Piercy?s Use Of Implied And Ex Essay example -- essays research papers

In this sonnet Marge Piercy’s speaker inspires a solid vision of a lady who has lost her own personality to her activity. Her strong and illustrative utilization of representations permit the peruser to imagine a lady who is carrying on with her life vicariously through her profession. Ms. Piercy effectively utilizes oddity, embodiment, and the play on words to bring the character alive. With the utilization of analogies, both suggested and express, the peruser can profoundly feel for the focal character of this sonnet.      From the primary line of the sonnet the tone is set for the peruser. It isn't so dubious as to utilize a straightforward analogy, yet a solid indication of the possibility of the speaker as a real exemplification of a material article. She doesn't state â€Å"My hips resemble a desk†, she says â€Å"My hips are a desk† (line 1). All through the remainder of the sonnet, exemplification of the lady as simply a bit of office gear is communicated with striking authenticity.      In the initial six lines of the sonnet the speaker depicts herself in remarkable detail. Every one of her body parts are put with an undeniable bit of office gear. This permits the peruser to shape a strong image of a lady sitting at her work area playing out the every day drudgery of a secretary. She doesn't consider herself to be a genuine lady yet a lady whose hair is†rubber bands† (3), whose†breasts are wells of mimeograph ink†, (5) and whose â€Å"feet bear casters† (6).      The secretary is so entren...

Committing suicide Essay Example For Students

Ending it all Essay One spring evening in 1912 Inspector Goole showed up at the Birlings home. He reveals to them that a young lady has kicked the bucket having gulped a solid disinfectant. While he addresses each at the Birlings house we at that point discover their contributions with Eva Smith. The assessor first directs his concentration toward Mr. Birling, indicating him a photo of Eva Smith. Mr. Birling conceded that he had utilized the young lady and that he had additionally terminated her since she had a great deal to sayfar to an extreme and furthermore she experienced been causing difficulty in progress. She likewise needed a compensation ascend from 22 and 6 shillings to 25 shillings per week. Mr. Birling needed the wages to remain the equivalent since he needs to keep work costs down and in the event that he gave them an ascent, work expenses would go up 12%. I dont imagine that what Mr. Birling did to Eva Smith would have leaded her to end it all since individuals get laid off everyday. AT the start of December, 1910, Eva was fortunate enough to be acknowledged for an occupation at an excellent, high-class shop, Milwards. Sheila Birling, girl of Mr. Birling, was in Milwards selecting a dress. Eva was advised to get the dress and Sheila gave it a shot and knew straight away it didnt look right. Anyway when Eva estimated it facing herself Sheila thought Eva glanced extraordinary in the dress. So as Sheila was feeling horrible that day, she undermined the proprietor of Milwards that if Eva was not laid off, she and her mom could never shop there again. Despite the fact that Sheila thought it wasnt anything horrible at that point, Sheila then accepted she was to be faulted Im to fault and was discouraged when she discovered Eva Smith had submitted suicide. Gerald Croft met Eva Smith at the Palace Music Hall in the slows down bar. She was calling herself Daisy Renton now. Gerald met her when he spared Daisy from Joe Megarty, who had her up in a corner finishing her up. Gerald treated her well and even set her up in certain lofts that were claimed by his companion who was out of town. I think Gerald could have been answerable for Eva/Daisys passing since he left her reasoning she was alright, yet within she was disturbed, she just never demonstrated it. Eric Birling met Eva one night in November, 1911. They managed everything well and had intercourse; Eric thought she was acceptable that they demanded to see a greater amount of one another. As Eric was squiffy he didnt play it safe and wound up getting Eva pregnant. Eric had a huge part to do with Evas passing since she thought he was excessively acceptable, giving her cash and a spot to remain, so she may have felt overpowered and believed that her youngster would likewise have a poor life, which may have made her end it all. At the point when the reviewer began to address Mrs. Birling, she admitted to seeing Eva Smith at a Brumleys Women Charity Organization. Mrs. Birling dismissed her from this idea on the grounds that Eva was going under the name as Mrs. Birling. I think Mrs. Birling is more to fault than anybody since she could have kept her from ending it all when she went for help. Albeit all characters are mindful, I think Mrs. Birling is guiltier than the others since she could have forestalled Eva Smith from ending it all, by giving her the assistance that she required. I generally think this in light of the fact that Eva went for help which could have been about the pressure she has endured the last two years. I believe that all characters will approach their ordinary lives after these occasions, simply attempting to overlook what had occurred.

Blog Archive Beyond the MBA Classroom Bar of the Week at Haas

Blog Archive Beyond the MBA Classroom Bar of the Week at Haas When you select an MBA program, you are not just choosing your learning environment but are also committing to becoming part of a community. Each Thursday, we offer a window into life “beyond the MBA classroom” at a top business school. Thursdays at the Haas School of Business at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, have a set social agendaâ€"this is when students congregate at the “Bar of the Week,” which is selected each week by the vice president of social (an elected student position within the school’s MBA Association) from the variety of options located in San Francisco and Berkeley. A student described the event on the school’s Web site as “an opportunity to kick back, stop thinking about school for an hour or two, and drink a beer or two.” Often, Bar of the Weekâ€"which can reportedly attract upward of 200 studentsâ€"is hosted by a student club and held at a venue of that club’s choosing. For example, Q@Haas (the school’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender professional and social club) has in the past hosted a Bar of the Week in San Francisco’s famous Castro District. For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at UC Berkeley Haas and 15 other top MBA programs, check out the  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Berkeley-Haas Beyond the MBA Classroom Blog Archive Beyond the MBA Classroom Bar of the Week at Haas When you select an MBA program, you are not just choosing your learning environment, but are also committing to becoming part of a community. Each Thursday, we offer a window into life “beyond the MBA classroom” at a top business school. Thursdays at Haas have a set social agendaâ€"this is when students congregate at the current “Bar of the Week,” as selected each week by the vice president of social (an elected student position within the school’s MBA Association) from the variety of options located in San Francisco and Berkeley. A student described the event on the school’s Web site  as “an opportunity to kick back, stop thinking about school for an hour or two, and drink a beer or two.” Often, Bar of the Weekâ€"which can reportedly attract upward  of 200 studentsâ€"is hosted by a student club and held at a venue of the club’s choosing. For example, Q@Haas (the school’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered professional and social club) has in the past hosted a Bar of the Week in San Francisco’s famous Castro District. For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at UC-Berkeley Haas and 15 other top MBA programs, check out the  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Berkeley-Haas Beyond the MBA Classroom Blog Archive Beyond the MBA Classroom Bar of the Week at Haas When you select an MBA program, you are not just choosing your learning environment but are also committing to becoming part of a community. Each Thursday, we offer a window into life “beyond the MBA classroom” at a top business school. Thursdays at UC-Berkeley Haas have a set social agendaâ€"this is when students congregate at the current “Bar of the Week,” as selected each week by the vice president of social (an elected student position within the school’s MBA Association) from the variety of options located in San Francisco and Berkeley. A student described the event on the school’s Web site as “an opportunity to kick back, stop thinking about school for an hour or two, and drink a beer or two.” Often, Bar of the Weekâ€"which can reportedly attract upward of 200 studentsâ€"is hosted by a student club and held at a venue of that club’s choosing. For example, Q@Haas (the school’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered professional and social club) has in the past hosted a Bar of the Week in San Francisco’s famous Castro District. For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at UC-Berkeley Haas and 15 other top MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Berkeley-Haas Beyond the MBA Classroom Blog Archive Beyond the MBA Classroom Bar of the Week at Haas When you select an MBA program, you are not just choosing your learning environment but are also committing to becoming part of a community. Each Thursday, we offer a window into life “beyond the MBA classroom” at a top business school. Thursdays at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, Haas School of Business have a set social agendaâ€"this is when students congregate at the current “Bar of the Week,” as selected each week by the vice president of social (an elected student position within the school’s MBA Association) from the variety of options located in San Francisco and Berkeley. A student described the event on the school’s Web site as “an opportunity to kick back, stop thinking about school for an hour or two, and drink a beer or two.” Often, Bar of the Weekâ€"which can reportedly attract upward of 200 studentsâ€"is hosted by a student club and held at a venue of that club’s choosing. For example, Q@Haas (the school’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender professional and social club) has in the past hosted a Bar of the Week in San Francisco’s famous Castro District. For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at UC Berkeley Haas and 15 other top MBA programs, check out the  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Berkeley-Haas Beyond the MBA Classroom

An Analysis of Diversification in Public Service Organisations - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2433 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Economics Essay Level High school Did you like this example? Task à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2: Literature Review Contents Introduction: Journals and Reviews: Conclusion: References: Introduction: The aim of the chapter is to provide evidential literary support to the background of the research and also refer to appropriate articles be it the journals or any online sources for the clarification of the concepts regarding the research topic. There are researches done in the similar conceptual fields, materials from those can also be readily coagulated to develop the profound base for the knowledge development of the research domain that has been selected as per the aim of the discourse. Thus the primary purpose of a chapter dedicated to literature review has been established. The ideas are emphasized by library research methods and backed up by concrete literary evidences. However this is draw a conceptual thread that suits the analysis criterion of the research and also wields to support the knowledge development of the research about the organizations. Regarding the process incorporated it might be stated that the general cases that are close to that of the research topic an d the essential peripherals are readily commemorated in this conjuncture to concoct the rightful reagent for the calibration process of the entire research. The range of diversification in the public service organizations is great and each and every aspect is to be ardently and efficiently taken care of so as to felicitate an overall customer satisfaction and thereby accelerates the process of attainment of sustainability. The factors include from quality services, to attractive service timings and a decent communication flow. This readily mandates the work team expertise and also shows that the teams working for the organization had to be extremely dedicated for the realization of the desirables. Thus the ideas are to be commemorated in the conjuncture that shall lay prime focus on the development of services in the selected domain of sustaining operations and incrementing the customer satisfaction levels and the major techniques suggested for this is preferably the efficient an d dedicated services that should be offered. Thus the ideas are to be deciphered. