Public libraries and non-users: A comparison between Manchester and Rome

This paper presents the findings of a study conducted with library managers from two major metropolitan areas, Greater Manchester in England and Rome in Italy. The study aims to compare practices, activities and policies adopted in the two cities to attract non-users, with particular attention to the approach that librarians take to resolving the non-user issue. This research also revealed differences in the way public libraries are used in the two areas. In Manchester, libraries are predominantly task orientated, offering access points for community services, whereas in Rome the focus is more on entertainment, leisure, and social events. The non-user profiles differ between cities, with non-users being mostly older teenagers and young adults in Manchester and mostly younger teenagers and pensioners in Rome. Reading groups, a key service for encouraging reading and familiarising with library facilities, are well established in England, with 90% of the libraries in Manchester accommodating one or more groups, compared to only 50% of the libraries in Rome offering usually a single group. In addition, Manchester libraries often have a range of specialised reading groups to suit a large variety of reading tastes. Libraries in both cities are aware of the need for proactive marketing and management of their web presence but should look at other countries’ strategies to expand their range of activities and programmes to attract more public

The influence of contextual factors on healthcare quality improvement initiatives:a realist review

Background Recognising the influence of context and the context-sensitive nature of quality improvement (QI) interventions is crucial to implementing effective improvements and successfully replicating them in new settings, yet context is still poorly understood. To address this challenge, it is necessary to capture generalisable knowledge, first to understand which aspects of context are most important to QI and why, and secondly, to explore how these factors can be managed to support healthcare improvement, in terms of implementing successful improvement initiatives, achieving sustainability and scaling interventions. The research question was how and why does context influence quality improvement initiatives in healthcare? Methods A realist review explored the contextual conditions that influence healthcare improvement. Realist methodology integrates theoretical understanding and stakeholder input with empirical research findings. The review aimed to identify and understand the role of context during the improvement cycle, i.e. planning, implementation, sustainability and transferability; and distil new knowledge to inform the design and development of context-sensitive QI initiatives. We developed a preliminary theory of the influence of context to arrive at a conceptual and theoretical framework. Results Thirty-five studies were included in the review, demonstrating the interaction of key contextual factors across healthcare system levels during the improvement cycle. An evidence-based explanatory theoretical model is proposed to illustrate the interaction between contextual factors, system levels (macro, meso, micro) and the stages of the improvement journey. Findings indicate that the consideration of these contextual factors would enhance the design and delivery of improvement initiatives, across a range of improvement settings. Conclusions This is the first realist review of context in QI and contributes to a deeper understanding of how context influences quality improvement initiatives. The distillation of key contextual factors offers the potential to inform the design and development of context-sensitive interventions to enhance improvement initiatives and address the challenge of spread and sustainability. Future research should explore the application of our conceptual model to enhance improvement-planning processes

An exploratory interview study of university teacher resilience

Although teacher resilience research has blossomed in the last 5–10 years, the resilience of schoolteachers and principals has been the main focus of research. There is little research exploring the resilience of university teachers. This chapter presents findings from an exploratory study regarding university teacher resilience. Participants were 26 university teachers, 17 from Germany and 9 from Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the challenges, coping strategies and work-related emotions of participants and how they view resilience in the context of their work. Findings revealed challenges such as heavy workload, interpersonal relationships, time management and finding the right balance between teaching and research activities. Strategies include social support, time management and consciously maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The findings are discussed in light of a model of university teacher resilience, which is adapted to take into account specific aspects of university work