The purpose of this study was to identify factors that motivate or impede faculty use of learning object repositories (LORs). The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) served as the theoretical framework for this study. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in the study to explore two research questions relating to factors affecting faculty use of LORs. Research subjects were faculty and instructional staff users from two LORs: Orange Grove and Wisc-Online. This study was a two-phase design study. In Phase I, I conducted 13 interviews and analyzed data by a content analysis method. Phase II of the study was designed based on the results of Phase I. I collected data by a survey instrument from 38 respondents and analyzed the data by descriptive statistics and analysis of variance in Phase II. The results of the study indicated 22 factors as motivators for faculty use of LORs and 13 factors as barriers for faculty use of LORs. The study is the first to identify factors affecting faculty use of LORs from actual faculty users’ perspectives based on UTAUT. The study’s findings contribute to understanding the reasons that faculty use or do not use LORs and provide foundations for designing strategies to increase faculty use of LORs.
The situations and problems that police officers face are more complex in today’s society, due in part to the increase of technology and growing complexity of globalization. Accordingly, to solve these problems and deal with the complexities, law enforcement organizations develop and apply new techniques and methods such as geographic information systems (GIS). However, the successful implementation of a new technology does not just depend on providing perfect technical support, but effective and active interaction between the user and system. For this reason, research examining user acceptance of GIS technologies provides a valuable source to investors and designers to predict whether the results of the technology will meet user expectations; understanding the factors that influence user acceptance is vitally important to make the system more usable and preferable. This study attempts to explain Turkish National Police officers’ beliefs about and behaviors toward GIS applications by using the technology acceptance models. It contributes to the technology acceptance literature by testing the proposed model in a rarely studied organization: law enforcement. Regarding methodology, I distributed a survey questionnaire in Turkey; the unit of analysis was the law enforcement officers in the Turkish National Police (TNP). In order to analyze the data derived from the survey instrument, structural equation modeling (SEM), a multivariate statistical technique, was used to analyze the quantitative data by utilizing the AMOS 16.0 software. The analysis resulted in good model fit, and 6 of the 7 hypotheses were supported.
This study assessed students’ satisfaction with Ramkhamhaeng University regional library services (RURLs) and the perceived quality of information retrieved from other information sources. In particular, this study investigated factors relating to regional students’ selection of information sources to meet their information needs. The researcher applied the principle of least effort and Simon’s satisficing theory for this study. The former principle governs and predicts the selection of these students’ perceived source accessibility, whereas the latter theory explains the selection and use of the information retrieved without considering whether the information is optimal. This study employed a web-based survey to collect data from 188 respondents. The researcher found that convenience and ease of use were the top two variables relating to respondent’s selection of information sources and use. The Internet had the highest mean for convenience. Results of testing a multiple linear regression model of all four RURCs showed that these four independent variables (convenience, ease of use, availability, and familiarity) were able to explain 69% of the total variance in the frequency of use of information sources. Convenience and ease of use were able to increase respondents’ perceived source accessibility and explain the variance of the frequency of use of sources more than availability and familiarity. These findings imply that respondents’ selection of information sources at the RURCs were governed by the principle of least effort. Libraries could consider the idea of one-stop services in the design of the Web portal, making it user friendly and convenient to access. Ideally, students could have one card to check out materials from any library in the resources sharing network.
E-learning exposes students and instructors to different learning models such as constructivism rather than the traditional learning. E-learning as a part of today's technology has proven that it is appropriate for most students' mentalities and is a mind tool which promotes different learning models, such as problem solving strategy, collaborative learning, and critical thinking. The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) in Kuwait consists of more than 10 academic colleges with a total number of 120 faculty members. The College of Basic Education (CBE) is one of them. The implementation of e-learning at the College of Basic Education requires that all the learning community members, instructors and students, understand that an e-learning course is like a learning community with the privilege of sharing knowledge, opinions, experiences related to class subject, and productive outcomes that are beneficial to this learning community. This study indentified the statistically significant differences in demographic characteristics of e-learning adopters and non-adopters among faculty members at CBE, examining faculty members' attitudes and skills toward e-learning readiness. The study will explore perceived barriers that face e-learning at CBE. Applying the Rogers diffusion of innovation theory, the influence of 4 factors was examined regarding faculty readiness for e-learning at CBE. Chi-square techniques, t-tests, and factor analysis were conducted to analyze the data and answer research questions. Statistically significant differences were identified among e-learning adopters and non-adopters regarding age difference and department discipline, both technical and non-technical.
