Description: Information literacy has become more important as more information is produced and communication has become easier. Better information skills are vital for individuals working in governmental organizations as well as in the business sector. Employees are expected to be confident and competent in interacting with information in their workplaces in order to deliver better service to customers and to the public. This study examines the differences in information literacy skills (ILS), computer literacy skills (CLS), and frequencies of use of information sources (FIS) among police officers, based on their socio-demographic characteristics, namely education, departmental affiliation, ranks, and experience. Information literacy process models developed in an educational environment are combined to explore information literacy process in the workplace. Bivariate and multivariate analyses indicated significant differences of ILS and CLS based on education, departmental affiliation, and ranks but no difference for experience. In addition, there were differences of FIS for all demographic variables except departmental affiliation. The findings of the study may guide both future researchers in the process of developing new models in understanding information literacy process and the managers in police organizations in planning better training programs by considering information and computer literacy skills and use of information sources of ...

Description: This purpose of this study was to develop evidence of a relationship between law libraries and private law firm profitability for law library administrators to use when making strategic decisions that influence the value of their libraries. The highest ranked administrator at each private law firm listed on the 2008 Am Law 200 was invited to complete an online benchmarking survey. The adjusted sample population totaled 179 firms. Fifty-one valid surveys were completed for a 28.5% response rate. Descriptive and statistical analyses were conducted using 26 independent variables (law library characteristics) and a single dependent variable, Revenue per Equity Partner, developed from data published for the Am Law 200. The most significant contributions of this study are: development of important law library financial and return on investment benchmarks; a listing of characteristics that have been empirically shown to impact law firm productivity; identification of optimum reporting structure for the law library administrator. Six characteristics positively impact Revenue per Equity Partner: to whom the library Administrator reports, number of library staff per library, number of Library staff per library, range in hourly bill rate for library staff time, practice areas most often supported. Two monetary measures were also established. The cost ...

Description: Although dominant effects of tasks on individuals' information-seeking behavior is accepted by many scholars, a limited number of studies has been conducted to reveal the nature of the relationship between tasks and information-seeking behavior. In their studies, some earlier researchers categorized tasks according to their complexity while others did the same according to the specifications of tasks. Two of the groundbreaking researchers in this area are Katriina Byström and Kalervo Järvelin who contributed to the understanding of the relationship between task complexity and information-seeking behavior. However, their findings also need empirical support for theory growth. In response to this need, this study attempts to test Byström and Järvelin's findings through a research using different research methods and applied in a police work environment. Other than providing empirical support for theory growth, this research is also expected to contribute to the understudied area of police information-seeking behavior. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the participants who came from traffic, homicide, and anti-terrorism divisions of Ankara, Eskisehir, and Kirikkale Police Departments in Turkey. The participants identified terrorism cases as the most complex cases to solve, followed by homicide and traffic accident cases. Differences in the information-seeking behavior of three groups ...

Description: The December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami wrecked thousands of lives, homes, and livelihoods - losses that could have been avoided with timely and better information. A resource such as information is needed at a fundamental level much like water, food, medicine, or shelter. This dissertation examines the development of the Thai information society, in terms of the share of information workforce and the level of diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as, the role of the Thai information society in response to the tsunami disaster. The study combined the historical and political economy analyses in explaining factors influencing the growth of information workforce and the development of ICT in Thailand. Interviews conducted in 2007-08 revealed the Thai information society responded to the 2004 Tsunami - the first global internet-mediated natural disaster - in two areas: on-site assistance in collecting and recording identification information of tsunami disaster victims and on-line dissemination of disaster relief information. The effectiveness of ICT institutions in providing the tsunami disaster relief efforts and increasing the development of the information society were assessed using statistical procedures analyzing the perceptions of the Internet-based survey respondents. The disaster effects on survey respondents were also assessed. The ...

Description: Managers of public libraries have been presented with a new set of challenges in the day-to-day operations of public libraries. These include their ability to serve as change agents as they manage the use of continuing online distance learning (CODL) for staff. This online tool may provide staff opportunities for on-the-job learning, yet for managers and managerial staff little is known about how the tool impacts their role in light of the changes. This research investigates the perceptions of 103 Northeast Texas Library System managers and managerial staff about their role as a change agent in the use of CODL using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to determine the outcome. Administrators from urban, suburban, and rural public libraries were surveyed using a General Training Climate Scale to explore three constructs: extent of the manager role, manager role, and use of CODL. Data analysis was performed using exploratory and confirmatory analysis to support the theoretical model. An altered model was tested and confirmed through model fit indices.