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1 – 6 of 6Anna Maria Mouza and Athanasios Taousanis
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Greece’s economic crisis on public librarians’ obligations.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Greece’s economic crisis on public librarians’ obligations.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 43 public library managers completed a questionnaire regarding 116 librarian responsibilities. Managers evaluated these responsibilities considering their importance, difficulty, and frequency. Regarding difficulty, a two-way analysis of variance was applied to examine whether there exists a significant difference among duties’ categories and libraries’ classifications, considering their number of users and materials, and whether the perceived difficulties were connected with the economic crisis.
Findings
The results reveal that public librarians face many difficulties due to workload and increased responsibilities resulting from the lack of qualified personnel both in library and computer science. Difficulties also arise from the inability to meet some operational needs because of reduced funding.
Practical implications
Contrary to these unfavorable conditions, many new opportunities and challenges have emerged, including the implementation of new practices and actions (volunteerism, donations, cooperation with local actors) to effectively cope with the new threats.
Originality/value
This is the first time that job description has been recorded and used to outline the duties of Greece’s public librarians. This is particularly useful to develop libraries’ strategic planning and to assist all human resource practices to increase efficiency, especially during the period of financial crisis. Further specific duties were also proposed to enhance the librarians’ effectiveness under the new working environment, focusing on the required processes for their successful completion.
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Anna Maria Mouza and Sofia P. Grigoriadou
The purpose of this paper is to identify the obligations and responsibilities of librarians, working in Greek academic libraries and to investigate whether there are significant…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the obligations and responsibilities of librarians, working in Greek academic libraries and to investigate whether there are significant differences among various institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey was based on a questionnaire containing 161 duties performed by academic librarians, classified into five main categories which are: general management, collection management, materials organization, user service and system management. The respondents were 31 managers at Greek academic libraries, who were asked to assess their duties according to importance, difficulty and frequency, and whether such tasks were deemed professional, para-professional or non-professional. A two-way ANOVA was applied to determine whether performed duties significantly differed according to institution size and/or type.
Findings
The results revealed no significant differences regarding importance of duties while many differences were detected across all main categories regarding difficulty. Differences were also recorded concerning the frequency of duties for some of the subcategories under general and collection management, materials organization and the subcategory cultural events and programs. Finally, professional duties represented 86 percent of total duties, indicating the necessity of professional librarians for the effective management of their responsibilities.
Originality/value
These findings, which are first recorded in Greece and refer to academic librarians’ duties, will be particularly useful for decision makers to reach the right decisions regarding the implementation of human resource practices, taking into account the individuality of the institutions under consideration. Also these outcomes can be viewed as a valuable guide for adapting the indicated decisions under the rapidly introduced technological changes and properly tackling problems stemming from the economic recession.
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Diana Koroleva and Nazir Jogezai
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the desire path of using GAI in higher education, including expectations, apprehensions, and the way forward.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the desire path of using GAI in higher education, including expectations, apprehensions, and the way forward.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study employs thematic analysis, scrutinizing 11 interviews with innovative higher education faculty. The methodology section details the utilization of GAI (Chat GPT) for conducting thematic analysis on interviews, showcasing academics' practical application of this technology for research purposes.
Findings
Stakeholders expect continuous improvement in technology, overdependence, advocate for gradual adjustment, and emphasize context-dependent technology utilization. Concerns encompass issues such as data reliability, ethical considerations, risks of undermining fundamental aspects, limitations in fully replacing human involvement, and worries about personal responsibility.
Practical implications
Recommendations include flexible regulations, data-driven decision-making, professional development, diverse stakeholder engagement, and promoting distributed responsibility.
Originality/value
This study offers valuable insights into the use of GAI in higher education, formulating policies that encourage innovation without hampering effectiveness.
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Maria Gabriella Ceravolo, Vincenzo Farina, Lucrezia Fattobene, Elvira Anna Graziano, Lucia Leonelli and GianMario Raggetti
This study investigates whether colors red or blue in financial disclosure documents (Key Investor Information Documents – KIIDs) affect attention distribution toward the visual…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates whether colors red or blue in financial disclosure documents (Key Investor Information Documents – KIIDs) affect attention distribution toward the visual stimulus and the perception of financial attractiveness of the products.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to observe and measure financial consumers' visual attention, the unobtrusive methodology of eye-tracking is used on a sample of nonprofessional investors, applying an ecological protocol, through a cross-sectional design.
Findings
Financial information processing and visual attention distribution are influenced by the color of the KIID document, as red seems to attract attention, proxied by gazing behavior, more than blue. Red color, compared to blue, is also observed to push investors to rate the products as less financially attractive, especially when the product Risk Reward Profile is high.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the role of the basic visual properties of documents conveying financial information, prompting to investigate the unconscious and automatic mechanisms of individual's attention and its influence on decision making.
Originality/value
Using the eye-tracking tool, this study bridges neuroscience, color research, marketing and finance and provides new knowledge on the underlying neural mechanisms of financial consumers' behavior.
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