Prescription drug direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has been a subject of controversy in recent years. Though government regulations require equivalent prominence of risks and benefits, there is concern about the ability of consumers with limited health literacy to fully comprehend the risks and benefits associated with drug use. Evaluating the images in DTCA is important because individuals may rely on the visual message if the wording is overly complex. Using semiotics, this study aims to evaluate whether there is functional equivalence in the presentation of risk and benefit information in prescription drug direct-to-consumer television advertising. A new analytical method is created and used to assess the consistency between the messages contained in the voice track, the primary visual images, and the superscript/ subscript text. The results indicate that risk and benefit messages in this DTCA sample lack functional equivalence. However, it is important to properly frame these findings as the study does not evaluate viewer comprehension of the various message structures.
As distance learning evolved, course designers and teachers quickly recognized the value of integrating online features into the classroom. The result was blended learning, a combination of online and face-to-face components. This complex and dynamic new form of education has raised many questions about the role of computer-mediated communication in education and has provided new opportunities for extending research in learning and communication. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a blended class will produce different (and possibly better) results in terms of student perceptions of the overall learning experience and student satisfaction than traditional lecture-based face-to-face instruction or learning that is delivered entirely online. The main goals of this study were to compare the effectiveness of face-to-face, online, and blended instruction, and to examine the role of interactions in the effectiveness of each educational method. While each form of instruction received very positive feedback from both students and instructors and the newly introduced blended courses proved very successful in terms of overall satisfaction with the learning experience, the traditional lecture-based courses produced more positive attitudes toward the subject matter. The possible causes of these discrepancies between some of the quantitative and qualitative results point toward the role of previous experience with online learning, cognitive development, and learning styles.
This study investigates the relationships between the use of a zoom tool, the terms they supply to describe the image, and the type of image being viewed. Participants were assigned to two groups, one with access to the tool and one without, and were asked to supply terms to describe forty images, divided into four categories: landscape, portrait, news, and cityscape. The terms provided by participants were categorized according to models proposed in earlier image studies. Findings of the study suggest that there was not a significant difference in the number of terms supplied in relation to access to the tool, but a large variety in use of the tool was demonstrated by the participants. The study shows that there are differences in the level of meaning of the terms supplied in some of the models. The type of image being viewed was related to the number of zooms and relationships between the type of image and the number of terms supplied as well as their level of meaning in the various models from previous studies exist. The results of this study provide further insight into how people think about images and how the manipulation of those images may affect the terms they assign to describe images. The inclusion of these tools in search and retrieval scenarios may affect the outcome of the process and the more collection managers know about how people interact with images will improve their ability to provide access to the growing amount of pictorial information.
This study was designed to explore the relationships between users and interactive images. Three factors were identified and provided different perspectives on how users interact with images: image utility, information-need, and images with varying levels of interactivity. The study used a mixed methodology to gain a more comprehensive understanding about the selected factors. An image survey was used to introduce the participants to the images and recorded utility values when given a specific task. The interviews allowed participants to provide details about their experiences with the interactive images and how it affected their utility values. Findings from the study showed that images offering the highest level of interactivity do not always generate the highest utility. Factors such as personal preference, specifically speed and control of the image, affect the usefulness of the image. Participant also provided a variety of uses where access to interactive images would be beneficial. Educational settings and research tools are a few examples of uses provided by participants.