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "An Analysis of Diversification in Public Service Organisations" essay for you Create order Journals and Reviews: The review report of the journals and other sources which are of relevance to the topic of the research are discussed in this section. LJ Krajewski, LP Ritzman, MK Malhotra in the 2012 edition of their book deduced that the key criterion for development and growth of any organization is to have decent and tactical operations management strategy. The strategic choice of approach and the customer value proposition are the fundamental pillars of the structural support system that consolidates the foundations of the operations management (Krajewski, Ritzman, Malhotra, 2012). The basic element for the sustainability of operations in an organization and an efficient tactical approach for the operations management are to develop and maintain a decent quality in terms of product designing and services. Thus the idea can be drawn that tactical researches are to be conducted in both qualitative and quantitative manner to stabilize the operations at the organization. The ideology can furt her be illustrated that the factual impact for efficient operations strategizing lies to the significant hypothesis that the development of any organization can be achieved only by the up keep of the service quality and especially the organizations working in the public services sector should be more inclined to this issue and the agenda should be addressed with utmost efficiency and dedication. According to JY Rha (2012), the domain of public services and public service industries depend on customer relationship, value chain services, design quality, and service quality (Rha, 2012). The idea is to consolidate the strategic approach for the development of a tactical operational plan for procuring quality services for the customers. The prioritization of the customers for an effective operations quality and explicitly efficient and prompt service also helps to gain the trust factor and hence confiscate the crisis for the organization. Thus the foundation of a decent public service organization is laid. As stated by Y Xing and the coauthors have descriptively depicted that the main criterion for organizational development for industries in public services is the discrete researching for information that will substantially support the decisions which are to be taken to strategize means to sustain the operations and increase the customer loyalty (Xing, Li, Bi, WilamowskaÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ Korsak, Zhang, 2013). The driving force for strategizing and also upgrading the service quality for the organization hence is deliberately calibrated by the research of operational ambiguity establishment. The research also enhances the fundamental knowledge of the professionals and hence results positively in favor of the organization. According to Karna (2014), the high level of competition in the market has been an effect for the incorporation of globalization that has explicitly given a hike to the practice of international business. The ideological sce nario readily demands the supply of the strategic approach towards the gain of better exposure and increase the trust issue of the existing chain of customers (KÃÆ' ¤rnÃÆ' ¤, 2014). In the context the author, J Papp, 2014 have in details expressed the necessity and the importance of the quality management in the organizations. The quality management is not only limited to the rigid boundaries for incineration of product quality but more importantly the idea refers to the concept of procuring quality services to the customers that is rephrased as the efficiency and promptness in services offered by the organization to the customers (Papp, 2014). The quality management issue is thereby of immense importance, which can be realized by strategy implementation and tactical considerations of the research findings from explicit market researches that readily aids the decision making structure for the organizations. According to Arif, Gupta and Williams, the aviation industry is rea dily integrated in the functional domains of the public service industry where the customer satisfaction is to be vindictively hiked so as to gain better satisfaction rates of the customers. Owing to the nature of the industry airlines are an extension of hospitality and customer valuation services where the comfort and demands of the customers are in need of prioritization (Arif, Gupta, Williams, 2013). Thus the theoretical phenomenon has to be implemented by such organizations where the customer satisfaction has to be lodged as the topmost criterion for the attainment of sustainability. The issue also induces a demand of tranquility in the services by enhancing the quality of deliverance by the employees and hence the step is taken for better operational management and growth sustainability. This mandates the further extension of the domain where the two important pillars of sustainability of customer satisfaction has to be emphasized that results into the positive outcome in fav or of the organization. McColl Kennedy and his co authors have mentioned in their paper in the year 2012, that the public health care is the agenda for most public services industries that should be affectively taken care of by the organization managers. The ideological scenario infuses use of quality product manufacturing tactics especially as far as edibles are concerned, proper inspection should be manifested to be a regular practice for the organization. The idea for providing adequate support at times of crisis has to be kept ready as a resource and should be implemented as an effective precautionary measure (McColl-Kennedy, Vargo, Dagger, Sweeney, Kasteren, 2012). Thus the health care facilities which are to be offered to the customers by the organization has to be standardized and readily appealed as per the norms of distributive analytical aspects that regulates the strategy design and development for the organizations in public services. This is probably the most impor tant factor that readily influences the implementation of the ethical codes by the organization. The ethical duties are also an important factor that infuses the trust amongst the customers and helps the organization to gain positive attention and hence an important factor of initiating the sustainability and effective customer base for the organizations. The next important factor as proposed by the Galliers and Leinder in the paper, 2014 is the installation and incorporation of the practices to develop a steady management of data and information which is done for the up keep of information technology for the sustainability of operations that incorporates a steady flow of essential information that mandates the high quality of service that are provided for the customers (Galliers Leidner, 2014). The idea seriously contemplates the threats for the organization and develops a better understanding and liaison between the servers and the served which mandates the ambiguity of the bu siness for the organization. In the context there were further research done by V. Venkates and his co authors for the realization of acceptance by the consumers and the following outcome that readily mandated the steady and sturdy development of the organization operations. The ideology is to be retained by the various means to instigate that rate of acceptance and this can be done only by aggravating steady flow of communication channels between the customers and the organization (Venkatesh, Thong, Xu, 2012). M Armstrong and S Taylor have readily calibrated in the book for the realization of ideas related to Human Resource management that role of the employees for the development of operational sustainability and the environmental harmony for the organization and the customer satisfaction is immensely valuable. The HR departments of all organizations idealizes strategic placements of efficient and hard working individuals who are capable to deliver as per the expectations of the customers and hence increases the standards of the organization itself (Armstrong Taylor, 2014). The ideas are now clarified that the increment of the customer satisfaction levels are directly proportional to the development of the organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stature for the enhanced quality performance and the responsibility of the human resource management team can readily be manifested thus the ideas are hence drawn to the context of the matter. Now to draw the effects for the realization of the above depicted steps the ideas can readily be emphasized by the works of Anderson and others in the year 1994 that explicitly expresses the fact that there are numerous effects for the development of the customer satisfaction rates, the exquisite advantages are that of the improved market shares and profit accountability and hence the fact that the satisfaction of the customers also effects the revenue and yields financial growth for the organization is depicted (Anderson, Fo rnell, Lehmann, 1994). Thus the key purpose for the up keeps of the customer service quality part from the attainment of operational sustainability also the revenue and finances for the organization shall be benefitted by the incorporation of the strategic means to attain higher satisfaction amongst the customers. This can also act as an effective strategy for the marketing of the organization and procuring higher opportunities to the organization with the positive development of growth and sustainability quotient within the organization. Conclusion: The literature review that is depicted here derives the fundamental principles of operations, ethics, communication and performance enhancement practices that are to be efficiently implemented by the organizations so as to maintain the sustainability and also initiates the better quality of services towards the customers and hence this mandates the facts and the various diversified attributes favoring the initiation of the various considerations that are to be made on the basis of probability and presumptions are also described as per the context of the discourse. The importance of the literature review lies in the point that the categorical fields that are of relevance to the main aim of the research are established in argumentative manner backed up by concrete evidences that are derived from the researches that are already conducted across the international platform related to the aim of the research and thereby consolidates the foundation of the research and provides an abrupt g uideline for the domains which are to be constructed for the research evaluation process. The ideas are explicitly are deduced from the literary sources which are readily described and the fields for the appropriate analysis are readily depicted. The scenarios are such that they mandates the need for the growth of the organization by prioritizing the customer service quality and thus it is seen as the result for the review that the fields not only impacts the sustainability for operations but readily emasculates strength to the company finances and profitability factor. Thus the literature review can hence be concluded. References: Anderson, E., Fornell, C., Lehmann, D. (1994). Customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability: Findings from Sweden. Journal of Marketing ; https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1252310?sid=21105909829653uid=4uid=3737968uid=2. Arif, M., Gupta, A., Williams, A. (2013). Customer service in the aviation industryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"An exploratory analysis of UAE airports. Journal of Air Transport Management, ; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969699713000446, 1-7. Armstrong, M., Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrongs handbook of human resource management practice; https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=enlr=id=TCwoAwAAQBAJoi=fndpg=PR2dq=performance+and+human+resourceots=wzim0pYW0qsig=9TSwyC77c9SjdgjMXk5rAkmgoOI. Kogan Page Publishers. Galliers, R., Leidner, D. (2014). Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems; https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=enlr=id=bTnJAwAAQBAJoi=fndpg=PP1dq=Role+of+Information+systems+pe rformanceots=AtoCUE7mC_sig=M5r3HAWH5cQjH4_wghNWP97FisI. Routledge. KÃÆ' ¤rnÃÆ' ¤, S. (2014). Analysing customer satisfaction and quality in constructionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"the case of public and private customers. Nordic journal of surveying and real estate research; https://ojs.tsv.fi/index.php/njs/article/view/41488. Krajewski, L., Ritzman, L., Malhotra, M. (2012). Operations management; https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=XvhlvVMAAAAJhl=enoi=sra. Pearson Education Limited. McColl-Kennedy, J., Vargo, S. L., Dagger, T., Sweeney, J., Kasteren, Y. v. (2012). Health care customer value cocreation practice styles. Journal of Service Research; https://jsr.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/04/29/1094670512442806.abstract. Papp, J. (2014). Quality management in the imaging sciences; https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=enlr=id=Ks5sBQAAQBAJoi=fndpg=PP1dq=quality+managementots=4nw7g2lSMPsig=mEc0QwhLguZHFLwWaxcRw2Ufv18. Elsevier Health Sciences,. Rha, J. (2012). Cust omer satisfaction and qualities in public service: an intermediary customer perspective. The Service Industries Journal; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02642069.2011.574274#.VQpiKY6Ue-0, 1883-1900. Venkatesh, V., Thong, J., Xu, X. (2012). Consumer acceptance and use of information technology: extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. MIS quarter; https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2002388, 157-178. Xing, Y., Li, L., Bi, Z., WilamowskaÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ Korsak, Zhang, L. (2013). perations research (OR) in service industries: a comprehensive review. Systems Research and Behavioral Science,; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sres.2185/full, 300-353.

