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For over a decade, the Louisiana State University Libraries have been engaged in providing digital access to their many varied special collections. The most recent of these projects is a collaboration between the LSU Libraries, the New Orleans Public Library, and the LSU Digital Library, focused on the upcoming bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase on 30 April 2003. “Louisiana Purchase bicentennial: a heritage explored” will be a collection of more than 25,000 images of primary source material from the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s held by the LSU libraries and the New Orleans Public Library. The collection is scheduled to be completed and online in March of 2003, and will be available for use by educators, school children, and independent researchers. This article details the process of digitizing such a varied collection, and the lessons learned from it.

Managing special events which utilise volunteer labour presents unique challenges due to the time-bound and infrequent nature of events, coupled with the non-traditional employment contractual basis associated with volunteers. Having committed, well-trained volunteers can sometimes be the difference between success and failure for an event. This paper explores factors shaping event managers' decision-making in relation to allocating organisational resources towards training for event volunteers.

Utilising qualitative methods, a sample of senior event managers practicing within Australia were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Their attitudes towards, and factors shaping, their decision-making in relation to allocating organisational resources towards training for event volunteers were analysed and discussed through an interpretive lens.

Six intervening variables which shaped event managers' decisions to resource volunteer training were identified. These six variables both shaped and constrained event managers' decisions to resource and implement volunteer training.

The study highlights factors that need to be considered when considering attaining festival attendance satisfaction with volunteers’ service provision through training. This work also contributes to future discussions about the value of volunteer training to event success.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution of a common approach to impact assessment across the Global Libraries (GL) portfolio of grants. It presents an overview of two systems, the Performance Metrics (PMs) and the Common Impact Measurement System (CIMS). By providing a standard set of definitions and methods for use across countries, these systems enable grantees to collect data that can be compared and aggregated for the purpose of collective learning, improvement, accountability, and advocacy.

The PMs offer a standard methodology to collect library project performance management data, whereas the CIMS is a standard survey of public library users. The paper describes how the PM and CIMS data are being visualized and used, with examples of findings and lessons learned.

The paper cites examples of the type of PM and CIMS data available, with a focus on employment, gender, and case studies from Botswana and Indonesia. These highlights illustrate how libraries’ user demographics differ from other types of public internet access venues and how libraries can contribute to strong employment and growth.

The measurement systems rely on different partners collecting data for the same metrics across different countries; while each grantee adheres to a standard methodology, small procedural, and methodological differences are inevitable. Future research could focus on conducting similar studies elsewhere, outside the cohort of countries in the GL portfolio of grants.

The paper offers insights and lessons for library agencies or institutions interested in implementing a common measurement system. Recognizing that few library projects have the resources to track a comprehensive set of indicators, a case study is presented about how smaller initiatives can adapt these systems to their needs.

The indicators described in this paper enable public libraries to shift their focus from services provided to the outcomes they help individuals and communities realize, potentially increasing the potency of their programming and advocacy.

Common measurement systems are not new, but their application in the public library field is novel, as is the Data Atlas, a platform grantees use to compare results across metrics, track progress, and conduct advocacy.

Miss Aimée Chilton, Senior Lecturer‐in‐Charge of Data processing Facilities at Birmingham College of Commerce, will lecture on the computer, beginning at 3 o'clock on Thursday 21st March, at the Royal Aeronautical Society, 4 Hamilton Place, London W1 (nearest tube station is Hyde Park Corner; buses: Piccadilly, Knightsbridge or Park Lane).

There have been many studies that investigated the causes of workarounds, but there is less research on their outcomes, such as the impact on internal control. This study aims to investigate the use of workarounds by a multinational organization that implemented SAP about 10 years ago, and how those workarounds affected internal controls.

A qualitative study is performed by analyzing interviews with company personnel for a multinational organization. Employees selected for interviews are primarily users of SAP’s accounting functions.

Workarounds have significant impacts on the internal controls over financial reporting. Workarounds cause compensating controls to be implemented, which are often manual in nature, and decrease the organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

Workarounds become integrated into an organization’s activities to meet its business needs. This research raises questions to determine when maintaining organizational efficiency and control outweighs the need to provide customer service and other business needs.

Companies should consider whether their business processes can be modified to ensure that they can be handled within the enterprise system. In addition, the number of compensating controls required due to workarounds may decrease the organizational efficiency expected from having an enterprise resource planning system to ensure the integrity of financial information.

This paper moves beyond finding the causes of workarounds, and expands what is known about workarounds and their impact on an organization. An important contribution of this study is to consider the intersection of workarounds, ERP systems and internal controls.

The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of a collaborative commissioning approach to improve quality and experience and reduce cost within integrated health and social care.

