7,962 research outputs found

    Beyond information: factors in participation in networks of practice, a case study of web management in UK Higher Education

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    Purpose To explore the pattern and significance of cross-organizational ties in an emergent professional field, web production in UK Higher Education. Methodology/Approach The research is based on in-depth interviews with 21 practitioners and analysis of activity in cross-organizational spaces, such as an online community and a series of annual practitioner conferences on the web in HE (1997-). Findings The cross organizational spaces have support and symbolic roles as well as informational ones. They have overlapping but different membership and agendas. Key factors that govern individual participation and so the shape of cross-organizational spaces are differential involvement in technical innovation, degree of organizational embedding or marginality, differences in organizational position and role, orientation towards centralisation or decentralisation and orientation towards marketing or IT. There is some sense of occupational community among web managers, but within that also diversity and a significant fracture line between marketing and IT perspectives on the role. This may explain the lack of formal professionalization. As a more natural boundary practice between organizations than marketing, IT has more public visibility, possibly influencing the course jurisdictional struggles over who should control the web. Research limitations/implications As a heavily contextualised study, its detail reflects particular features of HE in the UK at one period as well as specific aspects of the web as a technology. Nevertheless, underlying factors which seem to influence participation and non-participation in cross-organizational networks may be generalisable to many occupations, particularly where knowledge is rapidly changing. Practical implications Some suggestions about how cross-organizational knowledge sharing is most effectively supported can be derived from the analysis. IT is a natural focus for cooperation, but there is a risk of this masking the importance of other professional practices. Efforts at formal professionalization may be devisive because people have different professional ambitions and there are individual and organizational benefits in not professionalizing the role formally. New practitioners may be the most active in using extra-organizational networks to assist them to become more embedded locally. Old hands, though they have high prestige and centrality, may increasingly take their own path away from the community. Aspects of local roles such as involvement in innovation or decentralist strategies favour participation in cross-organizational networks. Originality/value of paper Most studies of knowledge sharing have focussed on the factors which influence it within an organization, yet cross-organizational sharing is also of importance, even for established professions as the boundaries of organizations become more open. For new occupations cross-organizational ties may be a critical resource, and not only for sharing information or support, but for making sense of what the job is about at the deepest level. The research is also original in analysing a relatively little researched occupational group, those producing web sites for a living. It will be relevant to those interested in online and people centred information seeking, in professionalization and occupational identity

    The Most Important Cog in the System: A Case for Legislative Change to Drive Professionalisation

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    System theory (ST) explains how signal jamming (SJ) may impede or even reverse processes of professionalization, thereby having a detrimental impact on the quality of services clients receive. In the U.K., there are various metaphorical “cogs” in the Sign Language Interpreting (SLI) system. By applying ST to the profession, we can achieve a better understanding of the current landscape and identify ineffective cogs which potentially disrupt the smooth functioning of other cogs within the system. Improving system operations will result in improved services. We argue that an instigating and mandatory force—legislation—is the central cog that will drive more consistent signaling and streamline professionalization

    Reflections on a Language Planning Project in Context

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    The aim of this paper is to reflect in broad terms on issues which arose in the context of an early years language planning project in Irish-medium preschools (naíonraí) in the Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) areas of the west of Ireland. Borradh Language Planning Project was commissioned in 2009 to provide guidance and planning templates for early years educators to develop the Irish language competency of children in their early years groups. Due to the changing language ecology of the Gaeltacht areas, many families now raise their children through both Irish and English and children enter the early years services with differing Irish language competency levels. Three phases of the project were developed and evaluated and a high level of satisfaction was recorded with the planning templates and guidance provided. The final project report was delivered in 2015. Of particular interest in the findings is the data on educators’ views on child agency and language use and their implementation of preschool-home links. These issues will be discussed in the light of the professionalization of the early years sector in Ireland; professional development opportunities and policy initiatives in both early years education and Gaeltacht education. Finally tensions between competing discourses in language and education pedagogies will be recognised and the importance of shaping approaches to meet sector specific needs acknowledged

    From Practice to Theory: An Exploratory Research Study of the Relevance of Museum Studies Curriculum to Museum Professionals

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    This exploratory study provides a comprehensive description of the museum profession and focuses particularly on museum studies curriculum. The purpose of this research is to investigate museum studies curriculum and its relevance to the museum profession in order to determine whether or not museum studies curriculum is capable of providing the foundation of a standard academic discipline for museum professionals. A survey of museum professionals assessed their attitudes about museum studies curriculum and the extent to which museum studies curriculum matters to continuing education for current museum professionals and as an academic discipline for prospective museum professionals

