Multi‐user systems fall into two main categories — shared single processors and networked microcomputers. Both have significantly different features but one they should have in…
Abstract
Multi‐user systems fall into two main categories — shared single processors and networked microcomputers. Both have significantly different features but one they should have in common is the ability to provide satisfactory record layout safeguards. Practical experience has shown that a shared processor system offering true multi‐user, multi‐tasking facilities provides a more robust approach than that of networking microcomputers for normal business applications.
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“New leadership” studies often suggest that transformational leadership in particular produces desirable leadership outcomes. However, few studies have demonstrated a direct link…
Abstract
“New leadership” studies often suggest that transformational leadership in particular produces desirable leadership outcomes. However, few studies have demonstrated a direct link between the exercise of a particular type of leadership and organisational effectiveness. Efforts to establish such a link are hampered by the absence of a generally agreed definition of organisational effectiveness. This is particularly true in higher education where attempts to develop models of organisational effectiveness applicable to universities have been sparse despite worldwide calls for universities to demonstrate “value for money” performance. This paper examines the relationship between transformational/transactional leadership and university organisational effectiveness. In the course of the examination, the paper indicates possible modifications to the original conceptualisation of transformational leadership. The paper also argues for university leadership that is self‐reflective and capable of utilising the array of leadership characteristics subsumed under the transformational and transactional leadership notions.
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Norman Vaughan and Steven Prediger
The purpose of this research study was to investigate the role of an inquiry-based approach to learning in a pre-service teacher education program. All students enrolled in an…
Abstract
The purpose of this research study was to investigate the role of an inquiry-based approach to learning in a pre-service teacher education program. All students enrolled in an educational technology course during the winter 2013 and 2014 semesters completed an inquiry-based learning project related to their future teaching practice. Through blog postings, an online survey, and a face-to-face focus group the study participants indicated that this approach to learning is useful when teachers provide a big picture orientation, use clear guidelines, scaffold the process, ensure that students make careful and informed topic selection, facilitate weekly technology instruction related to the project, and incorporate digital storytelling to convey the results.
Danielle Mayes, Sarah Victoria Ramsden, Louise Braham, Zoe Whitaker and Mark Norburn
The purpose of this paper is to explore service users’ experience of community meetings (CMs) within a high secure setting.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore service users’ experience of community meetings (CMs) within a high secure setting.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative design was employed in which focus groups were used to capture service users’ experience of CMs. In all, 12 focus groups comprising a total of 27 participants were carried out using a semi-structured interview schedule. Data were analysed using thematic and saliency analysis, identifying themes which were pertinent to the research aims.
Findings
Positive experiences reported by service users included a safe space to explore ward issues and develop skills, with some viewing the meeting as a therapeutic forum in which to facilitate personal growth.
Research limitations/implications
There were a wide range of patient presentations and views. Furthermore, only 20 per cent of the patient population were included within this study.
Practical implications
A number of recommendations have been identified that can have positive implications for patients (quality of life and recovery), staff (resolving conflicts and problem-solving) and the overall therapeutic milieu of the ward.
Originality/value
There are no reviews looking at CMs within the last decade. This paper brings the understanding up to date to allow the development of this potentially positive tool.
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In light of the contemporary UK policy framework elevating neo-mutualism and communitarian ethics within social policy, the purpose of this paper is to report on the delivery of…
Abstract
Purpose
In light of the contemporary UK policy framework elevating neo-mutualism and communitarian ethics within social policy, the purpose of this paper is to report on the delivery of an EU project Older People for Older People that tested the proposition that older people in remote and rural communities can contribute to providing services for others in their age group through the creation of sustainable social enterprises – either in “co-production” with statutory public service providers or as new, stand-alone services.
Design/methodology/approach
In the context of a literature based theoretical exploration of the nature of “sustainability”, the paper reports on a series of rural community “case study” social enterprises (e.g. community transport schemes, care hubs, cafés and a radio station; “drop in” and outreach services (including alternative therapies and counselling); ITC training, helping, and friendship schemes; volunteering support and history and culture projects).
Findings
From this, the authors highlight both conducive and problematic circumstances that are intrinsic to community led social enterprise and suggest that sustainability is unlikely to be “spontaneous”. Rather, it will require a complex mix of supportive inputs that is at odds with the innate liberalism of entrepreneurship. The authors also offer a more nuanced conceptualisation of sustainability that moves beyond a simple economic or temporal notion and suggest that the “success” of social enterprises, their worth and sustainability, must be assessed in more multifaceted terms. The authors conclude by reflecting on the nature of this ground in the wider context of the “Big Society” movement in the UK and highlight the inherent tension between “Big Society” rhetoric, the support needed to establish and sustain localised social enterprises, and the expected agency of communities.
Originality/value
The paper is original in three respects: it develops an in-depth empirical consideration of social enterprise sustainability; it does this within a broad policy and theoretical context; and it specifically looks at social enterprise development and delivery in relation to older people and rural contexts.