Wk 6 Assignment Ethics Social Justice Deutsch T 1 Essay

Week 6 Assignment Deutsch, Tina M Walden University The ethical issues that were identified in the case study of Guerrilla Government in EPA’s Seattle Regional Office were cumbersome. The first of many to create unethical situations was the administrator of EPA’s Seattle regional office in 1981, John Spencer. His staff remembers his tenure for all the unethical actions he took such as using tax payer’s money to buy a membership for the EPA in the Chamber of Commerce (O’Leary, 2014 p. 48). His actions continued even after numerous attempts to advise him that his actions were against federal guidelines and caused serious conflict of interest questions. He also allegedly took several personal trips to Alaska to handle†¦show more content†¦58). The political appointees faced termination, resignation, isolation and were working to force their â€Å"management by stark terror† tactics on their employees. Ann Grouch’s hit list that was released by a congressional committee was a true violation of the Civil Service Reform Act. According to the United States Office of Government Ethics website, the laws specify that â€Å"Ethics officials should be alert for possible violations of the criminal or civil statutes or the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. When ethics officials find evidence that an employee has violated an ethics criminal statute or regulation, they must refer that evidence to the appropriate authority for action. Depending on the circumstances and the legal authority at issue, an executive branch employee may be imprisoned, fined, demoted, or fired for violating an ethics provision. In this case, federal ethics law violations included, not fulfilling roles as administrators and neglecting enforcing laws. For example, Robie Russell neglected to make information known that an analysis made by the EPA that concluded Idaho potatoes were a potential health risk to the public because a pesticide called aldicarb was used on them. Furthermore, he knowingly approved less stringent water pollution discharge emission limitations going against EPA staff recommendations. This caused groundwater contamination in

Corruption Is Defined As The Appropriation Of Public...

Corruption is defined as the appropriation of public resources for private profit and other private purposes through the use and abuse of official power or influence (Smith, S, C and Todaro, M, P, 2012, P.546). Examples of how governments do this can be through collecting bribes for providing permits and licenses, for giving passage through customs or for prohibiting the entry of competitors (Shleifer, A and Vishny, R,W, 1993, P.599). Corruption varies across different economies, which we will analyse throughout this assignment, we will also be using several economic theories to help analyse the effects of corruption on economic growth. Firstly we will observe a theoretical example of corruption by Becker and Stigler (1974) and see how it†¦show more content†¦Corruption also has negative consequences for human development as well as economic growth (Houston, D, A, 2007, P.325) particularly in emerging economies because less money is spent on developing human capital levels, an example of this is with Somalia. Somalia is currently ranked 176 and has been ranked the most corrupt country in the world according to Corruption Perceptions Index (2016) for several years. The Russian Presidency of the G20 state that there is also a very strong negative correlation between perceived corruption and the level of output, hence relating to why Somalia have such a low rate of economic growth, the annual growth rate was expected to be 1.98% according to Trading Economics global macro models (2016). Another theory which analyses corruption in a different way is the Principal Agent Problem. 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The primary objective of this article is to point the conceptual overview of the nature and extent of public and private sector are competing to implement in Bangladesh. On this article also highlights the various features, factors and limitations of public and private sector in amplifying. I would like to mention that; this work is prepared based onRead MoreA Guide to Zimbabwe Goverment Revenue11248 Words   |  45 Pagesenforcement efficiency 28 4.10 Corruption 28 5.1 Oversight institutions 31 Chapter 5: The social and economic implications of the various ways of raising government revenue 32 5.2 Taxation and Development 33 5.3 Impact of taxation on economic and social development 33 5.4 Role of taxes in economic development 33 Chapter 6: Recommendations on other possible sources of revenue for Government. 35 6.1 Parliament can improve the management of mineral resources. 35 6.2 Other ways of raising

Tesco free essay sample

This report is set out in order to evaluate the marketing strategy adopted by Tesco along with how they gain a competitive position internationally through globalisation. Under the findings of this report, the approach which will be evaluated will be related to Porter’s competitive positioning. This will be used to show how Tesco gain a competitive advantage over their rivals such as Asda using the generic strategy. The five force framework will also be investigated to anaylse the competition it faces and finally how Tesco segments there market, identifying the gaps available to develop. In order to write this report a collection of different sources were used. These sources included books, journal articles, media articles, websites, Tesco’s annual reports and information from Tesco’s website. The information gained from these sources helped to discover how Tesco manages to gain the competitive advantage in their industry. It has also helped to focus the importance of successful competitive positioning with models from Porter to establish the position in the minds of the consumer. Moreover, HR department is about the contribution of the employees to the organization and what are their skills, abilities, and career development needs. The key activities of HRM are Recruitment and Selection, Performance, Learning and Development, Appraisal and Rewards. The changes in HRM will help Tesco to overcome the downturn in the most effective and efficient way due to the fact that when there is a strong motivation and enthusiasm to achieve your goals and know how to run your own business it is highly possible to become more competitive on the market and to be a leader in the market place. To increase their revenues, organizations such as Tesco rely on changes in one main area, in our case – changes in HRM. With this step, Tesco managed to returns its profits and moreover, to increase them with nearly 18% at  £1.1bn. For chain as Tesco it is exquisitely important the Operations Performance. The five performance objectives, which affect Tesco, are Quality, Speed, Dependability, Flexibility, and Cost. Firstly, quality means high ‘specification’ of a product or service and it is important for Tesco to have ‘quality’ products in their shops. â€Å"Speed indicates the time between the beginning of an operations process and its end.† (Slack, Lewis 2008, p38). Dependability is to give to the customers a delivery time. Flexibility is essential for the quick and efficient response to the customers demand. The last and the most important performance objective is Cost. It is important for the retailers because the lower the cost of producing the products or services, the lower they can sell it to the customers. The third business function related to Tesco is marketing. Marketing is about understanding the costumer’s needs and succeed to satisfy their wants and needs. It is a functional activity, which is focused mainly on customers, and will they purchase and continue to purchase the certain product or service. â€Å"Because the purpose of business is to create and keep customers, it has only two central functions – marketing and innovation. The basic function of marketing is to attract and retain customers at a profit. â€Å"(Jobber 2010 cited Drucker, p3). Marketing explains that to retain the existing costumers is easier than to attract new ones. The marketing mix is important for Tesco because it covers and explains five different aspects. The marketing mix is composed of Product, Price, Place, Promotion, and People. Firstly, the product is something that you will sell to the customers so it has to be successfully launched. The second P is price and it can be different- can be reduced or increased. Promotion is about introducing your product, how you will launch it on the market. The certain product can be promoted and advertised in different ways, through press, television, radio, magazines, internet. The promotional activities for supermarket such as Tesco can be loyalty card s for getting extra points. The fourth P is Place and it ensures the delivery of the product at right time and in the right place. The last key business function, which affects Tesco, is Finance. Finance is related to usage of the finance by the organization and how the finance is managed in the certain enterprise. Because of the growing competition and the growing demand for internet shopping, Tesco started changing its marketing mix from a traditional to a more modern model. Instead of considering only physical placing the products, Tesco needs to devise reliable internet positioning of the products, which could be supported by effective e-marketing and guaranteed efficient delivers. The product life cycle is very useful for Tesco because it allows to determine the stage of your business and if it is prosperous. The product life cycle is the period of time in which a product or service lasts. Over the course of this cycle, there are five stages: Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Saturation and Decline. SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Tesco has very solid position in the global market It is a powerful retailer brand It is the winner of the Retailer of the year 2008 By creating a loyalty card they achieving loyal customers Tesco was trying to gain a new markets such as books and it was unsuccessful due to the fact that there are already approved shops Finance profit levels for Tesco were impacted through bad debt Opportunities Threats Can continue to try entering new markets with new products Trying to meet the needs of the customers International growth Making an online catalogue To create unique products There is a persistent threat of takeover from the market leader Wal-Mart Only in USA. ASDA is owned by Wal-Mart as well and it is threat to Tesco here in UK because of very good internet shopping and low prices Stakeholders Stakeholders are individuals who have an interest in an organization. Some of them can be external and others can be internal. External stakeholders include customers, competitors, financiers, suppliers, government. Internal stakeholders include managers, directors, employees, shareholders. Stakeholders are able to influence and contribute to the company. (Capon 2009). First main step is to determine your stakeholders, their influence, and power about the organization. Secondly, it is exquisitely important to identify what the stakeholders are interested about. Moreover, you should have answers to some main questions such as: What financial or emotional interest do they have about your project or organization? What motivates them? The main stakeholders for Tesco are customers. All customers want is variety of products to choose from and quality in services or products at low costs. Like most organizations, Tesco needs their customers because they are the income