Study on Information need and Seeking Behavior of the Health Science Students of an Indian Deemed University

Objective: The objective of this study was to find out the study habit of health science students by using library of SIKSHA ‘O’ ANUSANDHAN University, Bhubaneswar. Methods: All the information are collected form students of four health science institutions of this University (N=420). All data were analyzed with the help of SPSS 20 software. Results: This study found the use of e-resources for information retrieval by the students regularly or daily through internet /e-library which is higher than other retrieval process. Text, reference books and e-journals are also cited frequently by the students. Conclusions: Though popular, ordinal rankings cannot adequately describe the multidimensional nature of health science students’ attitude on seeking information. This study provides statistics that can be used in conjunction with other sound methodologies to provide a more authentic view on this matter. The large variance of the collected data suggests that refining seeking behavior by discipline, peer groups, or journal information may provide a more precise assessment

A Survey on Health Science Researchers: Their need and Information Seeking Behavior in Academic Context

E-resources are now commonly used for academic and research activities. The present health science researchers are interested for CAS and SDI services. This study is designed about to know the information sources, use habits of researchers and mostly the preference of online resources. The output result of this study indicates that the researchers up-date / up-grade themselves for learning habit with information development skill through e-library also

Information and communication technology and educational services management at a Ugandan university

This thesis focuses explicitly on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a strategy for delivering effective management of educational services in a cross-section of educational institutions, inclusive of universities. University of Uganda (UNU)1 , in Uganda, is taken as a case study where ICT was introduced with the primary aim of improving effectiveness in the delivery of educational services. ICT has become a tool of great importance in today’s business in all spheres of life globally. From commerce to aeronautics, medicine to education, the daily use of ICT is vital to the success of the business. In the area of higher education management, ICT use is of central significance as universities of the contemporary world cannot afford to ignore the role of that ICT plays in the running of their institutions as a business and, as such, need to ensure they are not left behind by the developments. Therefore, as a matter of necessity, the universities are required to embrace ICT adoption in teaching/learning and administrative activities. This study discusses the concept of ICT, perceptions of stakeholders in the effectiveness of ICT adoption, educational services management and ICT and strategies for effective ICT use in educational services management.Educational Management and LeadershipD. Ed. (Education Management

A SOCIAL ACTION PERSPECTIVE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of this paper is to outline a social action perspective of information systems development (ISD) and provide some evidence for its fruitfulness. Earlier theories have looked upon ISD as a technical engineering process or as a technical process with behavioral consequences. These theories have not proved adequate for understanding the systems development process. The social action perspective as advocated in this paper leads one to realize that ISD is a social process which relies on technology. The paper introduces the following basic building blocks of the social action perspective for ISD. human interests, objective and subjective knowledge and meanings, power, conflict, resistance, and consensus formation. It is shown how these social action concepts contribute to our understanding of the systems development process. Evidence for this is presented from case studies. It is concluded that any theory of ISD which does not explicitly deal with the key phenomena of social action is inadequate. In practice, ISD is politics first, engineering second

How to manage people who think. A structural approach.

This is a paper about creativity, diversity and other often used buzzwords. It is also a paper about how to manage people who think. Today we live in a world in which computers and mobile phones have become the key artifacts. Nokia´s slogan ”connecting people” expresses in a brilliant way what it is all about. When we connect people information is transfered and new knowledge hopefully created. And innovations, ideas and individuals are central for everything that takes place. We are all supposed to be flexible, exercising our knowledge in a setting characterized by diversity. This setting is also characterized by paradoxes that I will write more about further down. But transformations such as the globalization and implementing of new information technology race crucial questions about how to deal with a changing economic landscape and new mindsets and changing attitudes. The pages that follow is based on extensive reading of the literature and participating in many conferences and work-shops. In addition to this I have interviewed managers and employees at Electrolux, Ericsson, TeliaSonera and The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise. I have asked people in the above mentioned organizations how they react to concepts such as the knowledge society and the practice of managing knowledge, creativity, diversity and flexibility. This paper is written with a Scandinavian perspective. It is also written with a social constructionist perspective. The theoretical framework includes theories about knowledge management, structuration theory and cognitive theories. The findings are based on interpretative research and I have systematically reflected over the material I have collected. I direct myself towards people in business who think and worry about the future. The purpose is to inspire to further discussions about these very important matters.Knowledge management; structuration theory; knowledge society; globalization; creativity; diversity; flexibility.

Qualitative Research in three IS journals: Unequal emphasis but common rigour, depth and richness

In this paper we attempt to show the actual and potential contribution of qualitative re- search in information systems. We looked at two recent volumes (2011-12) of MISQ, EJIS and SIM and found that there were a low proportion of qualitative papers in MISQ, a bal- ance of qualitative to quantitative papers in EJIS and a high proportion of qualitative pa- pers in SIM. We illustrate the contributions of qualitative research in IS through discussing nine papers (three from each journal) in some detail and then the other qualitative papers in these issues (61 of 217 papers in total) in the discussion section. A variety of methods, theories and contributions to research and practice are discussed. The depth, rigour and detail of many qualitative research studies are impressive and make such work convincing to the reader. Some suggestions are made to increase the profile of qualitative research in information systems

