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The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of research in the Department of Information Studies at the University of Wales Aberystwyth and an introduction to the papers in the special issue.

A narrative review of the previous research activities and contemporary research environment of the Department of Information Studies.

There is more to be learnt about the future of the research assessment exercise, whether it is moving to a metrics‐based system, or whether the system will look more favourably on departments that attract a range of research funding.

Identifies how changes in the scope of research activities in a department reflect changes in research funding and structures for the information sector, as well as changes in staff interests.

The purpose of this study is to offer a theoretical and practical explanation for the nature and reasons for inter-organizational knowledge sharing across an informal clique of competing five-star hotels in the Saudi Arabian religious tourism and hospitality industry.

The methodology is an adapted form of the grounded theory approach deploying a four-stage research design using qualitative interviews with key players in the industry to inform the analysis of the knowledge sharing approaches.

The findings illustrate the features of the knowledge sharing approaches across the five-star hotels studied. In particular, the findings highlight the existence of a cooperative-competitive tension in the relationships and knowledge sharing between the hotels. This illustrates the existence of a tacit strategy that cooperation can lead to long-term benefits for the competitor hotels.

The study is unique in its focus on the cooperative-competitive tension of five-star hotels in the Saudi Arabian religious tourism and hospitality industry and on this influence on the inter-organizational knowledge sharing across hotels within an oligopolistic market structure. The study also has value in using elements of oligopoly theory and of game theory, particularly, the prisoner’s dilemma, in explaining how inter-organizational knowledge sharing occurs within this market context.

Voluntary participation, feedback loops, rules and goals are key elements of total quality management (TQM). The purpose of this paper is to determine if these four elements which make TQM successful are the same elements that make computer games successful. If this is the case, what are the implications for developers of Human Computer Interfaces (HCI) in Industry 4.0.

This paper is a systematic literature review of recent literature on engagement in games and user experiences and HCI design for industry followed by interpretation of the literature. The findings from the literature review are analysed and compared to TQM.

Good game design and TQM share four key components: goals, rules, a feedback system (including rewards) and voluntary participation. There is an opportunity for HCI developers to use a user experience lens inherent in games evolution and to expand on the design and motivational elements that have made games and TQM successful at motivating and engaging. Kuutti’s (1995) proposal of activity theory puts forward a promising framework for making systems engaging. There are positive implications merging good games design and TQM in socio-technic systems which could improve engagement and quality in companies implementing in Industy 4.0.

The implications of achieving increased engagement in HCI systems similar to those seen in companies that have successfully implemented TQM could lead to greater productivity in companies operating in the highly technical environments of Industry 4.0.

The originality of this paper is threefold: first, a description of the origins in industry of voluntary participation, feedback loops, rules and goals and their relationship to TQM; second, a systematic literature review of the same elements in computer games design; and third, the implications for developers of HCI systems in Industry 4.0.

The project was designed to provide a framework for a comprehensive user evaluation of both software packages and hypertext environments. User evaluation constituted an integral part of the design and development process. The learning packages and hypertext systems were evaluated in terms of the extent to which they provide flexibility for learners to follow their preferred learning styles. Evaluation was carried out in relation to: (1) hypertext packages; (2) learning styles and learning outcomes; and (3) system design. Two sets of learning experiments were conducted. In the first, the package related to ‘1992’ — the Single European Market—was tested with postgraduate MBA and Information Studies students, whose individual learning approaches were assessed. In the second, the package was in the field of food and wine and was tested with further education students on a catering course. Those with a holist predisposition strongly favoured the use of global features such as the map. On the other hand, serialists preferred the rapid access allowed by the index. The ‘Wine and Food’ experiment, with a smaller sample, produced no significant findings to reinforce the ‘1992’ results. However, there was an interesting positive correlation (though not statistically different) between field dependence and performance on the learning test. Cognitive styles were demonstrated to be a significant component of individual behaviour within the hypertext environment. Providing a variety of tools optimised for preferred modes of usage creates a rough equality of overall task‐related performance between those with differing cognitive styles, and allows the user to evolve an appropriate strategy for effective performance. The ‘lost in hyperspace’ phenomenon was rarely evident and may be eliminated by improved semantic content in navigational aids. Hypertext has been confirmed as a useful medium for searching, learning and recall, but must include as many alternative modes of usage as possible within the design of a particular system.

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study to investigate the changes in scholarly communication practices among a group of scholars in the UK and build upon the results that were published in a previous paper.

The study deployed a naturalistic inquiry approach using semi-structured interviews as a qualitative research tool. A sample of 40 participants from four UK universities was interviewed to explore the changes in informal scholarly communication behaviour.

The analysis of the interviews revealed that there are three ideal types of behaviour: the “orthodox” uses formal and traditional scholarly communication approaches; the “moderate” prioritises formal communication approaches, but at the same time is trying to get benefits from informal channels; and, the “Heterodox” uses all channels available in the scholarly communication.

The value of the current study lies in using a naturalistic inquiry approach to investigate the changes in scholarly communication practices, and to explore the different scholarly communication styles. In the context of this study, the use of a naturalistic approach and grounded theory principles in connection with coding provided a stance that allows for the gathering of rich information to enable understanding and explanation of scholarly communication activities in addition to uncovering themes that related to scholarly behaviour.

