Effecting Social Change in the 'Smart City': The West End Connect Community Project

Brisbane has declared itself a 'smart city'. But more and more Brisbane is also becoming a digitally divided city. The Brisbane community is being separated into those who have access to and are comfortable using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) – the 'haves' – and groups who do not have access to and are not comfortable using ICT – the 'have-nots'. The social and economic implications of digitally divided communities cannot be ignored by government or society as whole. The inner city suburb of West End is an example of a socially, culturally and economically diverse community. The suburb has traditionally been home to Indigenous and migrant populations as well as being a refuge for many of Brisbane's homeless people. The demographics of this suburb, however, are being significantly altered by new property developments with wealthier residents choosing to move close to the city. West End is rapidly becoming a digitally divided community. This paper explores a case study in which the Queensland University of Technology and the State Library of Queensland worked in collaboration with a number of community groups in West End to help bridge the growing digital divide. The West End Connect Community Project began in November 2004 with the aim of providing the opportunity for West End community groups to develop the skills and knowledge vital for personal and vocational success in an ever-changing environment of digital information. The paper will discuss and evaluate the strategies used to deliver and develop a community education program that will lead to social change for West End. The paper will discuss the impact of the project on the West End community as a way of bridging the digital divide

Community ICT projects: do they really work? Reflections from the West End Connect project one year on

The West End suburb of Brisbane is an example of a socially, culturally and economically diverse community in Australia. The suburb has traditionally been home to Indigenous and migrant populations as well as being a refuge for many of Brisbane’s homeless people. The demographics of this suburb, however, are being significantly altered by new property developments with wealthier residents choosing to move close to the city. West End is rapidly becoming a digitally divided community. In 2004/05, academics from the Queensland University of Technology, worked with staff from the State Library of Queensland and the Ethnics Community Council of Queensland, and members of two West End community groups – the Women’s Ethnic Network and the African Women’s Network on a community Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project. Twelve community members from the groups participated in a ten month project that began with focus groups to discuss how ICT was used in the daily life of participants and what they perceived were their personal training needs and the training needs of the larger community group they represent. Training sessions (i.e. Beginning Email) were delivered based on these focus groups. Three months after the sessions, participants were interviewed about their ongoing feelings with ICT; whether they had shared their training experiences with other community members and what impact they felt the training had on their life. All participants reported that the training had a positive impact on their lives and their community. This paper presents the results of a focus group with the participants one year after their initial training experience to determine what ongoing impact, if any, the training had on their life and their community. The study is limited by its small sample size. Nonetheless, three observations can be noted: Firstly, ICT and ICT training does empower and change people’s lives. Secondly, ICT training for community groups should be provided via specialized learning environments that will allow the group members to learn and grow at their own pace and style. Thirdly, ICT training that directly involves only a small number of community members can still have considerable impact on the larger community group through shared narratives and support by the training participants with the other community members. Drawing upon the researcher’s experience of conducting the West End Connect project from beginning to end (and beyond), and having consulted the existing literature in the field of ICT projects, the following literature based recommendations (or is that predictions?) for future community ICT projects are offered: (i) community ICT projects should identify and utilize ‘communities of practice’; (ii) community ICT projects should be inspired to be community ICT initiatives; and, (iii) community ICT projects should use community leaders or educators

Potentials of social media for tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians : preliminary findings

Tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians, such as the sharing of clinical experiences, skills, or know-how, or know-whom, is known to have a significant impact on the quality of medical diagnosis and decisions. This paper posits that social media can provide new opportunities for tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians, and demonstrates this by presenting findings from a review of relevant literature and a survey conducted with physicians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten physicians from around the world who were active users of social media. Initial thematic analysis revealed eight themes as potential contributions of social web tools to facilitate tacit knowledge flow amongst physicians. The emergent themes are defined, linked to the literature, and supported by instances of interview transcripts. Findings presented here are preliminary, and final results will be reported after accomplishing all phases of data collection and analysis

Developing a Research Culture and Scholarship Plan in Information Studies

Information research may take many forms. When the researchers are situated within an information technology faculty, there is a natural orientation towards the technology and the systems that make possible the use of the technology. Despite this, a focus on information itself and its effective utilisation can be achieved in an environment that may otherwise be more concerned with the technology than the information that the technology carries. This focus can contribute to research that has a systems orientation, as well as both foster and be fostered by interdisciplinary work in areas such as education, management and psychology. Here we explain the development of a research program in ‘information use’ within the Socio-technical systems theme of the School of Information Systems at QUT. Our emphasis is on the processes – research supervision, industry linkage, consultancy, grant development, conference contribution and publication - that have advanced the development of the research group. We also provide a summary of research projects in the form of models that are being developed to help illuminate the research frameworks

