The roles of universities in knowledge-based urban development: a critical review

an article by Andrew Johnston (IBERG, Sheffield Hallam University, UK) published in International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development Volume 10 Number 3 (2019)

Abstract

Universities are increasingly recognised as key actors in the knowledge-based urban development process, occupying a crucial role of knowledge creators and transmitters.

This paper takes a critical view of these roles and reviews the extant literature to present a synopsis of relevant work examining universities and open innovation, the uncertainties involved in the process of knowledge transfer, and the spatial scope of university-industry links.

The paper proposes a number of areas for future development: understanding the heterogeneity of universities and how this influences their potential roles in knowledge-based urban development; a better understanding of how uncertainties in the partner selection process may prevent efficient university-industry collaboration to promote knowledge-based urban development; further exploration of the micro-level processes involved in knowledge transfer between universities and firms; and a broader understanding of the roles of proximities in facilitating these links.

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Embodied commons: Knowledge and sharing in Delhi’s electronic bazaars

an article by Maitrayee Deka (University of Essex, UK) published in The Sociological Review Volume 66 Issue 2 (March 2018)

Abstract

The notion of the ‘sharing economy’ has recently received significant academic and non-academic attention. What the different debates have in common is an emphasis on how technologically mediated knowledge and specific social motivations enable practices of sharing.

This article discusses knowledge and sharing in popular marketplaces. Based on an ethnography of Delhi’s electronic bazaars, Lajpat Rai market, Palika Bazaar and Nehru Place, this article suggests ways to think about knowledge that are embodied and practice-based:

• What is such embodied knowledge?
• How is it created and shared?

The article argues that bazaars combine sociality established through face-to-face bargaining with informal trade arrangements to enable co-creation and collaboration around technological products.

The resulting knowledge is tacit in nature and is mimetically transmitted between bodies. As a result, the bazaars feature a kind of sharing that is distinct from what is understood by most accounts of the sharing economy.

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Service user research in social work and disability studies in the United Kingdom

Kathy Boxall (University of Sheffield, UK) and Peter Beresford (Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK) published in Disability & Society Volume 28 Issue 5 (July 2013)

Abstract

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the involvement of service users in research as well as in research studies that are led by service users.

Although this interest in service users’ roles in research has been evident in both social work and disability studies, the two research disciplines have remained remarkably separate in the United Kingdom.

This paper examines the epistemological underpinnings of social work research and disability studies research and explores the tensions, possibilities and power dynamics of collaboration between the two research disciplines in the United Kingdom.

It concludes by outlining possibilities for social model approaches to social work research.

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The Impact of ‘Achievement for All’ on School Leadership

an article by Sonia Blandford (Founder and Chief Executive of Achievement for All, Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education and Senior Research Fellow University of Oxford) published in Educational Management, Administration & Leadership Volume 41 Number 1 (January 2013)

Abstract

The Achievement for All (AfA) pilot initiative, delivered in partnership by the Department for Education (DfE), (formerly the Department for Children, Schools and Families [DCSF]), National Strategies and the National College (NCSL), aims to increase the attainment and progress of children in schools with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND); improve the engagement of their parents with the school and improve wider outcomes for this group of children.

Introduced in September 2009 as a two-year pilot in 454 primary, secondary and special schools and Pupil Referral Units across 10 Local Authorities in England, AfA, with a particular focus on inclusive leadership practice, takes a whole school approach to school improvement.

The population included pupils in Years 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 identified with SEND on School Action, School Action Plus or holding Statements; 85 per cent of the participating schools are primary. Guided by government documentation (DCSF, 2009a) and local authority advisers, schools have implemented the initiative around three distinct but integrated strands: assessment, tracking and interventions; structured conversations with parents and provision for developing wider outcomes.

By considering focus group data evidence from headteachers/school project leaders across the participating local authorities, this article will explore the impact of AfA on inclusive leadership practices in schools. Findings suggest that although vision, commitment, collaboration and communication remain self evident for the majority of leaders, within the context of AfA, these characteristics of effective inclusive leadership along with pupil learning have been enhanced.

