Rick Wiggins, Jeph Remley and Tom Klingler
The purpose of this paper is to describe the creation of a content management system (CMS) for the Kent State University Libraries & Media Services web site. It describes the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the creation of a content management system (CMS) for the Kent State University Libraries & Media Services web site. It describes the requirements for the site and for the CMS, the CMS architecture and components.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper describes the genesis and architecture of a locally‐written CMS that is strongly focused on metadata.
Findings
A review of local, library‐specific needs combined with a review of the product universe resulted in the decision to write a local CMS.
Practical implications
Includes enumerated goals and requirements for a database‐driven and metadata‐focused web site.
Originality/value
Describes the creation of tools for data management in a locally‐written CMS.
Details
Keywords
To introduce the special theme issue on “Content management systems”.
Abstract
Purpose
To introduce the special theme issue on “Content management systems”.
Design/methodology/approach
Each of the articles in the theme are described in brief.
Findings
The articles cover a range of topics from implementation to interoperability, object‐oriented database management systems, and research about meeting user needs.
Originality/value
Libraries have only just begun to realize that their web presence is potentially as rich and complex as their online catalogs, and that it needs an equal amount of management to keep it under control.
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Vincent Bagire, Jolly Byarugaba and Janet Kyogabiirwe
The purpose of this paper is to examine the management and benefits of meetings so as to draw conclusions on their effectiveness in organizations given the increasing discontent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the management and benefits of meetings so as to draw conclusions on their effectiveness in organizations given the increasing discontent about their set up.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was a cross-sectional survey, data were collected from 325 respondents in 22 service organizations in Kampala, using a questionnaire and participant observations; the instrument was tested for reliability and analysis done using descriptive and statistical techniques.
Findings
The key finding was that policy regarding meetings and reasons for convening them jointly account for 57 percent variations in the benefits organizations have. The way meetings are conducted was found to have no significant effect, contrary to anecdotal evidences. The internal and external contextual factors did not affect the effectiveness of meetings. In general meetings have benefited organizations but the discontent on how they are managed is still high.
Research limitations/implications
The lack of analytical and local literature on the study variables limited this study. There were also methodological challenges especially operationalization of variables, sampling and choice of respondents.
Practical implications
The study underpins policy as a key factor for effectiveness of meetings; the literature supported this account. For governance boards there is need to review policy on meetings; and for managers, the paper emphasizes the need for improving how meetings are convened, conducted and the follow up action. The study has provided rich ground for scholars; the authors have extended the debate on meetings, brought into view an African context and made it possible for further studies.
Social implications
Meetings involve many people in the organization and affect entire operations. There are critical personal factors that are pertinent in the outcome of meetings. The finding that personal factors do not have a significant relationship with effectiveness of meetings should not be applauded till further investigations and conceptualization is done in similar contexts. There are social implications on if meetings are not managed well as the authors have established like time wastage, employee motivation and poor management among others.
Originality/value
Many papers that the authors accessed on meetings were on organizational experiences from western countries, the authors have made an original focus on Uganda and underpinned the debate on management development in Africa. The authors have also examined and provided an empirical basis for understanding effectiveness of meetings using key factors of policy, preparation, conduct and contextual factors.
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ALTHOUGH the active European and Asiatic land war has not begun so far as the bulk of the English are concerned and there are no visible signs of war's ending, advantage has been…
Abstract
ALTHOUGH the active European and Asiatic land war has not begun so far as the bulk of the English are concerned and there are no visible signs of war's ending, advantage has been taken by many bodies to outline their after‐war proposals. Stale as we know that simple statement to be, we want to insist again that no one should be deflected for long from this reconstruction problem on the grounds that the decisive phases of war are still before us. Improbable as it seems, peace might “break out” at any time and might be catastrophic if food, clothing, homes and employment were not available on a scale at present scarcely dreamed. All the reports on reconstruction we have seen—of the Labour Party, N.A.L.G.O., the Educationists, as well as the more national ones, the Beveridge, the Uthwatt and those, so far as they exist, of the political parties, have common factors. The imperative of the moment is to relate these and to admit without party bias, the grounds of agreement so that some sort of work may begin. If this is not done—and who is to do it?—the whole of reform may be suffocated in a mass of indigestible verbiage. Libraries are vital, we say and believe, but in the general welter of words the many words of the excellent McColvin Report will not have fair consideration we fear. Our readers know that a strong committee of the Library Association has been giving assiduous study to the much shorter statement which is to embody library aspirations. We hope that it may not be long delayed, although we recognize that undue haste might lead to prolonged repentance.
The newspaper headlines and TV commentaries are nearly unanimous. There is a crisis of confidence in Corporate America.
Cameo Lyn West and Carolyn L. Sandoval
Research I universities are increasingly requiring a “diversity” course as part of the general education curriculum. In this chapter, the authors explore how diversity requirement…
Abstract
Research I universities are increasingly requiring a “diversity” course as part of the general education curriculum. In this chapter, the authors explore how diversity requirement course (DRC) proposals are framed at their institution and share how instructors at their university are framing their own student learning outcomes for these courses: from the perspective of multiculturalism or from the perspective of social justice? The authors describe how a lens of multicultural education frames discussions of diversity as appreciation, awareness, and tolerance, and contend that this approach alone is not sufficient to meet either the intent of DRC initiatives or the goals of equity and inclusion in academia. The authors argue that social justice education (SJE) is a more appropriate instructional framework for DRCs, as it is a humanizing approach that necessitates the crafting of student learning outcomes which specifically address actionable strategies toward opposing marginalization. The authors include selected results from a campus-wide DRC outcomes survey and separate focus group feedback, emphasizing the critical assessment and campus climate aspects of these data. Finally, the authors examine how their faculty development programs and resources are currently assisting DRC instructors with identifying and meeting their needs, and how other faculty developers can expand their support structures in the future to align with the philosophy of SJE.
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The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources and research and computer skills…
Abstract
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources and research and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the twenty‐first to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1994. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.
J. David Spiceland, Jerry E. Trapnell, Michael L. Behrens and Abdel Kablan
This article reports the results of tests used to detect shifts in the systematic risk of multinational corporations concurrent with regulations mandating new financial reporting…
Abstract
This article reports the results of tests used to detect shifts in the systematic risk of multinational corporations concurrent with regulations mandating new financial reporting requirements for foreign currency translations. Results indicate significant beta shifts, suggesting that management undertook specific suboptimal actions to counteract the effects of the regulations and that those actions were responded to by the marketplace in the form of a reassessment of systematic risk. It is further indicated that the market reaction varies according to both the location and magnitude of firms' foreign investments.