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Article
Publication date: 11 July 2016

Eystein Gullbekk

The purpose of this paper is to explore the aptness of “information literacy”, conceptualized as a socially contextualized phenomenon, for analyses of interdisciplinary scholarly…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the aptness of “information literacy”, conceptualized as a socially contextualized phenomenon, for analyses of interdisciplinary scholarly communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a conceptual analysis. Two influential representatives of the social turn in the information literacy literature are taken as starting points: Annemaree Lloyd’s conceptualization of “information literacy practice”, and Jack Andersen’s conceptualization of information literacy as “genre knowledge”. Their positioning of information literacy as a socially contextualized phenomenon – by use of practice theories and rhetorical genre theory, respectively, – is analysed against an illustrative example of interdisciplinary scholarly communication.

Findings

Conceptualizations by Lloyd and Andersen explain information literacy as socially contextualized in terms of stable norms and understandings shared in social communities. Their concepts have the potential of explaining changes and innovations in social practices including scholarly communication. If we combine genre-theoretical and practice-theoretical concepts – and accentuate the open-endedness of social practices and of genres – we can enhance the understanding of information literacy in settings of interdisciplinary scholarly communication where the actors involved lack shared conventions and assumptions.

Originality/value

The paper suggests that the fluid features of social contexts should be accounted for in the information literacy literature. By combining genre-theoretical and practice-theoretical concepts in a novel way it offers such an account. It provides a useful framework for understanding the phenomenon of information literacy in interdisciplinary scholarly communication.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 72 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Inger Askehave and Anne Ellerup Nielsen

The purpose of this paper is to account for the genre characteristics of non‐linear, multi‐modal, web‐mediated documents. It involves a two‐dimensional view on genres that allows…

6879

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to account for the genre characteristics of non‐linear, multi‐modal, web‐mediated documents. It involves a two‐dimensional view on genres that allows one to account for the fact that digital genres act not only as text but also as medium.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical framework of the article is the Swalesian genre theory used in academic settings all over the world to investigate the relationship between discourse and social practice and to teach genre conventions to students of language and communication. Up till now most genre research has focused on the characteristics of “printed” texts, whereas less has been done to apply the genre theory to digital genres.

Findings

The article discusses the characteristics of digital genres, notably the media constraints that have a significant effect on the production and reception of digital genres and suggests an extension of the Swalesian genre model that takes the digital characteristics into account.

Research limitations/implications

The suggestion for a revised genre model is not based on an extensive empirical study of various types of web sites. The observation is restricted to a limited number of commercial web sites.

Originality/value

The article proposes new insights into the concept of genre adapting traditional models of genre theory to web‐mediated texts. A revised two‐dimensional genre model incorporating media elements into the concept of genre thus takes account of the particular characteristics of the navigation and reading elements of web‐mediated genres.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 November 2010

Michela Montesi

A total of 17 user‐compiled collections of webpages, comprising 833 bookmarked links in terms of genre, are studied. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether users tend to…

Abstract

Purpose

A total of 17 user‐compiled collections of webpages, comprising 833 bookmarked links in terms of genre, are studied. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether users tend to bookmark certain web genres more than others. Genre theory helps to make sense of the different pages included in these collections, and to classify them, according to their communicative purpose and salient non‐topical features, into blogs, search interfaces, articles, tutorials.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 17 participants took part in the research by providing their collections of bookmark links. They were also interviewed about the reasons for bookmarking and to comment on their collections. Relying on the interview results and on the previous literature, the bookmarks were classified into four super‐genres: main or access pages, transactional pages, navigational pages, and content pages.

Findings

The results of the classification into web genres revealed a clear tendency to bookmark main pages, such as homepages, which accounted for 42 per cent of all bookmarked web links. Moreover, some aspects of relevance were highlighted such as the connections to use, time, and context, as well as to the main web activity (browsing or searching).

Originality/value

Previously, bookmarks have mostly been studied as tools for information reuse, but very rarely as sources of implicit relevance feedback. In addition, from the point of view of genre theory, this research shows the importance of relating web genres to users' intentions behind queries.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 34 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2022

Lihui Niu and Shiyan Ou

This study developed two presentation modes of scientific articles and evaluated their usability with user experiments.