and they buy their products. Customers apply pressure on Tesco to meet their needs. Meeting the customer’s needs can be done in different ways such as opening a new store or variety of goods. Tesco have a feedback service so every customer can raise questions or express opinion how the store can be improve. This makes Tesco highly competitive at the market. Customers are the main and key stakeholders for Tesco due to the fact that they can express a certain opinion about improving the store. Moreover, they can say from customer’s view how to make shopping quicker, easy, and enjoyable. In the Power and Interest matrix, customers are in category D – a key player because they have a high power to change Tesco stores and a high interest to be a customer in such a high quality supermarket such as Tesco. Power and Interest Matrix about TESCO Category A Minimal effort Category B Keep informed Category C Keep satisfied Category D Key player TESCO’S CUSTOMERS Conclusion In conclusion, every aspect from the key business function to the stakeholders is very important for Tesco and can influence over it. Every organization has to deal with the business problems and to know how to run the company. Tesco undoubtedly knows what their customer wants and satisfy their needs and desires in the best possible way. The advantage of Tesco is that they are ready to accept the criticism and are ready to change their stores, products, services. List of References: Baines, P, Fill, C and Page, K (2008) Marketing Principles and Society, Chapters 1 and 2, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Balogun, J. and Hailey, V.H. (2008), Exploring Strategic Chance, 3rd Edition, Essex, Pearson Education Limited Barringer and Ireland (2012), Entrepreneurship, 4th edition, Essex, Pearson Education Limited Capon, C. (2009), Understanding the Business Environment, 3rd Edition, Essex, Pearson Education Limited Jobber, D. (2010), Principles and Practice of Marketing, 6th Edition, Berkshire, McGraw-Hill Education Pelsmacker, B., Geuens, M., Bergh, J. (2005), Foundations of Marketing Communications, Essex, Pearson Education Limited Slack, N. and Lewis, M. (2008), Operations Strategy, 2nd Edition, Essex, Prentice Hall

Zeigarnik Effect Essay Example For Students

Zeigarnik Effect Essay University of California Peer Reviewed Title: Technostress in the Bionic Library Author: Kupersmith, John Publication Date: 01-01-1998 Publication Info: Postprints, UC Berkeley Permalink: http://escholarship. org/uc/item/1hc8s95x Citation: Kupersmith, John. (1998). Technostress in the Bionic Library. UC Berkeley: Retrieved from: http:// escholarship. org/uc/item/1hc8s95x Additional Info: John Kupersmith, Technostress in the Bionic Library . Originally published in Cheryl LaGuardia, ed. , Recreating the Academic Library: Breaking Virtual Ground, (New York: Neal-Schuman, 1998), pp. 3-47. Original Citation: John Kupersmith, Technostress in the Bionic Library. Originally published in Cheryl LaGuardia, ed. , Recreating the Academic Library: Breaking Virtual Ground, (New York: Neal-Schuman, 1998), pp. 23-47. Keywords: technostress, computer-related stress, technology, information systems, libraries Abstract: Computer-related stress, sometimes called â€Å"technostress,† affects sta ff and users as libraries offer more and more information through web sites and other remotely accessible electronic systems. We will write a custom essay on Zeigarnik Effect specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This paper looks at technostress in the context of general stress theory, the Zeigarnik Effect, and the concept of sensemaking. It suggests ways in which library web developers, system designers and managers can reduce stress-related problems. 2008 updates: In the ten years since it was published, this paper has held up fairly well overall. Ive added some notes in the text to acknowledge conditions that have changed. I am grateful to the late Dr. Ilene Rockman, Manager of the California State University Libraries Information Competence Initiative and editor of Reference Services Review, for reviewing an earlier version of these updates. eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide. 1 The Bionic Library As readers of this volume are well aware, academic libraries are offering ncreasingly copious and diverse information in electronic form for local and remote access. These electronic services began with online library catalogs, have come to include bibliographic, full-text, and image databases, and, through the use of Internet tools such as the World Wide Web, are rapidly evolving into networked information spaces where users can identify and locate both printed and electronic items, retrieve the latter, and communicate via e-mail with expert guides (e. g. , the library staff). At the same time, the physical library continues to exist and even thrive, acquiring, organizing, and serving up large quantities of material in print and other non-electronic formats to substantial numbers of students and faculty. 2008: Thrive may not be the first word that springs to mind when you read this ARL document, which shows significant declines in reference and circulation transactions between 1995 and 2006 (http://www. arl. org/bm~doc/arl-br-256-stats. pdf). But the results are mixed, with attendance at group presentations increasing. In any case, stress on staff caused by declining library usage only reinforces that caused by technology. Thus it seems likely that academic libraries will continue to operate in both modes for some time. In coining the term bionic library to describe this hybrid concept, Harold Billings also alluded to the variety of reactions among potential users: To some scholars, the concept of an electronic library is paradise at hand; to others, it is absolutely frightening. I suggest that libraries are evolving as bionic libraries; organic, evolutionary, and electronically enhanced. Library collections will continue, perdurable with books and journals, but for some information sources available via remote workstations, the library will soon never sleep The old and new library systems will become assimilated and intertwined. The library is also bionic in the sense that it comprises not only facilities and formats, but also the essential human elements: users and staff. The success of any library system, after all, rests not on how well the design works on paper, in the abstract, but on how readily people will accept it and how effectively they can use it. And it is the biological components of the library that embrace or reject the new technologies; fulfill or frustrate the intentions of system designers; 2 and, especially in these times of change, experience the kind of anxiety and disorientation known as technostress. Stress and Technostress It hardly need be stated here that stress plays a critical and problematic role in modern life. Most modern stress theory is based on the work of Hans Selye, who defined three stages of reaction to stressors in the environment: alarm, resistance, and (in extreme cases where stress is serious and prolonged) exhaustion. 2] While stressors can be pleasant or unpleasant and stress can have positive effects—energizing a person, focusing attention, and stimulating behaviors of engagement and constructive adaptation—generally speaking it is the negative aspect of distress that merits our attention here. Symptoms of stress may be physical (e. g. , muscle tension, rapid heartbeat, dry mouth and throat, shallow breathing, headaches, gastric problems), cognitive (mental fatigue, inability to concentrate, poor judgment), affective (irritability, anxiety, mental fatigue, depression), or behavioral (impulsiveness, avoidance, withdrawal, loss of appetite, insomnia). Other researchers have emphasized the importance of the individuals appraisal of a potential stressor (a charging rhino thus eliciting a stronger reaction than a balky hypertext link), the degree to which the individual perceives that he/she can control the situation, personality differences and social support mechanisms that affect individuals reactions and adaptability, and the additive and cumulative effects of multiple stressors, including both negative and positive life events. Compounding the effects of multiple stressors is the phenomenon known as the Zeigarnik effect, which confirms a common human experience: interrupted tasks tend to be remembered better than completed tasks, especially when the individual is highly involved in the task and when the interruption is unplanned. This helps explain why staff and users of the bionic library, juggling a host of tasks, tend to carry around (and experience continuing stress from) their mental to-do lists, and why many find it diff icult to derive much satisfaction from completed tasks. Computers—or, more correctly, the ways in which people and organizations perceive, use, and relate to computers—are a potent source of stress, in the bionic library as elsewhere. Craig Brod, who introduced the term technostress in 1984, defined it as: a modern disease of adaptation caused by an inability to cope with the new computer technologies in a healthy manner. It manifests itself in two distinct and related ways: in the struggle to accept computer technology, and in the more specialized form of overidentification with computer technology. The primary symptom of those who are ambivalent, reluctant, or fearful of computers is anxiety. This anxiety is expressed in many ways: irritability, headaches, nightmares, resistance to learning about the computer, or outright rejection of the technology. Technoanxiety most commonly afflicts those who feel pressured—by employer, peers, or the general culture—to accept and use computers. 3 As Brod suggests, technostress takes several forms. Physical problems such as repetitive strain injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, or back problems result from poor machine design or ergonomics. Computer anxiety comprises several problems, ranging from temporary confusion over how to use a system, to feelings of being rushed or dehumanized by the computer, to the distinct and more pervasive fear known as computerphobia or technophobia. At the other end of the attitudinal spectrum, those who are highly positive about and involved with computers also experience technostress. This effect can be quite subtle, as when people attempt to match their thinking and behavior to that of computer systems, especially when the interface design does little to adapt the underlying functions of the machine to human perceptions and behavior. Margaret Stiegs description of technostress underscores these effects: To use any technology successfully, the user is forced to conform to its patterns. The computer has profoundly altered our sense of time, a change with many aspects. It has made possible greater efficiency, therefore greater efficiency is now required. The computer requires immediate response. Many of us find the blinking cursor tyrannical and somewhat unnerving . The acceleration of work the computer has brought inhibits reflection, which in turn inhibits nderstanding. All of these characteristics impart a greater sense of urgency to the worker, a compulsion not to waste time, a consciousness of stress. 