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1 – 10 of over 9000Stella Ngozi Anasi, Folasade Olufunke Lawal and Abiola Paul-Ozieh
Community pharmacists need good retrieval skills and competencies for effective use of online information resources for professional practice. This study aims to ascertain the…
Abstract
Purpose
Community pharmacists need good retrieval skills and competencies for effective use of online information resources for professional practice. This study aims to ascertain the internet literacy skills of community pharmacists in Lagos State, Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey research design was adopted for the study. Convenience sampling technique was used in selecting community pharmacists. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection, whereas descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis.
Findings
The study revealed that community pharmacists possess requisite internet literacy skills for effective use of online health information resources. There is a positive relationship between informational and operational internet literacy skills [r = 0.820, p(0.000) < 0.05], informational and strategic internet literacy skills [r = 0.838, p(0.000) < 0.05] and operational and strategic internet literacy skills [r = 0.810, p(0.000) < 0.05]. There is a statistically significant gender difference in the level of skillfulness in internet use based on self-reported skills. There is a significant relative contribution of demographic variables (gender, age, educational qualification and number of years in professional practice) to the level of skillfulness in internet use among community pharmacists.
Practical implications
To improve the use of online internet resources, the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, should conduct training needs assessment regularly to offer the right levels of internet use skills. They must be proactive and incorporate training on computer and internet skills into their annual conferences and zonal meetings. They should also prepare and give internet use manuals to their members to read and understand how to use the internet more effectively. Community pharmacists, especially the female pharmacists, should also take advantage of free online training sessions called webinars to improve their internet literacy skills to cope with rapid changes in the e-environment, as well as to boost the quality of health-care services delivery. Pharmacists’ Council of Nigeria, the agency responsible for regulating and controlling the education, training and practice of pharmacy, should include an internet literacy skills module in the Mandatory Professional Continuing Education Programme.
Originality/value
The study investigated the internet literacy skills of community pharmacists in Lagos State and identified the gender gap in level of skillfulness. This study also explored the relationship between level of skillfulness and internet use, as well as the relationship between community pharmacists’ informational, operational and strategic internet literacy skills.
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Jie Xiong and Meiyun Zuo
More and more older adults begin to use the mobile internet to obtain information. However, the quality of information obtained through mobile internet by older adults is hard to…
Abstract
Purpose
More and more older adults begin to use the mobile internet to obtain information. However, the quality of information obtained through mobile internet by older adults is hard to be guaranteed. The purpose of this paper is to study the role of family support when older adults obtain information from mobile internet.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a survey of 263 older adults who owned mobile internet devices such as smartphones or tablet PCs. The theory hypotheses are tested using partial least squares techniques.
Findings
For older adults, family support is the influencing factor of mobile internet literacy improvement. Family emotional support has stronger impacts on the improvement both of mobile internet skill literacy and of mobile internet information literacy than family cognitive support has. Furthermore, the improvement of both mobile internet skill literacy and of mobile internet information literacy hs positive impacts on the quality improvement of obtained information by older adults.
Practical implications
This paper gives advice on how family members can support older adults during their obtaining information from mobile internet to improve their mobile internet literacy and quality of obtained information.
Originality/value
This study examines the factors that influence mobile internet literacy and quality of obtained information among older adults from the perspective of family support in the Chinese mobile internet context. The research results enrich the internet literacy theory and the information quality theory.
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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.
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Since 1973, Reference Services Review has published an annual annotated bibliography of materials focused on library instruction and, most recently, information literacy…
Abstract
Since 1973, Reference Services Review has published an annual annotated bibliography of materials focused on library instruction and, most recently, information literacy. Publications addressing academic library activities continue to be represented in the largest numbers. The continuing growth of electronic information has made librarians, in all types of libraries, more aware of the need to provide ongoing instruction to library users.
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Laura Hosman and Martin Andrés Pérez Comisso
Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have transformed the lives of many people around the world, yet billions remain unconnected. While many initiatives attempt to…
Abstract
Purpose
Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have transformed the lives of many people around the world, yet billions remain unconnected. While many initiatives attempt to “connect the unconnected,” initiatives focused on access and skills-development alone will still fall short. Based on the authors’ experience with the SolarSPELL initiative, this study aims to propose using the concept of socio-technical awareness as a step forward in conceptualizing a more accurate picture of capabilities necessary to enable people to make meaningful use of the internet.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses an integrative literature review for the ideas related to the digital divide, digital inclusion and digital literacies, as well as the applied work of the authors in the SolarSPELL initiative, to develop the concept of socio-technical awareness, which is presented as a method for understanding empowered, meaningful internet use.
Findings
The argument is made that access, skills- and literacy-development are necessary but insufficient conditions for meaningful ICTs use. Accordingly, a third concept, socio-technical awareness, is introduced, and the case is made for including this concept in both application and measurement of meaningful use of ICTs.
Practical implications
The design of digital inclusion initiatives should focus on increasing socio-technical awareness to empower users to make meaningful use of digital technologies.
Originality/value
Taking a step further than most assessments of the digital divide or digital inclusion, this study proposes that to achieve meaningful internet use, people need access, requisite skills development and socio-technical awareness, to be able to make informed, empowered decisions about ICT use.