Abstract

Purpose

This study developed two presentation modes of scientific articles and evaluated their usability with user experiments.

Design/methodology/approach

Two presentation modes of scientific articles, simply referred to as “genre presentation mode” and “argument presentation mode”, were constructed based on their genre structure and argument structure respectively. Their usability was evaluated by being compared against the existing RichHTML presentation mode in the experiments using eye-tracking and questionnaire methods.

Findings

The participants who were going to find the specific information of scientific articles rated the genre presentation mode higher than they did with either the argument or the RichHTML presentation mode for effectiveness. In contrast, those who were going to understand the general idea of scientific articles rated both the genre and argument presentation mode higher than they did with the RichHTML mode. In terms of efficiency, the participants took less reading time when the articles of non-native language were presented with the genre mode than they did when the articles were presented with the argument mode. When reading the articles in native language to understand the general idea, the participants took less reading time for the articles presented with the argument mode than they did for the articles presented with the genre mode. In comparison, they took less reading time when the articles were presented with the argument mode if they were going to find specific information. For satisfaction, the genre presentation mode was more popular than the argument mode and the RichHTML mode. However, the participants were less satisfied with the argument presentation mode than the other two when reading in native language and intending to find specific information.

Originality/value

The two presentation modes of scientific articles are found to improve the accuracy of information acquisition, shorten the total reading time and be more acceptable by readers.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 75 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2009

Agnès Delahaye, Charles Booth, Peter Clark, Stephen Procter and Michael Rowlinson

This paper seeks to identify and define the genre of corporate history within the pervasive historical discourse produced by and about organizations which tells the past of an…

3750

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to identify and define the genre of corporate history within the pervasive historical discourse produced by and about organizations which tells the past of an organization across a multiplicity of texts: published works – commissioned and critical accounts, academic tomes and glossy coffee‐table books – as well as web pages, annual reports and promotional pamphlets.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of systematic reading of historical narratives for 85 mainly British and US companies from the Fortune Global 500. For these companies, a search was carried out for US printed sources in the British Library and a survey was conducted of historical content in web pages.

Findings

From extensive reading of the historical discourse, recurrent formal features (medium, authorship, publication, paratext and imagery) and elements of thematic content (narrative, characters, cultural paradigms and business success), which together define the genre of corporate history, have been identified. Such a definition provides competence in the reading of historical narratives of organizations and raises questions regarding the role of history in organizational identity, memory and communication. In conclusion it is argued that the interpretation of corporate history cannot be reduced to its promotional function for organizations.

Research limitations/implications

The list of the formal features and thematic content of corporate history detailed here is by no means exhaustive. They are not variables, but signs, which, in various combinations, compose the narrative and signify the genre.

Practical implications

It seems likely that coffee‐table books will increasingly replace academic commissioned histories, with consultants professionalizing the discourse and formalizing the genre of corporate history.

Originality/value

The genre of corporate history has hitherto been neglected in organization theory, where the linguistic turn has led to a preoccupation with talk as text. The use of genre to analyse corporate history represents a textual turn to literary organizational texts as text.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2021

Jack Andersen

The purpose of this article is to develop a contemporary understanding of genre as digital social action. Particular emphasis will be on archiving, tagging, and searching as…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to develop a contemporary understanding of genre as digital social action. Particular emphasis will be on archiving, tagging, and searching as social actions afforded by digital media as a function of their materiality.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is critical analysis and discussion.

Findings

It is shown through an examination and a concrete example of how the genre is understood as digital social action, how the materiality of digital media affords particular communicative actions.

Originality/value

The article contributes with an understanding of the genre as digital social action consisting of two communicating parts: users’ actions and materiality.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 78 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

Trine Schreiber

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ways to practice the written assignment in a university setting in the context of information literacy and in perspective of Schatzki's…

1499

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ways to practice the written assignment in a university setting in the context of information literacy and in perspective of Schatzki's practice theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on both a qualitative in-depth study involving individual interviews with students from higher education and the practice theoretical perspective.

