Search results
1 – 10 of 85Hilary Hughes, Rike Wolf and Marcus Foth
The purpose of this paper is to explore social living labs as a participatory methodology and context for fostering digital literacy and community well-being. This approach is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore social living labs as a participatory methodology and context for fostering digital literacy and community well-being. This approach is examined through a case study of Food Rescue Townsville, a voluntary community organisation in North Queensland, Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative case study methodology, the research investigated volunteers’ experience of a social living lab where they selected, installed and used open source Food Rescue Robot software.
Findings
The social living lab enhanced volunteers’ digital literacy and the organisation’s efficiency. The participatory nature and transformative intentions of social living labs are similar to action research as both promote social change through collaboration.
Research limitations/implications
The case study intentionally focuses on one community organisation to gain in-depth insights of a real-life social living lab.
Practical implications
The paper models an innovative approach that contributes to community learning and well-being. It presents a social living labs framework for digital literacy development that is underpinned by participatory action research cycle and integrates informed learning principles. Social living labs provide a learning context and approach that extends beyond digital skills instruction to a holistic process of using information to learn. They enable individuals to participate as digital citizens in the creation, curation and use of digital information.
Social implications
Informed digital learning through social living labs addresses the digital divide by fostering digital participation, volunteering and community engagement.
Originality/value
The paper is of interest to researchers, information literacy educators and community groups. Theoretical insights and participatory practices of the Food Rescue Townsville case, and the proposed social living labs framework are transferable to other communities.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Nicole Johnston, Helen Partridge and Hilary Hughes
This paper aims to outline research that explores the information literacy experiences of English as a foreign language (EFL) students. The question explored in this research was…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to outline research that explores the information literacy experiences of English as a foreign language (EFL) students. The question explored in this research was: how do EFL students experience information literacy?
Design/methodology/approach
This study used phenomenography, a relational approach to explore the information literacy experiences of EFL students. Phenomenography studies the qualitatively different ways a phenomenon is experienced in the world around us.
Findings
This research revealed that EFL students experienced information literacy in four qualitatively different ways. The four categories revealed through the data were: process, quality, language and knowledge. This research found that language impacted on EFL students’ experiences of information literacy and revealed that EFL students applied various techniques and strategies when they read, understood, organised and translated information.
Research limitations/implications
This research was conducted in a specific cultural and educational context; therefore, the results might not reflect the experiences of EFL students in other cultural or educational contexts.
Practical implications
The findings from this research offer an important contribution to information literacy practice by providing important insights about EFL students’ experiences and perceptions of information and learning that can be used to inform curriculum development in second language learning contexts.
Originality/value
There is currently a lack of research using a relational approach to investigate EFL students’ experiences of information literacy. There is also limited research that explores the impact language has on information literary and learning in EFL or English as a second language (ESL) contexts.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Tina Hurley, Nora Hegarty and Jennifer Bolger
To describe the challenges involved in developing and delivering a pilot library skills course to a group of international bridging studies students from China and Pakistan. To…
Abstract
Purpose
To describe the challenges involved in developing and delivering a pilot library skills course to a group of international bridging studies students from China and Pakistan. To provide guidelines for other libraries who may be faced with similar challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper documents the development and delivery of a pilot course for international students. The course described formed part of an accredited Critical Thinking & Research Skills module. The challenges of the project are described and a number of recommendations for its future development are outlined.
Findings
The project underlined the challenges involved in teaching library skills to international students. The main barrier that emerged throughout the course related to communication difficulties. Language levels amongst the group were poorer than anticipated. The group did display excellent IT skills, however, and enjoyed class work that actively engaged them in the learning process.
Research limitations/implications
The project is still at a pilot stage of development. The paper provides a short‐term view of one small academic library's experience of working with international students. No full‐scale student survey has been conducted to date.
Practical implications
This account of WIT Libraries experience of developing and delivering an accredited information skills course for the bridging studies group is likely to be a useful source of practical information for libraries in similar positions, of similar scale, faced with similar challenges.
Originality/value
Offers practical solutions for libraries in similar positions. The successful diversification of the traditional library role is likely to be of interest to all members of the library profession.
Details
Keywords
Annie Rolfe, Jill Franz and Adrian Bridge
Despite growing evidence of the impact of school facilities on wellbeing and educational outcomes, no attention has been given to understanding this impact in relation to the…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite growing evidence of the impact of school facilities on wellbeing and educational outcomes, no attention has been given to understanding this impact in relation to the interrelationship of design and procurement and their combined effect. This paper aims to address this gap by presenting the outcomes of a study of the design/procurement relationship pre-opening and post-opening of schools.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative case study methodology enabled in-depth exploration of six Australian Government schools procured through “public private partnerships” (PPP) or “design & construct” (D&C) and “design, bid, build” (DBB). Data collected through interviews with architects, education department officers, school principals and teachers were analysed thematically using techniques aligned with grounded theory methodology.
