the imbalance by reflecting on the nature of the FTM's people management role over a long period, and developing a conceptual framework for pin‐pointing and analysing the problems faced in managing FTMs strategically.
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It is eminently fitting that the Greeks who gave us their word for “speaking fair” should also have supplied us with the ultimate exemplification of its use. They were wont to…
Abstract
It is eminently fitting that the Greeks who gave us their word for “speaking fair” should also have supplied us with the ultimate exemplification of its use. They were wont to refer to the Furies, a group of avenging goddesses, as the Eumenides or “The Fair Ones.” Since the Furies were imagined as having a batlike shape which was adorned with a profusion of snakish hair, they were not fair at all, but rather terrifying, intimidating in the highest degree. To euphemize a phenomenon is to call it something other than what it most particularly is, anything at all provided the new designation is gentler, milder, less offensive, less threatening. It is even possible, as in the case of the Furies renamed Fair Ones, to effect a 180‐degree reversal of meaning.
THE Reference Department of Paisley Central Library today occupies the room which was the original Public Library built in 1870 and opened to the public in April 1871. Since that…
Abstract
THE Reference Department of Paisley Central Library today occupies the room which was the original Public Library built in 1870 and opened to the public in April 1871. Since that date two extensions to the building have taken place. The first, in 1882, provided a separate room for both Reference and Lending libraries; the second, opened in 1938, provided a new Children's Department. Together with the original cost of the building, these extensions were entirely financed by Sir Peter Coats, James Coats of Auchendrane and Daniel Coats respectively. The people of Paisley indeed owe much to this one family, whose generosity was great. They not only provided the capital required but continued to donate many useful and often extremely valuable works of reference over the many years that followed. In 1975 Paisley Library was incorporated in the new Renfrew District library service.
LAZY LIBRARIANS London's Underground, and particularly the central section, has long provided me with a raggle taggle selection of provincial and London suburban newspapers. Now…
Abstract
LAZY LIBRARIANS London's Underground, and particularly the central section, has long provided me with a raggle taggle selection of provincial and London suburban newspapers. Now its litter bins and train seats provide shoe‐string NLW with the equivalent of a news cutting service from which are gleaned all sorts of local library curiosa.
Jason Whalley and Peter Curwen
COVID-19 accelerated change within the UK retail market. It encouraged the growth of online shopping, providing the necessary demand for grocers to invest in their operations, and…
Abstract
COVID-19 accelerated change within the UK retail market. It encouraged the growth of online shopping, providing the necessary demand for grocers to invest in their operations, and transformed the economics of their businesses. As innovative new business models emerged, some existing retailers collapsed leading to significant changes on the high street. Landlords were also affected. As some retail tenants struggled to pay their rents, other parts of the sector prospered and sought additional warehouse capacity to cope with rising demand. Not only does this illustrate how different parts of the retail sector faired during COVID-19, but it also demonstrates how the move online has resulted in the emergence of new opportunities.
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SO much controversy has raged around the subject of newsrooms in the past two years, that librarians are, as a rule, utterly tired of it, and the appearance of still another…
Abstract
SO much controversy has raged around the subject of newsrooms in the past two years, that librarians are, as a rule, utterly tired of it, and the appearance of still another article upon the subject is not calculated to tone down the general spirit of vexation. It requires no little courage to appear in the arena in this year of Grace, openly championing those departments of our institutions which were originally intended to convey the news of the day in the broadest manner.