Management information for decision making is an essential tool for library managers. This paper outlines the European Commission Libraries Programme decision support projects…
Abstract
Management information for decision making is an essential tool for library managers. This paper outlines the European Commission Libraries Programme decision support projects that were brought together under the CAMILE concerted action. The three common themes to emerge from the CAMILE projects are then discussed. The themes are: information for decision making, systems for decision support, and the future challenges of measuring impact and developing performance measures for the elec‐tronic library. To conclude, recommendations for future research in the field of decision support in European libraries are considered.
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This paper introduces the reader to the Cultural Objects In Networked Environments (COINE) project. The concept and aims of the project are explained, together with the technical…
Abstract
This paper introduces the reader to the Cultural Objects In Networked Environments (COINE) project. The concept and aims of the project are explained, together with the technical challenges facing the project consortium. The proposed software technical architecture is then presented. The second part of the paper presents possible COINE system application scenarios in educational settings at four demonstration sites.
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Looks at the themed issue articles and the areas they cover relating to digital imaging issues. Lists the sources of support and introduces the various contributors.
Abstract
Looks at the themed issue articles and the areas they cover relating to digital imaging issues. Lists the sources of support and introduces the various contributors.
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This paper aims to provide a selection of poetry titles from the Poets House Showcase of 2005.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a selection of poetry titles from the Poets House Showcase of 2005.
Design/methodology/approach
This article gives a review of the 2005 Poetry Publication Showcase.
Findings
This review represents a wide‐ranging selection of contemporary poetry collections and anthologies.
Originality/value
This list documents the tremendous range of poetry publishing from commercial, independent and university presses as well as letterpress chapbooks, art books and CDs in 2004 and early 2005.
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Phyllis Annesley, Zoe Hamilton, Roisin Galway, Samantha Akiens, Rachel Hicks and Martin Clarke
Neuropsychologically informed rehabilitation (NIR) is one approach to supporting people with intellectual disabilities, cognitive impairment and challenging behaviour. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Neuropsychologically informed rehabilitation (NIR) is one approach to supporting people with intellectual disabilities, cognitive impairment and challenging behaviour. This study aims to evaluate a five-day training course in NIR for staff working with adult male offenders with intellectual disabilities in a high secure hospital. The impacts on both the staff who undertook the training and the patients with challenging behaviour were explored.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were psychology, nursing and day services staff and male patients. The staff completed a post-training questionnaire and three measures at pre-NIR training, post-NIR training and one-year follow-up. Patients completed four questionnaire measures within the same periods.
Findings
NIR training was positively evaluated by staff. Staff members’ perceived efficacy in working with challenging behaviour significantly increased post-training which was maintained at follow-up. Thematic analysis showed that the training staff members built their confidence, knowledge and skills. Because of these being high to start with, the study could not evidence statistically significant changes in these. Thematic analysis yielded two main themes, namely, benefits and quality of training, each with their own subthemes. The impacts of the training on patients were difficult to assess related to various factors.
Research limitations/implications
The knowledge and confidence measures used were limited in scope with an experienced staff group and required development.
Practical implications
NIR training could assist staff in other secure and community settings in working with people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours.
Originality/value
This study positively contributes to an area that requires more research.
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Catharine Charlotte Booth and Zoe Stephenson
Negotiation is an established strategy used by the police and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service to manage serious incidents. Whilst the literature acknowledges the role…
Abstract
Purpose
Negotiation is an established strategy used by the police and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service to manage serious incidents. Whilst the literature acknowledges the role of the negotiator to be stressful, little is known about the experience of stress and the coping strategies used by negotiators when undertaking this role. This is particuarly true for negotiators who work in prisons. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore the experience of negotiators working in a prison setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a qualitative methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 prison officer negotiators based in public sector prisons in the North West of England. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
Four overarching themes were identified relating to stressors; the experience of stress; use of coping strategies; and use of support. An underlying theme was identified relating to negotiating within the structure of a prison regime.
Practical implications
People involved in the management of serious incidents should be familiar with the negotiator role. Debriefing negotiators after a lone deployment and offering support to negotiators in the days following an incident is critical for staff well-being. Further, record keeping from the perspective of the negotiator should become formalised.
Originality/value
This paper contributes new insights into the management of serious incidents and the negotiator experience in prisons in England and Wales.
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This paper draws on 26 in-depth interviews with people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to explore how experiences and interpretations of disability redirect and transform…
Abstract
This paper draws on 26 in-depth interviews with people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to explore how experiences and interpretations of disability redirect and transform reproductive trajectories. I apply Almeling's conceptualization of reproduction as the “biological and social process of having or not having children” as a framework for understanding what occurs at multiple analytical layers (structural and cultural, interactional, self, and body) across the life course and influences how and whether people with disabilities feel having children is something they want or need or is within their reach. Findings reveal the lasting impact of viewing the film Steel Magnolias, pivotal interactions with healthcare providers, and interpretations of embodied T1D experiences as major sources of tension for participants as they reflect on their reproductive trajectories and outlooks. Considering especially the structural and cultural layer, this paper enriches our understanding of disability by demonstrating that both women and men with less noticeable or visible disability are subject to similar social imperatives of risk management and moral reproduction as those with more noticeable physical or sensory disabilities, although gender also matters for how participants experience these imperatives. Findings lend support for viewing reproduction as a lifelong process beyond the sequence from conception to birth, as some significant disability experiences that transform or redirect reproductive trajectories fall outside this timeframe.
