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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1986

Don Julien and Beverly Owen

The widespread commercial videocassette market has opened to the world and to libraries a grab bag of viewing choices. Library response to the feast has varied throughout the…

Abstract

The widespread commercial videocassette market has opened to the world and to libraries a grab bag of viewing choices. Library response to the feast has varied throughout the country, resulting in different emphases from collection to collection. One is the educational or cultural collection, intended not for recreational viewing but for specific training or general self‐development. Another is the esoteric collection of tapes generally produced for mass‐market consumption but not readily available through commercial outlets. This type of collection emhasizes film classics, classic television series, and how‐to‐do‐its. A third is the entertainment collection, composed primarily of mass‐marketed features and shorts. Each approach has its special problems in following the videocassette industry and finding reviews.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Article
Publication date: 15 October 2008

Dana Landau and Israel Drori

While conventional wisdom suggests that sensemaking is targeted towards consensual understanding of the organization's intent and action, the objective of this study is to explore…

1571

Abstract

Purpose

While conventional wisdom suggests that sensemaking is targeted towards consensual understanding of the organization's intent and action, the objective of this study is to explore a different angle of sensemaking, namely, a situation of change and crisis in which the sensemaking process focuses on presenting the organization's members with an alternative understanding of its worldview, norms, and values.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a three‐year ethnographic field study. Data collection was based on the principles of qualitative research: participant observation, induction, interpretation, close proximity and unmediated relationships with the subjects investigated. The ethnographic method enabled collection of rich data, mainly by viewing the organizational context from its members' perspective, essential for studying.

Findings

The paper presents multiple cultural sensemaking accounts and the varied ways that the subjects use their diverse cultural resources and repertoires – ranging from intense ideological commitment to pure science to opportunistic views of their scientific work – in promoting their own, as well as their organization's survival. The study indicates that variations of conflict‐oriented sensemaking accounts can serve management's strategic quest for hegemony.

Research limitations/implications

Qualitative research approaches position the researcher to learn through participative observation. The researcher acts as a participant in the activities under study and instead of attempting to control procedures and measure qualities of outcomes, the researcher becomes part of the target of study itself.

Practical implications

This paper shows that conflict and power relations are ubiquitous to sensemaking, and that multiple accounts can be inherent in sensemaking work. We suggest that the study of sensemaking should also consider conflict as an alternative sensemaking mechanism.

Originality/value

Sensemaking is usually described as positive and consensual in nature. Yet, as our study shows, when evolving from conflicting viewpoints, accounts and actions sensemaking can support dissension.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 21 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2010

Alexander Styhre

Professional communities are capable of maintaining their social status and role in society on the basis of a blend of technical and formal expertise, know‐how, and an…

Abstract

Purpose

Professional communities are capable of maintaining their social status and role in society on the basis of a blend of technical and formal expertise, know‐how, and an understanding of the non‐professional's demands and expectations. In architectural work, professional expertise largely centres on the visual capacities of the architect, his or her ability to extract useful information and communicate objectives and ideas on the basis of visual artifacts. However, this professional vision must always be double in terms of alternating between professional and non‐professional ways of seeing. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was based on a case study of a Scandinavian firm of architects, Blue Architects (a pseudonym).

Findings

The findings suggest that practising architects are highly aware of the societal role of their profession and the fact that there are a number of routines and mechanisms instituted by the firm which help the architect, newcomers as well as the more seasoned members of that community, to bridge and combine these two elements of their professional vision.

Originality/value

The study suggests that professional vision is a key term when examining visually‐oriented professions. However, this capacity to “see as an architect” does need to be a kind of split vision; both seeing as and seeing beyond the visual artifact produced. The study thus contributes toward understanding visually‐oriented professions and their relationship with lay knowledge.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1994

N. Brännberg and J. Mackerle

This paper gives a review of the finite element techniques (FE)applied in the area of material processing. The latest trends in metalforming, non‐metal forming and powder…

1437

Abstract

This paper gives a review of the finite element techniques (FE) applied in the area of material processing. The latest trends in metal forming, non‐metal forming and powder metallurgy are briefly discussed. The range of applications of finite elements on the subjects is extremely wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore the aim of the paper is to give FE users only an encyclopaedic view of the different possibilities that exist today in the various fields mentioned above. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on finite element applications in material processing for the last five years, and more than 1100 references are listed.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 11 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2003

