The G. Allen Fleece Library Goes to Prison

Preparing a library and setting up library services in a state prison setting presents some unique challenges for the planners. The librarians at the G. Allen Fleece Library at Columbia International University have recently faced such a challenge as they participated with other college officials in the Prison Initiative Program planning and preparation. Tools provided by the Association of Christian Librarians proved exceptionally helpful in the planning and preparation of the library, and in its usability once the program began

Where Did They Come From? A Tribute to Shirley N. Wood

The contributions of people like Shirley Wood, one of the founders of the Association of Christian Librarians, often go unnoticed due to the selflessness of their service. It is good to be reminded once in a while that what we take for granted in our 21st century library work was at one time the result of some former librarian\u27s creativity. In the Christian library community, an individual\u27s contributions are frequently done quietly, which is the way it should be if one wished to serve in the Scriptural way of not calling attention to oneself or one\u27s service. Shirley Wood expended large amounts of energy and creativity in her work at Columbia International University from 1944-1974 and in the larger Christian librarian world of those same years. Archival records show many instances of creative ideas that have since taken root as a natural part of the Christian library scene all over the world. In honor of that service, Shirley was recently honored at C!U by having the main Ministry Resource Room named in her honor

Harm reduction among injecting drug users - evidence of effectiveness

This chapter synthesises and evaluates the available direct evidence relating to the impact of needle and syringe programmes (NSPs), opioid substitution treatment (OST), drug consumption rooms (DCRs), and peer naloxone distribution (PND) on HIV/hepatitis C (HCV) incidence/prevalence, injecting risk behaviour and overdose-related mortality. To achieve this, we conducted a review of reviews; a systematic and explicit method used to identify, select and critically appraise relevant findings from secondary level research (systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses) into an evidence briefing. In the absence of high-quality reviews, appraisal of the evidence was supplemented with a targeted review of the primary literature. We find that there is sufficient review-level evidence that OST reduces HIV transmission, while the evidence in support of NSPs reducing HIV transmission is more tentative, and for DCRs currently insufficient. There is tentative evidence that OST has limited effectiveness in reducing HCV transmission, and insufficient evidence to support or discount NSPs or DCRs' ability to reduce HCV transmission. There is sufficient review-level evidence that NSPs, OST and DCRs reduce self-reported injecting risk behaviour. There is sufficient review evidence that OST reduces risk of overdose mortality, but insufficient evidence to support or discount the effect of DCRs or PND on overdose deaths at the community level. Our review shows evidence in support of a variety of harm reduction interventions but highlights an uneven presence of high-quality review evidence. Future evaluation of harm reduction programmes should prioritise methodologically robust study designs

Networks alliances as strategy: A case study of an SME in an emerging economy

This study adopts a qualitative approach to examine key factors to build successful network alliances in emerging economies. A market leader firm in the retail optical industry in China was used in this study. Data from interviews was collected from senior management of the firm, suppliers and customers in relation to effective strategies and factors for successful network alliances. The result in this study showed that relationship management and knowledge sharing management had the highest impact on effective network alliances. That is, trust, relationship and knowledge sharing play a dominant role

The influence of online reviews on decision making – implications to the travel industry

This study adopts a quantitative approach using a factorial between-subjects experimental design to determine the effects of online reviews on brand trust and consumer equity. Customer equity links closely with customer value, brand value and relationships unlike willingness to buy. An online user discussion forum was purpose-built to conduct experimental research for this study, using a restricted probability sample of 269 participants drawn from a registered US online panel. The key findings from the research are: (a) that the valence of consumer-to-consumer online reviews positively affects consumer equity, which further supports previous findings; (b) that negative online reviews cause value equity to decrease, positive online reviews cause brand equity to increase, and negative online reviews cause brand equity and relationship equity to decrease equally; (c) as brand trust increases, the change in the consumer equity drivers (value, brand and relationship) tend to become more negative, thereby affecting customer equity (this is a significant new finding); and (d) that contrary to the literature, consumer-to-consumer online reviews demonstrated no significant relationship with brand trust

The influence of key determinants on consumers’ choice in tourism destination

This study aims at developing a model that explains the effect of different stimuli types (ST) (i.e. online reviews and advertising) on a tourist’s intention to visit (ITV) a new destination. Two separate studies were conducted to establish and validate the model that consists of stimulus mediators (SM): destination trust (DT) and interest (DI). 113 surveys were obtained in study 1 which focused on the effect of the different stimuli types. Study 2 used the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to explore how advertising could persuade consumers to make purchasing decisions and how tourists could be persuaded to visit attraction sites. 146 surveys were obtained in study 2. Structured equation model (SEM) technique was adopted in the data analysis. The result of the first study showed that advertising has a stronger effect than positive online reviews. The second study showed that peripheral route of elaborate likelihood model has a stronger effect than central route in the context of tourism. That is, peripheral route that could generate a strong spontaneous impact by providing a vivid portrait of what a tourist would experience through an image cue

The relationship between top management team (TMT) metacognition, entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

This study integrates entrepreneurial orientation and top management team (TMT) behavioural integration, as a mediator and moderator respectively, to determine the effect of TMT metacognition on firm performance in SMEs. Fifteen hundred SMEs were surveyed and 140 usable returns were used in this study. The result revealed that risk in entrepreneurial orientation is often associated with lower firm performance and innovativeness and proactiveness could be considered the mechanisms through which TMT metacognition contributes most to higher organisational performance. This finding is significant for SMEs, whose resources are limited, and TMT could consider less risky projects, but still maintaining its innovativeness and proactiveness, particularly in the niche market areas. Furthermore, the empirical result supported previous findings that top managers’ abilities and behaviour collectively as a team could be seen as an important factor in their innovative and competitive outcomes in SMEs

The six sigma approach in performance management to reduce injury rate at work

This case study uses the Six Sigma process framework in performance management to explore and improve the injury rate of an international waste disposal firm. The results indicate that an employee-management consensus approach to continuous improvement in safety management in the workplace is essential. The evidence from this case suggested that the DMAIC Six Sigma process and analysis tool such as the fishbone diagram can be easily adopted as measurements in the workplace. Furthermore the case shows that management commitment and employee ownership of the Six Sigma program is the key to continuous improvement, and the development of a safety culture and a learning organisation

The influence of organizational subcultures in health organizations

This study investigates the mediating role of organizational subculture and its antecedents of organizational commitment namely leadership, culture and job satisfaction. Structural equation analysis is used to examine our model in which organizational subculture mediated the influence of leadership style and organizational culture on commitment, and in which job satisfaction is an antecedent of commitment. The results of this study highlight the important role of local leadership and subculture in determining employees’ job satisfaction and commitment. The findings in this study could also provide managers with a new lens to examine organizational culture via three perspectives: bureaucratic, supportive and innovative. Furthermore, the results could renew interests in developing other organizational subculture models that could determine the relationship between organizational subculture and commitmen