2008: Web interfaces have replaced the tyranny of the blinking cursor with multiple visible options waiting for a mouse click or other user action. This is a great improvement if the interface is well designed, but fast response times on high-speed networks and the growing number of computer-related tasks have combined to increase time pressure on most library users and staff. The same phenomenon is reflected in a recent handbook from a business consulting firm, intended to help corporate employees adjust to the fast-changing, computerized, global workplace: you need to operate with a strong sense of urgency. Accelerate in all aspects of your work, even if it means living with a few more ragged edges. Sure, high quality is crucial, but it must come quickly. You cant sacrifice speed. Learn to fail fast, fix it, and race on. Any change in a persons life, whether positive or negative, can produce stress. Technostress is especially likely to occur when new technologies are being introduced. Users of any computer system rely on their mental models to help them navigate among its various components and form assumptions about what will result from various actions. When the technology changes, the old models no longer function; the more complex and less obvious the technology, the more difficult it is to form new ones. As Karl E. Weick points out in his analysis of this sensemaking process: New technologies create unusual problems in sensemaking for managers and operators. For example, people now face the novel problem of how to recover from incomprehensible failures in computer systems. To solve this problem, people must 4 assume the role of failure managers who are heavily dependent on their mental models of what might have happened, although they can never be sure because so much is concealed. Complex systems make limited sense because so little is visible and so much is transient, and they make many different kinds of sense because the dense interactions that occur within them can be modeled in so many different ways. 12] These general aspects of technostress affect both staff and users of the bionic library; but because these groups are in somewhat different situations, they are treated separately in the following discussion. Effects on Staff By the nature of their work, librarians, like other members of the so-called helping professions, are subject to chronic stress, from multiple sources, in situations over which they have (or perceive that they have) little control. Several studies have documented this stress, and the related (though distinct and less common) phenomenon of burnout. The effects of technostress on librarians have been described by Bartlett, Bichteler, Champion, Clark and Kalin, Dobb, Hickey et al, Hudiberg, Moreland, and Sievert et al. The related problem of resistance to technological change in libraries has been addressed by Fine, Malinconico, Luguire, and Giesbrecht and McCarthy. 15] Although technostress affects all areas of the library, staff in public services such as reference and interlibrary loan are most directly impacted by the convergence of online catalogs, electronic search and delivery systems, and remote access. The type of stress affecting reference staff in the increasingly electronic library has been characterized as having four components: †¢ Performance anxiety: the feeling that one cannot use the systems effectively or help others to do so; particularly difficult for those whose high standards and ser vice ethic extend to perfectionism. Information overload: the sensation of being overwhelmed by the volume of new systems, databases, interfaces, and service initiatives. According to one recent estimate, reference staff in a university library deal with a minimum of 30-50 different types of software for various on-line, CD-ROM, and word processing uses. Role conflicts: uncertainty and confusion about ones proper role—novice or expert, intermediary or teacher, reactive helper or proactive change agent. Organizational factors: the disparity between increasing demand (volume of work, rising expectations of users) and static or decreasing resources (insufficient staff, poor training, scarce or outdated equipment). †¢ †¢ †¢ Common symptoms of technostress will vary among different staff members, but may include: feelings of isolation and frustration; negative attitudes toward new computer-based sources and systems; indifference to users computer-related needs (as in Its not my job to fix that printer); self-deprecating thoughts or statements about ones ability to cope; an apologetic attitude toward users; and a definition of self as not a computer person. Those most intensively involved with developing and managing the bionic library are under particular stress. They are required to combine creative, long-range, strategic thinking with intense analytical concentration on technical details—not a novel demand in library management, but certainly a taxing one. One librarian, working on a consortium project for electronic document delivery, recently commented: As I observe losing energy, missing deadlines, forgetting assignments, and otherwise generally melting down from overwork and stress of all kinds, Im beginning to wonder if were seeing the beginning of a serious trend where significant numbers of middle- and upper-level library managers (if not those on the front lines, too) are just going to collapse from exhaustion. 18] This description calls to mind the classic Type A behavior pattern, associated with coronary heart disease and described as an action-emotion complex that can be observed in any person who is aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time, and if required to do so, against the opposing efforts of other things or other persons. Effects on Users Computerized library catalogs, periodical indexes, text/data systems, and Internet access are generally popular with s tudents and faculty, especially with frequent users. 20] However, while technostress as such has not been formally studied among users of these systems as it has in other populations, there is ample evidence that users often do not understand the systems or use them well. Many searches in online catalogs produce zero results or very large results. Users are often unable to reformulate their search strategies effectively, and most do not use the systems built-in help features. 2008: Web search logs show the same patterns, plus a pervasive failure to distinguish whether a search box leads to the library catalog, a site-specific search, or a web search engine. Cognitive dissonance and stress occur when users get results that dont conform to their expectations. Unsuccessful searches, of course, may result from several factors: conceptual mistakes in search formulation, typographical errors, or items not being in the database; but whatever the causes, the stress contributing to and resulting from such performance problems detracts from the success of the bionic library. When considering the users situation, we should remember that myths of the ivory tower notwithstanding, students and faculty tend to lead stressful lives. 22] Like the library staff, they bring a certain amount of baggage to the terminal. However, unlike most staff, users have a convenient (if potentially self-damaging) means of stress reduction at their disposal: unless they are specifically required to use a certain system, 6 they can simply walk away and opt to use other sources. The often-quoted Mooers Law is relevant here: An information retrieval system will tend not to be used whenever it is more painful and troublesome for a customer to have information than for him not to have it. Like the traditional print-based library, which demands literacy and familiarity with various cultural cues, the bionic library presents special difficulties—and extra stress—to users who are not accustomed to computers and online retrieval or have specific needs that may not be met by standard user interfaces. Any discussion of user group characteristics should bear in mind the danger of drawing erroneous conclusions from narrowly-focused studies, the problem of reinforcing negative images through stereotyping, the continuing spread and diffusion of computer knowledge, and above all the importance of individual differences. 25] The research literature on gender and computer use discourages facile generalizations, but there is evidence that the stress and negative attitudes sometimes attributed to women as computer users may be more a matter of computa tional reticence, a reaction to a traditionally maledominated computer culture and to system designs that emphasize autonomy rather than connectedness, competition rather than communication. In this sense, the networked nature of the bionic library appears to offer considerable promise. 26] Users from various cultures—particularly those with limited English-language skills or whose socioeconomic background has precluded contact with computers—naturally tend to respond to system cues in terms of their own preconceptions; system design and terminology should be carefully evaluated to reduce misunderstandings. Elderly users and those with disabilities may require special considerations in ergonomics and displays, but again this is an area where individual differences are paramount. .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 , .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .postImageUrl , .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 , .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245:hover , .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245:visited , .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245:active { border:0!important; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245:active , .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245 .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub2eba982a7ca975fbb62ddb024cb3245:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Bioethics EssayOne clearly disadvantaged group consists of new users, a sizable population on any campus and one that is replenished every year; relevant design strategies include providing a novice mode (discussed below) and choosing system terminology to match users natural language. Those who design, manage, and teach electronic information systems should certainly be aware that users will be starting from many different points in their background knowledge and attitudes. The individual using networked information systems from outside the library is often described in the literature as a remote user, but for this discussion it is worth noting that from the users point of view, he/she is central and the library is remote. Furthermore, for any individual, the virtual library means not only the local librarys online system, but also other libraries systems, and in fact the sum total of information resources to which he/she can connect in some meaningful way. 27] 2008: In my experience, participants in focus groups and usability studies often fail to make distinctions among various interconnected online systems, such as the library catalog, web pages, and vendor-provided databases. This is not a mistake on their part. Its a natural perception for non-experts, and designers need to address it. 7 Users accessing a remote system from their office or home computers have the advantage of familiarity with their equipment, but may encounter problems if it is not compatible with the system being used. If they are new or infrequent users of the system, they may have special difficulties in understanding its structure and procedures. These users may also suffer from feelings of isolation as well as from the lack of information and feedback they could gain in a physical library through direct contact with other users or staff. Whether they are dialing in from home, connecting from a computer lab, or sitting at an OPAC terminal, people face a number of problems in using the complex of information systems that make up the bionic library. Most fundamental is the need to locate and identify the library itself. While it is