Through the ‘I’ of the beholder: A rationale for physicalization in performance of narratives

This article presents a rationale for physicalization in performance of narrative prose based on the literary convention of “point of view.” It explores a variety of narrative voices and attempts to illustrate, through example, how narrators rely on both imitation and narration to present story to audience.     

Introducing recalibrated academic performance indicators in the evaluation of individuals’ research performance: A case study from Eastern Europe

In Hungary, the highest and most prestigious scientific qualification is considered to be the Doctor of Science (DSc) title being awarded by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The academic performance indicators of the DSc title are of high importance in the evaluation of individuals’ research performance not only when a researcher applies for obtaining a DSc title, but also during promotions and appointments at universities, and in the case of the evaluation of applications for scientific titles and degrees, and the assessment of applications for funding. In the Section of Earth Sciences encompassing nine related disciplines, rather than carrying out a straightforward bibliometric analysis, the performance indicators were designed as a result of a consensual agreement between leading academicians, each of whom represented a particular discipline. Therefore, the minimum values of the indicators, required to be fulfilled if one is applying for a DSc title, do not adequately reflect the actual discipline-specific performance of researchers. This problem may generate tension between researchers during the evaluation process. The main goal of this paper is to recalibrate the minimum values of four major performance indicators by taking the actual discipline-specific distance ratios into account. In addition, each minimum value will be defined by employing integer and fractional counting methods as well. The research outcome of this study can provide impetus for the Section of Earth Sciences (and eventually other sections of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) to optimize the minimum values of the DSc title performance indicators by taking the specifics of each discipline into account. Because academic performance indicators are also employed in other Eastern European countries in the evaluation of individuals’ research performance, the methods used in that paper can be placed into a wider geographical context.     

Class markers in the mass movie audience: A case study in the cultural geography of moviegoing, 1926‐1932

In the 1920s, Hollywood moved to normalize a vertically integrated industrial structure based on centralized control over film production, distribution, and exhibition. The intensity of this effort at greater corporate rationalization increased dramatically between 1926 and 1932, as major studios aggressively assumed ownership of key first‐run movie palaces in cities and towns across America. Current studies of moviegoing during this period often suggest that studio control over exhibition helped standardize the contexts of film reception, thereby pressing pre‐existing class specificities of moviegoing into a more easily managed and legitimized middle‐class form of cultural practice. The case study presented here offers a theoretically‐informed but empirically grounded investigation of film exhibition and moviegoing during this period, and argues that film exhibition and moviegoing continued to be marked by cultural distinctions that helped articulate class relations in the wider social formation.     

A study of the relative effectiveness of climax and anti‐climax order in an argumentative speech∗

Two experiments examine the relationship between ambiguity tolerance as a personality trait and verbal behavior. In the first experiment Bales’ IPA system was used to analyze a group discussion. The high ambiguity tolerators dramatized almost three times as much as the low ambiguity tolerators. In the second experiment, only two of the IPA categories were used, dramatizes and gives opinion. No differences were found in the gives opinion category. In the dramatizes category, however, the same effect was found again.     

Understanding the context of records creation and use: ‘Hard’ versus ‘soft’ approaches to records management

Current records management methodologies and practices suffer from an inadequate understanding of the ‘human activity systems’ where records managers operate as ‘mediators’ between a number of complex and interacting factors. Although the records management and archival literature recognizes that managing the active life of the records is fundamental to their survival as meaningful evidence of activities, the context where the records are made, captured, used, and selectively retained is not explored in depth. In particular, the various standards, models, and functional requirement lists, which occupy a vast portion of that literature, especially in relation to electronic records, do not seem to be capable of framing records-related ‘problems’ in ways that account for their dynamic and multiform nature. This paper introduces the idea that alternative, ‘softer’ approaches to the analysis of organizational functions, structures, agents, and artifacts may usefully complement the ‘hard’, engineering-like approaches typically drawn on by information and records specialists. Three interrelated theoretical and methodological frameworks—namely, Soft Systems Methodology, Adaptive Structuration Theory, and Genre Theory—are discussed, with the purpose of highlighting their contributions to our understanding of the records context.     

Faculty–library collaborations in digital history: A case study of the travel journal of Cornelius B. Gold

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors present a case study on a teaching and learning initiative in digital humanities at Connecticut College. The article outlines a project in which students in a midlevel history course collaborated with library staff and faculty to develop a digital exhibition on a nineteenth-century journal in the College's collection. The cooperative approach and institutional support that the team received provided an effective and flexible means for achieving common goals. As students applied emergent technologies to college collections, they were able to conduct meaningful research and bring archival resources to new audiences.     

‘Terrible Panizzi’: Patriotism and Realism of the ‘Prince of Librarians’

Abstract

This article deals with the figure of Antonio Panizzi, considered as an Italian patriot and English librarian. It highlights the constant attention he devoted to the Italian political events throughout his life: from his arrival in London (1823) as a political exile, to his informal ambassador in United Kingdom, a role that allowed him to lobby the political class and the press on behalf of the cause of Italian patriots forced in the prisons of Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The article describes the multifaceted library activity carried out by Panizzi at the British Library, of which he became Principal Librarian in 1856. Panizzi is considered to be the first Promethean Librarian of the 19th century, a great reformer with new ideas on library services, innovative methodologies, and working practices in librarianship. Panizzi rigorously carried out the activity of librarian at the British Library without ever forgetting the need for a free, unified, and democratic Italian state.     

A case study: the evolution of a ��facilitator model�� liaison program in an academic medical library

Question:

What type of liaison program would best utilize both librarians and other library staff to effectively promote library services and resources to campus departments?

Setting:

The case is an academic medical center library serving a large, diverse campus.

Methods:

The library implemented a “facilitator model” program to provide personalized service to targeted clients that allowed for maximum staff participation with limited subject familiarity. To determine success, details of liaison-contact interactions and results of liaison and department surveys were reviewed.

Results:

Liaisons successfully recorded 595 interactions during the program''s first 10 months of existence. A significant majority of departmental contact persons (82.5%) indicated they were aware of the liaison program, and 75% indicated they preferred email communication.

Conclusion:

The “facilitator model” provides a well-defined structure for assigning liaisons to departments or groups; however, training is essential to ensure that liaisons are able to communicate effectively with their clients.     

The rhetoric of radical black nationalism: A case study in self‐conscious criticism

The rhetoric of Black nationalism is used as a case study to illustrate problems involved in the criticism of contemporary protest rhetoric. The conclusions resulting from the application of traditional theory are contrasted with those developed from Burkeian dramatism in order to outline an alternative perspective toward this rhetoric and in order to provide a technique for increasing the self‐consciousness of the critic.     

Empowering people through information: A case study of India’s Right to Information Act

The beginning of the 21st century is marked with the developments made in the field of information and technology. The primary role of the information is to equip the citizens to make informed choices. Information is life blood that sustains political, social and business decisions. It may pertain to quality, quantity, standard, and prices of products or services that are needed to make an informed decision. This is particularly true in a country where government and its numerous administrative agencies have expanded in a bewildering manner.

The Right to Information Act, passed by the Indian Parliament in the year 2005 has proved to be a landmark for good governance and in helping common people, especially the poor and underprivileged, get their dues from the government. The act has emerged as the most potent tool to empower ordinary citizens to combat state corruption and to play an important and active role in participatory democracy. Drafted by civil society itself, the law is unique in the sense that it has been the result of years of struggle by civil society, NGOs and media.