Findings
The paper reports three key findings: pre-opening of schools, budget impacts design similarly for procurement across PPP and (D&C/DBB) case schools; pre-opening of schools, prescriptive design impacts procurement similarly across PPPs and D&C/DBB schools; post-opening of schools, procurement impacts design and school operation in different ways across PPP and D&C/DBB schools. These findings point to a fundamental finding that it is design and procurement together that impacts well-being and educational outcomes as experienced by principals and teachers.
Practical implications
This research may be of practical value for education departments, architects, facility managers, school principals and teachers.
Originality/value
This paper provides original evidence of the relationship between procurement and design and their combined impact on student well-being and educational outcomes.
Details
Keywords
Hilary Guite, Jane Scarlett and Gemma Hughes
Public health mental health is an emerging field with significant potential for contributing to improved public health. However there is a notable gap in support for people…
Abstract
Public health mental health is an emerging field with significant potential for contributing to improved public health. However there is a notable gap in support for people working in this field and limited opportunities to influence the public health agenda at a strategic or policy level. This article describes how the London‐wide public health mental health network provides a regional forum for members to share information, develop measures, databases and protocols, and support professional development. It is hoped that other such regional networks will be established, as well as sector groups at local level.
Mauro Vivaldini and Paulo Renato de Sousa
The paper aims to further understanding of connectivity from the perspective of blockchain technology (BT) in the supply chain (SC). It presents the weaknesses (inhibitors) of…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to further understanding of connectivity from the perspective of blockchain technology (BT) in the supply chain (SC). It presents the weaknesses (inhibitors) of connectivity during technology implementation, focusing on supply chain interaction and resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
Restricting the focus to digital connectivity, interaction and supply chain resilience, this paper uses a systematic literature review (SLR) to examine how the literature has addressed, related or flagged connectivity weaknesses affecting supply chain interaction and resilience.
Findings
This study highlights the influence of connectivity for blockchain-technology projects. Technical and organisational influencers that affect the adoption of technology in the SC are presented. These influencers support the factors proposed in this study regarding the weaknesses that negatively affect the interaction between the agents involved and the SC's resilience. The research suggests that the weaknesses are related to technical needs and the relationships between companies arising from functionalities.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is restricted to a review of the theory and the researched material. Although the author was careful to choose the best search terms related to the research objective, some potentially relevant articles may have been excluded.
Practical implications
The study summarises research on blockchain connectivity influencers in the SC, helping managers to anticipate and mitigate some of doubts and concerns in projects of this nature.
Originality/value
This is one of the first articles in the area of operations and SCs that addresses the topic of connectivity, focusing on its restrictive factors (connectivity inhibitors), in the context of blockchain implementation in the SC.
Details
Keywords
Hilary Yerbury, Michael Olsson and Pethigamage Perera
The outcomes of information behaviours have traditionally been conceptualised as use or effects. The adoption of a sociological stance, based on a practices approach, provides the…
Abstract
Purpose
The outcomes of information behaviours have traditionally been conceptualised as use or effects. The adoption of a sociological stance, based on a practices approach, provides the opportunity to challenge these understandings. The non-Western setting further enhances the possibilities for conceptualising the outcomes of information practices as forms of capital.
Design/methodology/approach
This ethnographic study uses a Bourdieusian approach to investigate the information practices of diasporic devotees and monks of a Theravada Buddhist Temple in Sydney, Australia. The insider position of one researcher brought strong insights into the data, while the theoretical approach shared with the other researchers reinforced an outsider perspective.
Findings
The Temple’s online sources and personal communication with other devotees provide a diverse range of sources that devotees use in information-based cultural practices and everyday life information practices. These practices lead to outcomes that can be identified as economic, social and cultural capital. Pin or merit emerges as an important outcome of practices which is not easily accommodated by the concept of outcome, nor by Bourdieu’s categories of capital.
Originality/value
Adding to the small number of studies concerned with information practices in a spiritual context, this study shows the value of a Bourdieusian approach in identifying the outcomes of information practices as capital, but highlights the shortcomings of applying Western concepts in non-Western settings. It proposes the possibility of a new form of capital, which will need to be tested rigorously in studies in other spiritual settings.
Details