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This article describes several lessons learned during my career. Some describe ways of approaching intellectual issues and others express values and attitudes underlying these approaches. Although the lessons have evolved in a largely academic context, they seem equally appropriate in the world of practice. The personal rules of thumb and ideas inherent in these lessons are typically developed and practiced implicitly. However, readers should find these explicit statements relevant in different ways. Some lessons might be candidates for adoption outright. Others might be constructive points of departure for evolving a related lesson better suited to one's own working style. All lessons, whether or not they are agreeable or appropriate, can serve as thought starters by challenging readers to surface their own implicit career lessons for comparison.

The research problem investigated in this paper addresses how love can intentionally be reflected in decision-making processes. The study is built on a theoretical and a practical foundation. The theoretical foundation comprises two parts with perspectives from theology and organizational theory. The practical foundation is derived from field research in the area of public administration and church leadership. Examples from field research indicate that trust and building of relationship will change adversarial behaviour into cooperative behaviour. Three network strategies are identified to make decision-making intentionally relational. The conceptual contribution is original, although the authors draw on existing insights from theology and public administration.

Existing literature on organizational culture focuses on the strategic fit between a firm's culture values and its technology and task environment. This study, however, emphasizes the diffusion perspective of organizational culture, that organizations often imitate cultures of successful firms to reduce uncertainty, resulting in a homogeneous set of organizational culture values that are considered universally beneficial to organizational functioning. Culture values falling into this category include modern values that emphasize innovation, risk-taking, and change, as opposed to more traditional values that focus on stability and consistency. Using 1958 employees from 50 firms in Taiwan and Mainland China, we developed an organizational culture measure consisting of both modern and traditional organizational culture values. We showed that modern organizational culture values were considered beneficial even by employees with traditional personal values.

This chapter discusses current issues raised by the use of patents in university-industry technology commercialization. After introducing how patent laws operate in the global marketplace, this chapter provides an overview of the U.S. patent system, describing aspects of the process by which patents are obtained and enforced. The focus of the chapter then turns to some of the benefits and costs to academia of the impact of the Bayh-Dole Act, which allows universities to capture returns from federally funded research. The chapter identifies some of the challenges created by the expanding scope of subject matter eligible for patent protection and concludes with a discussion of some of the issues and opportunities associated with the strategic licensing and enforcement of patents that may impact invention and innovation in the academy and beyond.

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may or may not contribute to the adoption of the innovation of virtual worlds by librarians. This chapter shares original, timely information regarding virtual world librarianship that may interest educators, librarians, administrators, and information professionals.

Design/methodology/approach – Using Everett Rogers’ diffusion theory as a framework, the study sought to identify librarians with avatars (computer simulated representations of themselves) in the virtual world of Second Life, specifically those with a rez date (date of creation of the avatar) prior to 2 years of the study. The methodology of this study was a survey adapted to align with Rogers’ five attributes. Research questions guiding the study were the following: (1) What are the most influential of Rogers’ five attributes of diffusion theory for librarians making the decision to adopt virtual worlds as a professional medium? and (2) How are Rogers’ five attributes of diffusion theory relevant to the adoption of virtual worlds when applied to the self-identified stage of adoption of librarians?

Findings – Results of the study revealed a high perception of relative advantage and compatibility with librarianship, a good deal of observation of the innovation, but a lower perception of trialability and complexity.

Practical and social implications – Findings may be useful for understanding factors of adoption, for documentation of the efforts of early adopting librarians, and will lead to a better understanding of the future of virtual world librarianship in an age of rapidly changing technology trends. A better understanding of virtual worlds helps librarians continue to explore new modes of information delivery, new platforms to promote information literacy, and new ways to provide collaborative spaces to patrons.

Originality/value – This chapter shares original, timely information regarding virtual world librarianship during the initial stages of exploration and adoption, which may interest educators, librarians, administrators, and information professionals.