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Article
Publication date: 1 April 2005

Mei‐yung Leung, Xinhong Lu and Hon‐yan Ip

The Hong Kong SAR Government increased its expenditure on education by 13.2 per cent from 1998‐1999 to 2002‐2003 in order to improve education and upgrade school facilities…

1910

Abstract

Purpose

The Hong Kong SAR Government increased its expenditure on education by 13.2 per cent from 1998‐1999 to 2002‐2003 in order to improve education and upgrade school facilities, despite the fact that the economy was in bad shape. To investigate the current facility management (FM) of secondary schools in Hong Kong, a study of the needs of the end‐users (students and teachers) was conducted. The paper aims at identifying major FM components and investigating the relationships between the identified FM components and overall satisfaction with FM in three common locations within secondary schools (classrooms, IT laboratories and libraries).

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey of 1,472 local students was conducted to evaluate the FM performance of schools, as well as to establish the relationships between the levels of satisfaction with each FM component and overall satisfaction with FM. A number of formal interviews with local students, teachers and professional school designers were also conducted so that the gap between users' needs and designers' considerations could be identified by cross‐checking the differences between the data gathered from the questionnaires and the interviews.

Findings

The study revealed that different locations within secondary schools emphasise different FM components (e.g. flexibility, temperature and safety and security in classrooms; seat allocation, density, colour and decoration, technical support and safety and security in IT laboratories; and seat allocation, lighting, temperature and furniture in libraries). Hygiene, natural lighting and sufficient facilities were found to be key FM components in all three locations in secondary schools.

Research limitations/implications

The interviews focussed on two schools only, while the questionnaire was conducted on four schools. However, since the interviewees included end‐users (teachers and students) and designers of both schools, we believe that the differential responses to the FM components reflected in the study do not indicate that our results are biased. On the other hand, the study only examined students in Forms 2, 4 and 6. The results might be slightly different if the questionnaires were filled in by all the students in the schools. A study of all students in secondary schools is recommended in order to understand and confirm the requirements of FM from the point of view of end‐users.

Practical implications

Designers need to understand end‐users' expectations in the preliminary stage of design in order to enhance learning among students and ensure that school buildings are designed to achieve educational purposes. Some important elements are the arrangement of classroom seats in rows, the avoidance of desk movement in class, the provision of natural lighting, the installation of an adjustable temperature control, the improvement of natural ventilation, the measurement of noise, the installation of a lock for each drawer, the provision of sufficient facilities in each room and the selection of building materials for hygiene purposes. On the other hand, facility managers also need to ensure good hygiene and upgrade technical support, especially in IT laboratories.

Originality/value

This paper identified 13 major FM components and evaluated the relationship between the identified FM components and overall satisfaction with FM. The results indicate that different FM components are emphasised in three common locations within secondary schools (classrooms, IT laboratories and libraries). Designers and facility managers need to understand end‐users' expectations in the design stage and the operation stage, respectively, in order to enhance learning among students and ensure that school buildings are designed to achieve educational purposes.

Details

Facilities, vol. 23 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1995

Michael A. McGinnis, C.M. Kochunny and Kenneth B. Ackerman

Logistics managers were surveyed regarding decisions (1) to use third party logistics services and (2) practices regarding the selection of third party providers. Responses…

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Abstract

Logistics managers were surveyed regarding decisions (1) to use third party logistics services and (2) practices regarding the selection of third party providers. Responses suggest that decisions to use third party logistics services are not driven by strong preconceptions, pro or con, regarding the attractiveness of the third party option. Further, attitudes toward the use of third party logistics services are not greatly affected by the firm's competitive responsiveness strategy or its perceived external environment. When a decision has been made to use third party providers, a wide range of performance oriented selection criteria are important. But, price considerations are important only after performance criteria have been met, and both the firm's competitive responsiveness strategy and external environment affect the selection criteria. It was concluded that selection criteria were much more affected by performance issues rather than cost issues. Implications for logistics service providers, users, teachers, and researchers are presented.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2015

Matthew Cook

The “build it and they will come approach” is a largely accepted proposition in the library community, particularly in the area of special collections. There is, at times, little…

Abstract

Purpose

The “build it and they will come approach” is a largely accepted proposition in the library community, particularly in the area of special collections. There is, at times, little critical analysis given to collection development, digitization efforts or information literacy instruction in regard to how these hard-to-serve but research-rich materials might be used in the classroom. Instead, there exists a benevolent know-it-all expert determining which collections warrant preservation, digitization, acquisition and, ultimately, attention. At California State University (CSU) Channel Islands (CI), the user – teachers and students – is the focus of all special collection activities, and we have devised innovative ways to both encourage students and faculty to engage these materials as well as foster their appreciation, awareness and use on campus.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper explores three ways that librarians at the John Spoor Broome Library encourage and facilitate the use of primary documents housed in unique collections to support undergraduate student research.