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Managing manipulation: tools and challenges in creative collaborations with intellectually-disabled people

an article by Michael Noonan (Department, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia) published in Disability & Society Volume 27 Issue 7 (December 2012)

Abstract

There has long been an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality when it comes to the production of disability narratives on screen, driven by an assumption that non-disabled people cannot accurately interpret the disabled experience.

Given the appalling history of representations by non-disabled filmmakers, it is easy to understand why many academics and members of the disability community favour the complete control of disability content by disabled people. But this approach has failed the many compelling ‘disabled voices’ that go unheard because they do not reach audiences.

The most practical solution is to forge new models of creative collaboration between disabled and non-disabled people, something I attempted to do with my PhD film, a comedy feature entitled Down Under Mystery Tour. I discovered that the most important tool in such collaborations is the utilisation and management of manipulation, one that prioritises skill and experience and best expresses the unique perspective of intellectually-disabled collaborators.

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Understanding t-government progress and issues: a case study of a United Kingdom local authority

an article by Stephen Jones (Information, Communication and Technology, Conwy County Borough Council) published in Journal of Enterprise Information Management Volume 25 Issue 6 (2012)

Abstract

Purpose
This paper reports the findings from an empirical analysis of stakeholder opinions relating to t-government within a United Kingdom local authority. These t-government initiatives are related to a national drive for the implementation of t-government from the UK Central Government. The aim of this paper is to gain insight, knowledge and understanding into important issues relating to t-government from a single case study, senior executive, decision making and user perspective, and to develop a framework for t-government.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilises an interpretive exploratory case study research via structured interviews with senior and strategic executives in the case study organisation.
Findings
A conceptualised framework for t-government is extrapolated from the issues raised in the case study, to assist with the t-government initiatives for UK public sector and elsewhere.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is a single case study, not generalisable, but may be generally useful (Walsham).
Practical implications
The paper extrapolates lessons learnt, framework and options for successful t-government deployment, from a senior executive user perspective.
Social implications
Social inclusion is an important and current issue and is discussed in context of the case study.
Originality/value
The paper brings together the literature, recent discussions within enterprise, United Kingdom Central Government, public sector and t-government, together with an exploratory empirical public sector case study from a senior user perspective. The aim is to inform theory and practice.

Hazel’s comment:
I’ve seen so little on transformational government in recent months that I’d almost forgotten that it was still on the government’s agenda.
In case you are in the same position here is a link that may help, Wikipedia, of course!
I also found another article, this time from 2009, which I thought interesting.
Transformational Government and Assistive web base technologies (PDF 17pp)

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Spatial context in collaborative information seeking

an article by Chirag Shah and Roberto González-Ibáñez (Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA) published in Journal of Information Science Volume 38 Number 4 (August 2012)

Abstract

Space and time are considered the most important dimensions for studying systems and methods that support collaboration in information seeking.

Several investigations have provided us with insights into people’s preferences and experiences relating to these two dimensions, but there is a lack of empirical evidence.

A user study is presented, involving 60 subjects in 30 pairs, in which the experience and performance of users are compared while performing an information-seeking task in three different spatially defined collaboration settings:

1. working at the same workstation;
2. working in the same room at different workstations, and;
3. working in different rooms.

The results show significant differences among the experimental conditions, indicating the impact of space on collaboration.

The pros and cons of different spatial set-ups are derived from an extensive analysis that uses several traditional information retrieval measures such as precision and recall, as well as unconventional assessments involving coverage and diversity.

