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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Amanda Spink and James Currier

Since the beginning of human existence, humankind has sought, organized and used information as it evolved patterns and practices of human information behaviors. However, the…

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Abstract

Purpose

Since the beginning of human existence, humankind has sought, organized and used information as it evolved patterns and practices of human information behaviors. However, the field of human information behavior (HIB) has not heretofore pursued an evolutionary understanding of information behavior. The goal of this exploratory study is to provide insight about the information behavior of various individuals from the past to begin the development of an evolutionary perspective for our understanding of HIB.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents findings from a qualitative analysis of the autobiographies and personal writings of several historical figures, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Darwin, Giacomo Casanova and others.

Findings

Analysis of their writings shows that these persons of the past articulated aspects of their HIB's, including information seeking, information organization and information use, providing tangible insights into their information‐related thoughts and actions.

Practical implications

This paper has implications for expanding the nature of our evolutionary understanding of information behavior and provides a broader context for the HIB research field.

Originality/value

This the first paper in the information science field of HIB to study the information behavior of historical figures and begin to develop an evolutionary framework for HIB research.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 62 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2002

Bristol Lane Voss

Thanks to the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act, CEOs of U.S. companies that have annual revenues exceeding $1.2 billion must personally certify their firm's books, it seems like every third…

Abstract

Thanks to the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act, CEOs of U.S. companies that have annual revenues exceeding $1.2 billion must personally certify their firm's books, it seems like every third company has restated earnings. Household International earned $386 million less than previously reported; Qwest lost $1.1 billion; AOL Time Warner missed $49 million; Interpublic Group found $68.5 million in expenses that had not been properly accounted for. No longer can a CEO hide behind the auditors or plead ignorance.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 23 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

Book part
Publication date: 28 August 2023

Wioleta Kucharska and Denise Bedford

This chapter describes the business goals, purpose, and strategy of public defense and military services. It reinforces defense and military organizations’ fundamental…

Abstract

Chapter Summary

This chapter describes the business goals, purpose, and strategy of public defense and military services. It reinforces defense and military organizations’ fundamental bureaucratic administrative culture (Tier 1). The authors describe the influence that political appointees as leaders may play in shaping public sector cultures. The bureaucratic culture of diplomacy is deconstructed, and each of the five layers is described in detail. Additionally, the authors explain why focusing on the beliefs layer is the dominant layer and the essential starting point for analysis in military cultures. The public service culture (Tier 2) is a mediating and grounding culture for the military. It is firmly grounded in the foundational values of the state. The chapter outlines the landscape of external influencing cultures (Tier 3) in the defense and military landscape. Finally, the potential value and challenges of developing internal knowledge, learning, and collaboration (KLC) cultures are explored.

Details

The Cultures of Knowledge Organizations: Knowledge, Learning, Collaboration (KLC)
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-336-4

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1986

Willa J. Thomas

Family reunions are a tradition almost as old as the human species. They may be as small as the reunion of members of an immediate family, or as large as the gathering of an…

Abstract

Family reunions are a tradition almost as old as the human species. They may be as small as the reunion of members of an immediate family, or as large as the gathering of an extended family. The family reunion renews old bonds, reclaims lost ties, and recognizes new branches of the family tree. Keeping track of all the branches of the family is the central purpose of a family reunion. Accordingly, attempts at genealogical research may begin or end at a family reunion. A person's interest in investigating her family's history might be aroused when she hears old family stories; a researcher might obtain at a reunion the information he has been seeking in libraries. Completed research is often discussed at the reunions of families whose members have been studying the families' histories over a period of years. Many such families join into family associations or organizations of some kind, occasionally even becoming incorporated.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2011

Sheila Corrall and Jonathan Keates

The prevalence of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education is well documented and has been promoted in the UK by government funded projects, but there has been…

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Abstract

Purpose

The prevalence of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education is well documented and has been promoted in the UK by government funded projects, but there has been little empirical research on the level of involvement of subject librarians with VLEs. A survey was designed to investigate how VLEs are affecting the work of subject librarians and to examine factors influencing their use in providing electronic information resources and developing information skills. The aim of this paper is to document the results

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was distributed electronically to a purposive sample of 132 subject librarians at seven UK universities. The instrument contained mainly closed specified response questions with a few open questions and a response rate of 43 per cent (n=57) was achieved.

Findings

Use of VLEs by subject librarians varies both between and within institutions. Factors affecting this include the subject area, co‐operation of academic staff and attitudes of librarians towards technology‐based teaching. JISC‐funded projects have enabled better use of VLEs through the creation of re‐usable learning objects and development of pedagogical understanding and skills. Recognition by academic staff of the teaching role of subject librarians has a critical impact on their involvement with VLEs.

Research limitations/implications

The timeframe limited the scale of the study and size of the sample. The mainly quantitative approach limited the detail and depth of responses, but sufficient data were collected to establish broad trends, illuminate important factors and identify key issues.

