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1 – 10 of over 7000Melanie T. Benson and Peter Willett
The purpose of this paper is to describe the historical development of library and information science (LIS) teaching and research in the University of Sheffield's Information…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the historical development of library and information science (LIS) teaching and research in the University of Sheffield's Information School since its founding in 1963.
Design/methodology/approach
The history is based on published materials, unpublished school records, and semi-structured interviews with 19 current or ex-members of staff.
Findings
The School has grown steadily over its first half-century, extending the range of its teaching from conventional programmes in librarianship and information science to include cognate programmes in areas such as health informatics, information systems and multi-lingual information management.
Originality/value
There are very few published accounts of the history of LIS departments.
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The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the life of Tony Lowe, Emeritus Professor of Accounting and Financial Management at the University of Sheffield, who died on 5 March…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the life of Tony Lowe, Emeritus Professor of Accounting and Financial Management at the University of Sheffield, who died on 5 March 2014. It celebrates Tony Lowe’s considerable direct contributions to accounting knowledge and, possibly more significantly, his indirect contribution through his enabling of a range of those associated with him at Sheffield to become scholars of distinction in their own right.
Design/methodology/approach
Publication review, personal reflections and argument.
Findings
Apart from providing insight into Tony Lowe's direct contribution to accounting knowledge through an analysis of a range of significant sole authored and joint authored publications, the paper gives rather more attention to his more indirect enabling contribution. In this regard it traces the development of initially the Management Control Association and subsequently the “Sheffield School” to Tony Lowe, clarifying the values that underlie these groups. It also clarifies how some of the key elements that have allowed the now global Interdisciplinary and Critical Perspectives on Accounting (ICPA) Project to exist and flourish are traceable to Tony Lowe and the “Sheffield School” he created.
Research limitations/implications
This paper provides an important historical analysis of the direct and indirect influence of a unique scholar on the beginnings and development of particularly the now global ICPA Project. This history is personal and maybe selective and possibly limited because of this but hopefully will encourage others to investigate the claims further.
Originality/value
The history of the ICPA Project has only partially been told before. This is another part of this history that has not been analysed before on which further work can build.
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Alison Cowen, Pippa Murray and Simon Duffy
Personalised Transition demonstrates how a collaborative approach to funding individual budgets for disabled school leavers with complex needs in Sheffield has led to more…
Abstract
Personalised Transition demonstrates how a collaborative approach to funding individual budgets for disabled school leavers with complex needs in Sheffield has led to more positive, individualised outcomes for the young people and their families. The approach allows young people and their families to be in control of support planning and organising their lives beyond school with a mix of funding from health, social care and education according to individual needs. The focus is on the young person as a citizen with a contribution to make ‐ not as a service user. The model is already being used in five other local authority regions in Yorkshire and the Humber. The implications of the model go far wider ‐ to further reforms in adult social care, health care, education, children and families, and community development.
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The National Food Survey records of household food purchases and information concerning the dietary pattern of the population, obtained from estimates of total food consumption in…
Abstract
The National Food Survey records of household food purchases and information concerning the dietary pattern of the population, obtained from estimates of total food consumption in the UK showed that the nutritional value of the household diet exceeded the recommended daily intake for the majority of nutrients, at least until the end of 1973. However, it is known that with decreasing family income and increasing family size, average nutrient intake may fall below the recommended daily level for a few nutrients. The National Food Survey gives no indication of how food is distributed within the home, and it has long been recognised that children are a vulnerable group, particularly within larger families (3–4 or more children) on low incomes. The school meal was developed partially as a means of improving the diets of such vulnerable children.
Andrew D. Madden, Nigel J. Ford and David Miller
The purpose of this research is to study the information‐seeking habits of children at an English secondary school. Data from two different research exercises were collated in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to study the information‐seeking habits of children at an English secondary school. Data from two different research exercises were collated in order to provide an insight into how students perceived and used a range of information resources.
Design/methodology/approach
In the first research exercise, groups of children from each academic year were asked to discuss a set of information resources and to rank them according to perceived usefulness. In the second, students were asked to report, throughout the school year, on the resources they used to complete homework assignments.
Findings
The findings from these two exercises are best interpreted by using them to provide the answers to three questions: Which information resources did students consider to be the most useful? Which information resources did students use the most? When an information resource was referred to, how likely was it that students found it to be useful? The rankings differed considerably, depending on which question was being asked.
Originality/value
The results gave an insight into how different information resources were used for different subjects. They also provide evidence of the fact that students' reliance on other people as an information source begins to decline as they get older, and there is a corresponding increase in their use of books and electronic information sources.
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Tries to determine what constitutes quality in higher education. Assesses who are the customers of higher education and what should be measured. Outlines the developments at…
Abstract
Tries to determine what constitutes quality in higher education. Assesses who are the customers of higher education and what should be measured. Outlines the developments at Sheffield Business School which aim to provide a more satisfying learning experience for students.
