International outsourcing of information technology services : review and future directions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the development of the empirical literature on international outsourcing of information technology services (ITS) over the 1992-2007 period and to identify future research areas.

Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 78 empirical academic publications on international outsourcing of ITS conducted between 1992 and 2007 across 46 scholarly journals constitutes the main data for analytical purposes. The sample is compiled following extensive electronic searches of the main academic databases. After clustering the studies in the sample according to their main research areas, a narrative approach is used to review developments in each cluster and to identify emerging research areas.

Findings – Four main areas of research are identified, namely outsourcing decision, outsourcing management (OSM), outsourcing outcome and the role of offshore service providers (OSPs). The review suggests that research efforts to date have been predominantly on outsourcing decision and OSM, mostly from the perspective of clients. Future research opportunities exist in the areas of outsourcing strategy and performance, the behaviour and performance of OSPs particularly within the context of firms from less-developed countries competing globally, and the nature of competition among OSPs both within and among countries.

Originality/value – This is the first review which focuses on empirical studies of outsourcing for ITS. This paper identifies several gaps in the literature and points to the need for more research on outsourcing from the perspective of OSPs.

Arts management/marketing journal citation analysis : assessing external impact

Purpose – This paper aims to present a quantitative analysis of arts management/marketing articles in leading general management/marketing journals, including an examination of the extent to which those top tier journal articles on arts/culture-related topics cite authors of leading arts management journal articles.

Design/methodology/approach – Using bibliometric techniques, this study examines the content of 20 top tier management and marketing journals over 22 years to identify articles published on arts management/marketing, which authors were cited, and from which arts management/marketing journals.

Findings – Analysis indicates that: relatively few citations in the top management/marketing journals reference arts management/marketing journals; assessment of interaction between the parent management/marketing disciplines and the arts management/marketing sub-discipline indicates that authors draw upon a large reserve of diverse literatures; and top journal arts-related management/marketing articles tend to utilize citations to journal articles grounded in the social sciences and aesthetics of management, with an increasing trend of citations to arts management/marketing journals.

Research limitations/implications – This study of the extent to which top journals have published arts/culture-related articles and the citation impact of arts management/marketing journals is the initial academic study on the topic and suggests opportunities for further research.

Practical implications – Analysis of arts management/marketing journal impact contributes to professionalization of the field and increased perceived value of those journals by industry practitioners.

Originality/value – This research is the first to examine the spectrum of arts management/marketing literature, including both top general management/marketing journals and sector-oriented arts management/marketing journals, establishing a body of knowledge for augmentation by future research over time.

Academic skills and beyond : a resource based approach to support student success in higher education

An increasingly diverse range of students are entering higher education, bringing with them a vast range of experiences, skills and pre-existing knowledge. However, approaches to increasing student participation (and therefore success) to date have focused on strategies aimed at supporting non-traditional students to “fit in”, rather than changing existing structures to accommodate their needs. This paper will outline a resource-based approach to student success, which capitalises on the resources and capacities existing within the student, within their performance of the student role and within the environment that surrounds their learning.
This paper will report on a study and propose a resource based approach to student success. Three main sites or domains are identified as a focus of this approach – intrapersonal resources, skills resources and environmental resources. These domains interact with each other to support student success, and three potential methods for implementing a resource based approach are highlighted in the spaces where they intersect. Pedagogical design, mapping and matching, and learning support all have a role in enabling both students and universities to make the most of their existing resources and develop new ones.

Mobile technology platforms for flexible access to information resources : considerations in the use of ebook readers, smart phones, netbooks and iPads

Smart phones are everywhere, people are taking eBook readers on holiday, the iPad has queues of people wanting to buy one, and some netbooks can fit in a pocket. The technology is attractive and increasingly affordable – how can it help an individual in their access to and use of texts, journals, databases, clinical sources, the web and day-to-day information? The Library has been investigating and trialling mobile devices during 2010, and has received interesting feedback from staff and students on the effectiveness of the technology in the University and personal environments. Each device has its strengths and weaknesses depending on the needs of the individual or activity it is supporting – productivity, research, study, clinical or recreational. The presentation will explore these issues along with some of the practical implications at Deakin, and international experiences in academic environments.

An exploratory study of ethical dilemmas faced by academic leaders in three Australian universities

Being an academic in universities today is characterised by change and increasing complexity in response to a multitude of factors impacting on the university sector. Among the consequences of such changes are that many academics, and academic leaders in particular, are subjected to both increasing stress and scrutiny in many of the decisions they make. Some of these decisions require critical choices that involve contestation of values (including personal, professional, institutional, and community), resulting in ethical dilemmas for the decision makers. This article reports on an exploratory study into ethical dilemmas faced by middle-level academic leaders, drawing on the results of an on-line survey distributed to relevant academics in three universities in Australia. Here, middle-level academic leaders are defined as those holding course coordination roles, locating them between senior university staff and other academics on the one hand, and students on the other hand. As a consequence, these diverse groups of staff and students potentially have an array of conflicting interests in, and expectations on, middle-level academics’ decision-making processes. The findings of the study are clear: ethical dilemmas are evident, and commonly so, for many middle-level academic leaders. While exploratory in nature, the findings of this study suggest that much more attention to ethics and ethical dilemmas is needed in our universities.