The motivation for this study is to understand the factors affecting police officers’ willingness to exert extra effort for providing better service through knowledge sharing in different working environments such as riots. Since managers’ leadership styles may be important factors affecting subordinates’ willingness to exert extra effort, this study investigates which of the leadership styles -- transformational, transactional or laissezfaire leadership -- will have a positive effect on officers’ willingness to exert extra effort. In addition, the current study also examines the effect of the mentioned leadership styles on knowledge sharing, which, in turn, affects the officers’ willingness to exert extra effort in the riot unit of the Turkish National Police (TNP) in Ankara, Turkey. The sworn line police officers working in the riot unit in Ankara, Turkey, were the participants in this study. Three questionnaires --a Multifactor Leadership (MLQ), knowledge sharing, and demographic questionnaire -- were arranged as a booklet to be distributed to the respondents. The results of the study indicate that police supervisors' perceived transformational leadership behavior has a positive effect on officers' willingness to exert extra effort. In addition, the findings also reveal that although both officers' years of service in TNP and police supervisors' perceived transactional leadership behavior has no direct effect on officers' willingness to exert extra effort, they have an indirect positive effect through officers' knowledge sharing. On the other hand, police supervisors' perceive that laissez-fair leadership behavior has no effect on riot officers' willingness to exert extra effort. The findings also indicate that officers’ knowledge sharing is positively related to both their supervisors’ perceived transformational and transactional leadership behaviors. However, police supervisors’ perceived laissez-fair leadership behavior has no effect on officers’ knowledge sharing activities. This research study will provide police administrations with the data necessary to adopt the most appropriate leadership styles …
Comics, graphic novels, and manga differ appreciably from textual narrative formats, and materials with increasingly visual elements have found their way into progressive and student-centered library collections. But many educators and librarians still resist inclusion of graphic narratives in school libraries and devalue the reading practice of students who prefer more visual texts. Using the framework of radical change, which posits that both text conventions and reader expectations for text are increasingly multimodal as they possess characteristics of evolving digital media, this study considered the relationship of the characteristics of text individual students prefer, particularly those they select from the school library, and their attitudes towards aspects of reading practice as evidenced through the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile instrument. Survey data was supplemented with circulation history from the library management system to inform a correlational study punctuating attitudinal differences based on reader preferences. Findings include high school students who engage with graphic narrative text formats reporting more favorable views of libraries and reading. There is a demonstrable distinction in attitudes between students who prefer more visual text when compared with peers with more traditional print affinities. Student engaging with graphic narrative texts also report more frequent engagement with text overall. These demonstrated relationships should help to legitimize the inclusion of more graphic narrative text formats in school library collections.
The identification and examination of cultural information strategies and censorship patterns used to propagate the controversial issue of the caricatures in two separate cultural contexts was the aim of this dissertation. It explored discourse used for the coverage of this topic by one newspaper in a restrictive information context and two newspapers in a liberal information context. Message propagation in a restrictive information environment was analyzed using the English daily Kuwait Times from the Middle East; the liberal information environment of the US was analyzed using two major dailies, the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. The study also concurrently identifies and elaborates on the themes and frames through which discourse was presented exposing the cultural ideologies and premises they represent. The topic was approached with an interdisciplinary position with the support and applicability testing of Chatman's insider-outsider theory within information science and Noelle-Neumann's spiral of silence theory and Herman and Chomsky's propaganda model based in the area of mass communication. The study has also presented a new model of information censorship - circle of information censorship, emphasizing conceptual issues that influence the selection and censorship of information.
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 police officers.
This exploratory research is the first one among occupational information seeking behavior studies that focuses on information seeking behaviors of the crime scene investigators. The data used in this dissertation were gathered via a self-administrated survey instrument from 29 cities in Turkey. Findings obtained from the data analyses show that there is a strongly positive relationship between the experience of the crime scene investigators and the use of personal knowledge and experience as a primary information source (experience is operationalized with age, service years in policing, and service years in crime scene investigation units). The findings also suggest that increasing of the level of education is negatively related to relying on immediate colleagues as an information source among the crime scene investigators. These findings are consistent with related literature and theory. The data analysis shows that crime scene investigators work in cities with higher population rates have more complaint scores than those who work in cities with lower population rates across Turkey. The findings from the data analysis may suggest valuable implications to defeat the barriers between crime scene investigators and information sources. The researcher drew a proposed theoretical framework of an information behavior concept in the context of crime scene investigation that may help those who are interested in the phenomenon and its applications to other contexts.
The current research sought to gain in-depth insights into the information-seeking behavior of Turkish National Police digital evidence examiners (DEEs); to explore the information sources that DEEs use and the factors affecting their decisions about source selection. Factors that affect information source selection and use by DEEs are: accreditation, workload, type of information, time, cost, availability, reliability/scientific importance, up-to-date data, prior experience with the source, relevance, interactivity and importance. The Internet was the information source most commonly used by participants during the examination stage; other sources included forums, experts, colleagues, forensic tools/kits and books. During the analysis stage, the most frequently mentioned information source was the investigation file, containing information about the elements of the crime; other sources included: personal experience, experts, detectives, the Internet, clients, professional training, the prosecutor, evidence submission forms, in-lab manuals, forums and colleagues. During the report-writing stage, most DEEs used in-lab manuals and report templates as information sources, but previously written reports, editing software, and colleagues were also used to obtain information about the format, style and language of reports as legal documents.