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Ziko Konwar, Nikolaos Papageorgiadis, Mohammad Faisal Ahammad, Yumiao Tian, Frank McDonald and Chengang Wang
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of dynamic marketing capabilities (DMC), foreign ownership modes and sub-national locations on the performance of foreign-owned…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of dynamic marketing capabilities (DMC), foreign ownership modes and sub-national locations on the performance of foreign-owned affiliates (FOAs) in developing economies.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 254 FOAs in the Indian manufacturing sector (covering the period of 2000-2008 leading to 623 firm-year observations), the empirical paper adopts the panel data regression approach.
Findings
The study confirms the significant importance of DMC to assist FOAs to gain better sales performance in an emerging market such as India. The findings indicate that wholly owned foreign affiliates (WOFAs) have better sales performance than international joint ventures (IJVs), and majority-owned international joint ventures (MAIJVs) perform better than minority-owned international joint ventures in the Indian manufacturing sector. The results confirm that effective deployment of DMC leads to better sales performance in WOFAs and to some extent in MAIJVs. Perhaps the most interesting finding is that developing DMC in non-metropolitan areas is associated with higher sales growth than in metropolitan locations.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature by examining the impact of DMC on performance of FOA by considering the organised manufacturing sector in a large and fast growing developing economy. In addition, the results for the moderating effects provide novel evidence of the conditions under which DMC of FOA interact with different ownership modes and influence firm performance.
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Nick Noghan, Peter O’Connor and Marianna Sigala
Traditionally vision-focused, tourism effectively ignores the other senses. With tourists travelling to “see” places, an understanding of how people with vision impairment or…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditionally vision-focused, tourism effectively ignores the other senses. With tourists travelling to “see” places, an understanding of how people with vision impairment or blindness (PwVIB) experience tourism is currently lacking. Borrowing from psychology, this viewpoint proposes innovative research approaches to address this knowledge gap, clarifying how PwVIB psychologically experience tourism, enabling tourism professionals to design meaningful and appropriate tourism products and services for this market.
Design/methodology/approach
Reviewing extant literature on the tourist experience of PwVIB, this study highlights the existing knowledge gaps regarding understanding how PwVIB experience tourism, proposing alternative theoretical approaches and methodologies for use in future studies.
Findings
Alternative research approaches, borrowed from psychology, are proposed to address this knowledge gap and clarify our understanding of how PwVIB experience tourism, serving as a call to action for researchers to attack this issue in innovative ways. An example study, using a mental imagery approach is discussed by way of illustration of how such techniques could be applied.
Originality/value
Highlighting a gap in the understanding of tourist experiences of PwVIB, this viewpoint proposes the adoption of innovative research methods from psychology as a means of delving into the cognitive and conceptual processes involved, offering a new perspective on how to address this important and topical issue and contribute to the design of inclusive and meaningful tourism experiences for this demographic.
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Andrew D. Madden, Nigel J. Ford, David Miller and Philippa Levy
A common criticism of research into information seeking on the internet is that information seekers are restricted by the demands of the researcher. Another criticism is that the…
Abstract
Purpose
A common criticism of research into information seeking on the internet is that information seekers are restricted by the demands of the researcher. Another criticism is that the search topics, are often imposed by the researcher, and; particularly when working with children, domain knowledge could be as important as information‐seeking skills. The research reported here attempts to address both these problems.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 15 children, aged 11 to 16, were each set three “think aloud” internet searches. In the first, they were asked to recall the last time they had sought information on the internet, and to repeat the search. For the second, they were given a word, asked to interpret it, then asked to search for their interpretation. For the third, they were asked to recall the last time they had been unsuccessful in a search, and to repeat the search. While performing each task, the children were encouraged to explain their actions.
Findings
The paper finds that the factors that determined a child's ability to search successfully appeared to be: the amount of experience the child had of using the internet; the amount of guidance, both from adults and from peers; and the child's ability to explore the virtual environment, and to use the tools available for so doing.
Originality/value
Many of the searches performed by participants in this paper were not related to schoolwork, and so some of the search approaches differed from those taught by teachers. Instead, they evolved through exploration and exchange of ideas. Further studies of this sort could provide insights of value to designers of web environments.
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Natalie Claire Haynes and David Egan
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the continued interest in the concept of “miniaturism” has seen the micropub develop into the new format of the microbar and examines…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the continued interest in the concept of “miniaturism” has seen the micropub develop into the new format of the microbar and examines the drivers of this trend. It then reflects on the possible implications of the rise of the microbar concept on the future of the urban tourism destination landscape.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper that is built on the natural curiosity of future studies to use an understanding of the present to predict what will happen next and what the implications of those developments will be.
Findings
The paper provides a clear definition of the microbar and identifies four distinctive drivers behind its conception, linked to changes in consumer behaviour. These cover the rise of the micro-break, the need for responsible urban regeneration, consumers desire for immediate and unique experiences and increasingly diverse populations. The paper predicts that these trends will drive an increase in microbars leading to greater tourist mobility in the urban tourism destination, more fragmentation and heterogeneity of products and services as well as an intensification in the need for authentic experiences and opportunity driven development giving rise to a hybrid form of guerrilla hospitality. Ultimately the authors predict that the venue will become more important than the specific location when consumers view the landscape of the urban tourism destination.
Originality/value
The focus of previous academic research has been on the historic development of the micropub and its impact on regeneration and communities, but very little literature has examined the rise of the microbar and the potential implications for the urban tourism destination.
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