Findings

The use of high-impact teaching practices, like undergraduate research, is an important tool in promoting retention and increasing graduation rates, particularly for underrepresented minorities. At CSU CI and the John Spoor Broome Library, engaging students with primary documents is a focus of unique collections work that benefits both students and the Library alike.

Originality/value

Digitization is a key component of most special collections work in the library world today, but perhaps efforts focused on promoting use are lacking. At CI, use is the primary focus of all unique collections work and, thus, could be a model for other libraries and archive departments.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2019

Kalliopi Evangelia Stavroulia, Maria Christofi, Evangelia Baka, Despina Michael-Grigoriou, Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann and Andreas Lanitis

The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of a virtual reality (VR)-based approach to improve teacher education and life-long professional development. Through constant…

1657

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of a virtual reality (VR)-based approach to improve teacher education and life-long professional development. Through constant training in real-life based situations but within a safe three-dimensional virtual school environment, teachers are given the opportunity to experience and learn how to react to different types of incidents that may take place in a school environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The current paper presents the design cycle that was followed for the implementation of the VR teacher training system. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated with a case study that aimed to promote teachers’ understanding of student’s problematic situations related to substance use. As part of the experimental investigation, the impact of the VR system on participants’ emotions and mood states is evaluated through Electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements, heart rate (HR) recordings and self-reported data.

Findings

Results indicate significant changes to participant’s negative emotional and mood states, suggesting that the scenario and the VR experience had a strong impact on them. Moreover, participants’ HR was increased during the experiment, while the analysis of the EEG signal indicated that the participants experienced a stressful situation that could justify the change in their negative emotions and mood states.

Originality/value

The proposed VR-based approach aims to provide an innovative framework to teacher education and the related training methodology. In the long-term, the proposed VR system aims to form a new paradigm of teacher training, an alternative safe method that will allow user-teachers to learn through trial and error techniques that reflect real-life situations within a three-dimensional school space and without the risk of harming real students. To the best of our knowledge this is one of the first systematic attempts to use a VR-based methodology to address real teachers’ needs. The development of the VR application is linked to both strong theoretical foundations in education derived from the literature but also from real teachers’ problems and requirements derived from an extensive literature analysis, survey and interviews with experts including teachers, school counselors and psychologists. The VR tool addresses specific teachers’ competences as outcome, after an extensive documentation of existing Teachers’ Competence Models and significant guidance by experts who pointed specific competencies of primary importance to teachers.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 June 2019

Lars-Gunnar Mattsson and Per Andersson

Contemporary public service innovations to an important degree are initiated and enabled by digitalization. Digitalization stimulates entry of new firms (start-ups) based on…

1558

Abstract

Purpose

Contemporary public service innovations to an important degree are initiated and enabled by digitalization. Digitalization stimulates entry of new firms (start-ups) based on innovative implementation of digital technology for public services. The interwoven digitalization and innovation processes involve interaction and interdependencies between private business actors and public service providing actors. In this paper, the authors take the perspective of a start-up business actor that tries to develop and implement a viable business model in the very dynamic context of digital transformation of public education. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the instability of a startup firm’s business model during public service innovation can be explained. The research question is: “How can business modeling by a start-up firm be explained by tensions between its business model and public service provision models?”

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an abductive logic, the authors choose a single-case study of a start-up firm’s development in 2010-2018 and its interaction with public actors. Information about the firm acquired in the first phase of the study showed that it frequently changed its business model. A general analytical framework was developed to aid in efforts to answer the research question.

Findings

The case showed that a business model could be seen as a temporary outcome of a business modeling process, and that also concurrently public actors change their public actors’ service provisioning models. Public-private interaction reveals tensions that drive business modeling.

Originality/value

The study contributes to empirical knowledge about private-public interaction in the dynamic and complex context in which digital transformation in society drives public service innovations. The conceptual contribution rests more generally in the analytical framework and how it frames public actor’s “service provision modeling” as a driver of business modeling.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2019

Ana Lucia Manrique, Ely A.T. Dirani, Annie F. Frere, Geraldo E. Moreira and Pedro M. Arezes

Despite dealing with special educational needs (SEN) students, many teachers feel unprepared for this task. This situation reveals the urgent need for studies in different areas…

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Abstract

Purpose

Despite dealing with special educational needs (SEN) students, many teachers feel unprepared for this task. This situation reveals the urgent need for studies in different areas, directed toward the inclusion of students in regular classrooms. Therefore, a diagnosis about the situation of inclusive education and the resources available in schools offering regular teaching becomes of paramount importance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the results of an investigation that sought information on pedagogical work in inclusive education and in the use of support materials by teachers of basic education in Brazil and Portugal.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to carry out this investigation, a questionnaire was developed by a partnership between researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil and the University of Minho, Portugal, and applied to mathematics teachers. The study participants consisted of 197 mathematics teachers, working in primary school, secondary school and young people and adult education. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire, available online and designed in Google Forms, with 48 questions (both open and closed formats).

