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Defines sabbatical leave and describes its origin and rationale. Outlines its benefits to the professional librarian and library information science educator and the host institution. Discusses some major problems currently faced by them in Africa and offers suggestions. Briefly describes the writer′s experiences while on sabbatical leave in the Department of Library and Information Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

In this research, which has involved collecting Iranian faculty members' accounts of their experiences of sabbaticals, the authors are seeking to understand how faculty members make sense of events throughout the process of sabbatical, construction these events into episodes and thereby maintaining unity within their lives.

Using narrative qualitative method and episodic interviews the researchers collected and analyzed the data by applying MAXQDA 2020 software. In this study, the impact of sabbatical leave on faculty members' academic achievement was measured in three ways: individually, professionally and organizationally.

Sabbatical leave changed their academic and personal values. In addition, the results of the narrative analysis showed that sabbatical leave experience could enable faculty members to change themselves in terms of their lifestyle and attitudes. A considerable influence on their families was also found. Moreover, from individual dimension, it was found that participants' engagement with their colleagues and their sense of social responsibility especially in environmental protection zone area had increased. Furthermore, in professional and academic area, the participants reported tendency toward more team work, more creative approach and they developed a sense of innovation and willingness to take risks.

The findings of the study showed that faculty members sabbatical leave experience could stimulate their global thinking toward foreign overseas universities, their students and colleagues and they could have more publications in foreign languages. Based on the findings of the study some reconsiderations in administrative regulations should be taken into account in order to enable volunteer faculty members to take part in sabbatical leave programs.

The authors demonstrate that how Iranian higher education regulations and dominated patriarchy, deprive female faculty members from sabbaticals. In addition, the results indicate that using sabbatical leaves by males, and mostly in STEM fields in Iran are fundamental in producing and reproducing inequalities regarding gender and academic field.

The paper addresses an important topic and by using a relevant qualitative method for examining participants' views in the study has added complementary information to the literature of faculty members' professional development. The study has been conducted in a particular context with a different understanding of the topic, since studying such a topic in Iran is missing almost in the literature.

Although the sabbatical leave is an integral part of academic life, there has been relatively little empirical, theory-driven research of the process. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the limited research on faculty sabbaticals with the careers literature to offer a new approach for the study of this important tool for faculty development.

A review of the empirical studies on faculty sabbaticals was performed and used in conjunction with the kaleidoscope career model (KCM) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to develop a model to guide future research.

The decision to take a sabbatical is complex and may have long-lasting implications for an individual's career. It is important to examine how factors that impact the perceived feasibility of the sabbatical (e.g. organization, country social norms) and desirability (e.g. need for authenticity, balance and challenge) influence the decisions, goals and outcomes of the sabbatical.

The use of the KCM, the TPB and the careers literature provides a theoretical foundation to study faculty sabbaticals as a distinct event in an individual's career development.

The proposed framework can be used by faculty members to determine the feasibility and desirability of taking a sabbatical as well as what factors which may encourage or limit sabbatical opportunities.

This conceptual paper uses a careers lens to provide a theory-driven framework which can be used to conduct much needed research on faculty sabbaticals.

The academic–practitioner gap has been a widely discussed and well-established issue. Despite numerous studies conducted in this area, empirical evidence reveals that the gap is widening and also emphasizes the exigency to bridge this gap. Hence, the purpose of this study is to propose an acceptable solution that will fill this lacuna.

The study adopts the qualitative research methodology and was based on the system theory (ST) and the institutional theory (IT). Interviews, based on a semi-structured questionnaire, were conducted, focusing on three categories, namely individuals with solely academic experience, individuals with both academic and industrial exposure and business leaders. The unit of analysis was the individual.

The study, which unearthed some rich and challenging evidence from the respondents, reveals that gaining industrial exposure and working on continuous professional development are vital for academics to narrow or even close this gap. In addition, serving as apex members at board level or in professional bodies, serving global organizations as lead consultants and working on research collaborations are other important dimensions for academics.

This study introduces an emerging model named the “Pentagon Model” and develops a corporate index (C-index) for academics to earn, similar to the h-index. The study also explains the operationalization of the C-index based on the proposed algorithm. Hence, it is the envisaged that this study will change the landscape of the academic sphere in practical terms.

This study was carried out with the sole intention of bridging the gap between academics and practitioners. The proposed model and the index, which were developed by the author purely based on the outcome of this study, pave the way for many future research studies, not only to further improve the C-index but also to minimize disparities in transdisciplinary work between academics and practitioners.

A brief historical background of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) and its library is given. This article then provides a brief overview of the concept of staff development and discusses in detail the various staff development efforts of librarians by ATBU Library, Bauchi. These include staff orientation, staff meetings, in‐service training, academic library staff seminars and representation on Schools Boards of Studies. Other relevant activities include professional activities, library use instructions, sabbatical leave, personnel training and outreach as well as library research. Finally, the article advocates that staff development should also aim at staff retention through the provision of incentives for staff.

We have made the point that movements in society at large are, in the immediate future, going to have a great influence on what happens inside organisations and on organisational performance. We have grouped these influences under the generic title of socio‐political movements. Perhaps the best‐known of them is the industrial democracy activity, culminating in Bullock and since subsiding, but we can cite a wide range of others: equal opportunities regardless of sex or ethnic origin; equal pay; producer co‐operatives; profit‐sharing in its many forms and worker control in even more guises. These topics have a very large political content; indeed, some of them are becoming the main planks of the left wing policies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the workplace experiences of women employees during maternity and post-maternity periods to reveal the institutional order that coordinated the social relations and shaped their experiences through local and extra-local texts.