A grounded theory of the architectonics of library spaces

Research problem: The library, as an architectural typology, is reportedly under threat. There is no question the library space needs to evolve to remain relevant in the twenty-first century. This project seeks to reveal patterns of library design and architectonic principles that will shape future spaces. In an age of distraction and rapid change it may not be enough to assume the traditional role of the library, as a ‘temple of knowledge’ built for books, to guarantee the future of libraries. This project proposes a philosophical examination of the relevance of library buildings in the twenty-first century. Methodology: The grounded theory methodology employed enables a close reading of the determinants behind library design: how libraries influence architectonics and vice-versa. The term architectonics speaks to both architectural design and the importance of buildings as metaphorical representations of humanist principles. The project applies Emmanuel Kant’s philosophical interpretation of architectonics as a ‘system of knowledge’. The steps to generating grounded theory involves the categorisation of data, writing self-reflective memos, theoretical sampling, comparative analysis and theoretical sensitivity. The project also utilises naturalistic observations of three Auckland Public Libraries: Devonport, Rānui and Waiheke. Findings: Each building typology is important and instructive by mapping and reflecting humanist behaviours and endeavours. As things change over time, small details add up to affect the overarching philosophical understanding of architectonics, in this case ‘the library’. Fortunately, libraries do not have to confront the politicisation of technology directly but can maintain an evolutionary path, as a civic space, by using a new architectonic ‘morality’ that is universally inclusive: sustainability through intelligent design. Implications: Library buildings can reach into the humanist needs of design – the moral, ethical, harmonious, sustainable, communal elements. Becoming a sustainable beacon for communities may be constrained by material resources and budgets and not every library will be able to engage with eco-friendly designs in their entirety. Future studies will need to engage with communities, stakeholders and library users to explore whether a sustainable typology for library buildings is a worthy and achievable objective

Ict And Ecology: In Favour Of Research Based On The Responsibility Principle

The aim of this communication is to present new focuses for research in the field of Information Systems and Ecology. In the first part, we will present, through a review of the literature, the rather negative role played by ICT on the environment: paper, transportation, consumption, waste… The aim of the second part is to discuss the rather positive role played by ICT with regard to knowledge of the environment: simulation, traceability, information… Many questions about research are then liable to be developed, and this will be the subject of the third part: in favour of research into the principle of Responsibility, users, businesses and those who govern

Understanding the trajectory of employee volunteerism : an exploratory case study in the Omani public sector

The study explored volunteerism in the context of the public sector in Oman where it took the Library for Community Initiative (L4CI) as a primary case unit of study. This study employs single case study strategies that facilitate the exploration of this EV project which presents a unique situation where it is officially located within a public institution (government-owned university) but funded by a private sector company. Applying a systemic lense, the voluntary project in this study found to act as an independent system that succeeded to bring together both sectors in a long-term partnership.The literature review conducted showed that employee volunteerism (EV) in the context of the corporate struggles to keep the core principles of volunteerism valid. Interventions from employers have been criticised in many studies for steering and capitalising the EV programs to satisfy the best interest of the enterprises. Previous studies failed to explore the systemic factors contributing to the construction of the EV programs and their impact on the existing structure and agency. To examine this notion further, this study was created to explore “volunteerism” within employee volunteering programs and the factors that contribute to the development of the EV system’s practices and functions that support the basic principles of volunteerism. It explored how participants perceived the L4CI project from the perspective of ‘volunteerism’ principles and benefits sought. The application of systemic thinking ’s concepts and tools provided a holistic view of the EV as an interconnected system and enabled the exploration of its components to establish relationships between them. Systemic thinking provided a lens proved influential in developing a holistic view of the EV system by acknowledging its independent and explore factors that allowed participants to pursue a certain level of the agency when constructing its organisational and operational structures.Chapter one overviewed the problem and the significance of the selected unit of the case study. The significance of the case study stands on its uniqueness for being a long-term EV program, initiated by employee (bottom-up) and situated in a public organisation. The chapter introduced the volunteerism movement in Oman before it offered a factual brief of the L4CI. Moving to chapter two, the discussion focused on focused on specifying main gaps within the literature of employee volunteerism and how the study is using systems thinking concepts and tools to explore them.Within the theoretical realm, the study adopts an interpretive soft systems lens on outlining the basis for choosing interpretive paradigms from a subjective view. In chapter three, justifications that support a qualitative inquiry through semi-structured interviews and the rationale behind adopting content and thematic analyses to achieve the aim of this study are discussed and explained. Fieldwork was detailed to describe the data collection process and elaborate on the data analysis procedures applied throughout the study. Chapter five was dedicated to demonstrating the process and results of the data analysis using various tools and software.The finding of the study suggests that volunteerism in the context of corporates can be achieved when employers and employees agree to keep its principles untouched. The L4CI found to exemplify a way-out when its examined system structured proved to respect volunteerism’ criteria including free-will, unpaid, personal and offering benefit to other parties. Factors influencing the formation of the EV project in this case study found to be temporal and event-based. The holistic view revealed various factors arising from multiple levels of investigations. These levels included external, institutional and EV group level.The conclusion of this study discussed how these findings contribute to our understanding of the EV systems by answering the main questions and satisfying objectives listed. The findings suggest the need to understand the spiritual principles of volunteerism before companies can design their EV programs. The findings also suggest that the formation of the EV project in this case study was influenced by temporal and event-base factors. By developing a holistic picture, multiple factors from external, institutional, and EV group levels were pronounced to play a varied role in the formation of the identity, operational structure, and organisational structure of the EV system. The study concluded with recommendations and specified further areas for studies