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Multilinguality in the digital library: A review

an article by Anne R. Diekema (Utah State University, Logan, USA) published in The Electronic Library Volume 30 Issue 2 (2012)

Abstract

Purpose
Together, increasing globalization and the internet created fertile grounds for the establishment of multilingual digital libraries. Providing cross-lingual access to materials is of particular interest to political entities such as the European Union, which currently has 23 official languages, but also to multinational companies and countries that have different languages represented among their citizens. The main objective of this paper is to review the literature on multilingual digital libraries and provide an overview of this area.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a thorough literature search in four different databases, a core set of literature on multilingual digital libraries was retrieved. Literature on various aspects of this topic was reviewed. The paper is organized based on emerging themes directly drawn from the literature. Where warranted additional literature is brought in to provide necessary background information or clarification.
Findings
Creating a multilingual digital library is a highly complex undertaking and typically requires a collaborative effort between different organizations and people with different areas of expertise. Enabling users to search across languages requires translation resources to cross the language barrier, which can be challenging depending on the language and resource availability. Additional challenges were found to be in data management (localization and language processing), representation (dealing with different fonts and character codes), development (creating international software, cross-cultural collaboration), and interoperability (system architecture and data sharing). Research in multilingual digital libraries was mostly system based involving experimental systems or system prototypes.
Research limitations/implications
Most likely the literature review does not include all possible journal articles on multilingual digital libraries even though the literature searches done to obtain these articles were thorough and deliberate. Journal articles without the descriptors used in this search and those articles not indexed in the four different databases used in the search will not be included here. The review excludes cross-language information retrieval research unless it is directly related to existing multilingual digital libraries, or a connection to digital libraries in general is made in the paper itself.
Originality/value
This paper provides the first literature review on the topic of multilingual digital libraries and provides a concise overview of relevant aspects in this area. The number of multilingual digital libraries is growing, as is the interest from the research community in these libraries to apply their research findings from cross-language information retrieval. This review article provides a valuable entry point to the field of multilingual digital libraries for researchers, practitioners, and other interested parties.

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Academic libraries – measuring up: …

assessment and collaboration for student success

 an article by Rachel Besara and Kirsten Kinsley (Florida State University Libraries) published in New Library World Volume 112 Issue 9/10 (2011)

Abstract

Purpose
This paper aims to describe how the Florida State University Libraries used assessment data with other campus partners to gain funding and resources for new initiatives. When general funding sources were threatened, alternative funding sources from these campus partners were used to jump-start new initiatives designed to enhance student success.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a case study of how assessment data fuelled the creation of a new late-night peer-tutoring program at the Florida State University Libraries. The three main data conduits that inspired a new tutoring program were: an ethnographic study of undergraduate students, undergraduate courses with high failure/high enrolment/high drop rates, and an environmental scan of existing campus tutoring.
Findings
Sharing assessment data with key partners can leverage funding and resources for new initiatives.
Social implications
In hard budgetary times, opportunities for funding and resources may arise when shared values between campus constituencies are met with assessment data. Libraries need to take a leadership role in gathering and sharing those data with other campus constituents in order to place libraries in a strategic position to receive alternative funding for shared initiatives.
Originality/value
Other libraries may use this case as a model, sharing their assessment results with the campus community, especially with those campus constituencies where there is a relationship already in place, to garner further support for piloting innovative services.

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Relationship and role transformations in social media environments

an article by Hazel Hall, (Centre for Social Informatics, Edinburgh Napier University) published in The Electronic Library Volume 29 Issue 4 (2011)

Abstract

Purpose
This paper seeks to challenge how librarians conceive a number of relationships – between themselves, social media tools, and end-users, and to argue that this determines the boundaries of service innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops themes and ideas derived from research projects on deployment of social media by library and information professionals completed within the Centre for Social Informatics at Edinburgh Napier University.
Findings
Librarians currently demonstrate more sophisticated use of social media for personal professional purposes than for services delivery; a number of challenges currently limit the extent to which librarians are able to exploit social media to full advantage; fuller exploitation of social media is possible when librarians transfer the good practice exhibited in personal professional use to applications for services delivery; service innovations are considered before tools; and end users are treated as collaborating clients rather than consuming customers.
Originality/value
The paper is of interest to those keen to take advantage of the opportunities offered by social media that extend beyond replicating existing service delivery.

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