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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 December 2021

Björn Ekström

Information practices become highly complex in biodiversity citizen science projects due to the projects’ large scale, distributed setting and vast inclusion of participants. This…

1283

Abstract

Purpose

Information practices become highly complex in biodiversity citizen science projects due to the projects’ large scale, distributed setting and vast inclusion of participants. This study aims to contribute to knowledge concerning what variations of information practices can be found in biodiversity citizen science and what these practices may mean for the overall collaborative biodiversity data production in such projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Fifteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with participants engaged with the Swedish biodiversity citizen science information system Artportalen. The empirical data were analysed through a practice-theoretical lens investigating information practices in general and variations of practices in particular.

Findings

The analysis shows that the nexus of biodiversity citizen science information practices consists of observing, identifying, reporting, collecting, curating and validating species as well as decision-making. Information practices vary depending on participants’ technical know-how; knowledge production and learning; and preservation motivations. The study also found that reporting tools and field guides are significant for the formation of information practices. Competition was found to provide data quantity and knowledge growth but may inflict data bias. Finally, a discrepancy between practices of validating and decision-making have been noted, which could be mitigated by involving intermediary participants for mutual understandings of data.

Originality/value

The study places an empirically grounded information practice-theoretical perspective on citizen science participation, extending previous research seeking to model participant activities. Furthermore, the study nuances previous practice-oriented perspectives on citizen science by emphasising variations of practices.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 78 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 March 2022

Björn Ekström

The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about how valid research data in biodiversity citizen science are produced through information practices and how notions…

1589

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about how valid research data in biodiversity citizen science are produced through information practices and how notions of credibility and authority emerge from these practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through an empirical, interview-based study of the information practices of 15 participants active in the vicinity of the Swedish biodiversity citizen science information system Artportalen. Interview transcripts were analysed abductively and qualitatively through a coding scheme by working back and forth between theory and data. Values of credibility, authority and validity of research data were unfolded through a practice-oriented perspective to library and information studies by utilising the theoretical lens of boundary objects.

Findings

Notions of credibility, authority and validity emerge through participant activities of transforming species observations to data, supplementing reports with objects of trust, augmenting identification through authority outreach and assessing credibility via peer monitoring. Credibility, authority and validity of research data are shown to be co-constructed in a distributed fashion by the participants and the information system.

Originality/value

The article extends knowledge about information practices in emerging, heterogeneous scholarly settings by focussing on the complex co-construction of credibility, authority and validity in relation to data production.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 75 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 June 2020

Lesedi Tomana Nduna and Cine van Zyl

The purpose of this study is to investigate benefits tourist seek when visiting a nature-based tourism destination to develop a benefit segmentation framework.

3890

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate benefits tourist seek when visiting a nature-based tourism destination to develop a benefit segmentation framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used quantitative research methods, with 400 self-administered survey administered to a sample of 400 tourists visiting the Kruger, Panorama, and Lowveld areas in Mpumalanga.

Findings

Cluster analysis produced two benefit segments. Binary logistic regression benefits that emerged from the cluster analysis were statistically significant predictors of the attractions tourists visited and the activities in which they participated during their stays in Mpumalanga. Factor-cluster analysis and binary logistic regression results were used to develop a benefit segmentation framework as a marketing planning tool.

Research limitations/implications

The study was only based on Mpumalanga Province and therefore, the results cannot be generalised. The study was conducted over one season, the Easter period

Practical implications

The proposed benefit segmentation framework provides a tool that destination management organisations can use to plan effectively for marketing.

Social implications

Effective marketing may lead to increased tourism growth which can have a multiplier effect on the destination.

Originality/value

This article is based on a master’s study conducted in Mpumalanga and results are presented on this paper.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 May 2020

Gonzalo Perera, Martin Sprechmann and Mathias Bourel

This study aims to perform a benefit segmentation and then a classification of visitors that travel to the Rocha Department in Uruguay from the capital city of Montevideo during…

1566

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to perform a benefit segmentation and then a classification of visitors that travel to the Rocha Department in Uruguay from the capital city of Montevideo during the summer months.

Design/methodology/approach

A convenience sample was obtained with an online survey. A total of 290 cases were usable for subsequent data analysis. The following statistical techniques were used: hierarchical cluster analysis, K-means cluster analysis, machine learning, support vector machines, random forest and logistic regression.