While there is a burgeoning literature on self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), the emphasis has been on expatriation not repatriation. The purpose of this paper therefore is to explore how repatriating SIEs perceive the experience of repatriation compared with their pre-repatriation expectations. Further, we examine the seminal work of Black et al. (1992) in the light of current day realities.

This qualitative research draws on interviews with SIE New Zealanders returning home. It is an exploratory longitudinal study, based on interview data collected prior to (n = 32), and after (n = 27) repatriation, comparing expectations and experiences of repatriation.

Findings show that there is a strong level of congruence between the expectations of the return and their experience of repatriation. This congruence eases the transition and mitigates the impact of reverse culture shock. We revise Black et al.'s framework of repatriation adjustment to more accurately reflect the expectations and experiences of repatriating SIEs, recognising the importance of individual agency and the impact of today's technological advances on repatriation.

The contributions of this paper include clarification of repatriating SIEs. Further, through the revision of the framework, we identify new areas of research that would aid our understanding of repatriating SIEs and lead to the development of a more detailed model. We highlight the interplay between variables showing how these might mitigate the shock of repatriation.

Repatriation is an under-researched phase of the SIE, and this study provides empirical data that contributes to our understanding of the construct. Black et al.'s framework of repatriation adjustment is revised in the context of contemporary SIE, highlighting the holistic nature of self-initiated expatriation and repatriation, viewing the events not as discrete, but as a continuum of time.

The field of cognitive-behavioural therapy contains many different theoretical models of psychopathology, with each discipline ascribing greater emphasis to a particular cognitive process or organisation of beliefs. This paper seeks to propose a method of integrating the two most widely practiced and researched schools of CBT; Beck ' s cognitive therapy (CT) and Ellis ' s rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT).

Although there exist a large degree of similarity between the two therapeutic approaches, the two models do differ in relation to their respective hypothesises regarding the core psychological variable in psychopathology. Cognitive theory hypothesises that negative representational beliefs are of central importance whereas rational emotive behaviour theory hypothesises that negative evaluative demands lie at the core of psychological disturbance. This paper evaluates these competing predictions on the basis of the available empirical literature.

The empirical literature provides greater support for the organisation and interrelations of the irrational beliefs proposed by REBT theory over CT theory, however the research data clearly indicate the importance of the cognitive variables stressed by CT theory in the pathogenesis of psychological distress. Based on the available evidence an integrated CBT model which incorporates elements of both CT and REBT theory is presented. It is proposed that this integrated model can serve as the stepping-stone toward a larger, single, coherent CBT model of psychopathology.

Few empirical studies have directly compared the competing predictions of CT and REBT theory. If future research supports the findings presented in this paper, the proposed model can serve as a template for the development of a unified, general-CBT theory of psychopathology.

The integrated model presented in this paper can serve as a guiding theoretical model for therapeutic practice which takes into account therapeutic methods from both CT and REBT.

This paper proposes the first theoretical model which incorporates the competing theoretical conceptualizations of psychological distress from the two main schools of CBT.

David Ellis is Professor in the Department of Information Studies at Aberystwyth University. He was previously lecturer and senior lecturer in the Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield. He has a PhD and an MA in Information Studies from the University of Sheffield, and a BA in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Durham. His PhD study of the information behaviour of academic social scientists represented one of the first attempts to apply a rigorous qualitative methodology to modelling the information seeking patterns of social science researchers and was subsequently extended to studies of scientists in both academic and industrial research environments. These interests were further developed in the course of the uncertainty in information seeking project carried out in collaboration with researchers at the University of Sheffield and the University of North Texas. Professor Ellis has published extensively in the information studies field, his work has been recognised as representing a distinct, substantive and methodological contribution to the fields of information behaviour and information retrieval research, and is widely cited in both. His current research interests are in the areas of information behaviour, information and knowledge management and information systems. Professor Ellis's professional activities have included service on the UK Research Assessment Exercise, Peer Review Panel for Library and Information Management, and Research Convenor of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Peer Review Panel for Librarianship, Information and Museum Studies. He is a member of the AHRC and the Economics and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC) Peer Review Colleges and Research Notes Editor of the International Journal of Information Management.

The information seeking patterns of a group of research physicists and research chemists were analysed and the key features of those patterns identified. The aim was to use a similar methodology to that employed in a previous study of the information seeking activities of a group of social scientists and to effect a comparison between the information seeking patterns of the scientists and the social scientists. The information seeking patterns were derived from interviews with physicists at Manchester University and chemists at the University of Sheffield. The methodology adopted for the interviews and analysis was qualitative and based on the grounded theory approach. The results were then compared with the findings of the previous study of the social scientists to try and identify similarities and differences between the two groups. Certain minor variations concerned with awareness levels of facilities, the extent of usage of a source and the research stage at which a strategy may be employed were identified. Nonetheless, fundamental differences in information seeking behaviour could not be determined. Finally, the extent to which developments in electronic communication have had any impact on the information or communication patterns of the scientists and social scientists is considered.