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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess initial user perceptions and use of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader. Design/methodology/approach - Thirty-six participants were provided with a Kindle e-book reader and $100 to spend at Amazon. After one month of use focus groups were conducted to elicit user feedback about their experiences and overall first impressions. Findings - Analysis of the discussions indicates overall interest in the Kindle as a basic reading device for fiction. However, its use in an academic setting is limited due to content availability and licensing issues, graphic display capabilities, organizational issues, and its prohibitive cost. Originality/value - This is the first research paper of its kind to report on qualitative research conducted on user perceptions of the Kindle e-book reader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which narratives of collaborations tagged as successful may be constructed around common characterizations of participants, in order to provide insights to the ways in which stories may be constructed as vehicles for the adoption or adaptation of good or promising practices. Design/methodology/approach — Qualitative interview data from three collaborative situations are analysed through a narrative-centred procedure with a particular focus on micro-stories. Findings — The paper provides a set of recurring characterizations observed within narratives of successful collaboration and their employment within the stories offered by collaborating partners. It also suggests the relationship that these characterizations might have to the stimulation or retardation of good collaborative practices. Research limitations/implications — The paper is derived from interviews in the UK context and extrapolation to other contexts seems plausible but should be conducted cautiously and with reflection. Originality/value — The particular style of narrative analysis conducted in this work has not been employed to the consideration of collaborative accounts and the characterizations derived may have utility as anchoring elements in stories of collaboration, helpful in both the elicitation and interpretation of such accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Qualitative researchers embrace insider narratives and affirm an environment where stories of lived experiences are acceptable and welcomed. Equally, subjective narratives often are presented for publication with an assumption that they will reach a readership, after a rigorous but empathic review process. Such assumptions and expectations underpin Indigenous, postmodern, feminist, critical and narrative research and writing approaches, all of which seek to foreground nondominant stories, and expose untold lived experiences through publications. However, this paper aims to challenge the somewhat implicit narrative that "lived experiences would always be welcomed". Design/methodology/approach - The authors discuss qualitative researchers and narratives, including excluded stories, and then reveal their own experiences of trying to publish less common, confronting, adoption narratives. Findings - The authors find that stories that do not meet the authorized or conventional version of a social transcript, or those beyond current comprehension, may remain silenced. They speculate that the adoption stories they presented for publication were rejected because they were too confronting. Originality/value - The authors contend that some stories challenge convention to such an extent that they become unacceptable. They tell different but interwoven stories of rejected, adoption-related manuscripts, before reflecting on implications for the presentation of qualitative narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to provide insights into the characteristics of avid non-fiction book readers, exploring their typical demographic characteristics in relation to reading volume and frequency. It also investigates their comparative library usage in relation to avid fiction readers, as well as their motivation to read, and barriers to reading. Findings from the subset of self-identified avid non-fiction readers from the 2015 International Study of Avid Book Readers are interrogated to provide insights into this under-researched group.Design/methodology/approach The authors have used a single-stage mixed-methods approach, using data from both qualitative and quantitative items in an international survey.Findings The quantitative data analysis of this study suggests that avid non-fiction book readers were more likely to be men and older than avid fiction readers, and that they also tended to read less frequently, though avid non-fiction readers tended to read a greater volume of books. Avid fiction readers reported greater library usage, and thus unsurprisingly were found to have a greater borrowing tendency than non-fiction readers. Our qualitative findings around reading motivation identified a range of recurrent themes. The authors also found three key barriers to reading: time, book access and concentration.Originality/value The findings of this study provide unique insights into the characteristics, preferences and motivation of avid non-fiction readers, with the relationship between pleasure and the reading of non-fiction of particular interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]