scholarly journals The role of university libraries in supporting the management information needs of academic Heads of Departments.

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (63) ◽  
pp. 18-21
Author(s):  
Francis Greene

Perceptions of the role of academic heads of departments have altered in recent years. The impetus given by such reports, changes to the way universities are financed, and current management practices within universities, have resulted in Heads of Departments taking on greater managerial responsibility for financial and human resources as well as continuing to lead teaching and research in their departments. Similarly, university libraries are faced with the new opportunities presented by electronic delivery of services, and are having, in a tighter financial climate, to attempt to bring their services much closer to the needs of customers. In this report the interim results of semi-structured interviews with eight university librarians are presented. These interviews are part of a larger project, funded by the BLRDD, into the management information needs of academic Heads of Departments and the role university libraries and administrators play in supplying managernent information to them. The project has used a critical success factors approach to identify the organizational goals of Heads of Departments, the factors that were critical to the achievement of those goals, and the information necessary to manage these factors.

Author(s):  
YASSIN ASSADIG ALI AHMED

Risk management is particularly important at the present time and constitute a new approach in firms, has seen all industries acceleration and great changes in recent years, in order to benefit from risk management to provide protection for firms and continuity performance its activities should provide the critical success factors for risk management. The research problem is represented in the role of risk management on the performance of industrial firms in Sudan, the research aims to deepen the understanding of risk management and its application to firms and to know the reasons that led to the failure and faltering of the performance of these firms as well as finding appropriate solutions ,The researcher used the descriptive-analytical method in conducting this study and designed a questionnaire as the main tool for data collection, This research develops through the assumption that there is a positive relationship between risk management and the performance of the firm where the study found that risk management practices are applied in moderate proportions by the leaders and employees of the Sudanese industrial firms and dominated by the reactive method rather than proactive, One of the most important recommendations of the study is that industrial organizations have to adopt effective systems for managing organizational risks and that they be monitored and reviewed for deviations in order to be in line with the strategy of the firm.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2156
Author(s):  
Jo White ◽  
Ruth Sims

This paper explores the potential for interventions to develop pro-animal welfare habitual behaviours (PAWHBs) in people to improve the lives of animals. Human behavioural research indicates that opportunities exist to deliver lasting change through developing positive habitual behaviours. The routine nature of many equine care and management practices lends itself to habit formation and maintenance. This proof-of-concept paper aims to evaluate a theory-based intervention of developing and maintaining a PAWHB in people caring for equines. Qualitative research methods were used. A 30 day PAWHB intervention (PAWHBInt) of providing enrichment to an equine by scratching them in a consistent context linked to an existing routine behaviour was undertaken. Participants (n = 9) then engaged in semi-structured interviews that were analysed using thematic analysis, where the participants self-reported the outcomes they observed during the intervention. The study findings suggest that the PAWHBInt had a positive impact on human behaviour and habit formation. The research helps to address the dearth of evidence regarding the application of habit theory to equine welfare interventions and emphasised linking a desired new behaviour to an existing routine behaviour when developing PAWHBs. The research also highlights the role of mutual benefit for human and equine, and emotion in providing feedback and potential reward, supporting the link to the cue-routine-reward principle of habit theory.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Moura e Sá ◽  
Catarina Frade ◽  
Fernanda Jesus ◽  
Mónica Lopes ◽  
Teresa Maneca Lima ◽  
...  

PurposeWicked problems require collaborative innovation approaches. Understanding the problem from the users' perspective is essential. Based on a complex and ill-defined case, the purpose of the current paper is to identify some critical success factors in defining the “right problem” to be addressed.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical research study was carried out in a low-density municipality (case study). Extensive data were collected from official databases, individual semi-structured interviews and a focus group involving citizens, local authorities, civil servants and other relevant stakeholders.FindingsAs defined by the central government, the problem to be addressed by the research team was to identify which justice services should be made available locally to a small- and low-density community. The problem was initially formulated using top-down reasoning. In-depth contact with citizens and key local players revealed that the lack of justice services was not “the issue” for that community. Mobility constraints and the shortage of economic opportunities had a considerable impact on the lack of demand for justice services. By using a bottom-up perspective, it was possible to reframe the problem to be addressed and suggest a new concept to be tested at later stages.Social implicationsThe approach followed called attention to the importance of listening to citizens and local organisations with a profound knowledge of the territory to effectively identify and circumscribe a local problem in the justice field.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the limitations of traditional rational problem-solving approaches and contributes to expanding the voice-of-the-customer principle showing how it can lead to a substantially new definition of the problem to be addressed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 545-563
Author(s):  
Edward Asante ◽  
Patrick Ngulube

