Search results

In this conceptual essay, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the structure of databases and other information systems provides valuable information beyond their content. The author contends that reading databases – as a separate, distinct activity from retrieving and reading the documents that databases contain – is an under-studied form of human-information interaction. Because the act of reading databases encourages awareness, reflection, and control over information systems, the author aligns the author’s proposal with “slow” principles, as exemplified by the slow food movement.

This paper presents an extended argument to demonstrate the value of reading a database. Reading a database involves understanding the relationship between database structure and database content as an interpretation of the world. For example, when a supermarket puts vermicelli in the pasta section but rice vermicelli in the Asian section, the supermarket suggests that rice vermicelli is more “Asian” than “noodle.” To construct the author’s argument, the author uses examples that range from everyday, mundane activities with information systems (such as using maps and automated navigation systems) to scientific and technical work (systematic reviews of medical evidence).

The slow, interpretively focused information interactions of reading databases complement the “fast information” approach of outcome-oriented retrieval. To facilitate database reading activities, research should develop tools that focus user attention on the application of database structure to database contents. Another way of saying this is that research should exploit the interactive possibilities of metadata, either human-created or algorithmically generated.

This paper argues that information studies research focuses too heavily on seeking and retrieval. Seeking and retrieval are just two of the many interactions that constitute our everyday activities with information. Reading databases is an area particularly ripe with design possibilities.

This paper looks at the first full year of the implementation of CISTI Source at the Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland. The paper comments generally on journal use by title and takes a close look at the level of ordering associated with a group of Elsevier journal titles cancelled in 2002. It looks at the difficulty of putting in place a mechanism to prevent the ordering of articles for which there are local holdings in both paper and/or electronic formats. It discusses the consequences of not having an adequate blocking mechanism in the context of the overall cost of CISTI Source versus savings garnered from journal cancellations. The paper looks at user uptake and reaction to the new document delivery service. The paper reports briefly on the trial delivery of colour articles by Ariel between CISTI and the Queen Elizabeth II Library.

The Beagle Bay Immersion Program is a Christian Service-Learning experience, which facilitates opportunities for secondary school students to experience unique expressions of cultural diversity found in remote Aboriginal communities of Western Australia. Through engagement in the program, students undergo a process of experiential learning, identifying core social justice issues present in a broader Australian social context, and helping to address identified community needs. This immersion program is conducted as part of the Christian Service-Learning Program at a Perth-based Catholic Secondary College in Western Australia. The Beagle Bay Immersion Program serves as an opportunity for students to engage in acts of discipleship, modeling values of social and cultural inclusivity as a means of enriching their own communities. Underpinned by core Gospel values, the program aims to actively promote a “spirit of solidarity and service to others” (Prendiville, 2016, p. 42) both among the immediate participants and the wider school community. Presented in this chapter is an examination of the values which guide the College’s Service-Learning Program and the ways in which the Beagle Bay Immersion Program facilitates attitudes of inclusivity by exposing students to diverse populations. Christian Service-Learning can serve as a means through which students can circumvent barriers that preclude exposure to diversity. The Beagle Bay Immersion Program seeks to build relationships through service, which benefit both the College and Beagle Bay Communities, providing students opportunities for personal, spiritual, and academic growth while fostering a culture of inclusion.

This study aims to focus on verifying the possibility of monitoring the condition of a turboprop engine using data recorded by on-board avionics Garmin G1000. This approach has potential benefits for operators without the need to invest in specialised equipment. The main focus was on the inter-turbine temperature (ITT). An unexpected increase in temperature above the usual value may indicate an issue with the engine. The problem lies in the detection of small deviations when the absolute value of the ITT is affected by several external variables.

The ITT is monitored by engine sensors and stored by avionics 1× per second onto an SD card. This process generates large amount of data that needs to be processed. Therefore, an algorithm was created to detect the steady states of the engine parameters. The ITT value also depends on the flight parameters and surrounding environment. As a solution to these effects, the division of data into clusters that represent the usual flight profiles was tested. This ensures a comparison at comparable ambient pressures. The dominant environmental influence then remain at the ambient air temperature (OAT). Three OAT compensation methods were tested in this study. Compensation for the standard atmosphere, compensation for the standard temperature of the given flight level and compensation for the speed of the generator, where the regression analysis proved the dependence between the ambient temperature and the speed of the generator.

The influence of ambient temperature on the corrected ITT values is noticeable. The best method for correcting the OAT appears to be the use of compensation through the revolutions of the compressor turbine NG. The speed of the generator depends on several parameters, and can refine the corrected ITT value. During the long-term follow-up, the ITT differences (delta values) were within the expected range. The tested data did not include the behaviour of the engine with a malfunction or other damage that would clearly verify this approach. Therefore, the engine monitoring will continue.

This study presents a possible approach to turbine engine condition monitoring using limited on board avionic data. These findings can support the development of an engine condition monitoring system with automatic abnormality detection and low operating costs.

This article represent a practical description of problems in monitoring the condition of a turboprop engine in an aircraft with variable flight profiles. The authors are not aware of a similar method that uses monitoring of engine parameters at defined flight levels. Described findings should limit the influence of ambient air pressure on engine parameters.

