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This paper reviews and investigates the relationship and intersection between three employment developments of the past decade. The restructuring of employment, notably the growth in non‐standard employment forms, the implementation of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity legislation, and the development of enterprise based decentralised bargaining. The central issue investigated is whether the employment conditions of women workers have been enhanced, unaffected or regressed by these developments. Of particular interest is whether enterprise bargaining and employment restructuring are compatible with the implementation of equal employment opportunity (EEO) based employment conditions for women workers. The paper argues that employment restructuring and enterprise bargaining are unlikely to realise the goals associated with EEO legislation, indeed, many women workers will find it difficult to retain existing employment conditions. The paper concludes by examining the likely impact of further individualisation of industrial relations systems on the employment conditions of women workers in Australia.

This article describes a partnership between the Information Management Research Institute, Northumbria University and the Durham and Teesside Health Libraries Alliance which aims to put research into practice, conduct practitioner focussed research and develop the research capacity of NHS librarians. The work of the partnership is illustrated by looking at how the Alliance has used the findings of one of IMRI’s research projects “Partnerships in Health”. The Alliance has used these findings to inform their work plan, but in addition they have amended the project’s models in the light of their experiences of implementation and of NHS changes. These amendments in their turn generate new research questions and new research projects. Thus a research‐practice spiral is produced. The partnership is one example of evidence‐based librarianship in practice.

This article reports on findings from the first cycle of the three year JUBILEE (JISC User Behaviour in Information‐seeking: Longitudinal Evaluation of EIS) project, being undertaken at the Information Management Research Institute at the University of Northumbria, in respect of the degree to which students and academics in Higher Education lack the necessary skills to take full advantage of EIS. The skills are examined in subsets: IT literacy skills; information searching skills; evaluative & critical skills; and information handling skills. In addition there is discussion on how best to upskill students and at what point in their academic careers. Another debate, common at several JUBILEE case study sites, focuses on whether such upskilling is better delivered by academics or LIS personnel.

This paper aims to explore the issues, the role of research data management (RDM) as a mechanism for implementing open research data and the role and opportunities for records managers. The open data agenda is premised on making as much data as possible open and available. However, in the context of open research data there are methodological, ethical and practical issues with this premise.

Two collaborative research projects focusing on qualitative health data were conducted. “DATUM for Health” designed and delivered a tailored RDM skills training programme for postgraduate research students in health studies. “DATUM in Action” was an action research project between researchers from information sciences, health, mathematics and computing, looking at planning and implementing RDM.

Three key issues emerged about what research data is appropriate to make open/accessible for sharing and reuse: re-using qualitative data conflicts with some of the epistemological and methodological principles of qualitative research; there are ethical concerns about making data obtained from human participants open, which are not completely addressed by consent and anonymisation; many research projects are small scale and the costs of preparing and curating data for open access can outweigh its value. In exploring these issues, the authors advocate the need for effective appraisal skills and researcher-focused RDM with records managers playing a useful role.

The findings come from two small-scale qualitative projects in health studies. Further exploration of these issues is required.

Records managers have new crucial opportunities in the open data and RDM contexts, bringing their expertise and experience in managing a wider range of data and information. They can help realise the benefits of multiple perspectives (researcher, data manager, records manager and archivist) on open research data.

Researcher-focused RDM offers a mechanism for implementing open research data.

It raises complex issues around open research data not found in the records management literature, highlights the need for researcher-focussed RDM and research data appraisal skills and a not yet fully recognised role for records managers.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an approach to viewing the “wicked” problem of electronic records management (ERM), using the Cynefin framework, a sense‐making tool. It re‐conceptualises the ERM challenge by understanding the nature of the people issues. This supports decision making about the most appropriate tactics to adopt to effect positive change.

Cynefin was used to synthesise qualitative data from an empirical research project that investigated strategies and tactics for improving ERM.

ERM may be thought of as a dynamic, complex challenge but, viewed through the Cynefin framework, many issues are not complex; they are simple or complicated and can be addressed using best or good practice. The truly complex issues need a different approach, described as emergent practice. Cynefin provides a different lens through which to view, make sense of and re‐perceive the ERM challenge and offers a strategic approach to accelerating change.

Since Cynefin has been applied to one data set, the findings are transferrable not generalisable. They, and/or the approach, can be used to further test the propositions.

The resultant ERM framework provides a practical example for information and records managers to exploit or use as a starting point to explore the situation in particular organisational contexts. It could also be used in other practical, teaching and/or research‐related records contexts.

This paper provides a new strategic approach to addressing the wicked problem of ERM, which is applicable for any organisational context.

This paper presents qualitative data from a gender equity study at a Carnegie I research institution. In this paper we draw on interview data to explore the ways that our sample of senior women and men dealt with family‐work conflicts at different points in their careers. We offer stories of women (and a few men), who struggled with family‐work conflicts, and we provide these in their own voices. After first presenting our findings we demonstrate how they can be used to develop strategies to address family‐work conflicts and evaluate current programs. We first explore how women and men defined the problem of family‐work integration. We then review some of the main coping strategies they used at different points in their careers, and then explore the consequences that women experienced as a result of the university’s lack of support. We conclude by pointing to areas where in stitutionally supported programs and policies may be effective in addressing the balance between family and work.

The purpose of this paper is to explore lawsuits involving police response to domestic violence incidents. Focusing on the specific legal remedy of due process under Section 1983, the paper seeks to examine federal case law dealing with police response to domestic violence victims. The paper also aims to discuss differences in procedural and substantive due process violations, highlighting circumstances under which the police may be held liable for improper response to domestic violence incidents.

This paper qualitatively examines relevant Section 1983 federal court decisions (n=27 as of May, 2008) identified through a query of Lexis Nexis for the last ten years (before and after Castle Rock) dealing with lawsuits arising from domestic abuse investigations.

The preponderance of cases have resulted in dismissals of summary judgments filed against police officers and agencies for allegations that the police violated plaintiffs' due process rights. The recent Supreme Court decision in Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales has prevented plaintiffs from seeking relief under procedural due process; however, domestic abuse victims have been successful to some extent using substantive due process as a basis for civil action. Plaintiffs have prevailed in federal courts alleging that the police acted with deliberate indifference or conscious disregard for victims' civil rights.

The paper is limited to federal court decisions involving due process violations and does not account for factors resulting in state tort negligence lawsuits filed against the police. Moreover, federal courts will likely continue to use substantive due process as a Section 1983 remedy for domestic violence victims as research and awareness on domestic violence policy evolves.

The paper suggests that police agencies should take note of recent court decisions applicable to their jurisdictions as domestic violence enforcement policy remains fragmented. Agencies should ensure that police dispatcher 911 call classification policies are current and that training guidelines comport with these policies.

Given the prevalence of domestic violence in the USA, police agencies should expect increases in the number of lawsuits filed against the police for violations of substantive due process.

Questions why no research has been done into libraries and librarians, either school or public, from the child′s viewpoint. Notes results of a project where children were asked to draw their impressions of a library and discusses the results. Concludes by asking what is the future of the “real books” approach by teachers and educationalists if libraries are to be perceived as so much “spare capacity” within the school building.

Reports research by the National Consumer Council (NCC) into UK children’s experiences and views as consumers; this survey of 10 to 19 year olds found that they form a new shopping generation which is more even consumer brand oriented than American counterparts but feels vulnerable and is critical of shops, companies and advertisers. Outlines the NCC recommendations for a children’s agenda: this covers stiffer fines for mis‐selling to children, monitoring of children’s wellbeing and life satisfaction, new Ofcom powers to enforce content labelling for entertainment, and ending abuses in Internet marketing to children.