Findings

By analyzing informants’ negotiations of the “acceptable” way to perform the written assignment practice, a configuration of the particular practice has been made. In perspective of Schatzki's practice theory, a study into information literacy involves focussing on the changing character of the activities performing the practice in question. In this paper the changing character is analyzed by comparing the configuration of the written assignment practice with a description of the genre of scientific articles. The paper draws the conclusion that the configuration consists of both regular and irregular occurrences. Job orientation and use of social media seemed to influence the written assignment practice as it was performed by the informants.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to research into information literacy in educational settings by proposing an analysis based on Schatzki's theory combined with concepts of routinization, reflexivity, and genre.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 70 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Carina Ihlström and Ola Henfridsson

Purpose – To examine the evolution of the online newspaper genre in Scandinavia. To provide an understanding of the institutional context in which online newspapers initially were…

2499

Abstract

Purpose – To examine the evolution of the online newspaper genre in Scandinavia. To provide an understanding of the institutional context in which online newspapers initially were produced and modified over time. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal study of three different types of newspapers in three Scandinavian countries. The study is based on interviews with newspaper representatives conducted during recurring visits in 1996, 1999 and 2002, and web page analysis of their online newspapers. Findings – The study illustrates how online newspapers have established a number of communicative practices significant for recognizing them as a distinct digital genre, and it outlines a set of institutional factors shaping the ongoing change of these newspapers. In addition, the study demonstrates the emergence of sequential interdependencies between online and printed news. Originality/value – The focus on Scandinavian newspapers in this paper complements studies conducted in other parts of the world regarding online newspaper genre evolution.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2010

Mónica Izquierdo Alonso and Luis Miguel Moreno Fernández

The aim of this paper is to systemize and improve the scientific status of studies on document abstracting. This is a diachronic, systematic study of document abstracting studies…

1572

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to systemize and improve the scientific status of studies on document abstracting. This is a diachronic, systematic study of document abstracting studies carried out from different perspectives and models (textual, psycholinguistic, social and communicative).

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the perspectives and analysis proposals which are of interest to the various theoreticians of abstracting is carried out using a variety of techniques and approaches (cognitive, linguistic, communicative‐social, didactic, etc.), each with different levels of theoretical and methodological abstraction and degrees of application. The most significant contributions of each are reviewed and highlighted, along with their limitations.

Findings

It is found that the great challenge in abstracting is the systemization of models and conceptual apparatus, which open up this type of research to semiotic and socio‐interactional perspectives. It is necessary to carry out suitable empirical research with operative designs and ad hoc measuring instruments which can measure the efficiency of the abstracting and the efficiency of a good abstract, while at the same time feeding back into the theoretical baggage of this type of study. Such research will have to explain and provide answers to all the elements and variables, which affect the realization and the reception of a quality abstract.

Originality/value

The paper provides a small map of the studies on document abstracting. This shows how the conceptual and methodological framework has extended at the same time as the Science of Documentation has been evolving. All the models analysed – the communicative and interactional approach – are integrated in a new systematic framework.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 66 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2002

Norman B. Macintosh and C. Richard Baker

This paper adopts a literary theory perspective to depict accounting reports and information as texts rather than as economic commodities and so available for analysis from the…

4731

Abstract

This paper adopts a literary theory perspective to depict accounting reports and information as texts rather than as economic commodities and so available for analysis from the vantage point of semiotic linguistic theory. In doing so it takes the literary turn followed by many of the social sciences and humanities in recent decades. It compares and contrasts four dominant genres of literary theory – expressive realism, the new criticism, structuralism, and deconstructionism – to developments in accounting. The paper illustrates these and other ideas in the context of the controversies surrounding the oil and gas accounting crisis and practices circa 1961 to 1990. The paper concludes by outlining a new way of preparing accounting reports based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s notion of the heteroglossic novel. This approach calls for making accounting for an enterprise an ongoing conversation rather than a monologic process of closing down on a single meaning.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

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