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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2021

Jing Yuan and Lingyu Guo

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the status quo of digital poverty among adolescents in China, analyze the characteristics and the causes, then propose countermeasures…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the status quo of digital poverty among adolescents in China, analyze the characteristics and the causes, then propose countermeasures to provide reference for alleviating digital poverty among adolescents.

Design/methodology/approach

The study developed an initial scale of digital poverty among adolescents and used survey data to revise the scale, on this basis, formed a questionnaire, which was distributed to nationwide adolescents. The study developed its findings from the 837 valid questionnaire respondents.

Findings

The digital poverty among adolescents is mainly shown in the poverty of digital ability, digital psychology and digital environment and presents the following characteristics, that is, insufficient information seeking ability and information selection ability needing to be improved; equipped with basic information awareness but lack of information evaluation ability; lack of patience in obtaining information and inclined to the principle of least effort; imperfect knowledge structure and immature psychological emotions and vulnerable to external interference; having a certain relationship with the information environment, but not significantly affected by regional economic differences. Finally, the study puts forward countermeasures to alleviate digital poverty among adolescents.

Practical implications

Understanding of the digital poverty among adolescents will likely demand rethinking into a number of issues ignored by information poverty studies.

Originality/value

Few studies focus on digital poverty among adolescents. This study developed an initial scale of digital poverty among adolescents and revised it by survey data, then conducted an empirical study through questionnaire, which could expand the understanding of information poverty in the field of library and information science.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 77 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2020

Xiaobo Mou and Fang Xu

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors impacting information poverty in western China and investigate to what extent these determinants contribute to information

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors impacting information poverty in western China and investigate to what extent these determinants contribute to information poverty in these areas.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used to analyze 232 valid responses collected from a survey to examine the research model and hypotheses in this study.

Findings

The results indicate that information literacy, information supply and information and communication technologies (ICTs) positively and significantly affect information poverty, while social prejudice and information orientation had no significant effects on information poverty.

Practical implications

Public libraries, government departments and other institutions should pay attention to the significant impact of information literacy, information supply and ICTs on information poverty and formulate corresponding systems and policies to alleviate or reduce information poverty.

Originality/values

In the past, few studies have focused on information poverty in western China and most of the existing research on information poverty adopts qualitative research methods, such as interview, systematic literature review and so on, while quantitative research is rare. In addition, the focus of these research studies was on one or two aspects, and a few of them can systematically study the influencing factors of information poverty. Inspired by the theories of information literacy, social prejudice and information poverty, this study comprehensively used a questionnaire survey and SEM to investigate the influences of information literacy, social prejudice, information supply, information orientation and ICTs on information poverty.

Details

The Electronic Library , vol. 38 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2022

Millicent N. Mabi, Heather L. O'Brien and Lisa P. Nathan

Skilled, well-educated African immigrants arrive in Canada with aspirations for more opportunities and a better life, but too often end up with few employment options and…

Abstract

Purpose

Skilled, well-educated African immigrants arrive in Canada with aspirations for more opportunities and a better life, but too often end up with few employment options and precarious jobs. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of African immigrants attempting to locate suitable, well-compensated employment in Canada. More specifically, this paper reveals how long-standing information poverty frameworks from the field of information behavior are inadequate for understanding intersectional and broader socio-cultural forces influence access to information and employment precarity among African immigrants.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with twenty-five African immigrants in Metro Vancouver. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore participants' employment information seeking and perceptions of information availability using Britz's information poverty framework.

Findings

Participants encountered a range of difficulties when seeking information related to employment, including content, process and identity-related challenges, in alignment with Britz's framework. However, the framework did not fully encompass their information seeking experiences. Limited access to relevant information impacted participants' ability to make timely career decisions, and there was evidence of information inequity resulting from a mismatch between information provision and participants' multifaceted identities.

Originality/value

This research applied Britz's information poverty approaches and provided a map of participants' responses to information seeking challenges. Participants did not fit into the category of information poor as defined by Britz. The findings suggest that the discourse on information poverty would benefit from considerations of the diverse backgrounds of information seekers and the incorporation of cultural dimensions to understandings of information access, information poverty and technology use for information seeking.

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2006

Jutta Haider and David Bawden

The purpose of this research is to investigate and critically assess the notions of “information poverty” in LIS by highlighting its connections with development discourse.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to investigate and critically assess the notions of “information poverty” in LIS by highlighting its connections with development discourse.