    Technology business incubators as engines of growth: towards a distinction between technology incubators and non-technology incubators

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    Business incubators are an increasingly popular tool for promoting job and wealth creation. Yet given the heterogeneity of incubation models, it is not always clear how incubators operate, what their main characteristics are and how can they best contribute to job and wealth creation. If technology is central in promoting economic growth and new firm creation the crucial mechanism in transferring new knowledge to markets, then technology incubators have the biggest potential to contribute to economic growth. We define technology incubators by their strategic choices in terms of mission, linkages to universities and geographical location. We investigate their nature by comparing the levels of business services provision, selection criteria, exit policy and tenants’ characteristics. Our sample includes 12 incubators located in six Northwestern European countries and a total of 101 incubated companies. Data were collected in both incubators and among their tenants. Results show that technology incubators provide more tenants with their services, select younger companies and practice stricter exit policies. Additionally, they tend to attract more experienced teams of entrepreneurs. Our main contribution is a better understanding of the technology incubators impact against the remainder population of business incubators. We speculate that incubators not focussed in incubating technology might not be contributing to company creation at all. Further, the low levels of service provision are both a product and a consequence of slack selection criteria and weak exit policies. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings to business incubator managers, policy makers and prospective tenants

    The Professionalization of Hackers: A Content Analysis of 30 Years of Hacker Communication

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    Underground hacking has evolved from its early countercultural roots to become a complex and varied phenomenon. By combining a historical review of the literature with a content analysis of 30 years of underground hacker communication, we show that hacking has evolved in three waves to embrace learning and creativity, intrusion and crime, as well as politics and cyberwarfare. We uncover a paradoxical relationship between hackers and society at large where underground hacking is considered a digital crime while at the same time inspiring and driving corporate innovation, cybersecurity, and even cyberwarfare. The outcome of our research provides a nuanced picture of the hacker underground by highlighting differences between competing discursive themes across time. Moreover, by translating these themes into a set of six contrasting personas of IS professionals, we discuss how knowledge, technologies, and creative practices of underground hackers are being professionalized. We use this discussion to provide implications and a research agenda for IS studies in cybersecurity, innovation, and cyberwarfare

    Chapter 19. The Internet in Campaigns and Elections

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    Una escena compleja : la armonizaciĂłn y la convergencia en la educaciĂłn y prĂĄctica del trabajo social : introducciĂłn al volumen

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    Este artículo ofrece un anålisis del debate sobre la armonización y convergencia de programas de educación superior en Europa después del Acuerdo de Bolonia en 1999. Ofrece clarificación del lenguaje que se usa en relación a la armonización y la convergencia, basåndose en un artículo de Threlfall de 2003. Se hace también referencia a los programas de trabajo social en países de habla Inglesa, sacando de ellos ejemplos de profesionalización y ofreciendo algunos eståndares. Se analizan los artículos que aparecen a continuación en el volumen de Portularia para el que se escribió esta introducción.This article offers an overview of the issues concerning harmonization and convergence of educational programs in Europe after the Bologna Declaration in 1999. It offers clarification of the language of convergence, drawing upon a model by Threlfall (2003). References to social work programs across the English speaking world are offered as samples concerning professionalization and standardization, with an analysis of specific articles appearing on the same volume of Portularia for which this overview was writte

    Innovations in Learning and Teaching in Academic Libraries: Alignment, Collaboration, and the Social Turn

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    Introduces 17 case studies of educational innovations in academic libraries from teaching-oriented and research-intensive institutions in the USA, UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. Academic libraries have always played a vital part in the educational mission of their institutions, but their learning and teaching role has grown and diversified with the continual expansion of higher education, advances in technology, changes in pedagogy, pressures on budgets and resources, and turbulence in politics and society. Examples illustrate reframing information literacy for diverse contexts, aligning library initiatives with institutional goals, collaborating strategically in disciplinary settings and in library spaces, leadership and partnership in developing open educational resources, reorganising for stakeholder engagement, professional development tools for teaching librarians and approaching educational innovation as a social process. Cross-cutting themes include the progressive integration of academic, information and digital literacies; a focus on supporting students through educational transitions; and the role of reflection in learning and teaching
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