Skating With Donovan: Thoughts on Librarianship as a Profession

James M. Donovan’s article: Skating on Thin Intermediation: Can Libraries Survive?, 27 Legal Reference Services Q. 95 (no. 2-3, 2008) argues that librarians place more emphasis than they might on providing service to library users at a time when information seekers are relying less on intermediaries, and that over-emphasizing service to the detriment of other values diminishes the status of librarianship as a profession. The article presents two contrasting models of librarianship. This article discusses Donovan’s models and comments on the continuing importance of the service model to librarianship

Innovation through urban diversity and achieving comprehensive sustainable urbanism from a community-oriented approach

In current urban studies focused on pathways of sustainable urbanism, the main discourse is on the development of all-inclusive approaches or comprehensive methods that could encompass multiple factors of sustainability. As a result, a bigger emphasis has been given to other dimensions of “cultural” or “governance” (also known as institutional). In more recent years, more scholarly research studies refer to governance as the fourth pillar of sustainability, and more research studies analyse the multi-dimensional methods of socio-cultural, socio-economic, etc. These factors all have major impacts on the social, environmental, and economic aspects of the city. As a result, this research study aims to test the notion of “sustainable urbanism” from a behavioural perspective, which includes market development behavior and political economy (or mixed economy). This study promotes urban diversity from the multiplicity of diversity across the physical environment, social and economic systems, cultural attributes, people backgrounds, professions and sectors, etc. This then leads to discussions on innovation through urban diversity. Hence, it is important to evaluate how diversity promotes sustainable urbanism through specific economic and social systems in contemporary city development scenarios. The findings from this study feed into matters of urban diversity and urban innovation, and towards pathways of sustainable urbanism

Skating With Donovan: Thoughts on Librarianship as a Profession

James M. Donovan’s article: Skating on Thin Intermediation: Can Libraries Survive?, 27 Legal Reference Services Q. 95 (no. 2-3, 2008) argues that librarians place more emphasis than they might on providing service to library users at a time when information seekers are relying less on intermediaries, and that over-emphasizing service to the detriment of other values diminishes the status of librarianship as a profession. The article presents two contrasting models of librarianship. This article discusses Donovan’s models and comments on the continuing importance of the service model to librarianship

Inter-professional education and primary care : EFPC position paper

Inter-professional education (IPE) can support professionals in developing their ability to work collaboratively. This position paper from the European Forum for Primary Care considers the design and implementation of IPE within primary care. This paper is based on workshops and is an evidence review of good practice. Enablers of IPE programmes are involving patients in the design and delivery, providing a holistic focus, focussing on practical actions, deploying multi-modal learning formats and activities, including more than two professions, evaluating formative and summative aspects, and encouraging team-based working. Guidance for the successful implementation of IPE is set out with examples from qualifying and continuing professional development programmes

The Effects of AI on the Professions: A Literature Repository

The literature on AI as a whole is huge and burgeoning, but a focus on the professions has enabled us to look at how it will change the nature of work overall, and specifically how it will impact on those who offer a professional service either as specialist consultants or in-house practitioners in public, private and not for profit sectors. It does not claim to be exhaustive, but every topic that is currently under consideration about and arising from AI and the professions is covered here. It does not cover popular practitioner-oriented publications either since this was outside the remit of the research which was to look at a stable and authoritative base for considering AI and the professions. Readers of this report are encouraged to read the contemporary popular journals, blogs and websites since they provide a regular update on topics that are under consideration at any one time and form a running commentary that should be engaged with

Supporting Scholarship: Thoughts on the Role of the Academic Law Librarian

Discussing the role of the law library in legal education is necessary and essential, both because of the demands libraries place on increasingly tight law school budgets and space, and the challenges that libraries face as the information they collect and organize has moved largely from print to digital formats. This paper explores the roles of academic law librarians in supporting faculty scholarship within the context of the forces affecting libraries, librarians, and legal education in the (still early) twenty-first century. Although it has been more than 30 years since the widespread adoption of the legal research databases in the 1970s, the legal information environment continues to be seen as changing and uncertain, roiled by such new developments as working paper services providing pre-publication looks at new articles, growing interest in blogs and other varieties of short form legal scholarship, and the potential for open access publishing to reduce or eliminate reliance on printed law journals. As these developments continue to affect the processes of legal research and scholarly communications in law, what implications do they have for the role of law librarians in those processes

Business success through process based application of simulation

Progressive design practices are increasingly cognisant of the potential of building energy simulation to assist the delivery of energy efficient, sustainable buildings. However, the success of any building performance assessment hinges on the capabilities of the tool; the collective competences of the team formed to apply it; and, crucially, the existence of an in-house framework within which simulation can be applied with confidence (McElroy and Clarke 1999). There is also a need for the professions to set up mechanisms that facilitate dialogue with vendors in order to influence tool capabilities. And on the related issues of building an in-house competency and a framework for application, the two core issues facing the professions are: i) a need for the development of in-house procedures for management of simulation; and ii) quality assurance of the related models and appraisal results

Assessing and enhancing quality through outcomes-based continuing professional development (CPD): a review of current practice

Numerous professional bodies have questioned whether traditional input-based continuing professional development (CPD) schemes are effective at measuring genuine learning and improving practice performance and patient health. The most commonly used type of long-established CPD activities, such as conferences, lectures and symposia, have been found to have a limited effect on improving practitioner competence and performance, and no significant effect on patient health outcomes. Additionally, it is thought that the impact of many CPD activities is reduced when they are undertaken in isolation outside of a defined structure of directed learning. In contrast, CPD activities which are interactive, encourage reflection on practice, provide opportunities to practice skills, involve multiple exposures, help practitioners to identify between current performance and a standard to be achieved, and are focused on outcomes, are the most effective at improving practice and patient health outcomes

The professionalism of the higher education teacher: what's ICT got to do with it?

HE professionals generally work in an ICT rich environment. There are expectations that the existence of ICT benefits them, their students and the overall learning environment. This paper investigates and debates the complex interplay between two aspects of HE that have witnessed rapid change: the HE teacher’s professional role and the use of ICTs for teaching and learning. This paper reviews writing, research and theory in these areas and draws out key themes. A Masters course run at the Institute of Education, University of London is used as a practical context to evaluate aspects of this debate and assess their contemporary relevance. It establishes the importance of professional learning communities that include ICT ‘enthusiasts’ and an integrated pedagogic approach to ICTs. The paper suggests these factors can be key in enhancing the capacity of the HE teacher to engage positively, collaboratively and critically with the growth of learning technologies