Exploring the everyday realities of grass-roots football coaching: towards a relational perspective

While scholars have increasingly engaged with the (micro)political and emotional experiences of coaches in professional and semi-professional football, little attention has been given to grass-roots coaches’ understandings of these issues. The aim of this paper is to outline one possible research agenda that could contribute to the development of a rich and increasingly nuanced understanding of the everyday realities of being a grass-roots football coach. In particular, we consider (volunteer) coaches’ participation in grass-roots football to be an inherently relational endeavour. Following the presentation of a creative fiction that is based upon our shared experiences of being grass-roots football coaches, we then illustrate how relational thinking might be productively applied to exploring the social, (micro)political and emotional features of grass-roots football coaching.     

When Librarians Hit the Books: Uses of and Attitudes Toward E-Books

Librarians offer a unique perspective on e-books: on one hand they collect these resources and train users as part of their jobs, while on the other hand, they may be users of e-books themselves. With recent increases in research expectations for Canadian academic librarians, this study aimed to discover: when librarians do research, do they use e-books and how often are they using them? This study examines the results of a survey of 392 academic librarians from across Canada. The survey generated data on librarians' use of, and attitudes towards, e-books. While a number of studies examine the use and opinions of e-books among other user groups, this study examines how librarians search for or use e-books differently than other user groups. Results will help librarians to improve their liaison work and make more informed collection development decisions at their own institutions.     

Examining the Library as a Site for Intervention: A Mixed-Methods Case Study Evaluation of the “Innovative Solutions to Homelessness” Project

Abstract

This study examined a project that delivered social work services to homeless individuals. A mixed-methods case study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative data from 93 library employees and the project’s Homelessness Prevention Outreach Worker (HPOW). There was an increase in the number of clients accessing community supports during the project, and the HPOW was integral to the provision of support and resources to homeless individuals. Staff training was associated with significantly greater knowledge, comfort, and skills in working with homeless individuals. These findings can inform the delivery and implementation of similar programs for homeless individuals.     

Embracing the Opportunities Ahead: An Analysis of Communication Position Announcements for 2013–2014

Knowing what the Communication job market is can be helpful and informative when planning how to build a program of study or research. On the other side, those who are looking for a job or are preparing for future job hunting also need knowledge about the current job market to help make decisions and predictions. To facilitate these processes, this article surveys the entirety of job postings posted on NCA’s CRTNET service and Spectra publication over the course of 2013 and 2014. The analyses provide an in-depth look at what kind of positions are being offered, which have tenure-track options, what degrees are required, if and what research methodological experience is needed, what kind of institution is offering the position, whether grant and/or teaching experience is desired, and what kinds of topical specializations are sought after.     

Using Six Sigma and Lean in the Library

Businesses have long relied on a variety of strategies to improve quality, efficiency, and service. Some ideas that have persisted over time are Six Sigma and Lean. While Six Sigma, originally intended for manufacturing, focuses on quality and Lean mainly addresses waste, many of the tools and principles involved can also apply to libraries. This article will review the literature on Lean and Six Sigma as they are used in business and then as they have been used in libraries. The resulting discussion will cover how the principles can be applied to better connect with stakeholders by mapping processes and discovering what is value added (VA) versus nonvalue added (NVA), anticipating failure modes using the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) framework, and implementing control plans to maintain quality processes and service.     

Correction to: Mapping the field of research on African higher education: a review of 6483 publications from 1980 to 2019

Higher Education - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00691-x     

Professional development to support principals' vision of science instruction: Building from their prior experiences to support the science practices

The implementation of science reform must be viewed as a systems-level problem and not just focus on resources for teachers and students. High-capacity instructional leadership is essential for supporting classroom science instruction. Recent reform efforts include a shift from learning about science facts to figuring out scientific phenomena in which students use science practices as they build and apply disciplinary core ideas. We report findings from a research study on professional development (PD) to support instructional leaders' learning about the science practices. After participating in the PD, the instructional leaders' familiarity with and leadership content knowledge of the science practices significantly improved. Initially, principals used their understandings from other disciplines and content neutral visions of classrooms to make sense of science instruction. For example, they initially used their understandings of models and argument from ELA and math to make sense of science classroom instruction. Furthermore, some principals focused on content neutral strategies, like a clear objective. Over the course of the PD workshops, principals took up the language of the science practices in more nuanced and sophisticated ways. Principals' use of the language of the science practices became more frequent and shifted from identifying or defining them to considering quality and implementation in science classrooms. As we design tools to support science, we need to consider instructional leaders as important stakeholders and develop resources to specifically meet their needs. If the science feels too unfamiliar or intimidating, principals may avoid or reframe science reform efforts. Consequently, it is important to leverage instructional leaders' resources from other disciplines and content neutral strategies as bridges for building understanding in science. We argue that the science practices are one potential lever to engage in this work and shift instructional leaders' understandings of science instruction.