Findings

From the results obtained, there is a clear need not only for promoting initial and further teacher training that takes into consideration the profile of this teacher, but also for promoting the development of support materials (games, software, devices and assistive technology) in a collaborative way, involving users, teachers, engineers in a way to ensure a good usability and adequate adaptability. Thus, the inclusion of SEN students in schools must not take place only with their physical integration, but also must consider their integration at social, emotional and educational levels.

Originality/value

It is understood that the teacher should receive a solid training in successful inclusion experiences in terms of technological, educational and didactic experiences. Another problem that seems to be recurrent is that support materials have been developed in a way that is somehow disconnected from the reality of the classroom. The context in which the support material is inserted is fundamental to the success of its utilization. What is more, it cannot be isolated from the individuals who will use it. It thus becomes urgent to prepare the school environment for the reality of inclusion. This involves aspects from changes in infrastructure and development of assistive technology to assist the student with SEN in their learning, to the establishment of public policies that involve teacher initial and further training, specialized support and curricular discussions.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 May 2007

Valeda Frances Dent

The purpose of this paper is to present a cursory overview of economic development in Uganda, and discusses some important links between the rural library and the ways it might…

3558

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a cursory overview of economic development in Uganda, and discusses some important links between the rural library and the ways it might impact human development areas such as economic uplift, education and literacy.

Design/methodology/approach

Real‐life examples of small‐scale economic development projects from the Kitengesa Community Library in rural Uganda are used to contextualize some of these connections. A comprehensive review of the literature on rural development, economic development in Uganda, the relationship between literacy, libraries and economic development and the rural community library provide a context for the paper. This paper reflects an in‐depth review of the professional literature on economic and human development in Uganda, literacy, and the rural library. It also incorporates some qualitative data gathered from research studies conducted at Kitengesa Community Library in 2004 and 2005, including individual interviews with library users, teachers, local business merchants, and librarians at Kitengesa.

Findings

The article concludes that there is potential for rural community libraries to impact small‐scale local economic development. The projects at the Kitengesa Community Library are still in their infancy, and long‐term economic outcomes are not certain. At the same time, the projects have created a new sense of hope and possibility for many library users. There are numerous implications for other rural libraries, as income‐generating projects may be a way to attract new users, attract outside financial support, showcase the practical nature of these libraries, and provide a means for local peoples to improve their lives.

Research limitations/implications

A longitudinal quantitative evaluation of the success of the Kitengesa projects and the income they generate would be the next step in terms of future research – such a study would highlight the role of the rural library in local economic development and provide further support for establishing more rural community libraries.

Originality/value

This paper is unique in that it expands on the concept of the rural community library as just a place to read books, and highlights the important role these libraries might play in developing areas where there is a profound lack of access to information, and few ways for residents to improve their economic standing.

Details

New Library World, vol. 108 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2012

Sheila Keegan

Digital technologies have already changed the way we live and work. However, there has been limited exploration and discussion about the long term effects of such technologies on…

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Abstract

Purpose

Digital technologies have already changed the way we live and work. However, there has been limited exploration and discussion about the long term effects of such technologies on our brains and, in particular, how we think. The purpose of this paper is to address the impact of digital technologies on human thinking and behaviour and the consequential effects on the commercial qualitative research industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The “method” underpinning this paper is a combination of qualitative observation drawn from a wide range of client companies during more than 30 years of commercial qualitative practice and organisational change management. The approach also uses an analysis of recent publications, books, academic papers and face to face interviews with psychologists, researchers, a neuroscientist, internet games developers and users, teachers, parents and academics within this field.

Findings

Neuroscientists are discovering that digital technologies, in particular the internet, are changing the way our brains function. These findings are significant for society as a whole and for the qualitative research community. This paper explores the evidence, asks what this means for the research industry and society and what, if anything, should we be doing about it?

Practical implications

The implications for commercial research practitioners are highlighted including, research as a state of mind, differentiating between data and knowledge, deep thinking, acknowledging emotional and intuitive learning, developing personal resources, especially mindfulness and the importance of creative discipline.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the importance of retaining traditional thinking skills, whilst integrating the best and most useful aspects of “cyber‐thinking”.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1999

Evan Farber

Farber surveys the past 25‐30 years in library instruction, and in particular the cooperation and collaboration between librarians and teaching faculty. Resistance has only been…

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Abstract

Farber surveys the past 25‐30 years in library instruction, and in particular the cooperation and collaboration between librarians and teaching faculty. Resistance has only been studied recently. Course integrated program at Earlham made cooperation and collaboration imperative. Over the years there has been increasing interest in this approach.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2008

Susan Benbow, Louise Taylor and Kathleen Morgan

The authors describe how a user and carers were involved in teaching as part of the MSc in Applied Studies in Ageing and Mental Health at Staffordshire University, the impact that…

Abstract

The authors describe how a user and carers were involved in teaching as part of the MSc in Applied Studies in Ageing and Mental Health at Staffordshire University, the impact that this had on students on the course and evolving plans to develop the work further.

Details

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-7794

Keywords

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