A current trend that has emerged as a result of the information age is information-seeking behavior. From individuals to large social institutions, information-seeking behavior is utilized to attain a wide variety of goals. This body of work investigates the information-seeking behaviors of police officers who work in police stations in the Turkish National Police force. The study utilizes Leckie et al.’s (1996) model of information-seeking behavior of professionals. The findings indicated that police officers initially consulted their personal knowledge and experience. Next, officers rely upon their colleagues and then official documents. These information sources were consulted in the context of both conducting tasks and staying current. However, contrary to expectation, they rarely consulted informants. In addition police officers rarely consulted printed journals, libraries, books and attendance at conferences as information sources. The results of this study show that there were significant differences in the information sources used by police officers based on their gender in the context of staying current. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the context of conducting police station tasks, by gender. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in the information sources used by police officers based on their educational level. There were significant differences in the use of information sources by age, service years in police stations and service years in policing in the context of conducting police station tasks. Lastly, the results of this study indicated that service years in policing and the roles in police station were significantly correlated with the information sources used by police officers regarding staying current. This body of work offers insight into the factors that guide the information-seeking behaviors of police officers.
This research study explores knowledge management (KM) in law enforcement, focusing on the POLNET system established by the Turkish National Police as a knowledge-sharing tool. This study employs a qualitative case study for exploratory and descriptive purposes. The qualitative data set came from semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews, as well as self-administered e-mail questionnaires. The sample was composed of police administrators who created POLNET, working under the Department of Information Technologies and the Department of Communication. A content analysis method is used to analyze the data. This study finds that law enforcement organizations' KM strategies have several differences from Handzic and Zhou's integrated KM model. Especially, organizational culture and structure of law enforcement agencies differently affect knowledge creation, conversion, retrieval, and sharing processes. Accordingly, this study offers a new model which is dynamic and suggests that outcomes always affect drivers.
This ethnographic study examined middle school students engaged in a virtual learning environment used in concert with face-to-face instruction in order to complete a collaborative research project. Thirty-eight students from three eighth grade classes participated in this study where data were collected through observation of student work within the virtual learning environment, an online survey, and focus group sessions with students involved in the project. Results indicated students found the virtual learning environment to be valuable as a platform to complete a collaborative research assignment because of portability, ease of use, and organization. Embedded resources within the environment were helpful because of the convenience. Other people, including peers and teachers, were the preferred source of help when problems navigating the environment or finding information arose. Students communicated within the virtual learning environment as a social outlet, a way to check in, and a means to offer content related comments. Ideally the study's findings will give insight into student experiences in a virtual learning environment in order to help educators design more effective learning experiences and incorporate useful supports within such environments.
The primary focus of this dissertation was to explore students' perceptions of adopting Web 2.0 applications at the School of Basic Education (SBE) in Kuwait. Although Web 2.0 applications are becoming more popular among the digital generation, there is still no evidence of students' perceptions of adopting the innovation of Web 2.0 technologies in Kuwait. The problem this study addresses is that the current status of Web 2.0 technologies usage by academic students has remained educationally unknown in Kuwait. Therefore, there was a need to investigate the extent to which academic students in SBE are aware of and their usage of Web 2.0 technologies, as well as the factors and obstacles that affect using these technologies. Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory (DoI) is employed in this study to specify the factors that influence student perceptions of adopting Web 2.0 applications as learning tools. Data used in this dissertation was gathered via a survey instrument from 350 students at the SBE and was statistically analyzed to find out the answers of the research questions. This study identified the low rate of Web 2.0 awareness and adoption by the students. Descriptive statistical analysis, such as mean scores and standard deviation, were used to analyze and conclude the findings. In the rates of awareness and adoption of Web 2.0, this study also identified no statistically significant differences between the groups of all the demographic variables except the academic field. The statistically significant differences were identified between the academic variables before and after recoding the academic fields into 5 groups. A t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to determine the statistical significance. Several factors were examined in the study to identify their influence on the rate of adoption. The factors included the rate of awareness, Rogers' attributes of innovations, and the obstacles to adopt …
A new trend in e-learning development is to have subject matter experts use rapid development tools to create training simulations. This type of training is called rapid e-learning simulation training. Though companies are using rapid development tools to create training quickly and cost effectively, there is little empirical research to indicate whether training created in this manner meets the needs of learners. The purpose of this study was to compare user responses to rapid e-learning simulation training to user responses receiving instructor-led training. The target population for this study was employees of a medium size private company in North America. Employees were divided into two groups and either received instructor-led training (comparison group) or received rapid e-learning simulation training (experimental group). The instrument used to measure user response was an adaptation of the technology acceptance model. Three variables were measured: training satisfaction, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness. Though no statistical significance was found between the two groups for training satisfaction and perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use was found to be statistically significant. Overall results fail to demonstrate the superiority of rapid e-learning simulation training over instructor-led training; however, this study indicates that rapid e-learning simulation training may be a viable substitute for classroom instruction based on user response.
