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Presents the findings of a qualitative study of university science, the Student Focus Project, as it relates to the concept of service culture as defined by McCormack, Neil and Triplett. Assessed 24 focus groups of undergraduate students to find out opinions on positive and negative aspects of student life. Concludes that the approach highlighted reliable themes regarding successes and failure of the university service culture.

The following annotated list of materials on providing library orientation to users and instructing them in library and information skills is the tenth annual review of this literature and covers publications from 1983. A few items have not been annotated because the compiler was unable to secure a copy of these items.

The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the eighteenth to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1991. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.

In this qualitative case study we explored the experiences of low- achieving students responding to an educational blog. Our intention was to leverage the unique affordances of blogs to teach United States history concepts primarily by providing access to digital primary sources and facilitating on-line participation. Overall, our findings point to the positive potential of blogs to enhance instruction with low-achieving students. We found the integration of the educational blog provided an effective instructional format to differentiate content instruction and deliver “equity pedagogy.” In this study student participation increased, students engaged in historical work (although tentative), and the resources activated their prior knowledge. Rather than withholding Web 2.0 technologies from low-achieving students we encourage teachers to use them to meet the unique learning needs of all of their students. With thoughtful scaffolding, it appears teachers might be able to leverage the unique features of blog-based activities to improve student experiences.

Very little Australian literature looks at women as leaders in education. Using theoretical viewpoints emerging out of a biographical and historical analysis, it is possible to construct a more inclusive model of leadership which includes both men and women in the past. Mapping such a process historically and biographically can give a detailed assessment of the social, historical and political dimensions of particular women leaders′ lives and also develop a theoretical framework, which gives equal status to the leadership experiences more common to women. Presents a historical narrative where recording lives raises critical questions at the same time as it unearths new evidence of the history of women educationists in Australia.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of Australian managers in relation to human rights issues and corporate responsibility inherent in their international business operations.

The paper reports findings from a qualitative research study; data were gathered from 70 face‐to‐face interviews with managers in the mining, textile and information technology industries who conducted international operations. The research method used was the critical incident technique, allowing interviewees to recall their observations and anecdotes in dealing with their perceived ethical dilemmas when operating offshore.

Human rights issues represented a serious dilemma for the Australian managers participating in this research. Findings in this study suggest that such issues, and resultant perceived dilemmas around their management, included child labour, hazardous working conditions, discrimination and exploitation of workers. The issues present self‐reported major dilemmas for managers as they challenge human rights concepts that underline their own ethical values in relation to the treatment of others in work environments. Respondents in this study report perceived limitations in dealing with cross‐cultural ethical issues, driven by economic and social reliance on such practices by their international business counterparts.

Understanding the nature of problems faced by Australian business managers in confronting perceived breaches of human rights may assist private and public sector organisations, both inside and outside of Australia, working in international environments. The paper reports insights and solutions offered by respondents encountering global human rights issues in the business context.

At California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, USA, systems thinking practice guides strategic organizational change. A new Research and Information Service and education (RISE) initiative and an emerging professional knowledge management model illustrate participants' “deep learning” as leaders realign the organization within the broader context of the academic enterprise. This study aims to examine this initiative.

This “thought leadership” approach uses soft systems methodology (SSM) to support collaborative learning focused on re‐examining organizational contexts and assumptions. Fortified by data‐driven dialogue, library faculty and staff learn how to think holistically about repurposing resources, redirecting programming, restructuring staff, and retooling expertise.

Rethinking activities guided by SSM build library staff capacity to improve systems and services through active learning experiences focused on interpreting results and applying insights from user research. Results to date also identify elements of and processes for transformational thought leadership in contemporary information and knowledge organizations.

This promising line of inquiry suggests the efficacy of systems thinking for organizational change initiatives which seek to better align workplace outcomes with constituencies' needs. Results to‐date also suggest elements of, and processes for, thought leadership initiatives which seek to create sustainable workplace learning culture.

This applied systems thinking methodology can inform organizational decision making intended to improve institutional alignment and, concurrently, advance workplace learning.

SSM is typically used in an isolated intervention by external organizational development consultants. At California Polytechnic State University, organizational leaders seek to embed SSM in workplace culture to further evidence‐based information practice and workplace learning.