There have been great advances in our understanding of how universities effectively undertake community engagement, with research focused upon understanding community partner perspectives and outcomes (see Andrée et al., 2014; Srinivas et al., 2015; Sweatman & Warner, 2020), and democratic civic engagement (see Hall et al., 2013; Saltmarsh et al., 2009). This chapter builds on these studies to critically examine one university’s capacities to coordinate institutional-level change that supports and advances community-engagement scholarship. A small, rural, undergraduate university in Nova Scotia, Canada, called Acadia University was used as the case study site for this examination. Using an action research case study design, we gathered data from multiple sources within and outside of the University over a three-year period. Through this investigation Acadia’s community-engagement ethos was studied to understand if the University has the assets, resources, knowledge and motivation to create, implement and sustain democratic community engagement initiatives with community partners. From this data, key findings were categorized into three major themes: power and positionality of the University, institutional supports and barriers to engagement, and institutional assessment of community engagement initiatives. This chapter discusses these themes in depth using data from this study and current literature to unpack the practicalities and particularities of an institution committing to a deep, pervasive and integrated community engagement culture. Overall, this study found that Acadia’s community engagement ethos, as it moves towards democratic engagement while navigating systematic internal and external constraints, is diverse and complex. This study contributes to the legitimization of community engagement scholarship more broadly.

Punitive damages is a controversial topic in the legal profession and in the field of economics. This chapter explores the economics of punitive damages as they relates to corporate defendants. The economic difference between large corporations and other potential defendants, such as individuals or smaller closely held companies, causes the effects of a punitive award to be different. In some circumstances, these differences raise significant questions as to the appropriateness of punitive damages when imposed on large corporations.

This chapter looks at male-on-male sexual activity in the subaltern world of male sexual spaces. It examines the importance of such spaces regarding etiquette, negotiation, opportunities, safety, safer sex practices, status, and navigation of sexual expression including experimentation, exploration, and risk-taking through sexual activity. It also explores how these time-limited communal engagements for sexual pleasure and affirmation contrast normative societal expectations. Through hard-copy and online content analysis as well as ethnographic immersion and observations in the subaltern world of gay male sexual spaces such as bathhouses, circuit clubs, dark rooms, fetish balls, porn theaters, sex clubs, and sex shops, a self-monitored subculture that creates its own tribal rituals at various odds with both mainstream societal and LGBTQ movement norms is examined. By deviating from and resisting such norms, this tribe demonstrates how it maintains a core drive of liberated sexuality outside of mainstreamed sexual governance. Premised on spatial theory, in which space, place, and spatial practices are deconstructed with regard to the creation and preservation of male-on-male fetish activities, a link is made to queer liberation theory that supports self-defined sexual expression, including that of kink.

The field of service-learning (SL) remains obscure as it has been variously defined and often misunderstood by many. There is a confusion in the academic literature and in practice as to what exactly service-learning means, and this confusion has been exacerbated by the way it has been misunderstood and implemented in various institutions. The aim of this volume dedicated to international case studies on service learning is to gain deeper insight into the multifaceted nature of this subject and the perplexities associated with it. The authors of this volume have adopted a holistic approach and have captured various interventions and approaches to find out the most accurate path toward gaining a complete picture of how service-learning impacts students with its emphasis on problem-solving, experiential learning, and community engagement. The volume will shed light on how successfully service-learning has been adopted to the existing curriculum with the emergence of a new breed of students who are aligned with the needs of the community and undertakes collaborative work to solve real-world issues.

The case opens with Martha Stewart's 2005 release from prison following her conviction for obstructing an insider-trading investigation of her 2001 sale of personal stock. The scandal dealt a crippling blow to the powerful Martha Stewart brand and drove results at her namesake company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO), deep into the red. But as owner of more than 90 percent of MSO's voting shares, Stewart continued to control the company throughout the scandal.

The company faced significant external challenges, including changing consumer preferences and mounting competition in all of its markets. Ad rates were under pressure as advertisers began fragmenting spending across multiple platforms, including the Internet and social media, where MSO was weak. New competitors were luring readers from MSO's flagship publication, Martha Stewart Living. And in its second biggest business, merchandising, retailing juggernauts such as Walmart and Target were crushing MSO's most important sales channel, Kmart. Internal challenges loomed even larger, with numerous failures of governance while the company attempted a turnaround.

This case can be used to teach either corporate governance or turnarounds.

Students will learn:

• How control of shareholder voting rights by a founding executive can undermine corporate governance

• The importance of independent directors and board committees

• How company bylaws affect corporate governance

• How to recognize and respond to early signs of stagnation

• How to avoid management actions that can make a crisis worse

• How weaknesses in executive leadership can push a company into crisis and foster a culture that actively prevents strategic revitalization

How control of shareholder voting rights by a founding executive can undermine corporate governance

The importance of independent directors and board committees

How company bylaws affect corporate governance

How to recognize and respond to early signs of stagnation

How to avoid management actions that can make a crisis worse

How weaknesses in executive leadership can push a company into crisis and foster a culture that actively prevents strategic revitalization

Develops an original 12‐step management of technology protocol and applies it to 51 applications which range from Du Pont’s failure in Nylon to the Single Online Trade Exchange for Auto Parts procurement by GM, Ford, Daimler‐Chrysler and Renault‐Nissan. Provides many case studies with regards to the adoption of technology and describes seven chief technology officer characteristics. Discusses common errors when companies invest in technology and considers the probabilities of success. Provides 175 questions and answers to reinforce the concepts introduced. States that this substantial journal is aimed primarily at the present and potential chief technology officer to assist their survival and success in national and international markets.