The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between self-perceived information seeking skills and self-esteem in adolescents and, further, to determine whether this correlation varied according to race and gender. Tenth-grade students from three public high schools in a Midwestern city were given two instruments. Self-perceived information seeking skills were measured using a modified version of the Information Skills Checklist from High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium's Profiler website. Self-esteem was measured by the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, which is designed for students 12 years of age and over. The scale has six separate measures of self-esteem: physical, moral-ethical self, personal self, family self, social self and academic self. These six measures are used to determine overall level of self-esteem. The results showed a statistically significant correlation between self-perceived information seeking skills and at least one facet of self-esteem for all groups measured, with one exception. African American males were the only adolescents to show no correlation between scores from these two instruments. It is hoped that this research will ultimately be used to develop policies regarding the development of information seeking skills in disenfranchised groups.
Catastrophes like Katrina destroy a community's critical infrastructure-a situation that instigates several dilemmas. Immediately, the community experiences information disruption within the community, as well as between the community and the outside world. The inability to communicate because of physical or virtual barriers to information instigates instant isolation. Prolonged, this scarcity of information becomes an information poverty spell, placing hardship on a community accustomed to easily accessible and applicable information. Physical devastation causes the scarcity of what Abraham Maslow calls basic survival needs-physiological, security, and social-a needs regression from the need to self-actualize, to meet intellectual and aesthetic needs. Because needs regress, the type of information required to meet the needs, also changes-regresses to information regarding survival needs. Regressed information needs requires altered information behaviors-altered methods and means to meet the information needs of the post-disaster situation. Situational information behavior follows new mores-altered norms-norms constructed for the post-disaster situation. To justify the unconventional, situational social norms, residents must adjust their beliefs about appropriate behavior. Situational beliefs support situational social norms-and situational information behaviors prevail. Residents find they must trust strangers, create makeshift messaging systems, and in some cases, disregard the law to meet their post-disaster survival needs.
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 study's findings include: (1) the Thai information sector development pattern confirmed a key difference between development patterns of information sectors in developed and developing countries, (2) the increasing number of Thai information workers was due more to the expansion of government than the expansion in the manufacturing and service sectors during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, (3) Thailand's expansion of ICT infrastructure was influenced not only on the basis of economic profitability but also by political desirability, and (4) volunteers were crucial in humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
The September 11 terrorist attacks pointed out the lack of information sharing between law enforcement agencies as a potential threat to sound law enforcement in the United States. Therefore, many law enforcement agencies as well as the federal government have been initiating information sharing systems among law enforcement agencies to eradicate the information sharing problem. One of the systems established by Homeland Security is the North Central Texas Fusion Center (NCTFC). This study evaluates the NCTFC by utilizing user acceptance methodology. The unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology is used as a theoretical framework for this study. Within the study, user acceptance literature is examined and various models and theories are discussed. Furthermore, a brief information regarding the intelligence work done by law enforcement agencies are explained. In addition to the NCTFC, several major law enforcement information systems are introduced. The data for this study comes from the users of the NCTFC across the north central Texas region. Surveys and interviews are used to triangulate data. It is found in this study that performance expectancy and effort expectancy are important indicators of system use. Furthermore, outreach and needs assessment are important factors in establishing systems. The results of the study offer valuable input for NCTFC administrators, law enforcement officials, and future researchers.
