Trudy Bates, Cati S. Thomas and Andrew R. Timming
This paper explores employment discrimination against gender diverse job applicants and employees in Western Australia (WA).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores employment discrimination against gender diverse job applicants and employees in Western Australia (WA).
Design/methodology/approach
Using grounded theory, this study draws on semi-structured interviews with respondents (n = 20) who identified as trans women, trans men, nonbinary or agender. Thematic analysis focused on the multiple dimensions of disadvantage experienced by respondents, including subtle, not so subtle and overt types of employment discrimination.
Findings
The authors’ results point to several reasons why gender diverse individuals (GDIs) may fear the labor market, including difficulties in concealing their stigma and acquiescence to discrimination. On the other hand, our results also point to sources of organizational support, including encouragement from direct line managers and colleagues who are also Allies.
Practical implications
The results of the research have important implications for sociological frameworks surrounding dramaturgy, stigma, aesthetic labor, organizational silence and social identity. Practical implications for employers, employees, human resource (HR) professionals and trade unions are also articulated.
Originality/value
Whereas previous studies have prioritized the discriminatory experiences of GDIs in the US and European labor markets, this study reports on gender diverse voices in WA. Furthermore, recent work on this topic has been experimental and largely quantitative, whereas the present study offers a compelling set of profound narratives, thereby addressing calls for qualitative research that foregrounds the complexities and nuances of lived experience for GDIs and renders their voices heard.
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Many panel discussions and public presentations and miles of lines of print have been devoted in recent years to the question of what distinguishes a good online searcher from…
Abstract
Many panel discussions and public presentations and miles of lines of print have been devoted in recent years to the question of what distinguishes a good online searcher from everyone else. Much of this verbiage appears somewhat self‐aggrandizing; searchers have been telling other searchers that it requires an extra special sort of person to do this job well. Online searching, it has been claimed, demands the very best people—intelligent, self‐confident, but also sympathetic and understanding, creative, and so on. Ordinary librarians cannot hope to excel at this complex and challenging task.
The purpose of this paper is to use information culture assessment tools (from work by Curry and Moore) to examine the information culture within a regulated, government…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use information culture assessment tools (from work by Curry and Moore) to examine the information culture within a regulated, government environment. In particular, it aims to study the relationship between records management training provided to staff, staff self‐perceptions of records management competencies and compliance with a formal records management program.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey employs a questionnaire to gather the data from a provincial government ministry in Ontario, Canada. A questionnaire was used for data collection from a sample of 350 records management personnel from a population of 3,510 in five divisions of the ministry. A total of 207 participants responded and the copies of their questionnaire were found valid for analysis. The response rate realized was 66.7 percent.
Findings
The results from this study show that the there is a potential relationship between formal training delivered to staff, and the self‐perceived level of records management competency, namely that the more training staff receive, the more staff perceive the need for further training, and the greater level of compliance with the records management program. However, as the records management training strategy is informal in nature, it is difficult to determine a holistic influence of the training program on the organization's information culture.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on one ministry with an informal training records management strategy in place. The findings may not apply to organizations where there is a more formal training strategy. The findings should also be tested in private sector organizational settings.
Practical implications
Knowledge and understanding of the features of information culture will assist with identifying gaps in addressing the challenges of organizational record management training and its effect on compliance with organizational information and record management programs.
Originality/value
This research adds to the body of knowledge about information culture and user‐information behavior, particularly in regards to connections between training and compliance in government organizations. This paper provides evidence from an original study.
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Alysia D. Roehrig, Kristal Moore Clemons and Keely Norris
We explore how K-8 student scholars experience culturally relevant texts provided during Freedom Schools summer camps, discuss ways Freedom Schools can be a vehicle for youth to…
Abstract
We explore how K-8 student scholars experience culturally relevant texts provided during Freedom Schools summer camps, discuss ways Freedom Schools can be a vehicle for youth to become advocates for social change, and consider opportunities created by Freedom Schools for community engagement and partnerships. Mixed methods were used to investigate the experiences of 38 scholars at two different Freedom Schools sites (one rural and one mid-sized urban) in the southeastern U.S. The majority of scholars identified as African American and lived in low-income households. Primary data sources included scholar surveys and reading assessments, camp observations, and interviews with scholars, as well as our own personal reflections as the Research Director (Alysia Roehrig) and Co-Executive Directors (Kristal M. Clemons and Keely Norris) for the sites. We triangulated descriptive statistics from surveys with qualitative data, primarily from interviews, which we analyzed using open coding and axial coding to develop themes (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The majority of scholars, who participated in the 2016 North Florida Freedom Schools, reported being able to identify with specific characters and situations in the books included in the culturally relevant reading summer program, and they expressed positive thoughts and feelings about the books. Most scholars (74%) maintained or gained in instructional reading levels and did not experience summer learning loss. Children’s confidence that they could act prosocially also increased significantly during the summer camps, which children characterized as different from regular school. Freedom Schools can offer a valuable forum for diverse community members to learn about one another, focus on their strengths, and become agents for social change. We provide suggestions for how other communities can implement the Freedom Schools model.
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Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our…
Abstract
Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our profession precisely because its roots and implications extend far beyond the confines of just one service discipline. Its reflection is mirrored in national debates about the proper spheres of the public and private sectors—in matters of information generation and distribution, certainly, but in a host of other social ramifications as well, amounting virtually to a debate about the most basic values which we have long assumed to constitute the very framework of our democratic and humanistic society.
Trudi Aspden, Munyaradzi Marowa, Rhys Ponton and Shane Scahill
The New Zealand Pharmacy Action Plan 2016–20 acknowledges the young, highly qualified pharmacist workforce, and seeks to address pharmacist underutilisation in the wider health…
Abstract
Purpose
The New Zealand Pharmacy Action Plan 2016–20 acknowledges the young, highly qualified pharmacist workforce, and seeks to address pharmacist underutilisation in the wider health setting. Anecdotal evidence suggests many recently qualified pharmacists are dissatisfied with the profession. Therefore, those completing BPharm programs after 2002, who had left or were seriously considering leaving the New Zealand pharmacy profession, were invited to comment on future-focused pharmacy documents, and the current direction of pharmacy in New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire was open December 2018 to February 2019. Recruitment occurred via e-mail lists of universities and professional organisations, print and social media, and word-of-mouth. Free-text responses were thematically analysed using a general inductive approach.
Findings
From the 328 analysable surveys received, 172 respondents commented on the documents and/or direction of the pharmacy profession. Views were mixed. Overarching document-related themes were positive direction, but concern over achievability, the lack of funding details, lack of implementation, their benefits for pharmacists and the public, and ability to bring about change and secure a future for the profession. Overall pharmacy was considered an unattractive profession needing to change.
Originality/value
This study highlights dissatisfied recent BPharm graduates agree with the vision in the documents but do not see progress towards achieving the vision occurring, leading to frustration and exit in some cases. Policymakers should be aware of these views as considerable resource goes into their development.
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This paper reviews the history of separate online system interfaces, leading to efforts to develop expert systems for searching databases, particularly for end users, and…
Abstract
This paper reviews the history of separate online system interfaces, leading to efforts to develop expert systems for searching databases, particularly for end users, and introduces the research in such expert systems. Appended is a bibliography of sources on interfaces and expert systems for online retrieval.
Robert Detmering, Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles, Samantha McClellan and Rosalinda Hernandez Linares
– The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Design/methodology/approach
Introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2013.
Findings
Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.