A multidimensional framework for embedded academic skill development : transition pedagogy in social work

As a consequence of the widening participation agenda, student cohorts in Australian higher education are becoming increasingly diverse. While diversity is often characterised by a focus on culture or ethnicity, this variability also independently exists in regard to competence in academic skills (Dillon, 2007). Successfully developing discipline-specific academic skills is crucial to a student’s learning, progress and attainment in higher education. The growing recognition that students are entering Australian universities with varying levels of academic preparedness as a result of the widening participation agenda has made effective academic skill support even more important, since ‘access without a reasonable chance of success is an empty promise’ (International Associations of Universities, 2008, p. 1).

The downside of relying on research outputs to assess business faculty performance : comments from down under regarding facilitating and creating synergies between teaching and research : the role of the academic administrator

This commentary presents an Australian perspective on Balkin and Mello’s “Facilitating and Creating Synergies between Teaching and Research: The Role of the Academic Administrator.” It addresses one particularly important aspect of the separation of teaching and research in business schools; namely, the increasing dominance of discipline-based research output measures in overall business faculty performance, coupled with a reliance on journal rankings as de facto quality measures for research output. Some possible alternate approaches to research performance/impact measurement in our rapidly changing academic environment are also considered.

Creating high challenge/high support academic environments through constructive alignment: student outcomes

Higher education needs to provide challenging yet supportive learning environments catering for students with diverse academic needs. There is also an emphasis on using student-driven outcome measures to determine teaching effectiveness. How can these measures be used to reflect upon and evaluate teaching initiatives? Using an undergraduate occupational therapy programme as the site for exploration, this article reports on an application of constructive alignment principles and describes how available empirical data were used to explore student outcomes. A comparison was made between student evaluations and academic grades prior to, and after the implementation of the initiative. Results provide evidence of improvement in student satisfaction and academic grades as a result of implementing constructive alignment. Whilst it is acknowledged that changes in academic grades and student evaluations can be attributed to a number of factors, findings of this study support a view that constructive alignment facilitates students' learning and experiences.

TEALS (Tool for Evaluation of Academic Library Spaces) project : evaluating physical library spaces

The aim of TEALS project was to establish a setting for evaluation of academic library spaces. The outcomes of such evaluation were anticipated to provide insights into the impacts of library spaces on students’ learning experiences, faculty’s teaching and research and lead to identifying the area of weakness and strength, developing improvement plans and defining specific goals and means for project decision-makers.

Transforming an academic library's spaces : an evaluation study of Deakin University Library at Burwood campus using TEALS discovery

Libraries worldwide are transforming their spaces to better align with the changing needs of their communities. The aim of this paper is to outline the process and outcome of an evaluation study of transformed academic library spaces at the Melbourne Burwood Campus using TEALS. In light of changing higher education practices and students learning preferences, Deakin University has been questioning the balance of informal learning spaces and more formal teaching and academic spaces across its campuses. Commissioned by Deakin University Library, TEALS (Tool for the Evaluation of Academic Library Spaces) was developed to evaluate academic library spaces. The Melbourne Burwood Campus library has undergone several phases of refurbishment to create a library environment that is centred around students’ needs and that supports their individual and group learning experiences. In addition, areas of the library yet to be improved will undergo a major redevelopment over the next year. Given this, carrying out an evaluation of the current spaces is timely to ensure that a better understanding of the impact of changes is achieved. The evaluation process involved: a review of architectural plans and space briefing documents; an observational study of spaces; focus groups with students and library staff; and an online survey of Students’ Library Experience. Use of the TEALS space evaluation tool along with an analysis of data collected during the evaluation process have provided significant insights into various dimensions of the quality of new library spaces. The areas of weakness and strength identified in the study will inform the next phase of Deakin University Library space redevelopment.

The academic online: constructing persona through the world wide web

This paper explores the way individuals are part of the prestige economy generated by universities as institutions. It explores how the construction of online identities or persona is now an essential activity for the academic both from the perspective of university value and individual/career value. Five distinct types of academic persona are explored primarily through academics working in digital communication areas; through these cases and examples this new communication environment is explored. This paper concludes that institutions and individuals need to develop in the most pragmatic sense, online academic persona and ensure that these online ‘selfs’ are connected with authenticity to the professional work of the academic.