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Anne Ramsden, David Turpie and Jonathan Rea
A case study is described of how the Open University Library is developing a pilot departmental Intranet with the open source package, Zope and the Content Management Framework…
Abstract
A case study is described of how the Open University Library is developing a pilot departmental Intranet with the open source package, Zope and the Content Management Framework toolkit. The approach is to manage and share content held in a variety of formats, develop workflow for creating and approving new content before it is published to the site, separate content from presentation in order to support easy maintenance and consistency, and locate information through metadata and full text retrieval. Designing the Intranet involved content mapping and identifying library staff’s working needs before developing the structure and site framework. The Zope CMF has proved to be a highly flexible set of tools for creating a knowledge sharing Intranet, but the drawbacks are lack of documentation and training in the UK.
G.G. Chowdhury and Sudatta Chowdhury
Digital library research has attracted much attention in the most developed, and in a number of developing, countries. While many digital library research projects are funded by…
Abstract
Digital library research has attracted much attention in the most developed, and in a number of developing, countries. While many digital library research projects are funded by government agencies and national and international bodies, some are run by specific academic and research institutions and libraries, either individually or collaboratively. While some digital library projects, such as the ELINOR project in the UK, the first two phases of the eLib (Electronic Libraries) Programme in the UK, and the first phase of DLI (Digital Library Initiative) in the US, are now over, a number of other projects are currently under way in different parts of the world. Beginning with the definitions and characteristics of digital libraries, as proposed by various researchers, this paper provides brief accounts of some major digital library projects that are currently in progress, or are just completed, in different parts of the world. There follows a review of digital library research under sixteen major headings. Literature for this review has been identified through a search on LISA CD‐ROM database, and a Dialog search on library and information science databases, and the resulting output has been supplemented by a scan of the various issues of D‐Lib Magazine and Ariadne, and the websites of various organisations and institutions engaged in digital library research. The review indicates that we have learned a lot through digital library research within a short span of time. However, a number of issues are yet to be resolved. The paper ends with an indication of the research issues that need to be addressed and resolved in the near future in order to bring the digital library from the researcher‘s laboratory to the real life environment.
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Grace Wong, Steven Dellaportas and Barry J. Cooper
The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications for student learning when accounting education is delivered in the student’s non-native language. It examines the impact…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications for student learning when accounting education is delivered in the student’s non-native language. It examines the impact on learning arising from the different components of English language competencies, namely, listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
Design/methodology/approach
The data are drawn from focus group interviews with students from Mainland China undertaking an accounting degree in Australia.
Findings
The findings indicate that students relied primarily on their reading instead of listening to seek understanding, and in turn, writing was considered less important compared to listening and reading. Notably, speaking was overlooked by many students as it was considered the least important skill necessary to achieve success as a student and to be a competent practitioner. Students developed a misconception that the quality of oral communication required of accountants in practice is unimportant.
Practical implications
The findings will assist accounting educators and the accounting profession in designing and implementing appropriate instructional strategies and assessment tasks for international students. One suggestion includes a more balanced weighting between written and oral assessment.
Originality/value
Few studies have specifically explored the impact of English language on learning accounting. While some studies examine specific aspects of language as a unitary concept, little has been reported on the impact of all components of the language skill-set on student learning.
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This paper aims to examine the extent to which urban social enterprises (SEs) have diversified their funding sources and shifted towards loans and development finance in recent…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the extent to which urban social enterprises (SEs) have diversified their funding sources and shifted towards loans and development finance in recent years. The paper seeks to consider the underlying reasons for a limited demand for loans by comparing two theoretical perspectives on SE development. The concept of “social bricolage” implies SEs do not seek conventional business loans or equity finance, because they survive in resource poor environments by improvising and re‐using redundant capital. A second evolutionary approach implies that SE financing will be dominated by a reliance on habits and practices learnt from the contexts in which social entrepreneurs have operated.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on analysis of interviews with 40 SEs in four English cities.
Findings
The paper finds a limited degree of change and scant evidence of local decentralisation in social enterprises' financial contexts. It argues that both conceptual approaches offer important insights into the causes of the low level of demand for development finance by emphasising the importance of practical and improvised financial management. This is an adaptive response to uncertainty but is also a manifestation of SEs' inherited capabilities in public and charitable finance.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based on a relatively small sample of social enterprises in central and deprived urban areas. The financial practices of social enterprises in other types of environment also require examination.
Practical implications
It is unrealistic to expect the majority of SEs to secure conventional loan finance, instead they require “softer” finance and intensive support from intermediaries.
Originality/value
The paper makes a novel empirical contribution by revealing social enterprises' views and recent experiences with funding. Its approach allows an intensive examination of key financial issues. It makes an original theoretical contribution by seeking to apply, develop, and evaluate two theoretical perspectives on the form and practices of social enterprises.