Executive MBA Students’ Information Skills and Knowledge: Discovering the Difference Between Work and Academics

This study explores Executive MBA (EMBA) students’ information-seeking skills and knowledge in academic and workplace environments to improve on library instruction. The authors’ research consisted of a survey and 12 qualitative interviews, sampled from two University of New Mexico EMBA cohorts. The themes that emerged included EMBA's specific skills and knowledge of their own industry's information, difficulty in finding new information, several barriers, and lack of transferability. By discussing adult learning theory and focusing on transferability, we can help students acknowledge and transfer their information skills and knowledge between academics and work.     

美国高校图书馆的麦当劳化

美国社会学家乔治·里茨尔在其撰写的一部有关麦当劳化的力作中指出 快餐行业的方方面面正在逐渐渗透到社会的其它领域。本文旨在探讨里茨尔先生的观点是否适用于高校图书馆部门，并着重分析高校图书馆向麦当化方向发展的程度、以及社会麦当劳化对于高校图书馆的影响。此外，作者还分析了与麦当劳化相对应的其它可能做法及其对高校图书馆的影响。     

Strategic CRM: Improving the Business of Academic Libraries

An argument can be made that libraries are businesses, with users as their customers. Given the increasing scarcity of funding and pressure for proving value, academic libraries could benefit from leveraging certain business practices to increase user satisfaction. Creating a comprehensive strategy for building long-term user relationships can solidify support for libraries by engaging with all stakeholders to improve their library experiences. The Customer Relationship Management philosophy described here provides an opportunity for institutions to show their total value to all users and stakeholders and in doing so, improve the business of academic libraries.     

Exploring the role of religion and spirituality in the development of purpose: case studies of purposeful youth

This study investigated the role of spirituality and religion in supporting purpose during adolescence. Two case studies of adolescents who were coded as purposeful in the religious and/or spiritual domain as part of a larger study at the Stanford Centre on Adolescence were analysed and discussed. The results showed religion and spirituality as overlapping domains with authenticity to self as expressed though spirituality as a distinguishing factor between the two cases. Authenticity fosters one of the key elements of purpose – meaningfulness to the self – but only if done with equal attention to the world beyond the self.     

Diagnosed intellectual and emotional impairment among parents who seriously mistreat their children: prevalence, type, and outcome in a court sample

A substantial body of research evidence over the past three decades has indicated that intellectual and emotional impairment among parents is a factor contributing to child abuse and neglect. This study examined the court records of 206 seriously abused or neglected children and their families in a large urban area and found that in over half the records a parent had been diagnosed as having an emotional disorder and/or low IQ, with a majority of these diagnoses indicating significant impairment. Although type of impairment (emotional, low IQ, and a subsample of substance abusers) did not predict type of mistreatment, higher predicted risk for continued mistreatment, or greater likelihood of permanent removal of the child by the court, low IQ parents revealed significantly less prior court involvement and greater acceptance of court-ordered services. Parents diagnosed with serious emotional disorders were significantly more likely than less disturbed parents to have their children permanently removed despite findings of no significant differences in risk or compliance factors.