Using and writing reviews to inform your practice

Reviews are seen as a way of exploiting existing data or research findings more fully and can offer a summarised insight into the current understanding of the evidence. Library and information science (LIS) workers can use reviews to inform their decision-making and service planning. Although the LIS evidence base continues to grow there will frequently be times when no published reviews are available. In these instances, you may consider undertaking your own review. Different types of review require different approaches and, by deciding from the outset what kind of review yours will be, will inform your methodology. Guidelines on writing reviews for the Health Information and Libraries Journal are presented.     

The Composition of Governing Bodies of Higher Education Corporations

The Education Reform Act 1988 gave independence to polytechnics and the major colleges of higher education. From a position where they were the subject of tight and bureaucratic control by the maintaining local authorities, they have moved to one where responsibility for conducting their affairs in the hands of the small group of persons who constitute their governing bodies. This paper examines the composition of governing bodies in order to see the range of sizes adopted and how boards have been constituted within the permissible limits of the Act. It also touches upon some of the difficulties and ambiguities which have been created by the present legislation. A survey reveals that most institutions have decided to have larger boards which are not dissimilar to those which existed previously and few institutions have taken advantage of the flexibility of the Act and chosen to have small boards. It remains to be seem whether size and composition have any relevance to an institution's success or otherwise in the challenging years ahead.     

Funded research in communication: A chairperson's perspective

There are several benefits to developing a successful funded research portfolio, as well as several challenges inherent in funded research. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the benefits and challenges of funded research from a department chairperson's perspective. Several issues are addressed: the benefits of extramural funding; strategies for developing and sustaining a department's funded research portfolio; the impact of funding on a department's identity; the impact of a funded research program on the scholarship of a department and its graduate program; the implications of funded research for interdisciplinary cooperation; and various administrative concerns that accompany an active and extensive portfolio of funded research. The goal of this essay is to provide the reader with a more complete understanding of the positive and negative implications of funded research for a communication department.     

The erosion of university independence: Recent Australian experience

This article is concerned with the issue of institutional independence in the Australian university context. It considers why institutional independence is important, maps how independence has been reduced since the late 1960s, discusses factors leading to this erosion of independence, and explores possible university responses. It argues that, while recent cases of government interference give cause for disquiet, there is probably more reason to be troubled about where recent developments might lead and about the ability of universities to withstand and contest further encroachment.