Examining the fabric of academic life: An analysis of three decades of research on the perceptions of Australian academics about their roles

Over the last three decades there have been numerous surveys in Australian universities which have attempted to describe the perceptions of academic staff to various aspects of their roles. Each of these surveys appears to have been inspired by changes resulting from contemporaneous government policies and/or community expectations. Calls for “Efficiency and Effectiveness”, “Accountability”, and “Quality and Diversity”have coincided with massive expansion in the higher education system, the change from a binary system to the Unified National System, and consequent changes to student profiles, funding arrangements, and academic workloads. Academic culture, with its tradition of freedom and autonomy, has been besieged by the alien culture of managerialism with its own vocabulary of “client”, “quality assurance”, and “product”: but has this assault made any difference to how academics perceive their work and their perceptions of quality in university teaching ? This paper reports on an analysis of data (relating to academics' perceptions of their work) from surveys conducted in universities from the late 70s and throughout the 80s and 90s. The paper analyses, compares and contextualises academic perceptions across these decades, and draws some conclusions about the perseverence of academic culture under siege.     

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON STUDENT RETENTION: A Role for Institutional Research

This paper proposes a role for institutional research in changing institutional attitudes about the priority placed on student retention efforts. Problems associated with changing perspectives are described using Kuber-Ross's work On Death and Dying. Potential barriers associated with changing the status of student retention efforts within the institution are identified relative to her stages of grief-denial, hostility, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Tactics useful in addressing and moving through each stage are described. Results from several studies on student retention provide information that has been used to promote and change attitudes toward student retention efforts at all levels at Virginia Tech.     

Interactivity: Moving Beyond Terminology

Abstract Museum professionals strive to provide meaningful experiences for visitors. Meaningful experiences are those that provide choice and control in the exploration of ideas, concepts, and objects. In many cases, these experiences occur through an interactive component. Although a number of studies have focused on interactives in museums, the field would benefit from an intensive look at how visitors perceive of and learn from these experiences. Discussion about this topic has been sidetracked by conversations about the terminology that describes this type of experience. Drawing upon studies conducted in this area, this paper looks at the role of interactives in museums by exploring three broad themes: clarity of purpose and underlying assumptions; design factors; and social engagement and learning. In conclusion, suggestions are offered for ways that these studies might inform the development of interactive experiences.     

Searching the right database. A comparison of four databases for psychiatry journals

Journal coverage is one factor that affects the retrieval of relevant information from bibliographic databases. The aims of this study were to investigate the coverage of databases for psychiatry journals, and to assess the overlap between databases. Psychiatry journals were identified using Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory and then analysed to see which bibliographic databases indexed the most journals. A total of 213 abstracting and indexing services were listed as indexing at least one of the 977 psychiatry journals identified. The four most frequently cited databases (PsycLIT, EMBASE, BIOSIS and MEDLINE) indexed 506 (52%) of the psychiatry journals. Of these 506 journals, PsycLIT indexed 367 (73%), EMBASE 337 (67%), BIOSIS 243 (48%) and MEDLINE 236 (47%). Combining the databases with the highest yields (PsycLIT and EMBASE) increased the number of journals indexed to 461 (91%). The four databases combined accounted for 90% of all psychiatry journals found to be indexed by at least one abstracting and indexing service. More than 400 journals were not indexed at all. Variations in the overlap between PsycLIT, EMBASE, BIOSIS and MEDLINE, and the high proportion (35%) of journals indexed in only one of these four databases emphasize the importance of searching more than one or even two databases to ensure optimal coverage of the literature.     

Vital pathways for hospital librarians: present and future roles

Objectives:

The research objectives were to (1) describe the current and future roles of hospital librarians and the challenges they face and (2) find evidence supporting the hypothesis that librarians are essential to hospitals in achieving the organizations'' mission-critical goals.

Method:

The authors used results from a previous research study that identified the five organizational mission-critical goals important to hospital administrators and then searched the literature and solicited examples from hospital librarians to describe the librarian''s role in helping hospitals achieve these goals.

Results:

The literature supports the hypothesis that hospital librarians play important roles in the success of the hospital. Librarians support quality clinical care, efficient and effective hospital operations, continuing education for staff, research and innovation, and patient, family, and community health information needs.

Conclusion:

Hospital librarians fulfill many mission-critical roles in today''s hospital, providing the right information at the right time in a variety of ways to enhance hospital and medical staff effectiveness, optimize patient care, improve patient outcomes, and increase patient and family satisfaction with the hospital and its services. Because hospital librarians and their services provide an excellent return on investment for the hospital and help the hospital keep its competitive edge, hospital staff should have access to the services of a professional librarian.

Highlights

• A review of the literature supports the hypothesis that services of the professional librarian result in:
  • enhanced staff effectiveness,
  • optimized patient care,
  • improved patient outcomes, and
  • increased patient and family satisfaction with the hospital and its services.

Implications

• Because hospital librarians and their services provide an excellent return on investment for the hospital and help the hospital keep its competitive edge, hospital staff should have access to the services of a professional librarian.