Mairead McCoy and Owen Hargie

This paper considers the implications of mass communications theory on public relations (PR) evaluation and briefly reviews mass communication effects, persuasion, and cognition…

3495

Abstract

This paper considers the implications of mass communications theory on public relations (PR) evaluation and briefly reviews mass communication effects, persuasion, and cognition, attitude and behaviour change theories. The implications for evaluation are then examined. Reliance on domino models is shown to be too simplistic. It is suggested that claims of PR behavioural effects may be unrealistic and it is argued that more moderate and/or alternative goals are needed if preordained failure is to be avoided. Evaluation results must be interpreted cautiously so that further significance that is not supported by theory is not assumed. This paper shows how the concept of PR evaluation could be widened to include formative evaluation and broad environmental monitoring, which are especially important in identifying and understanding why and how communication works, what its effects are, what factors restrict or facilitate effectiveness and under what conditions success can be maximised.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1985

Beverly Feldman

Directories of online databases vary in content and quality. Here, Beverly Feldman reviews nine publications, including comprehensive guides and basic introductions for users of…

Abstract

Directories of online databases vary in content and quality. Here, Beverly Feldman reviews nine publications, including comprehensive guides and basic introductions for users of home computers.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1991

Michael Owen Jones

Stories and customs at work may mirror the culture, be survivalsfrom the past, or constitute a screen onto which fantasies are projectedserving as safety valves, sanctioned…

Abstract

Stories and customs at work may mirror the culture, be survivals from the past, or constitute a screen onto which fantasies are projected serving as safety valves, sanctioned expressions of “outlaw emotions”, or scapegoats. While some stories seem to challenge the culture they in fact preserve it; others that appear to support norms and values actually indict them. Organisational change managers must take a more sophisticated approach, recognising organisations as symbolic worlds and understanding the variety of expressive forms and processes. They need to be aware of inconsistencies and contradictions. They should leave some coping mechanisms in place while removing the cause of sore spots in other instances. Finally, those implementing change may be able to use some customs and stories themselves to aid the process.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1996

Jaroslav Mackerle

Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included…

Abstract

Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on the subjects retrospectively to 1985 and approximately 1,100 references are listed.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2010

Beverly B. Ray and Cynthia Lee A. Pemberton

This study explored perspectives of secondary social studies teachers, who reported using live media broad-casts to engage students in an examination of terrorism on 9/11…

Abstract

This study explored perspectives of secondary social studies teachers, who reported using live media broad-casts to engage students in an examination of terrorism on 9/11. Specifically, this study queried these teachers’ perceptions of preparedness on 9/11 to engage it as a learning event. Respondents (N=29) in one Mid-Atlantic state who were teaching in secondary social studies classrooms on September 11, 2001 (9/11), were asked to reflect on their level of preparedness to adapt and implement real-time teaching to address unfolding events. A Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test for matched pairs revealed that respondents’ current perceptions of self-efficacy to teach about an unfolding terrorist act were positively modified by their experiences teaching about terrorism on 9/11 [Z = -4.507, p <.001 (two tailed)]. Respondents reported gains in confidence to teach about terrorism because of their teaching experiences on 9/11. Results add to the small knowledge base on the topic, even as they highlight the need for further research on the classroom response to 9/11.

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1992

Debra J. Mesch and Dan R. Dalton

Prior research has argued that management has an advantage in many grievance cases largely because it enjoys the discretion to pursue these cases or otherwise as it chooses…

Abstract

Prior research has argued that management has an advantage in many grievance cases largely because it enjoys the discretion to pursue these cases or otherwise as it chooses. Conversely, organized labor has far less discretion inasmuch as it must pursue serious grievances for which positive outcomes cannot reasonably be expected It was recently demonstrated that grievances “filed in the name of the union” may provide an important exception to this principle. This empirical assessment of arbitration cases (N = 520) extends these arguments from the context of the grievance to that of arbitration, an arguably more valid and generalizable context for such an assessment. The results indicate that “filing in the name of the union” does provide a substantive edge in arbitration outcomes, even while controlling for the various types of arbitration cases.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

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