generally easy to find the library building on a college or university campus, the corresponding electronic library may have several components (including a dial-up catalog/database system, a CD-ROM network, standalone page-image workstations, gopher and World Wide Web sites), each with a different point of contact and some not linked with the rest. In a sense, end-users in the 1990s are going through what library staff began to experience in the 1980s, adapting to one new system after another—and often to several at once. 008: The mix of ingredients has changed somewhat, but the virtual library still remains fragmented. Even with most access being through the web, the library may still have multiple entry points, including alternative home pages, a presence on course pages, and perhaps an interface for mobile devices not to forget the tangle of networked and non-networked CD-ROMs. When the us er does connect to one of these systems, he/she may have a hard time determining what it will do, or whether it is the best resource for the purpose, especially if the system is new or unfamiliar. Even in a well-organized multi-database system, users may not be aware of what file they are using; for example, 37% of students using a periodical index in one such system believed they were using the library catalog. The Internet offers further challenges; an academic librarian recently commented that: Information overload and search anxiety are two common problems here. The faculty feel overwhelmed by the information they have access to, and the disorganization of the Internet is a major factor for most of them not using it. They have learned to find information by browsing most of the time, but the Internet is too large to browse. A computer lab assistant in a large university library made a similar observation about student users: The Internet just scares people to death. The Internet is so big and you get so lost. Once a user has settled on a particular information system, its interface may present further problems. Commands, error messages, and other terminology used in the system may not be understandable. Available commands and features may not be visible at a particular point. Depending on the system design, the user may feel—and may in fact be—unable to control the system properly. Irene Sever provides a useful metaphor when she portrays the experience of new users of electronic information systems as a form of culture shock: Todays library, and even more that of tomorrow, has many characteristics of an exotic, alien environment: its language is unfamiliar and specialized and ev okes incorrect associations. The form taken by the equipment creates difficulties which must be overcome: screen versus printed page, he need to press combinations of keys of baffling complexity instead of running a finger and an eye down an index page, the difficulty of mastering the order of functions necessary to run a simple user-friendly program . An electronic library cannot be learned through instant coaching on which keys to press or even through the diligent perusal of a manual. What is necessary is to grow into an electronic library environment gradually through socialization as well as through education. 33] Reading this passage, librarians experienced in reference or user education will recognize similarities to the situation of first-time or infrequent users in a physical library. In fact, while the specific problems may differ, the phenomenon of library anxiety is not fundamentally different in this new setting. Implications for System Design As quoted above, Craig Brod defined technostress as a modern disease of adaptation caused by an inability to cope with the new computer technologies in a healthy manner. The disease metaphor is useful, but it can be misleading. Computer technologies are not inherently healthy or right; users who have difficulty adapting to them are not inherently diseased or wrong. We can do much to help the users adjust, but even more important is proper system design. Traditional mainframe-based information systems have generally been developed by large organizations: libraries, data processing centers, and commercial vendors. The designers have often been systems analysts who—in the best case—received feedback on user behavior from sources closer to the front lines, such as transaction logs, online user comments, customer groups, and usability labs. This top-down methodology has produced mixed results, the most successful systems coming from situations where user feedback was copious, frequent, and highly valued. Recent developments in networking and client/server systems offer the potential for different kinds of products and development processes. The Gateway project at Ohio State University pioneered the concept of a library-developed front end tailored to students research needs. Moving beyond the limitations of any single interface, the Z39. 50 standard permits the end-user to select from a variety of client software programs, much as he/she might choose a word processor, and use them to access a variety of information servers. The various Internet tools, particularly the graphical browsers now available for use on the World Wide Web, allow publicservice librarians—and even users themselves—to design and construct front-end access systems 9 of various kinds. Web pages that combine instructional text and graphics with links to various information systems can offer flexible structures, helpful guidance, affective support, cultural cues, and communication mechanisms, making it easier for users to adapt to the new environment of the bionic library. 2008: Its now clear that for all their advantages, web interfaces dont automatically produce understanding on the part of the user. Just to cite one example, the library where I work is now offering a hands-on orientation to its own web site. Like many other libraries, its also redesigning that site with usability as a prime goal. On a larger scale, a consortium of federal agencies led by the National Science Foundation is currently supporting Digital Libraries Initiative projects as six universities, some of which aim to investigate usability as well as technical issues. Whatever the interface, the same essential design principles apply—clarity and consistency of presentation; visibility and predictability of functions; naturalness of commands and actions; and keeping the user in control. The designer has some basic tasks to perform in order to reduce stress for the user. The first is to develop and communicate the system image which the user will need to internalize in order to function effectively. The more accurate and memorable the users mental model of the system, the less stress he/she will experience in staying oriented and carrying out various tasks. The primary tools for conveying this kind of information—welcome screens, menus, screen headers, logos and other graphical cues—provide a consistent network of verbal and visual anchor points throughout the system, taking advantage of the users powers of long-term memory and pattern recognition. A basic decision at this point involves whether to give the user a choice of novice vs. expert modes (the former offering a limited selection of options). This is one way to address the needs of the inexperienced user, but forcing people to choose between the two may actually increase stress, especially if the novice mode actually cannot access certain commands or functions. A command-driven/menu-augmented design offers more flexibility in that a basic set of options can be displayed to all users, with advanced commands or shortcuts available to any user and explained in the systems online and printed documentation. 41] 2008: This was written with text-based systems in mind, but the same principle can be put to work in a graphical interface. For example, a web site may offer novice users a set of basic choices (Find Books, Find Articles, etc. ) while providing other links calculated to attract the experienced user (such as the name of the library catalog). As suggested above, the ele ctronic library presents users with many of the same cognitive problems as the traditional print-based library. Users must navigate through a different kind of 10 space—defined in this case by screens, words, links, icons, and graphics rather than walls—but the wayfinding process is similar. The natural transfer of imagery from the physical library into the electronic library is suggested by many users continuing fondness for the term electronic card catalog, and by the proliferation of commercial online systems based on metaphors such as a virtual desktop, home, or town. Thus architectural concepts, such as rooms, maps, and signposts, are also appropriate tools for library system designers, whether or not the final interface is presented as a virtual building. 2008: An architectural mindset is still a good design tool, but web design has evolved its own set of norms that make virtual building metaphors less necessary. Similarly, younger users are much more likely to perceive the library catalog as a search engine than as an electronic card catalog. An especially useful evaluation technique is to capture and study the comments of users, reflecting their awareness of and reactions to a system, much as designers will follow a naive user through a physical building, monitoring what the user is thinking and doing at various decision points. Once the design process moves into developing specific features, the principal stress-reducing task is to control complexity without dumbing down the system by hiding or omitting important functions. 2008: The state o f the art in user-centered design has advanced considerably since this was written. Web usability has become a discipline in itself, and its standard practice to conduct usability studies as part of a major library web site project. The traditional admonition to keep it simple presents only one side of the equation; if carried too far, it leads to an impoverished result. During prototype testing of Microsofts Bob operating-system interface, a novice user was shown some of the cartoon animals that serve as guides in the system. As the designer recalled, This guy was very emotional about it—he grabbed my arm. He said, Save all the money on the manuals, just give me this duck to always be there and tell me what to do. There may be a future for social computing interfaces in the bionic library, but if a bird is in charge, perhaps it should at least be an owl. As Donald Norman has pointed out, one of the prime features of any designed artifact is visibility: Make things visible on the execution side of an action so that people know what is possible and how actions should be done; make things visible on the evaluation side so that people can tell the effects of their actions. The designer walks a tightrope between overcomplexity and oversimplicity in developing displays of search results, hypertext links, or other information. Disorganized complexity is an obvious cause of stress, but the temptation to simplify and use low screen densities everywhere can lead to users missing important material or 11 having to page through multiple (though perhaps elegant-looking) screens. Edward Tufte of fers some useful guidance in this area: Confusion and clutter are failures of design, not attributes of information. And so the point is to find design strategies that reveal detail and complexity—rather than to fault the data for an excess of complication. Or, worse, to fault viewers for a lack of understanding. User interfaces with high information resolution are an appropriate match to human skills frequently optimal. If the task is contrast, comparison, or choice—as it so often is—then the more relevant information gracefully within eyespan, the better. Lowdensity displays, with screens scrolling scrolling scrolling, require users to rely on visual memory—a weak skill Low-information displays lead to breaking up of work into user-irritating micro-steps, with a consequent loss of coherence . A common question asked by users of data-thin screens is Where am I? Tuftes recommended solutions include layering and separation of data. In fact, the complexity of library catalogs and database systems generally requires that available commands be presented in layers, wi th a command available to call up a display of advanced or seldom-used functions. Likewise, search results are often presented in a series of increasingly detailed levels. Tufte also recommends arranging data in small multiples, laid out so that the user can readily see patterns. The prevailing design of World Wide Web pages shows a historical evolution from lengthy text paragraphs sprinkled with links, to greater reliance on list-type presentations, arranged either vertically, or horizontally with graphic separators. 