Design/methodology/approach

The article takes a discourse analysis approach, which starts from Michel Foucault's understanding of discourse. “Information poverty” is posited as a statement and investigated in its relation to other statements. The focus is on discursive procedures that emerge from the repeated connections between statements. The article draws on the interpretative analysis of 35 English language articles published in scholarly and professional LIS journals between 1995 and 2005.

Findings

Information poverty” and the “information poor” are established as being assigned specific positions in the discourse of LIS as the result of overlapping, sometimes conflicting discursive procedures. The concept emerges as a possibility in LIS by anchoring it in the dominant discourse of development. Traces of development discourse surface in LIS and contribute to the legitimisation of the concept of “information poverty” by lending it authority.

Research limitations/implications

The material selection is linguistically biased. Results and findings are fully applicable only in an English language context.

Originality/value

The article relates the professional discourse of LIS to the dominant discourse of development and thus highlights some of the assumptions upon which the concept of “information poverty” is built. Moreover, the article is intended to contribute to the further development of discourse analysis in LIS.

Details

New Library World, vol. 107 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2011

Jackie MacDonald, Peter Bath and Andrew Booth

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into managers' decision‐making practices when challenged by inappropriate information quality, and to test frameworks developed from…

4236

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into managers' decision‐making practices when challenged by inappropriate information quality, and to test frameworks developed from research to see whether they apply to these managers.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory, multiple case study used the critical incident technique in 19 semi‐structured interviews. Responses were analyzed using framework analysis, a matrix‐based content analysis technique, and then considered with respect to the research literature on information overload, information poverty and satisficing.

Findings

The managers in this study tended to satisfice (terminate the search process and make a good enough decision, while recognizing that information gaps remain). Those challenged by too little information appear to fit descriptions of information poverty, while others described aspects of information overload.

Research limitations/implications

A shortage of information behavior research on managers makes it difficult to conclude whether these results are typical of managers in general or of healthcare services managers specifically. Further research is needed to confirm initial findings and address questions suggested by this paper.

Practical implications

This paper suggests that existing definitions for the concepts of information poverty and information overload can be used to describe managers' experiences.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to what is known about information behavior in managers in general and healthcare services managers specifically. It may serve as an example of how to consider new research findings within existing frameworks.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 67 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 September 2021

Walter Matli and Mpho Ngoepe

The objective of this study is to present evidence regarding how young people, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) in South Africa, lack literacy skills and…

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study is to present evidence regarding how young people, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) in South Africa, lack literacy skills and access to enabling resources to actively search and navigate information services systems that are primarily web-based. Information Poverty Theory is adopted to better understand the technological and social strata challenges experienced by young NEET people.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used semi-structured interviews for collecting data over two months in 2018, employing snowball sampling with 24 key participants, representing a diversity of educational backgrounds and previous experience of economic participation.

Findings

The findings of this study suggest that most interviewed young people, who are NEET, lack advanced information literacy and digital skills to access information services. The results also indicate that access to information services that are primed for online information is a challenge for most of these NEET young people residing in underserviced communities. The high cost of an Internet connection means that the Internet is out of reach for most low-income households. In communities that are underserviced with no adequate information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, people residing in such areas are subjected to living in circumstances where there is poverty and thus a lack of access to online information.

Research limitations/implications

This paper reports on data collected in 2018 using intense interviews, while acknowledging limitations in terms of the sample size. Hence, it is not fully representative of the whole population of young people, who are NEET, residing in the Gauteng Province of South Africa.

Practical implications

The findings illustrate the need for further collaboration among relevant stakeholders to strengthen existing programmes and for stronger partnerships. The arguments presented herein enhance knowledge and understanding concerning the digital literacy skills divide that exists among young people who are NEET. It includes a discussion to contribute to policy development.

Originality/value

This study focuses on challenges young people who are NEET experience when looking for work and developmental opportunities. This qualitative study adopts Information Poverty Theory and uses prior studies to link the undertaken survey and research. It is expected that this study may serve as a pilot for future studies and may also contribute to the ongoing discussions around the use of ICTs on their use and access, especially the effect on young people when searching for information related to jobs and other developmental opportunities using online services.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2007

Jutta Haider and David Bawden

To provide an analysis of the notion of “information poverty” in library and information science (LIS) by investigating concepts, interests and strategies leading to its…

5104

Abstract

Purpose

To provide an analysis of the notion of “information poverty” in library and information science (LIS) by investigating concepts, interests and strategies leading to its construction and thus to examine its role as a constitutive element of the professional discourse.

Design/methodology/approach

Starting from a Foucauldian notion of discourse, “information poverty” is examined as a statement in its relation to other statements in order to highlight assumptions and factors contributing to its construction. The analysis is based on repeated and close reading of 35 English language articles published in LIS journals between 1995 and 2005.

