A Review of Associate/Bachelor Degree Library Programs in the United States

This presentation outlines the results of a nation-wide survey and analysis of Associate and Bachelor degree programs in the United States as well as a brief comparison to those degree programs world-wide

An Assessment of Information Literacy Competence of Doctoral Students in Universities in Ogun State

Information is the foundation upon which all academic activities are built. The quality of teaching, learning and research is a function of the quality of information available to practitioners. While the current information landscape is characterized with information adequacy made possible by the application of ICTs to information handling, the sheer magnitude of available information tending towards overload is itself a challenge in the current technology-driven world we live in. In response to this challenge, academic institutions all over the world came up with what is known as information literacy described as an intellectual framework which enables individuals to identify, locate, access, evaluate, use and communicate information. Despite the argument that technological advances have facilitated access to information, there is ongoing concern globally that university students are still not becoming information literate – that they cannot retrieve and evaluate the information that will be required for problem solving and decision making in the workplace and in society (Buzzetto-Hollywood,et al., 2018; Ondari-Okemwa, 2016). Specifically in Nigeria, recent developments in higher education also indicate that the quality of the students that gained admission has been changing. Most of these students have an increasingly detailed knowledge of information and communication technologies (ICTs), expectedly use new habits of communication and are eager to learn new forms of education including autonomous online learning. However, they have difficulties when it comes to handling large amount of information even at doctoral level (Ekwelem, Eke & Dim, 2009; Oyedokun, et al., 2019; Pelemo, et al., 2020). . This study, therefore, assessed the information literacy competence of doctoral students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study used survey research design. The population of the study was 1, 418 doctoral students from six universities in Ogun State already running doctoral programs out of nine licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC). The Research Advisor’s table was used to select a sample size of 306. A structured and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for the construct was 0.92. The response rate was 92%. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential (simple and multiple regression) statistics. Findings revealed that information literacy competence of doctoral students in universities in Ogun State was high (x̅=4.2). The study concluded by recommending that university administrators and the NUC should strengthen the research capacity and productivity of doctoral students through target coursework, workshops, conferences and research collaboration with peers and mentors

Competency Definition for Iranian Library and Information Professionals in Public Libraries

The aim of this study is to investigate competency requirements of Iranian public librarians in library educational departments and working places. A group of 72 people from public libraries answered to questions. Questions cover all areas of library performances. The results show that the traditional competencies such as cataloging, management of collections, information resources and acquisition tools are still important for public librarians. However, the generic knowledge and skills of information services were recommended by respondents

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND TRAINING NEEDS OF COLLEGE LIBRARIANS IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Purpose of study: The core aim of the study is to identify the level of professional activities and training needs of library practitioners serving in Government colleges of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Research Method and Procedure: This study is quantitative, and the survey method is applied to achieve the desired objectives. The public sector college librarians of seven districts of the southern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were the study population. Data Collection and analysis: A structured questionnaire was distributed among fifty-nine (59) college librarians. Out of total, fifty-five (55) librarians return the filled questionnaire with a response rate of 93%. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 is used to analyze the collected data. Major Findings and Recommendations: it was reflected that sixty- four percent of the respondents had not attended any training program in the last five years. The main reason for not attending the training program is the lack of management support with library professionals. Only thirty-six percent of the college librarians had attended conferences, workshops, seminars, and webinars organized by academic libraries, training institutes and universitie

Exploring Relevant Employability Skills 4.0 For University Students’ Readiness in The Work-Based Learning Program

This research discusses employability skills 4.0 for university students' readiness in work-based learning. This research explored relevant employability skills 4.0 for university students' readiness in the work-based learning program. The survey questionnaire consisted of 65 items developed to study the student's readiness to acquire these skills in a work-based learning program. This research obtained 633 respondents from five Malaysian research universities. The association between employability skills and students' readiness for work-based learning was analysed using the PLS-SEM model of SMART-PLS software. Using measurement and structural model analysis, the PLS-SEM found six employability skills communication skills, interpersonal skills, IT skills, problem-solving skills, entrepreneurship skills, and self-management skills. From this analysis, the student's readiness employability 4.0 for the university student's readiness in work-based learning has developed. Further research can explore more significant respondents from public or private universities, including postgraduate students in the surve

