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1 – 10 of 11Aline Soules, Sarah Nielsen, Hee Youn Lee and Kinda Al Rifae
This case study aims to describe the collaborative process used to embed an information literacy curriculum into the MA Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL…
Abstract
Purpose
This case study aims to describe the collaborative process used to embed an information literacy curriculum into the MA Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program at university.
Design/methodology/approach
The study focuses on how this curriculum was conceived, implemented, and has evolved based on new ideas from the MA coordinator, the librarian, the students, and continuing review of the literature of librarianship and TESOL. The coordinator and librarian describe their approach to curriculum development and their analysis of curricular outcomes, and two graduates from the program describe the program's impact from the student perspective.
Findings
The paper finds that the MA TESOL coordinator and the librarian embedded information literacy through structured assignments, reflective essays, and librarian in‐person classroom visits. Ongoing assessment of student survey results and reflective essays provide impetus for ongoing changes to the curriculum. Students' perceptions about and practice of information literacy enrich their program experiences and improve their preparation for further academic work or subsequent TESOL teaching.
Research limitations/implications
More follow up is needed with the three cohorts that have completed the MA program since the development of the embedded information literacy curriculum.
Practical implications
In their own teaching, graduates emphasize information literacy to their students, further increasing the impact of this program.
Social implications
Students develop a closer relationship with the librarian and think differently and more regularly about libraries and information literacy principles.
Originality/value
There is a growing body of library literature on embedded librarianship and language learning students, but none focusing exclusively on the role of information literacy in the preparation of teachers of language learning students.
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An analysis of the relevant literature has demonstrated that many similarities exist between Pioneers (women working or hoping to work in male‐dominated occupations) and…
Abstract
An analysis of the relevant literature has demonstrated that many similarities exist between Pioneers (women working or hoping to work in male‐dominated occupations) and Traditionals (women working in or hoping to work in female‐dominated occupations). Clearly background, personality, motivation and attitudes alone are relatively poor predictors of preference for entry into traditionally male occupations. Therefore the typical Pioneer, which earlier research has attempted to identify, does not exist. The ways in which women's personal characteristics influence occupational choice and work entry should be placed within a wider context to include the external, structural and situational factors which inhibit and facilitate women's entry into male‐dominated occupations. A more qualitative approach is needed rather than the standard questionnaire methods.
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Many entrepreneurs are able to manage their businesses within relatively contained and familiar geographical and cultural circles. With a world economy shrinking every day amid a…
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Many entrepreneurs are able to manage their businesses within relatively contained and familiar geographical and cultural circles. With a world economy shrinking every day amid a flood of digital information, todayʼs entrepreneur is increasingly confronted with opportunities to consider new ways to secure vendors and recruit customers. Many unfamiliar possibilities emerge. Should the entrepreneur venture beyond “comfortable” surroundings to consider international connections? Specifically, what about China? How practical is this fetching business temptation of larger markets and lower-cost subcontractors? What are the social, trade, financial, and political issues? Should a “China strategy” be a true entrepreneurial offensive, or rather a defensive response to competition? Is this “China strategy” the promise of yet another entrepreneurial nirvana? Or is it perhaps again a case of “Be careful of what you wish for; it may really come true?”
Design thinking is attracting practitioners and researchers in various walks of life. User integration principle as part of design thinking is expected to transform product and…
Abstract
Purpose
Design thinking is attracting practitioners and researchers in various walks of life. User integration principle as part of design thinking is expected to transform product and service creation and delivery. Accordingly, various organisations that venture into design thinking develop customised solutions and serve people’s needs. Social enterprises, which are familiar for their superior social value creation, have also claimed to embark upon this innovative approach to address wicked problems. The current paper makes an attempt to analyse various social and organisational processes that promote social enterprises to adopt design thinking to create products, which are relevant and viable among user groups. This paper finds that by adopting design thinking, social enterprises portray their product innovation genre, thereby representing their passion in addressing wicked problems more effectively.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopts a qualitative case study method to understand the practice of design thinking in social enterprises.
Findings
In this study, it is found that that social enterprises adopt design thinking as a methodology while exploring solutions for stubborn problem space. However, neither communities nor social entrepreneurial teams are aware that they are carrying out design thinking practices. This research finds that social entrepreneurs and their teams take up designer roles and carry out designing processes by continuously consulting with user groups. One of the major reasons for the unintended adoption of design thinking is related to community integration and user participation in the day-to-day practices of social enterprises.
Originality/value
This study offers original research to understand social entrepreneurial exploration to adopt design thinking to create social value.
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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.
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Rita Komalasari, Sarah Wilson and Sally Haw
Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programmes in prisons play a significant role in preventing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Despite its proven effectiveness, both the…
Abstract
Purpose
Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programmes in prisons play a significant role in preventing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Despite its proven effectiveness, both the availability and coverage of prison OAT programmes remain low. This Indonesian study explores facilitators of, and barriers to, the delivery of methadone programmes in prisons using the social ecological model (SEM).
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a qualitative case study approach comprising two prisons with, and one prison without, methadone programmes. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit study participants. In total, 57 in-depth interviews were conducted with prison governors, health-care staff, prison officers and prisoners. Data was analysed thematically.