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Inequality is an important organizational phenomenon. Scholars have argued that inequalities persistently dwell in the flow of our lives and have a lingering impact. Yet, despite…
Abstract
Purpose
Inequality is an important organizational phenomenon. Scholars have argued that inequalities persistently dwell in the flow of our lives and have a lingering impact. Yet, despite such compelling evidence, research has overlooked how individuals make sense of the inequalities they face inside and outside the organizations. The purpose of this paper was to address these gaps and capture its complexity on individual lived experiences with inequalities.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study used Seidman's adapted 2-interview strategy to collect the data. The first interview placed the participant's life history at the center, allowing the participant to share their childhood and adulthood experiences with inequalities inside and outside the organizations. The second interview focused on the concrete details of the participant's present lived experience and their reflections on the meaning of their experiences. In total, the present study relied on 26 interviews with 13 participants.
Findings
Lived experiences provided an extended-time view and allowed the researcher to explore how study participants perceived, coped and were shaped by inequalities throughout their lives. In addition, the sense-making perspective offered a new lens to study inequalities. Findings underscore the racial, class and gendered dynamics within organizations supporting their intersectional impact and acknowledge the pre-existing societal norms that condition individual actions and choices.
Originality/value
The study presents an “engaged” view of inequality to highlight it as a cumulative and complex experience. The findings help us recognize that participants are immersed in their specific contexts to act, negotiate, empower and make decisions under real-life pressures. Overall, the study pushes the boundaries of inequality research beyond its current episodic treatment.
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Zoe Stephenson, Jessica Woodhams and Leigh Harkins
The purpose of this paper is to explore the views and opinions of offender supervisors and offender managers regarding the sequencing of interventions for prisoners in England…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the views and opinions of offender supervisors and offender managers regarding the sequencing of interventions for prisoners in England. More specifically, the research aims to gain an understanding of any barriers to implementing desired practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants located across four HM prisons in the West Midlands. Questions were designed to gather information and views regarding: current practice in the area of sequencing of interventions; opinions on the potential importance of coherent sequencing of interventions; views on how interventions should be sequenced; and what, if any, issues impacted upon coherent sequencing. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report themes within the interviews.
Findings
Participants discussed current practice regarding the sequencing of interventions and made suggestions regarding tailoring the sequence of interventions to the individual offender. The issue of readiness to change was emphasised (i.e. engagement with interventions will increase where offenders are able to participate in an intervention when they feel ready to do so). In addition, participants commented that they felt there to be insufficient resources at their disposal which led to barriers to the coherent sequencing of interventions (e.g. waiting lists for treatment programmes).
Practical implications
Suggestions were made by participants regarding the coherent sequencing of interventions; for example, providing prisoners with experience of a generic group intervention prior to an offence-specific intervention, prioritising motivation to change and being responsive to the needs of individual offenders.
Originality/value
The study provides insight regarding the sequencing of interventions from the perspective of offender supervisors and offender managers who are involved in the planning of treatment programmes across the course of an offender’s sentence.
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Sarah Jayne Briggs, Zoe P. Robinson, Rachel Louise Hadley and Rebecca Laycock Pedersen
This paper aims to explore a single-institution case study of partnership working between students, the University and Students’ Union, through four student-led sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore a single-institution case study of partnership working between students, the University and Students’ Union, through four student-led sustainability projects. The paper analyses the role and value of these partnerships and provides advice for other institutions on effective partnership working between these stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
A single case study of partnership working with multiple embedded units of analysis (four projects) is presented based on reflections of practitioners involved in the projects who have different roles within the University and Students’ Union.
Findings
The longevity and effectiveness of student-led projects, and disciplinary-breadth of students engaged, can be enhanced by greater collaboration with, and integration into, University and Students’ Union systems. Partnership working between different stakeholders is key to overcoming challenges and the success of student-led projects, helped by key staff “enablers”. These projects provide myriad learning opportunities for developing change agency skills, even where projects are relatively short-lived and could be seen as failures in terms of longevity.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis is based solely on practitioner reflections, with limited direct quantification or qualitative data on the projects’ impacts on the students themselves.
Originality/value
This paper draws together the experiences and reflections of four practitioners with different roles within the University and Students’ Union across four different projects and provides advice to generate student-led sustainability projects which have longevity and impact for wider student populations and future generations of cohorts.