Developing a Culture of Evidence Based Practice within the Library and Information Profession: the Impact of Library Science Education. A Teaching and Learning Model from the Queensland University of Technology

Evidence Based Practice (EBP) has recently emerged as a topic of discussion amongst professionals within the library and information industry. Simply stated, EBP is the process of using formal research skills and methods to assist in decision making and establishing best practice. The emerging interest in the EBP within the library context serves to remind the library profession that research skills and methods will ensure that the library industry remains current and relevant in a rapidly changing environment. The future of EBP within the library context relies upon effective cooperation between industry professionals, library science educators and professional associations. This paper will consider the role of library science education in ensuring the future of EBP within librarianship. Aware of its role to industry as a supplier of employees to the marketplace, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is continually reviewing its library science curriculum to more readily embrace the needs of current industry practice. This paper will discuss the teaching and learning model that is being at the Queensland University of Technology to foster student awareness and understanding of EBP and its practical role in the library and information industry. The paper examines the experiences of both the teaching staff and the students in practicing EBP within an industry context and considers the contribution the course makes in developing an EBP culture within the Australian library and information profession

Organizational change and renewal: can strategic communication methods ease the pain? A case study from the University of Southern Queensland

Strategic communication is not solely the remit of ibrary managers and directors, but is the product of internal culture and engagement with the organisation’s brand. Libraries need to communicate strategically, in order to demonstrate to individuals across the organisation that their message is on point, and that they understand, are committed to, and actively support the university’s goals. Much of this work happens via the myriad of interactions library staff at all levels have with students and staff (and indeed community members) of all kinds. When the attitude and behaviour of library staff does not truly reflect the library’s and the university’s branding or goals, this undermines more explicit measures of value. It is important for the leadership of academic libraries to understand and influence how every library staff member views his or her role in the organisation, so that their communication is reflective of a confidence in themselves and their profession, and a solid understanding of their institution and the higher education landscape. In large-scale organisational change, both intellectual and emotional buy-in to the organisation can wane. We seek to show how a people-centred change process, rather than adversely affecting staff buy-in, could instead increase buy-in to the organisational change

Understanding the information experiences of parents involved in negotiating post-separation parenting arrangements

The paper presents findings from a study into the information experiences of people needing to make post-separation parenting arrangements. Data was collected from 20 participants, through in-depth, semi-structured, telephone interviews. Thematic analysis identified five major themes: Following, Immersion, Interpersonal, History and Context which depict the information experiences of the participants. The findings can be used as an evidence base to inform the design and delivery of support and services provided by government agencies and other community groups supporting the legal information needs of individuals and families. The work extends current understandings of information experience as an object of study in the information science discipline

Open educational practices in Australia: a first-phase national audit of higher education

For fifteen years, Australian Higher Education has engaged with the openness agenda primarily through the lens of open-access research. Open educational practice (OEP), by contrast, has not been explicitly supported by federal government initiatives, funding, or policy. This has led to an environment that is disconnected, with isolated examples of good practice that have not been transferred beyond local contexts. This paper represents first-phase research in identifying the current state of OEP in Australian Higher Education. A structured desktop audit of all Australian universities was conducted, based on a range of indicators and criteria established by a review of the literature. The audit collected evidence of engagement with OEP using publicly accessible information via institutional websites. The criteria investigated were strategies and policies, open educational resources (OER), infrastructure tools/platforms, professional development and support, collaboration/partnerships, and funding. Initial findings suggest that the experience of OEP across the sector is diverse, but the underlying infrastructure to support the creation, (re)use, and dissemination of resources is present. Many Australian universities have experimented with, and continue to refine, massive open online course (MOOC) offerings, and there is increasing evidence that institutions now employ specialist positions to support OEP, and MOOCs. Professional development and staff initiatives require further work to build staff capacity sector-wide. This paper provides a contemporary view of sector-wide OEP engagement in Australia—a macro-view that is not well-represented in open research to date. It identifies core areas of capacity that could be further leveraged by a national OEP initiative or by national policy on OEP.</p