008: The designers tool kit has further evolved to include pop-up, pull-down, and flyover menus, mouseover links, frames, etc. Obviously any of these tools can be used well or abused. The verbal elements of presentation are also worth considering. While we have come a long way from barking at the user with messages such as Invalid command code, designers should remember that users will experience less stress if the system speaks to them in a way that is, if not friendly, at least civil, and above all comprehensible. User errors are a prime source of stress, whether these are simple typos or the result of search strategies and assumptions that do not match those of the systems designers. Forgiveness should be a prime design goal, achieved through such means as providing multiple access points to items, offering both browse and keyword search options, trapping initial articles and other common errors, normalizing search input, accepting alternative command synonyms (including the NISO Common Command Language), and providing helpful prompts in case of zero results or large result sets. In 1994, the Research Libraries Groups Eureka system was enhanced with a package of changes collectively termed Do what I mean; these forgiveness features have reduced user errors by 80%. Implications for System Management 12 Like the bionic librarys designers, its managers can do much to reduce stress for users and staff. A prime goal in this area is coherence. As mentioned above, the electronic portion of a typical academic library presently resembles a loose aggregation of disparate elements rather than a tightly knit system. Whatever the manager can do to promote both the sense and the functional reality of a unified system—through judicious selection of resources, consolidation and linking of resource menus, and carefully presented publicity and instructions—will benefit both the students and faculty who use the system, and the staff who explain and interpret it. The greater control users feel over a system, the less stress they experience from it. This sense of control derives largely from the system design, but is also affected by how a system is managed. For example, incremental changes, announced both through advance publicity and at the point of use, are less likely to be disruptive than revolutionary changes made with no advance warning. 2008: My candidate for the Mt. Everest of system changes is the California Digital Librarys transition to new versions of the Melvyl catalog and 34 article databases. This process, involving intricate planning, user input from all nine campuses of the UC system, and a great deal of communication, took at least three years and was completed in 2003. .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 , .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .postImageUrl , .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 , .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741:hover , .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741:visited , .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741:active { border:0!important; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741:active , .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741 .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u409ac78c3be7e21c8d07f3a1d86d0741:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Colonial America Religions EssayFor details, see CDLs AI Transition page (http://www. cdlib. org/inside/projects/a-i-trans/). A closely related goal is to humanize the technology as much as possible. As John Naisbitt predicted in 1982, The more high technology around us, the more the need for human touch. The high tech/high touch approach takes advantage of users natural tendency to relate to computers as if they were people. To this end, any text in a system—including banners, news screens, introductions, instructions, error messages, etc. —should be written in a direct, positive, natural tone. Wherever feasible, managers should implement a â€Å"comment† or â€Å"mailto† function, offering users a chance to send feedback. Even if it is not possible to reply to every comment, posting a frequently asked questions file will give users a sense of a dialogue with the machine, providing benefits that go beyond the information communicated. Training, documentation, and online help are often cited as key elements in supporting users. These devices are certainly essential and require careful design, even though they may be infrequently used. There is some evidence that human help at in-library terminal locations improves user performance and increases satisfaction. This is an expensive service to offer on a full-time basis, but some libraries have assigned reference desk staff to float through CDROM and OPAC areas during high-use periods, and some public libraries have begun using volunteer docents to provide this type of help. Managers of the bionic library can also take various actions to reduce stress for staff members. The most obvious is to equip staff not only with computers and network connections, but also with the necessary skills and competencies to function in the new environment. Roy Tennant points out that Instruction and training are the cornerstone of any effort to retool library 13 staff to meet the challenges and opportunities of electronic-based information. Managers can further the success of training through selection of appropriate methods, sensitivity to the individual starting points and learning styles of staff, and provision of sheltered space and time for learning. 54] Another important managerial task is to foster enthusiasm for the new information systems and a positive attitude toward change—something most effectively done by example. One of the best ways to overcome technostress is to learn, and one of the best ways to learn is to teach. The experience of library staff at The University of Texas at Austin, who volunteered to teach the Internet and other computer skills to several thousand users, suggests that aggressive involvement in such teaching can reduce the effects of stress and increase self-confidence as well as technical skills. The developers of this program have also contributed to stress reduction by fostering a culture in which both trainers and students are engaged in a joint learning experience, thus reducing the trainers fear of system glitches or difficult questions. Conclusion Technostress is part of the price we pay for living in a time of revolutionary and dramatic change. The bionic library embodies both print and electronics, with all the social and cultural structures that surround them: the old and the new ways of learning about the world and connecting with other people. This hybrid institution, full of new devices and continually under construction, makes many demands on its users. We can learn much from the stress that people naturally experience in this situation. The success of the bionic library will be determined not only by economics and technology, but also by the extent to which its designers and managers can shape it as a tool for human use. Notes Harold Billings, The Bionic Library, Library Journal 116 (October 15, 1991): 38-42. Reprinted in Harold Billings, Magic Hypersystems: Constructing the Information-Sharing Library (Chicago: ALA Editions, 2002) (http://tinyurl. om/6452ey). Hans Selye, The Stress Concept and Some of its Implications, in Vernon Hamilton and David M. Warburton, ed. , Human Stress and Cognition: An Information Processing Approach (Chichester; New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1979), 11-32. For an excellent review of stress theory and literature, see Gail Hackett and Susan Lonborg, Models of Stress, in Elizabeth M. Altm aier, ed. , Helping Students Manage Stress (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1983), 3-21. For a more recent update, see Ronald M. Doctor and Jason N. Doctor, Stress, in V. S. Ramachandran, ed. Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (San Diego: Academic Press, 1994), 4:311-323. 14 Reported by Bliuma Zeigarnik in 1927, this is described in F. L. Denmark, Zeigarnik Effect, in Raymond J. Corsini, ed. , Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2nd ed. (New York: John Wiley Sons, 1994), 3:593. Craig Brod, Technostress: The Human Cost of the Computer Revolution. (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1984), 16. John S. Craig, Managing Computer-Related Anxiety and Stress Within Organizations, Journal of Educational Technology Systems 22 (1993-94): 309-325; Amarjit S. Sethi, Denis H. J. Caro, and Randall S. Schuler, eds. , Strategic Management of Technostress in an Information Society (Lewiston, NY and Toronto: C. J. Hogrefe, Inc. , 1987). See also several studies by Richard A. Hudiburg and associates, including Measuring Technostress: Computer-Related Stress, Psychological Reports 64 (1989): 767-772, and Measuring Computer Users Stress: The Computer Hassles Scale, Psychological Reports 73 (1993): 923-929. Brett A. Cohen and Gordon W. Waugh, Assessing Computer Anxiety, Psychological Reports 65 (1989): 735-738; Carol R. Glass and Luanne A. Knight, Cognitive Factors in Computer Anxiety, Cognitive Therapy and Research 12 (1988): 351-366; Paula C. Morrow, Eric R. Prell, and James C. McElroy, Attitudinal and Behavioral Correlates of Computer Anxiety, Psychological Reports 59 (1986): 1199-1204. Mike Greenly, Computerphobia: The Fear That Keeps People Off-Line, The Futurist 22 (January-February 1988): 14-18; Richard A. Hudiburg, Relating Computer-Associated Stress to Computerphobia, Psychological Reports 67 (1990): 311-314. Margaret F. Stieg, Technology and the Concept of Reference, or, What Will Happen to the Milkmans Cow? , Library Journal 115 (April 15, 1990): 48. Price Pritchett, The Employee Handbook of New Work Habits for a Radically Changing World: 13 Ground Rules for Job Success in the Information Age (Dallas: Pritchett Associates, Inc, ), 10. Christine L. Borgman, Mental Models: Ways of Looking at a System, ASIS Bulletin 9 (December 1982): 38-39. Karl E. Weick, Technology as Equivoque: Sensemaking in New Technologies, in Paul S. Goodman, Lee S. Sproull, and Associates, Technology and Organizations (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990), 1,2. Karen A. Becker, The Characteristics of Bibliographic Instruction in Relation to the Causes and Symptoms of Burnout, RQ 32 (Spring 1993): 346-357; Janette S. Caputo, Stress and Burnout in Library Service (Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1991); David