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the critical success factors for total quality management implementation and implications for sustainable academic libraries in Ghana. This study is part of a PhD project that focussed on selected technical university libraries in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a quantitative approach to collect the data. Samples of 124 participants were involved in this study. PLS-SEM (Smart PLS3) software was used to analyse the data. Convergent, discriminant validity assessment was computed. Eight variables of critical success factors were tested in relation to total quality management implementation at selected academic libraries in Ghana.FindingsThis study established that out of the eight variables tested, six of them (i.e. top management commitment, employee innovation employee training, organisational culture, teamwork and effective communication, quality performance) indicated a significant positive relationship with total quality management implementation apart from strategic planning and human resource management.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was limited to eight variables as the critical success factors mentioned in the previous paragraph. The use of one methodology might be a limitation as the use of multimethod might have given a more comprehensive picture than the case. This study was limited to only technical university libraries in Ghana hence caution must be exercised when applying the results to contextually different academic environments. The results are applicable to academic universities library in Ghana and beyond if they are adjusted to suit the context.Practical implicationsThis study is timely as it may lead to effective total quality management implementation and the sustainability of technical university libraries in Ghana and Africa in general.Originality/valueThe proposed model can be used to enhance the smooth implementation of total quality management in academic libraries in general and Ghana in particular. The framework is termed as Eddie and Pat's Achievement of Quality Performance (EPAfQP) model.


Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) was a proficient tool to improve the quality of care by increasing the services effectiveness and efficiency in hospital. Unfortunately, the utilization of HMIS in developing countries was yet to be maximized when compared to that in developed countries. This study aimed to identify the critical success factor in implementing HMIS through SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis. SWOT analysis is a powerful approach for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of an entity from internal perspective, as well as the opportunities and threats from external perspective. The analysis showed that HMIS have the ability to provide more accurate data, timely available, faster documentation retrieval compared to paper-based system, and those considered as the HMIS implementation strengths. Competition in the hospital industry and government policies open the opportunity for immediate implementation of HMIS. Despite the benefits from implementing HMIS, the transition from the old to the new system has been rather slow. The hospital readiness from extra funding need, lack of skilled personnel, inadequate infrastructure to support system were a form of HMIS implementation weaknesses. External factors such as existing culture, technologies providers which underestimated healthcare complexity, also lack of communication and collaboration across organization became an obstacle that threatens HMIS implementation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rachelle Linde

The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (M-KMA) in northern British Columbia is globally significant for its size, special resource management, and cultural and ecological values. These characteristics were secured in perpetuity through the British Columbian Government’s M-KMA Act in 1998. However, today low public awareness and engagement are seen as threats to the M-KMA’s effectiveness and longevity. Using a mixed-methods approach, this research examined the role of awareness and engagement in safeguarding the M-KMA by conducting semi-structured interviews and a media analysis, both of which informed a public survey. Informing the research design were underlying theories in sense of place, place branding, and the relationship of planned behaviour to place-protective behaviour. Additionally, resource management practices like ecosystem-based management informed the research design and methods of public participation in policy formation.


Author(s):  
Fabio Nonino

Extracting and consolidating knowledge from past projects can help managers in selecting projects with the correct level of riskiness, while market analysis gives directions for reaching the objective of a balanced project portfolio. To this extent, the chapter discusses strategic importance of project selection and the role of risks and uncertainties in project portfolio management and presents some fundamental and innovative frameworks and project selection methodologies for balancing risks. Finally, the chapter proposes a model containing an innovative methodology, based on artificial neural networks, to help managers in balancing project portfolio and assessing projects during the selection phase on the basis of risks, uncertainties and critical success factors.


Author(s):  
Tuncer Asunakutlu ◽  
Kemal Yuce Kutucuoglu

This study reviews some of the prominent ranking systems with a view to shed more light on what may constitute a critical success factor in the field of higher education. In the first part, the ranking systems are reviewed and the key principles are explained. A brief description of how institutions use ranking information is also included. In the second part of the study, the subject of internationalization in the context of ranking systems is discussed. The main challenges of competitiveness in higher education and the increasing role of internationalization are expressed. The chapter also describes threats and opportunities for the future of higher education. This section also includes suggestions for higher education administrators. In the third part, the subject of ranking with particular focus on the university-industry collaboration and its effects on the future of higher education are discussed. The role of the industry and the changing mission of the universities in the new era are explained.


1970 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-150
Author(s):  
Otobong Micheal Udo ◽  
L.A. Akinbile ◽  
Samuel Ikechukwu Chinkata

This study investigated the management information needs of fish farmers in Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from one hundred and ten fish farmers randomly selected from four urban and seven rural wards of the area. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive (frequency, percentage,) and inferential (chi-square and PPMC) statistics. Results show that respondents had average age of 43years, majority were male (64.8%), had primary school as highest educational level (52.4%), had 2-5 ponds, use earthen ponds (55.2%) and had 5-7 years fish farming experience. Information was most needed in hormone identification (x=2.83), fish marketing (x=2.80) and water quality management (x=2.71). Respondents indicated high cost of feed and poaching as a major challenge in fish farming. Respondents’ age (r = -0.233, p = 0.017); management practices (r = 0.209, p =0.032); number of ponds (r = -0.412, p = 0.000) were correlated with management information needs. The study therefore recommends the need for extension agencies to provide robust and timely information in the areas of need highlighted by the fish farmers in order to increase production efficiency and output of the fish farmers.Keywords: Information needs, Fish farmers, Aquaculture


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