A multi-method approach is used involving qualitative interviews, documentary analysis and non-participant observation.

The findings suggest that the approach provides a suitable framework for the collaborative commissioning of integrated health and social care services.

Further research is now needed to provide a definitive evaluation of its value outside of Wales.

With the significant scrutiny on health systems, the approach demonstrates effectiveness in securing quality improvements, achievement of recognised care standards and patient outcomes, while providing scope for financial gains and a goal for stakeholders to engage in effective communication.

This research presents an innovative method for collaborative commissioning and reveals activities that appear to contribute to more effective commissioning processes.

This study aims to create a platform for frontline practitioners to share experiences, express opinions and forge new ideas for effective multi-agency work when responding to child exploitation by county line gangs (CLGs).

CLGs are grooming children as young as age 7. The need for effective multi-agency responses to grooming by CLGs is a key priority for prevention. Using findings from focus groups held with 13 youth practitioners, school staff and charities, this article highlights the barriers that multi-agency frontline practitioners face when they are tasked with responding to instances of child criminal exploitation by CLGs.

Discussions within the focus groups indicate there are many common barriers and driving factors with regards to young people being successfully groomed by a CLG. More specifically, findings from this research identified school exclusions and a lack of prosocial sense of belonging to be a driving factor that exacerbated the risk of being successfully groomed by a CLG. Lack of a significant adult relationship was also found to be a barrier to successful multi-agency intervention, which was attributed to the lack of funding and resources required for adequate staffing needed to build meaningful relationships.

This study offered the unique opportunity for practitioners from various different sectors and jurisdictions to share their experiences of not only working with young people involved in CLGs, but also their challenges when using a multi-agency approach. These discussions are particularly important in the case of CLGs due to the cross-jurisdiction nature of the gangs’ activities. This research has identified issues with multi-agency responses to CLGs and offers recommendations for improvement. Identifying and understanding the barriers that practitioners face when responding to CLGs can allow for the development and implementation of various measures, which will aid the safeguarding of vulnerable victims of exploitation by CLGs.

While the integration of mobile and eTextbook technologies is rapidly growing throughout higher education learning environments, these technologies are often challenging to implement across the university landscape. Professional development tailored to these fluid and evolving technologies is essential to supporting effective classroom integration. The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate a special interest group approach to professional development regarding mobile and eTextbook technologies implemented by one university in the USA. Issues such as recruitment of members, selection of face-to-face and online spaces, and curriculum design are addressed.

To evaluate effectiveness, a survey was given to the participants that asked about sense of community, perceived increase in knowledge and teaching practices, and overall satisfaction with the experience.

The interrelated factors of sense of community, knowledge, and teaching practices were identified as valuable, along with group organization. Survey results revealed that participants highly valued the opportunity to share best practices with others they typically would not, and benefitted from the expertise of guest speakers. Online spaces were found to serve as a repository of on-demand resources and dissemination of information, while face-to-face meetings capitalized on interactivity and nurtured community. Sharing the work of the members with the university and beyond was critical to incentivizing members to produce, and also built further professional networks. The planning team identified a tension between encouraging active involvement from instructors and offering it in convenient ways given their other commitments.

Although this is a single case, this analysis suggests generalizable strategies that may create and sustain a community interested in mobile and eTextbook technologies.

The paper examines the relationship between Islamic banking and the growth of the economy in Nigeria in both the short run and long run.

The study employs quarterly secondary time series data for Islamic banking as well as major macroeconomic variables to study the contribution of Islamic banking to the economy of Nigeria. It employs autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) and error correction model (ECM) approaches from 2013 quarter 1 up to 2020 quarter 2.

The results show that Islamic banking has a positive contribution to Nigeria's economy in both short run and long run, but this contribution is insignificant.

Policymakers should endeavor to redesign the country's financial architecture and come up with policies that can support the growth of Islamic finance sector. This will significantly strengthen Nigeria's position as one of the leading Islamic finance hubs in Africa.

This is the first study to examine the contribution of Islamic banking to the Nigerian economy according to the best knowledge of the authors.

When added together, there are currently 1000 federal advisory committees with over 60,000 participants. In one U.S. city of more than one million people there are over 700 citizens serving on advisory boards. Yet, this form of citizen participation receives scant attention in the public administration literature (Lavertu & Weimer, 2010). We use the foil of the 2008 recession to reduce the gap in our knowledge. Advisory boards offer the potential for giving citizens power since they provide direct input into decision-making. Results from interviews of 25 citizen advisory board members suggest this does occur. However, the way in which the board leverages its power is novel. The experiences of citizen advisory board members can inform attempts to increase the legitimacy of participation, especially during fiscal stress.