Communication,Relationships, and Religious Difference in the Northern Ireland Workplace: A Study of Private and Public Sector Organizations

Four large organizations, two each from the private and public sectors of the Northern Ireland economy, were selected for this study which, first, explored the effects of religion-based workforce difference on intergroup relationships, second, investigated the contribution of organizational sector to communicative differences, and third, gauged the effects of group-based negativity on the flow and distribution of functional information within the organization. Little evidence of intergroup conflict was found although employees expressed a desire for greater quantity and quality of outgroup contact. Significant differences between the private and public bodies emerged in this respect. Contrasts were consistent with general organizational differences typifying the sectors. Findings are discussed in relation to diversity management and the characteristics of organizational sectors.     

Catalog Users “In the Wild”: The Potential of an Ethnographic Approach to Studies of Library Catalogs and Their Users

An increasing number of library user studies are employing ethnographic techniques as an alternative to more traditional qualitative methods such as surveys. Such techniques, however, are only beginning to see significant application to catalog user studies. Beginning with a discussion of the applied ethnographic method and its current usage within the field of Library and Information Science research, this article will assess methods that have traditionally been applied to studies of catalog users and present the case for the potential of an ethnographic approach for future catalog evaluation and design.     

Researching Special Needs

In the March 2002 issue of BJSE , Richard Rose argued that the agenda for research in special education should be determined by establishing 'effective partnerships' between teachers and researchers. He suggested that teachers are beginning to be more involved in research but that educational researchers needed to 'take a lead in involving classroom practitioners in the development of school–based projects'. John Wilson, an author of many books on philosophy and education, and currently Senior Research Associate at the Oxford University Department of Educational Studies, agrees that, if educational research is to drive forward improvements in practice, it must engage 'the minds and understandings of practitioners'. This article takes the debate further, however. John Wilson proposes that research into special educational needs has also to engage with an exploration of the meaning of the phrase 'special needs' and a review of the values that underpin the use of this phrase by practitioners, policy makers and researchers. He concludes that this process will entail the development of new forms of enquiry, new ways of working, and new ways of thinking about research and special educational needs.