Competency in Nursing Students: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Nursing students require highly specialized competencies to accurately determine patients' states and to predict and cope with problems that may occur during nursing care. This study explores the definition, domains, and levels of nursing students' competency. Methods: This study was a systematic review of nursing students’ competencies in English (ISI, SCOPUS, Ovid, Proquest, Iranmedex, Google scholar, PubMed) and Persian (Scientific Information Database) databases (1985–2015), according to the University of York Center for Reviewers and Dissemination Guidance approach, 2008. Results: From a total of 13,115 articles, 20 were retrieved in the final step. The individual experiences, dynamic process, and positive interactive social and beneficial changes in the equality of one’s professional life that cause meta-cognitive abilities, touch reality, motivation, decision making, job involvement, professional authority, self-confidence, knowledge and professional skills formulated the definition of nursing students' competency. Educational, cultural, individual, professional and inter-professional, research, clinical and practical domains were defined as belonging to nursing students' competency. Seven nursing student competency levels were identified. Conclusion: Although the definitions of competency, its domains, and its levels vary by profession and country, this systematic review demonstrated the comprehensive ones in three scopes. However, more research is needed to examine the three scopes in the nursing student competency concept

Developing the scales on evaluation beliefs of student teachers

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to investigate the validity and the reliability of a newly developed questionnaire named ‘Teacher Evaluation Beliefs’ (TEB). The framework for developing items was provided by the two models. The first model focuses on Student-Centered and Teacher-Centered beliefs about evaluation while the other centers on five dimensions (what/ who/ when/ why/ how). The validity and reliability of the new instrument was investigated using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis study (n=446). Overall results indicate that the two-factor structure is more reasonable than the five-factor one. Further research needs additional items about the latent dimensions “what” ”who” ”when” ”why” “how” for each existing factor based on Student-centered and Teacher-centered approaches

Financial competency within medium and large Iranian companies

Despite emerging financial challenges on financial literacy, the literature lacks studies on financial competency. Thus, the study conceptualized financial competency, illustrated the status of financial competency in existing competency models and explored causes of inattention on competency. The research used the qualitative approach based on the available competency models such as generic, customized and well-known organizations’ competency models. To avoid terminological biases, the financial competency was studied ontologically. In this study, 55 pair-words were found in the literature that employed words to represent the concept of financial competency. These collocations were searched in 416 accessible competency models and the content analysis resulted in a few competency models that had mentioned the financial competency. In addition, two eight-person focus group discussions and 12 in-depth interviews with Iranian business owners, organization and human resource managers, helped the researcher learn about what financial competency is and why it has been neglected in competency models. Grounded theory was used as the methodology to analyze the findings of the discussions and interviews. Data analysis showed that the participants had addressed the attitude aspect of financial competency in comparison to knowledge and skills. This research identified thirteen factors from two main themes which are financial and contextual. The first theme consists of expenditure, saving, income, investment, cash flow management, budgeting and debt management. The second theme consists of opportunity competencies, financial perspective, market observation, documentation, paradigm notion and learning characteristic. The study concluded that all the components of competency modeling could have caused the financial competency to be ignored. The human resource staff as a member of competency mapping teams has more effect on ignoring this competency because of their leading role in the teams. As a conclusion, revalidating this study and quantitatively repeating it are recommended as future works

Outsourcing information communication technology services in selected public university libraries in Kenya

Outsourcing is a management strategy that is gradually proving its worth in library and information science. The purpose of this study was to investigate the outsourcing of ICT services in selected public university libraries in Kenya in order to establish the challenges facing libraries in outsourcing ICT services. The study adopted a multicase study strategy in four selected public university libraries in Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to identify respondents. Data collection was done using a semi-structured interview schedule. The findings reveal that public university libraries in Kenya outsource ICT services such as Internet, e resources and derive benefits such as cost cutting, knowledge and skills acquisition and economies of scale. The study noted that ICT policies and procurement laws are inadequate in guiding the outsourcing processes. The study found that ICT service processes had various challenges such as high cost and loss of control of the services due to relying heavily on the vendors. The study concluded that there was a need for the library management to be conversant with outsourcing procedures, such as negotiation of contracts, to gain more from outsourced ICT services. The study recommended that the university libraries develop, review and implement ICT outsourcing policies. The university management should involve librarians in the outsourcing process and implementation.Keywords: Information Communication Technology, Information Systems, Outsourcing, ICT Outsourcing, Public Procurement Act, Public University Librarie