Findings
The study findings identified facilitators of and barriers to the delivery of prison OAT programmes at all three levels of the SEM as follows: intrapersonal barriers including misperceptions relating to HIV transmission, the harm reduction role of OAT programmes, methadone dependency and withdrawal symptoms; interpersonal barriers such as inflexible OAT treatment processes and the wide availability of illicit drugs in prisons and; social-structural barriers, notably the general lack of resources.
Research limitations/implications
The findings highlight the importance of and overlap between, organisational and inter-personal, as well as intrapersonal factors. Such an approach is particularly important in the context of the implementation and delivery of methadone programmes in low/middle income countries, where the lack of resources is so significant.
Practical implications
Three main strategies for improvement were suggested as follows: the development of comprehensive education and training programmes for prisoners and all prison staff; the re-assessment of practices relating to the delivery of methadone, and a comprehensive review of harm reduction strategy in prisons, that should consider the role of prisoners’ families to increase support for prisoner participation; the re-assessment of prison policies to support the delivery of methadone programmes in prisons.
Social implications
The author suggests that ongoing international support and national drug policies are vital to the continuation and sustainability of methadone programmes in prisons.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the overall evidence base for OAT programmes in middle-income prison contexts.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of introducing business tools into nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Exploring the case of an NPO trying to embrace the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of introducing business tools into nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Exploring the case of an NPO trying to embrace the social enterprise model, this study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the managerialization process affecting third sector organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Relying on an in-depth ethnographic immersion conducted at a Brazilian NPO, this paper adopts a performativity lens to analyze the appropriation process of a traditional business tool, the Individual Development Plan (IDP), at the organization.
Findings
The story of the IDP’s appropriation reveals how business tools act as market devices to actualize economic behaviors and representations among NPOs’ beneficiaries. Reinforcing the control of managers upon their constituencies, business tools can thus create an unequal balance of power within NPOs.
Practical implications
Admittedly, this paper relies on one single case study, which imposes strong limitations to generalize empirical findings. Nonetheless, this analysis calls for more caution in the promotion of business tools for the development of social entrepreneurship in third sector organizations.
Originality/value
Rather than debating the accuracy and efficiency of business tools in NPOs, this paper adopts a performative approach to understand how artifacts change the nature of relationships between managers and beneficiaries within social ventures. Rejecting a normative stance, this paper proposes a micro-level analysis of managerialization, focusing on an organization from an emerging country, Brazil, which is rarely at the core of social entrepreneurship studies.
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Ibrahim A. Amar, Sarah S. Kanah, Hibah A. Hijaz, Mabroukah A. Abdulqadir, Shamsi A. Shamsi, Ihssin A. Abdalsamed and Mohammed A. Samba
The purpose of this research is to assess the removal of oil spills from the seawater surface as well as the antibacterial activity of ZnFe2O4-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to assess the removal of oil spills from the seawater surface as well as the antibacterial activity of ZnFe2O4-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, cationic surfactant) magnetic nanoparticles (ZFO-CTAB MNPs).
Design/methodology/approach
A CTAB-assisted sol–gel method was used to synthesize ZFO-CTAB MNPs. X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used for ZFO-CTAB MNPs characterization. Also, the magnetic force and apparent density of ZFO-CTAB MNPs were determined. The oil spill cleanup was investigated by using the gravimetric oil removal (GOR) technique, which used ZFO-CTAB MNPs as oil absorbent material and four oil samples (crude, diesel, gasoline and used oil) as oil spill models. The antibacterial activity of ZFO-CTAB MNPs against Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi) was investigated by using the optical density method.
Findings
The results revealed that, when the amount of ZFO-CTAB was 0.01 g, gasoline oil had the highest GOR (51.80 ± 0.88 g/g) and crude oil had the lowest (11.29 ± 0.82 g/g). Furthermore, for Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ZFO-CTAB MNPs inhibited bacterial growth with a higher percentage (94.24%–95.63%).
Originality/value
The applications of ZFO-CTAB MNPs in the cleanup of oil spills from aqueous solutions, as well as their antibacterial activity. The results showed that ZFO-CTAB MNPs are a promising material for removing oil spills from bodies of water as well as an antibacterial agent against Gram-negative bacterial strains.
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Wendy Cukier, Suzanne Gagnon and Ruby Latif
This paper examines actors and discourses shaping new Canadian legislation designed to advance diversity in corporate governance.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines actors and discourses shaping new Canadian legislation designed to advance diversity in corporate governance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper performs a stakeholder and discourse analysis drawing on texts of parliamentary debates.
Findings
The paper illuminates tensions regarding definitions of diversity, its importance for boards of directors and the mechanisms favoured for implementation. Official discourses examined show that, unlike for other political issues, opposition was largely muted, and most stakeholders engaged in the process supported legislation advancing diversity. Nonetheless areas of debate and positioning by actors and suggest important differences, with outcomes linked to non-traditional power bases.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides insights into the discursive environments of organizations and processes relating to promoting diversity and equality in the political decision-making domain, a critical venue for understanding advancement of equity, often neglected in organizational studies.
Practical implications
By understanding the complex and competing discourses surrounding diversity and inclusion at the macro level this paper provides a context for understanding organizational (meso) and individual (micro) beliefs and behaviours.
Social implications
This study shows how advocacy shapes how policy and legislation are framed and the ways mainstream organizations, including women's groups, may advance gender equality without regard to other dimensions of diversity or intersectionality.
Originality/value
This study maps the political discourse around recent Canadian legislation designed to improve diversity on boards that must, in the Canadian context, address more than gender.
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