For the history teacher, the next 10 to 15 years will contain important elements of continuity, as well as interesting new opportunities. Much of today's information landscape…
Abstract
For the history teacher, the next 10 to 15 years will contain important elements of continuity, as well as interesting new opportunities. Much of today's information landscape will not be so much supplanted by new technology as supplemented by it. Some opportunities probably won't be pursued because of faculty conservatism and also because of considerable unevenness in the ability of different institutions to pay for parts of the new technology. Still, many history teachers will be confronting more information resources that are available for their (and their students') work, in a much greater variety of formats. A history faculty member must become even more of a coordinator, helping to arrange his or her students' encounters with the resources they need to do history. This article is adapted from Teaching and Technology: The Impact of Unlimited Information Access on Classroom Technology (Ann Arbor: Pierian Press, 1991); for information on the book, please see page 82.
The task of the financial manager of a library is a formidable one. Wacht defines a financial manager as a person who manages the resources of an economic entity for the purposes…
Abstract
The task of the financial manager of a library is a formidable one. Wacht defines a financial manager as a person who manages the resources of an economic entity for the purposes of influencing the future outcome of its operations. The financial manager plays the major role in planning and measuring the organization's needs for funds, raising the necessary funds, and making certain that the funds acquired are properly employed. A financial manager must also estimate the future cash flow associated with individual projects, in addition to the funds necessary for the total operation of a library. Other duties include the evaluation of prospective new investments and programs on the organization's operations.
As I once again go through the end‐of‐year analysis of my acquisitions accounts, it strikes me how much time I (and many others on the library staff) spend on accounting related…
Abstract
As I once again go through the end‐of‐year analysis of my acquisitions accounts, it strikes me how much time I (and many others on the library staff) spend on accounting related to the acquisition of information. The library profession, like most, has developed a specialized language to help its members talk to each other. The information acquisition staff has to be adept at translating library terms into terms used by the business community they deal with. There are a number of accounting contact points in the acquisition process which are critical for almost every level of staff in the library.
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…
Abstract
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.
Libraries and scholars face more frequent problems with and decisions about plagiarism than in the past. This article aims to look at complex cases where plagiarism may have…
Abstract
Purpose
Libraries and scholars face more frequent problems with and decisions about plagiarism than in the past. This article aims to look at complex cases where plagiarism may have occurred.
Design/methodology/approach
The method is anthropological and looks at specific cases, in which the situations are real but the actors have been fictionalised to protect identities.
Findings
Plagiarism tools, while invaluable for discovering potential problems, can also expose cases where judgments depend on complex circumstances.
Originality/value
The goal is to show areas where ambiguity in plagiarism cases exists.
Details
Keywords
This paper is devoted to the question of what motivates man in his pursuit of economic activities. Particular attention is given to the notion that economic activities of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is devoted to the question of what motivates man in his pursuit of economic activities. Particular attention is given to the notion that economic activities of individuals may not be motivated by their self‐interest alone.
Design/methodology/approach
Using literary analysis, the paper first reconsiders the role of self‐interest and non‐selfish motives in the historical schools. Then it is demonstrated that at least some non‐selfish motives were incorporated in the voluntary exchange theory of public economy. Next it is shown that during the evolution of the theory of public goods these non‐selfish motives were lost and that the modern theory of public goods rests entirely on the self‐interest hypothesis. However, over the last two decades results of public goods experiments have cast considerable doubt on the pure self‐interest hypothesis.
Findings
A major finding of this paper is that several non‐selfish motives of man that show up in recent public goods experiments were already discussed by representatives of the historical schools.
Research limitations/implications
An agenda for future research on the topic is sketched in the final section.
Practical implications
Practical implications include that the allocation of many goods, not just public goods, may improve if agents pay more attention to non‐selfish motives of man.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the existing body of related writings by linking developments in the evolution of theory of public goods, in particular recent findings from public goods experiments, to a specific aspect already advocated by representatives of the historical schools, that is, the notion that man in his pursuit of economic activities is not motivated by his self‐interest alone. To this extent, the paper is of interest for researchers working on public goods theory, experimental economics and the history of economic thought.