The institutional ethnography research framework allowed for mapping of workplace experiences of women employees during their maternity and post-maternity periods in their local context, connecting them to the invisible extra-local social relations.

The research study explored the disjuncture between the gender diversity initiatives that aimed at the inclusion of women employees and the workplace experiences of women employees in terms of work disengagement and work role degradation, including career discontinuity.

The gender diversity and inclusion initiatives of an organization need to examine the local and extra-local institutional texts that govern their context and coordinate social relations, such that there is no inconsistency between the intentions, implementation and outcomes.

The state needs to revisit the maternity benefit act to provide additional measures to protect the career continuity of women, who choose maternity at some point in their work lives.

The paper explored the institutional order that influences the career continuity of women employees during maternity and post-maternity periods using institutional ethnography research framework in an information technology services organization in India. No such research study has even been attempted.

The paper gives brief background information on the evolution of university education in Ghana since 1948. It then attempts to explain the concept of status and the parameters of academic librarianship. The main objective of this paper was to find out the current status of librarians in Ghanian universities. To achieve this, data were gathered from the three older university libraries in the country through a questionnaire. It was found out that there was no consensus on the status of universities in Ghana. It then gives several suggestions to improve on the academic status of librarians in Ghana.

In the ever increasing competition in the employment market, an organization’s need to become a “great place to work” has gained significant momentum. Employer branding has thus emerged as an essential management practice employed by the organization to create its image as desirable employer in the eyes of prospective employees. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the understanding of employer branding through the eyes of “potential” young employees in Delhi and North Central Region, India. The results presented in this paper throw light on the perceived importance of employer branding among the prospective employees via analysis of various branding factors chosen for the study. The study results report that the perceived significance of employer branding factors differs mainly across gender and age of prospective employees. Notably, public and private sectors are being perceived significantly different by the potential job applicants on employer branding factors. Thus, this paper presents important findings enabling employers to build brand value and an attractive reputation in the job market so as to attract and retain the best talent.

Survey methodology was used to test the hypothesis. The sample was selected from Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) primarily from the students of business schools who were randomly selected to fill in the questionnaire. As they are the potential hires, it seemed appropriate to know their preference of employer branding factors. They are ready to join the corporations therefore, data extracted would be much more suitable as they can throw light on their immediate preferences and provide insight into the research study. For collection of data an online structured questionnaire was administered. A total of 270 questionnaires were administered and 239 filled questionnaires were received.

From the results it can be seen that private sector emerged as preferred sector of choice for the majority of potential employees. However, there are some factors which are handled well in private sector as compared to public sector and vice versa. There are some factors like – stability of the company, work-life balance and job security which potential employees perceive as important and therefore, need to be addressed by both public and private sector organizations.

Limitation of this study is that the findings cannot be generalized therefore, provide opportunities for further research. Moreover, the sample included only students as prospective employees seeking a new job or a career change. Thus the results obtained on a sample of relatively inexperienced job seekers, might partially reflect commonly held stereotypes of attractive organizations. Hence, it is interesting to use other samples such as experienced job seekers or those who are currently employed. Another limitation is that the study is restricted to Delhi and NCR region hence, the data is not representative of a wider population. Further research may expand the scope in terms of sample size as well. Future research may also explore the extent of employee attraction and retention vis-à-vis employer branding factors in organizations. A final avenue for future studies consists in exploring the processes which underlie the organizational choice decisions of prospective applicants.

This study has added to the growing body of research on employer branding factors by generating more knowledge and arguments in favor of certain employer branding factors in the workplace. If organizations truly want to attract good talented people then management needs to bring about the necessary organizational support and infrastructure at the early and middle stages of an employee’s career which are most often the stages where important choices are made. They need to be more considerate toward employee needs. Efforts can be made to build a good work culture by paying heed to their preferences. Therefore, this study helps establish a foundation for implementation of various employer branding factors which are perceived important by the potential job applicants, especially in Indian context. The findings are of particular important for human resource (HR) managers and policy makers in both public sector as well as private sectors in these times of increased inter-sectoral personnel movement. These findings can be utilized as a guiding instrument while inter-sectoral recruitment is being made. These would also enable employers to take appropriate action in order to build their employer brand based on certain discussed employer branding factors so as to attract talent which in turn would also help them in retaining talent.

There are many employer branding factors which tend to affect the mindset of potential employees in selecting their prospective employer. Employers can therefore, endeavor to understand those factors at length so as to attract talent which in turn would also help in retaining talent.

Results throw light on the perceived importance the potential employees give to various employer branding factors taken for the study. Perceived significance attached to employer branding factors differs across gender, age, education background, etc. It was also found that for some important employer branding factors public and private sectors are being perceived significantly different by the potential job applicants. Thus, paper presents important findings that would enable employers to take actions in order to build their employer brand so as to attract talent which in turn would also help them in retaining talent.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of family-friendly programs at the workplace in the Indonesian higher education sector. The focus is the impact that these programs have on employees’ work family conflict.

A survey of academic and non-academic staff from 30 higher education institutions across Indonesia participated in the research. A total of 159 completed questionnaires from 109 academic and 50 from non-academic staff are reported and statistically analysed using SPSS.

Work and family experiences in Indonesia do not positively align with the findings reported in most academic literature pertaining to western societies where the use of family-friendly programs (i.e. flexible work options, specialized leave options and dependent care support) leads to a reduction in employees’ work family conflict. In fact, some of the programs were found to have the opposite effect in the Indonesian context.

The design of family-friendly support has to take into account the context in which the policies will operates; these policies are not transferable across countries in terms of their effectiveness.

This is one of the first studies that has examined the operation and effectiveness of family-friendly support programs in an Indonesian context.