Blogs serve multiple purposes, resulting in several types of blogs that vary greatly in terms of quality and content. It is important to evaluate the quality of blogs, which requires appropriate evaluation criteria. Unfortunately, there are minimal studies on framework and the specific criteria and indicators for evaluating the quality of blogs. Moreover, quality is related to user perception, and should therefore be evaluated by the receivers. This dissertation examines the criteria and indicators that blog users consider important for evaluating the quality of blogs, and develops a user-centered framework for evaluating quality by conducting user surveys and post-survey email interviews. The personal characteristics that affect the users’ choices of criteria to evaluate the quality of blogs are examined as well. The study’s findings include 1) the criteria that users consider important when evaluating the quality of blogs are content quality, usability, authority, and blog credibility; 2) the indicators that blog users consider most important for evaluating the quality of blogs are understandability, accuracy, believability, currency, ease of use, and navigation; and 3) gender, education level, age, profession, purpose of use, and specific interests affect the user’s choices of criteria for evaluating the quality of blogs. Future research may involve exploring and applying the framework developed in this study to build automatic quality blog identification system for the purpose of assisting web users and information specialists to identify quality blogs.
Digital games and simulations are receiving considerable notice within the Library and Information Science (LIS) community. This study adds to the depth of knowledge in this area by providing research on the likelihood a hypothetical digital game delivery method for library instruction achieves sufficient adoption to justify its development. Furthermore, this knowledge will assist decision making processes for individuals debating the current or potential role of digital gaming at their institutions. In this mixed methods study, over 300 undergraduates were surveyed about their technology preferences, including digital gaming, for delivery of two forms of academic library instruction. The two forms of library instruction were (a) providing users with spatial information on physical library layout, and (b) educating users on information literacy topics and skills. Observational data was collected during the survey sessions, occurring at face-to-face library instruction sessions. Self-selected survey participants were also interviewed to further probe their survey responses. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations was the theoretical foundation to this research. The primary innovation of study was the digital game delivery method. Detailed analysis of the survey-based data set included three nonparametric scaling methods: 1) rank-sum scaling; 2) circular triad analysis; and 3) multidimensional preference mapping. Content analysis of the observations and semi-structured interviews also occurred. Major outcomes were 1) the digital game delivery method achieved mediocre preference across both questions; 2) the audiovisual delivery method received the highest overall preference ranking; and 3) overall preference for the audio-only delivery method was remarkably low. The most important theme across the observational data was the participants' waning attention during the face-to-face library instruction sessions. The most important outcome from the semi-structured interviews was interviewees' stated appreciation for useful technologies. Over 95% of participants were so-called digital natives, that is, born post-1980. Rogers' assertion that age plays a minor role in predicting …
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 benefit of an Am Law library to its firm is $1.00 : $1.68. Each Am Law Library staff member is worth $295,000 in Revenue per Equity Partner to a firm. Law library practitioners can use the results to support evidenced-based strategic decision making in the administration of any private law firm library. Faculty and students in law librarianship programs will have a greater understanding of how to manage law libraries and collections to provide maximum value to their law firms. Benefits to library and information science research include validation of the research design and benchmarking as a theoretical framework for …
An increasing number of libraries and information centers are using content management (CM) applications to develop, redesign, and maintain their websites. the purpose of this research was to provide understanding of attitudes of academic librarians about how their utilization of CM technology influences the information services they provide at the academic library’s website and to examine their perceptions of how using CM affects the creation of the web content. This research applied a qualitative research design (electronic survey and in-depth semi-structured interviews of academic subject librarians) with elements of a quantitative approach. the study discussed the concept of web authorship and supplied fundamentals for future theoretical research about authorship in web content development at academic libraries. the study provided an overview of CM at academic libraries and explored characteristics of dynamic content and semantic web applications at their websites. It discussed librarians’ opinions about issues of migration to the new content management system (CMS), factors affecting its efficient employment, and roles of librarians in web content management. Results of this study will serve to future research on management behavior of academic librarians authoring web content with the help of CM. the findings about the difficulties observed in the use of CMS and solutions, influence of training and learning, importance of cooperation and communication, adjustment of the CMS to the users’ needs, qualifications and skills needed in application of CM, distribution of responsibilities in the use of CMS, features of the CMS, and requirements to its functionality will have implications for academic and other libraries applying CM.
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