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Tessa Withorn, Carolyn Caffrey, Joanna Messer Kimmitt, Jillian Eslami, Anthony Andora, Maggie Clarke, Nicole Patch, Karla Salinas Guajardo and Syann Lunsford
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2018.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of all 422 sources, and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians and anyone interested as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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This study aims to build context-specific measurement tools to assess first-year students' digital literacy skills. The purpose is to collect data to provide more meaningful skills…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to build context-specific measurement tools to assess first-year students' digital literacy skills. The purpose is to collect data to provide more meaningful skills support for new students and raise their awareness about the digital literacy skills fundamental to academic study.
Design/methodology/approach
A set of three scales were developed and piloted at the beginning of 2018 and 2019 fall semesters: (1) a self-assessment survey, (2) an online test to collect indirect evidence and (3) a set of performance tasks. In both rounds, the scales were examined for reliability and construct validity and improved accordingly. The third round, conducted with a different scope, enabled a final reliability check for the online test.
Findings
The results indicate that first-year students need support with higher-order digital literacy skills. Low performers tend to overestimate their skills, so self-assessment surveys fall short in providing needs assessment but provide evidence of awareness when combined with the other scales. Performance tasks provide direct evidence but are not practical with larger numbers of participants. An online test to deliver indirect evidence works well but requires careful reliability considerations.
Research limitations/implications
The conceptual framework for digital literacies offered in this study was narrowed down to the immediate skills to maintain a feasible scope. The sample size was small in both rounds, but the findings gave insights regarding the skills under scrutiny. Similarly, the scales were subject to close examination and were continuously improved, and the imperfections were monitored carefully while drawing conclusions.
Practical implications
All of the three scales are ready to be used. Depending on the purpose, they can be given to first-year students together or separately to define their needs for support. Both versions of the survey and performance tasks are presented in the paper, and the test can be found at this link: Digital Literacy Test for Preview.
Originality/value
There are three methods to measure digital skills. Although there are studies using individual or paired methods, this study is distinctive as it combines all three. While other scales to measure digital literacy skills exist, they are not appropriate in every context. Therefore, this study will serve as an example for those wishing to devise context-specific scales.
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Despite the ever-increasing importance of cultivating information, communication and technology literacy skills among college students, they have yet to be related to…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the ever-increasing importance of cultivating information, communication and technology literacy skills among college students, they have yet to be related to comprehensive measuring instruments. A glance at the empirical literature reveals that most pertinent scales have been confined to measuring Internet literacy skills, whereas educators in the 21st century advocate an inclusive conceptualization of ICT literacy. Such a comprehensive conceptualization embodies technical, critical, cognitive and emotional competencies. Additionally, more empirical evidence is needed to indicate gaps in testing measurement invariance of ICT literacy scales across genders or cultures. To that end, the current study aims to adapt and cross-validate an ICT literacy self-efficacy scale across gender by testing the measurement invariance using a multiple-sampling confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA). Furthermore, the current study aims to verify the ICT literacy self-efficacy scale's psychometric properties to establish its construct validity and understand the scale's underlying factorial structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study has administered the scale to a cross-sectional sample of 3560 undergraduate students enrolled in six universities in the Sultanate of Oman.
Findings
The results have revealed that the ICT literacy self-efficacy exhibits satisfactory indices of construct validity. On the other hand, the results of MCFA demonstrate that the differences in the goodness of fit indices between the nested models and the baseline model were below the cut-off criterion of 0.01, indicating invariance. Therefore, the scale has proved to be amenable for comparing genders on their ICT literacy self-efficacy using an one-way multivariate analysis of variance.
Originality/value
The study has several implications for research and pedagogical practices. The study provides empirical evidence for establishing ICT literacy self-efficacy as a distinct high-domain construct of task-specific self-efficacy beliefs.
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Maedeh Ghorbanian Zolbin, Isto Huvila and Shahrokh Nikou
The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between elderly people's health literacy skills and those people's decision to make use of digital health service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between elderly people's health literacy skills and those people's decision to make use of digital health service platforms. Despite the substantial influence of digitisation on the delivery of healthcare services, understanding how health intervention strategies might help empower elderly people's health literacy skills is critical.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyses the existing trends in research on the convergence of health literacy, health intervention programmes and digital health service platforms by reviewing 34 studies published between 2000 and 2020.
Findings
The findings of the review indicate three primary themes (health literacy skills, health management competency and attitude/confidence), which provide a summary of the current literature, and in all three the results show that health intervention programmes help to enhance health literacy skills of elderly people. Based on the review results and by organising the fragmented status quo of health intervention research, the authors develop a comprehensive research model and identify future research directions for research in this domain.
Practical implications
The findings will be useful to health professionals in two ways: (1) the findings provide practical information about the growing need to implement health literacy intervention programmes to satisfy elderly people's appetite for accessing health services due to cognitive and physiological impairments, and (2) the finding help them to understand that with digital health platforms, elderly people have quicker access to health services, improving the quality of care provided to them.
Originality/value
This paper presents a comprehensive research model for analysing the impact of health literacy skills on older people's ability and intention to access digital health information sources, considering various health intervention approaches.
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