Findings

Visitors that travel to the Rocha Department from Montevideo can be classified into four distinct clusters. Clusters are labelled as “entertainment seekers”, “Rocha followers”, “relax and activities seekers” and “active tourists”. The support vector machine model achieved the best classification results.

Research limitations/implications

Implications for destination marketers who cater to young visitors are discussed. Destination marketers should determine an optimal level of resource allocation and destination management activities that compare both present costs and discounted potential future income of the different target markets. Surveying non-residents was not possible. Future work should sample tourists from abroad.

Originality/value

The combination of market segmentation of Rocha Department’s visitors from the city of Montevideo and classification of sampled individuals training various machine learning classifiers would allow Rocha’s destination marketers determine the belonging of an unsampled individual into one of the already obtained four clusters, enhancing marketing promotion for targeted offers.

Details

Journal of Tourism Analysis: Revista de Análisis Turístico, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2254-0644

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 December 2023

Patricia McHugh, Cushla Dromgool-Regan, Christine T. Domegan and Noirin Burke

This paper aims to describe a case between practitioners and social marketing academics to grow and scale a programme that engages with primary schools, teachers, children and the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe a case between practitioners and social marketing academics to grow and scale a programme that engages with primary schools, teachers, children and the education network, inspiring students to become marine leaders and ocean champions.

Design/methodology/approach

Over a six-year period, the authors first applied collective intelligence to work with stakeholders across society to better understand the barriers and solutions to teaching children (6–12 year olds) about the ocean in schools. Following this, a Collective Impact Assessment of the Explorers Education Programme took place to grow the impact of the programme.

Findings

The Explorers Education Programme has grown its numbers higher than pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, the Explorers Education Programme had the largest number of participating children, reaching 15,237, with a growth of 21% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 and 79% compared to 2021. In 2023, the programme won the “Best Education Outreach Award” category of the Education Awards in Ireland.

Research limitations/implications

This research stresses the importance of measuring impact. The long-term impact of the Explorers Education Programme at societal, environmental and economical levels takes a much longer time frame to measure than the six years of these research collaborations.

Practical implications

The collaborative approach between academics and practitioners meant that this research had practical implications, whereby necessary and effective changes and learnings could be directly applied to the Explorers Education Programme in real time, as the practitioners involved were directly responsible for the management and coordination of the programme.

Originality/value

The value of collaborations and engagement between academia and practice cannot be underestimated. The ability to collectively reflect and assess impact moves beyond “an” intervention, allowing for more meaningful behavioural, social and system changes for the collective good, inspiring the next generation of marine leaders and ocean champions.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 April 2021

Isto Huvila, Olle Sköld and Lisa Börjesson

Sharing information about work processes has proven to be difficult. This applies especially to information shared from those who participate in a process to those who remain…

2561

Abstract

Purpose

Sharing information about work processes has proven to be difficult. This applies especially to information shared from those who participate in a process to those who remain outsiders. The purpose of this article is to increase understanding of how professionals document their work practices with a focus on information making by analysing how archaeologists document their information work in archaeological reports.

Design/methodology/approach

In total 47 Swedish archaeological reports published in 2018 were analysed using close reading and constant comparative categorisation.

Findings

Even if explicit narratives of methods and work process have particular significance as documentation of information making, the evidence of information making is spread out all over the report document in (1) procedural narratives, (2) descriptions of methods and tools, (3) actors and actants, (4) photographs, (5) information sources, (6) diagrams and drawings and (7) outcomes. The usability of reports as conveyors of information on information making depends more on how a forthcoming reader can live with it as a whole rather than how to learn of the details it recites.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on a limited number of documents representing one country and one scholarly and professional field.

Practical implications

Increased focus on the internal coherence of documentation and the complementarity of different types of descriptions could improve information sharing. Further, descriptions of concepts that refer to work activities and the situation when information came into being could similarly improve their usability.

Originality/value

There is little earlier research on how professionals and academics document and describe their information activities.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 77 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 March 2021

Joyeeta Chatterjee and Nigel Raylyn Dsilva

The purpose of this paper is to determine the role played by social media platforms in promoting sustainable tourism in the states of Assam and Odisha. The study provides insights…

21887

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the role played by social media platforms in promoting sustainable tourism in the states of Assam and Odisha. The study provides insights on sustainable tourism and related products of the above-mentioned destinations that need to be promoted on social media. It also recommends strategies to augment the sustainable tourism in the two states.

Details

Tourism Critiques: Practice and Theory, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2633-1225

Keywords

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