S. Ferriero and Kathleen A. Powers, Burnout at the Reference Desk, RQ 21 (Spring 1982): 274-279; Mary Haack, John W. Jones, and Tina Roose, Occupational Burnout Among Librarians, Drexel Library Quarterly 20 5 (Spring 1984): 46-72. For a critical review, see David P. Fisher, Are Librarians Burning Out? , Journal of Librarianship 22 (October 1990): 216-235. Julie Bichteler, Technostress in Libraries: Causes, Effects, and Solutions, The Electronic Library 5 (October 1987): 282-87, and Human Aspects of High Tech in Special Libraries, Special Libraries 77 (Summer 1986): 121-28; Sandra Champion, Technostress: Technologys Toll, School Library Journal 35 (Novemb er 1988): 48-51; Katie Clark and Sally Kalin, â€Å"Technostressed Out? How to Cope in the Digital Age,† Library Journal 121 (August 1996), 3032; Linda S. Dobb, Technostress: Surviving a Database Crash, Reference Services Review 18 (1990): 65-68,48; Kate D. Hickey et al. , Technostress in Libraries and Media Centers, TechTrends 37 (1992): 17-21; Richard Hudiburg, â€Å"Technostress,† paper presented at ALA/ACRL Instruction Section program (July 8, 1996); Virginia Moreland, â€Å"Technostress and Personality Type,† Online 17 (July 1993), 59-62; MaryEllen Sievert et al. Investigating Computer Anxiety in an Academic Library, Information Technology and Libraries 7 (September 1988): 243-52. Sara F. Fine, Technological Innovation, Diffusion, and Resistance: An Historical Perspective, Journal of Library Administration 7 (Spring 1986): 83-108, and Human Factors and Human Consequences: Opening Commentary in Allen Kent and Thomas J. Galvin, eds. , Information Technology: Critical Choices for Library Decision-Makers (New York: Marcel Dekker, 19 82), 209-24; S. Michael Malinconico, Hearing the Resistance, Library Journal 108 (January 15, 1983): 111-13, and Listening to the Resistance, Library Journal 108 (February 15, 1983): 353-55; Wilson Luguire, Attitudes Toward Automation/Innovation in Academic Libraries, Journal of Academic Librarianship 8 (January 1983): 344-51; Walter Giesbrecht and Roberta McCarthy, Staff Resistance to Library CD-ROM Services, CD-ROM Professional 4 (May 1991): 34-38. John Kupersmith, Technostress and the Reference Librarian, Reference Services Review 20 (Summer 1992): 7-14,50. 17] Kirsten Klinghammer, Re: technostress, private e-mail message (March 31, 1995). Quoted by permission. Julie Blume Nye, Re: Virtual libraries - technostress? , private e-mail message (March 31, 1995). Quoted by permission. Meyer Friedman and Ray H. Rosenman, Type A Behavior and Your Heart (New York: Knopf, 1974), 84; quoted in Hackett and Lonborg, Models of Stress, p. 9. This passage might not be cited here had the author not seen a coll eague, involved in a high-profile database project, temporarily sidelined with chest pains. 20] Kenneth W. Berger and Richard W. Hines, What Does the User Really Want? The Library User Survey Project at Duke University, Journal of Academic Librarianship 20 (November 1994): 306-309; Karen Markey, Thus Spake the OPAC User, Information Technology and Libraries 2 (December 1983): 381-387; but see also Rachel Applegate, Models of User 16 Satisfaction: Understanding False Positives, RQ 32 (Summer 1993): 525-539. Christine L. Borgman, Why Are Online Catalogs Hard to Use? Lessons Learned from Information-Retrieval Studies, Journal of the American Society for Information Science 37 (1986): 387-400; Larry Millsap and Terry Ellen Ferl, Search Patterns of Remote Users: An Analysis of OPAC Transaction Logs, Information Technology and Libraries 12 (September 1993): 321-343; Patricia M. Wallace, How Do Patrons Search the Online Catalog When No Ones Looking? Transaction Log Analysis and Implications for Bibliographic Instruction and System Design, RQ 33 (Winter 1993): 239-252. Glenn P. Gray and Leon H. Rottmann, Perceptions of Stress in Undergraduate College Students, Journal of College and University Student Housing 18 (Winter 1988): 14-20; Dona M. Kagan and Vada Fasan, Stress and the Instructional Environment, College Teaching 36 (Spring 1988): 75-81; George V. Richard and Thomas S. Krieshok, Occupational Stress, Strain, and Coping in University Faculty, Journal of Vocational Behavior 34 (1989): 117-132; and Robert E. Seiler and Della A. Pearson, Dysfunctional Stress Among University Faculty, Educational Research Quarterly 9 (1984-85): 15-26. Calvin N. Mooers, Editorial: Mooers Law; or, Why Some Retrieval Systems Are Used and Others Not, American Documentation 11 (July 1960): ii. Mooers article actually concerns the pain and trouble of possessing and working with information; however, his law as stated does seem to apply as well to the difficulties of using the retrieval systems themselves. A good starting point for exploring this area is the section on Accommodation of Human Diversity in Ben Shneiderman, Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective HumanComputer Interaction, 2nd ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1992), 21-31. Christine L. Borgman, All Users of Information Retrieval Systems Are Not Created Equal: An Exploration into Individual Differences, Information Processing and Management 25 (1989): 237-251; Brenda Dervin, Users as Research Inventions: How Research Categories Perpetuate Inequities, Journal of Communication 39 (Summer 1989): 216-232. Sherry Turkle, Computational Reticence: Why Women Fear the Intimat e Machine, in Cheris Kramarae, ed. , Technology and Womens Voices: Keeping in Touch (New York and London: Routledge Kegan Paul, 1988), 41-61. See also Robin H. Kay, An Examination of Gender Differences in Computer Attitudes, Aptitude, and Use, paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, April 20-24, 1992), ERIC document ED346848. For Internet resources on this topic, see Ellen Spertus, Women and Computer Science (http://people. mills. edu/spertus/Gender/gender. tml). As an example, 18% of the items gathered in preparation for this chapter were obtained directly from electronic sources: WWW and gopher sites, periodical index systems with e-mail and fax delivery of articles, and e-mail messages including a survey of PACS-L listserv subscribers. Of the print items obtained from four different libraries, approximately 80% were identified and located using online catalogs and computerized indexes, the rest through browsing. 17 Sally W. Kalin, Support Services for Remote Users of Online Public Access Catalogs, RQ 31 (1991): 197-213; Karen Weilhorski, Teaching Remote Users How to Use Electronic Information Resources. Public-Access Computer Systems Review 5 (1994): 5-20. Data gathered by the author from users on library terminals at the University of Texas at Austin. Remote users, having to select databases from menus, would likely be better oriented. Screen designs were subsequently modified to provide more prominent indication of the database being used. Margaret F. Riley, Re: Virtual libraries - technostress? , private e-mail message (March 31, 1995). Quoted by permission. Quoted in Mary Lynn Rice-Lively, Trip to Bountiful: Personal Snapshots of the Campus Computing Center, unpublished paper for graduate course at the University of Texas at Austin (June 9, 1994), 20. For a review of the extensive literature on such problems, see Martha M. Yee, System Design and Cataloging Meet the User: User Interfaces to Online Public Access Catalogs, Journal of the American Society for Information Science 42 (1991): 78-98. 33] Irene Sever, Electronic Information Retrieval as Culture Shock: An Anthropological Exploration, RQ 33 (Spring 1994): 336-41. Constance A. Mellon, Library Anxiety: A Grounded Theory and Its Development, College Research Libraries 47 (March 1986): 160-165. Rob Kling and Margaret Elliott, Digital Library Design for Usability, in Digital Libraries 94: Proceedings of the First Annual Conference on the Theory and Practice of Digital Libr aries (June 19-21, 1994, College Station, TX), accessed on the World Wide Web (http://www. csdl. tamu. du/DL94/paper/kling. html); Shneiderman, Designing the User Interface; Robert Waite, Making Information Easy to Use, ASIS Bulletin 9 (December 1982): 34-37. Philip J. Smith and Virginia Tiefel, The Information Gateway: Designing a Front-End Interface to Enhance Library Instruction, Reference Services Review 20 (Winter 1992): 37-48. As of this writing, a useful collection of pointers to Innovative Internet Applications in Libraries is being maintained by Ken Middleton at the Todd Library, Middle Tennessee State University (http://www. iltonlibrary. org/innovate. html). The Electronic Classroom of the Science and Engineering Library, University of California, San Diego (http://web. archive. org/web/*/http://sehplib. ucsd. edu/electclass/classroom. html), offers an exemplary set of course-specific home pages, many developed through partnerships between librarians and teaching facult y. 18 To access these projects via the World Wide Web, use: http://dli. grainger. uiuc. edu/national. htm http://www. dli2. nsf. gov/ Anyone involved in designing a system should read Donald A. Norman, The Psychology of Everyday Things (New York: Basic Books, 1988) and Things That Make Us Smart: Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1993). For a useful discussion of library catalog design principles and procedures, see Walt Crawford, The Online Catalog Book: Essays and Examples (New York: G. K. Hall, 1992), 49-82. Norman, The Psychology of Everyday Things, 189-191. For a specific instance, see John Kupersmith, UTCAT: Applying Design Principles to an Online Catalog, in Crawford, The Online Catalog Book, 507-520. 42] Roger M. Downs, Mazes, Minds, and Maps, in Dorothy Pollet and Peter C. Haskell, ed. , Sign Systems for Libraries: Solving the Wayfinding Problem (New York: Bowker, 1979), 17-32. For relevant discussions of navigation in hypertext systems, see Shneiderman, Designing the User Interface, 403-418; and Ben Ide, Hypertext and Hypermedia: The Effect on Libraries, Patrons, and Information Organization, undergraduate departme ntal honors thesis, School of Library Science and Instructional Technology, Southern Connecticut State University, April 1992 (http://www. lulu. com/content/186542). 43] For a discussion of these parallels, see Kristina Hooper, Architectural Design: An Analogy, in Donald A. Norman and Stephen W. Draper, ed. , User-Centered System Design: New Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction (Hillsdale, NJ and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1986), 9-23; John Kupersmith, â€Å"YOU ARE HERE, But Where is That? : Architectural Design Metaphors in the Electronic Library,† in Finding Common Ground: Creating a Library of the Future Without Diminishing the Library of the Past, Proceedings of a conference in Cambridge, MA, March 30-31, 1996 (New York: Neal-Schuman, 1998). 44] Designer Karen Fries, quoted in Don Clark, How a Womans Passion and Persistence Made Bob, Wall Street Journal (January 10, 1995): B1. For a serious discussion, see Mark S. Ackerman, Providing Social Interaction i n the Digital Library, Digital Libraries 94 (http://www. cdsl. tamu. edu/DL94/position/ackerman. html). Norman, The Psychology of Everyday Things, 197-198. Edward Tufte, Envisioning Information (Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 1990), 53. 48] Edward Tufte, Visual Design of the User Interface (Armonk, NY: IBM Corporation, 1989). RLIN Forum at ALA Midwinter 1995, RLIN Focus (April 1995): 1. 19 John Naisbitt, Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives (New York: Warner Books, 1982), 53. Jennifer Mendelsohn, Human Help at OPAC Terminals is User Friendly: A Preliminary Study, RQ 34 (Winter 1994): 173-90. Cecilia D. Stafford and William M. Serban,