Findings

Four especially productive discursive procedures are identified: economic determinism, technological determinism and the “information society”, historicising the “information poor”, and the library profession's moral obligation and responsibility.

Research limitations/implications

The material selection is linguistically and geographically biased. Most of the included articles originate in English‐speaking countries. Therefore, results and findings are fully applicable only in an English language context.

Originality/value

The focus on overlapping and at times conflicting discursive procedures, i.e. the results of alliances and connections between statements, highlights how the “information poor” emerge as a category in LIS as the product of institutionally contingent, professional discourse. By challenging often unquestioned underlying assumptions, this article is intended to contribute to a critical examination of LIS discourse, as well as to the analysis of the discourses of information, which dominate contemporary society. It is furthermore seen to add to the development of discourse analytical approaches in LIS research.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 63 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2013

Allam Ahmed and Amer Al‐Roubaie

The purpose of this paper is to assess and evaluate the role of information and communication technologies as a proposed solution to reduce poverty in the Arab countries and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess and evaluate the role of information and communication technologies as a proposed solution to reduce poverty in the Arab countries and therefore achieve sustainable development.

Design/methodology/approach

In this article, the authors have taken a somewhat extensive review of the different aspects of ICTs in DCs with particular focus on Arab countries. Given the current poor conditions and isolation of Arab countries from the rest of the world, a number of fundamental research questions are addressed.

Findings

Empowering nations with ICTs could increase productivity, promote human development, create knowledge, disseminate information and reduce poverty.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the importance of building ICTs capacity for both promoting human development and enhancing capabilities of people to participate in the economy.

Details

World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5945

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2013

Kathleen Diga, Fortune Nwaiwu and Paul Plantinga

The purpose of this paper is to understand how policymakers in different African countries negotiate the complex relationship between information and communication technologies

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how policymakers in different African countries negotiate the complex relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and poverty reduction. The authors adopt a novel perspective on this problem by considering how the broader policy discourse and associated mechanisms tend to address (or neglect) the multiple dimensions of poverty.

Design/methodology/approach

A textual analysis was conducted on selected ICT and poverty reduction policy documents from Uganda, South Africa and Nigeria, between 2005 and 2012.

Findings

The findings show that the focus of ICT policy interventions continues to be on increasing economic capabilities amongst the poor. There is recognition in all three cases that human, political and social capital are also important. The continued dominance of an economic focus within ICT policies is supported by a techno-deterministic policy discourse, which tends to downplay social factors. Meanwhile, poverty reduction strategies adopt a similarly techno-deterministic perspective on the role of ICTs in development.

Practical implications

While there is negligible evidence of methods that could enable a more contested, discursive policy environment, there are signs in South Africa and Uganda of a strong but relatively high-level (and largely rhetorical) interest in participatory approaches to ICT implementation which may, if appropriated fully by policymakers and their agents, lead to a more contextually anchored approach to ICT-supported poverty reduction around a diverse mix of poverty dimensions.

Originality/value

This paper has developed a novel framework for analysing the extent to which the multiple dimensions of poverty are being addressed within African ICT policy and whether the appropriate institutional arrangements and policy processes are being adopted to do this.

Article
Publication date: 19 October 2010

Liangzhi Yu

The purpose of this paper is to examine the multifaceted information disadvantages facing the so‐called information poor in today's society. It has two specific objectives: to…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the multifaceted information disadvantages facing the so‐called information poor in today's society. It has two specific objectives: to identify, from the empirical evidence of individuals' daily and regular information practices, meaningful constructs for defining information inequality; and to investigate how the “information poor” characterise on these constructs in comparison with others.

Design/methodology/approach

The study developed its findings in relation to the above objectives inductively from the interview transcripts of 73 people of different social statuses and occupations regarding their daily and regular information practices.

Findings

Three concepts emerged as meaningful constructs to define information inequality, hence to describe the information poor: individuals' information resource bases, information practices, and information assets. The information poor are found to be disadvantaged in all these aspects. They are first disadvantaged by limited freedom and/or opportunities in claiming society's vast and rapidly increasing information resources into their own information resource bases; then by the constraint of their information practices in developing their information resource bases and obtaining information utilities from these resources; and further more by impoverished information assets to empower themselves in normal and problematic situations.

Practical implications

Understanding of the information poor as sketched above will likely demand further research into a number of issues/areas hitherto ignored by information inequality studies.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first to address empirically one of the most fundamental questions in information inequality studies; it extends library and information science understanding of the information poor hitherto dominated by the information deficiency thesis.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 66 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

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