Originality/value

The paper provides empirical evidence of how VLEs are affecting the day‐to‐day activities of subject librarians and suggests areas where further research would be valuable.

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1974

Tom Schultheiss, Lorraine Hartline, Jean Mandeberg, Pam Petrich and Sue Stern

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the…

Abstract

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 7 January 2014

Vicente Pina, Lourdes Torres and Patricia Bachiller

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the economic and technological factors that determine the quality of European telecommunications services. The paper test whether the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the economic and technological factors that determine the quality of European telecommunications services. The paper test whether the privatisation, the efficiency and the labour factor of telecommunications operators are determinants of service quality and whether competition, technology and infrastructure investment in the telecommunications sector influence that quality.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper use the panel data methodology to analyse the factors that determine the quality of service of telecommunications.

Findings

The results indicate that the more efficient the company is, the more quality it will deliver. However, the paper finds no evidence that the privatisation and the restructuring of the labour force of the main telecommunications operators, or the competition, technology and investments in the sector, lead to greater quality.

Practical implications

In order to foster higher quality, effective market competitiveness has to be established to avoid benefitting the incumbent company and to make the development of competition possible in the long run.

Originality/value

Although previous literature assumes a positive relationship between the performance of privatised companies and quality, this study shows that the privatisation and liberalisation processes do not bring about quality improvements by themselves. The research finds that the efficiency of privatised companies is the primary source of quality.

Details

Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-4529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2010

Paulo Alves and James Uhomoibhi

This paper seeks to investigate and report on the status of identity management systems and e‐learning standards across Europe for promoting mobility, collaboration and the…

2011

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to investigate and report on the status of identity management systems and e‐learning standards across Europe for promoting mobility, collaboration and the sharing of contents and services in higher education institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The present research work examines existing e‐learning standards and the tools and processes applied to managing the identity of learners registered for programmes of study in higher education. The paper draws on recent developments and argues that the creation of identity management federations is mandatory to provide the mobility of users and to permit the exchange of contents and services between institutions.

Findings

It is revealed that it is crucial to create identity management federation to provide for ease of mobility and facilitate collaboration and sharing information amongst staff and students in higher education.

Research limitations/implications

The challenges arising from language, culture and differences in systems for the regions require consideration. Future work intends to incorporate some of these issues, to examine and report on them from the diverse perspectives, taking into account, the impact of globalisation.

Originality/value

This paper presents the main features of e‐learning standards and how they can be used in conjunction with identity management systems to create collaborative learning objects repositories to promote a more effective learning experience and a more competitive European space for higher education, with respect to the requirements of knowledge‐based societies.

Details

Campus-Wide Information Systems, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1065-0741

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 October 2011

Sue Middleton

In the early 1840s Edward Gibbon Wakefield's New Zealand Company recruited “emigrants of the labouring classes” promising: “every one of them who is industrious and thrifty, may…

Abstract

Purpose

In the early 1840s Edward Gibbon Wakefield's New Zealand Company recruited “emigrants of the labouring classes” promising: “every one of them who is industrious and thrifty, may be sure to become not merely an owner of land, but also in his turn an employer of hired labourers, a master of servants.” Letters sent “Home” to Ham (a village in Surrey, UK) from Wellington between 1841‐1844, by a group of labouring families, project textual personae consistent with this liberal image. The purpose of this paper is to explore educational processes involved in the production of these colonial identities.

Design/methodology/approach

The letters are read in relation to archival resources: the curriculum of the National School and alternative educational models in Ham, records of schools provided in Wellington, and pedagogical intentions signalled in the records of the New Zealand Company.

Findings

Arguing that migration resulted in a radical change in the subjectivity of these labouring class families, this paper contrasts the curricula of the “National School” attended by these children in Ham with the more secular offerings in Wellington. Their “National School” taught Ham's lower orders to accept their God‐given “stations” in life. Radical critique was suppressed. In Wellington the first schools, such as the Mechanics’ Institute, were non‐denominational, prioritising practical knowledge. Foundations for a secular society based on liberal values were laid.

Originality/value

There is little educational research on how participation in the Wakefield scheme transformed those who, in rural England, were required to remain subservient members of the power orders, into the enterprising independent subjects required in the new colony.

Details

History of Education Review, vol. 40 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0819-8691

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2012

Marc Ivaldi, Senay Sokullu and Tuba Toru

With the liberalization of air transport and the enlargement of air traffic, airports face insistent requests from airlines to perform and improve both service quality and cost…

Abstract

With the liberalization of air transport and the enlargement of air traffic, airports face insistent requests from airlines to perform and improve both service quality and cost efficiency. As a result, airport ownership, governance, and regulations are debated and sometimes have already been changed. Airport pricing under different governance structure is a central issue in this context.

Details

Pricing Behavior and Non-Price Characteristics in the Airline Industry
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-469-6

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