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1 – 10 of 105This paper reports findings from a research project about human information behaviour in the context of serious leisure. Various forms of information activities in this context…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reports findings from a research project about human information behaviour in the context of serious leisure. Various forms of information activities in this context have been identified and categorised to depict common patterns of information seeking, sharing, using and producing.
Design/methodology/approach
The project adopted a qualitative approach in an interpretive paradigm using a thematic analysis method. Data-collection technique was semi-structured interview and 20 volunteers were recruited via a maximum variation sampling strategy. The collected data was transcribed and thematically analysed to identify the main concepts and categories.
Findings
The participants have been experiencing six qualities of serious leisure during their long-term engagement with their hobbies or voluntary jobs and their experiences can be fully mapped onto the serious leisure perspective. The findings also confirmed serious leisure is a unique context in terms of the diversity of information activities embedded into a wide range of individual and collective actions in this context. Information seeking and sharing in serious leisure is not only a source of personal satisfaction for the participants, it also can provide them with a sense of purpose in a meaningful journey towards self-actualization and social inclusion.
Research limitations/implications
The generalisability of the findings needs to be examined in wider populations. Nonetheless, the existing findings can be useful for follow-up research in the area.
Practical implications
This study will be useful in both policy and practice levels. In the policy level, it will be beneficial for cultural policy makers to gain a better understanding about the nature of leisure activities. In the practice level, it will be helpful for serious leisure participants to understand the value of information seeking and sharing in their leisure endeavours. Also, information professionals can use it to enhance the quality of their services for the serious leisure participants who are usually among devoted patrons of libraries, museums, archives and galleries.
Social implications
Learning about serious leisure can provide new insights on people preferences in terms of choosing different entertaining and recreational pursuits – such as indoor and outdoor hobbies – in their free time.
Originality/value
The informational aspects of serious leisure is an emerging and evolving ground of research. This paper provides empirical evidence on this topic from a specific context in the regional areas in Australia.
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Ola Pilerot and Louise Limberg
This study aims to increase knowledge about the information‐sharing activities of design research scholars.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to increase knowledge about the information‐sharing activities of design research scholars.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were carried out with selected participants from a Nordic design research network. The interview transcripts and notes from workplace‐observations were approached from a discursive point of view and analyzed in accordance with Theodore Schatzki's practice theory.
Findings
Information‐sharing activities are intrinsically intertwined with other information practices such as information seeking and use. It is further established that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be seen as important parts of the arrangements of human and non‐human entities that, together with practices, form the social site in which the scholars are active. There is a reciprocal relationship between ICTs, and other material arrangements, and the ways in which information is used and shared. ICTs function both as a source of meaning and as a preconfigurator of actions.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for the development of information systems and services aimed at scholars working in collaborative interdisciplinary settings. Library and information science scholars can benefit from the elaborated concept of information sharing.
Originality/value
Design scholars' information sharing has not been studied before. By applying a practice‐theory lens this paper presents a particular perspective. Increased knowledge about the information‐sharing activities of an epistemologically and socio‐culturally amalgamated network of scholars is the main contribution of this paper.
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General European governments slow to support IT. On a visit to London, Euripa's President Robert Weir said that European governments are clearly lagging behind those of the US and…
Abstract
General European governments slow to support IT. On a visit to London, Euripa's President Robert Weir said that European governments are clearly lagging behind those of the US and Japan in recognising the strategic and economic value of information technology. His visit followed an invitation from Graham Seddon, Managing Director of BRS Europe who believes that the European Information Industry is at a critical stage. ‘European businesses are beginning to appreciate that electronic information is easy to access and significantly contributes to a company's competitive position. A number of European information suppliers are becoming established but governments must help to reduce barriers and provide the right climate for growth,’ Seddon says.
Hoang-Minh Nguyen, Hong-Quang Nguyen, Khoi-Nguyen Tran and Xuan-Vinh Vo
This paper aims to improve the semantic-disambiguation capability of an information-retrieval system by taking advantages of a well-crafted classification tree. The unstructured…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to improve the semantic-disambiguation capability of an information-retrieval system by taking advantages of a well-crafted classification tree. The unstructured nature and sheer volume of information accessible over networks have made it drastically difficult for users to seek relevant information. Many information-retrieval methods have been developed to address this problem, and keyword-based approach is amongst the most common approach. Such an approach is often inadequate to cope with the conceptualization associated with user needs and contents. This brings about the problem of semantic ambiguation that refers to the disagreement in meaning of terms between involving parties of a communication due to polysemy, leading to increased complexity and lesser accuracy in information integration, migration, retrieval and other related activities.
Design/methodology/approach
A novel ontology-based search approach, named GeTFIRST (short for Graph-embedded Tree Fostering Information Retrieval SysTem), is proposed to disambiguate keywords semantically. The contribution is twofold. First, a search strategy is proposed to prune irrelevant concepts for accuracy improvement using our Graph-embedded Tree (GeT)-based ontology. Second, a path-based ranking algorithm is proposed to incorporate and reward the content specificity.
Findings
An empirical evaluation was performed on United States Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) patent datasets to compare our approach with full-text patent search approaches. The results showed that GeTFIRST handled the ambiguous keywords with higher keyword-disambiguation accuracy than traditional search approaches.
Originality/value
The search approach of this paper copes with the semantic ambiguation by using our proposed GeT-based ontology and a path-based ranking algorithm.
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The purpose of this conceptual paper is to suggest that the growing sociocultural theorisation of risk calls for a more robust research focus on the role that information and in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this conceptual paper is to suggest that the growing sociocultural theorisation of risk calls for a more robust research focus on the role that information and in particular, information literacy, plays in mediating hazards and danger.
Design/methodology/approach
Starting by tracing how information has been conceptualised in relation to risk through technoscientific, cognitive and sociocultural lenses, the paper then focuses on emerging sociocultural understandings of risk to present a research agenda for a renewed sociocultural exploration of how risk is shaped through the enactment of information literacy.
Findings
The paper identifies and examines how information literacy shapes four key aspects of risk, including risk perception, risk management, risk-taking and “at-risk” populations. These four aspects are further connected through broader themes of learning, identity, work and power, which form the basis of the sociocultural risk research agenda.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study bringing together the many understandings related to how risk is informed and establishes risk as a key area of interest within information literacy research.
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Carlos A. Meisel, Jose D. Meisel, Helga Bermeo-Andrade, Laura Carranza and Helmut Zsifkovits
The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of collaborative relationships and assess according to the project size, the influence of the contributory factors in…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of collaborative relationships and assess according to the project size, the influence of the contributory factors in shaping collaboration network structure in projects developed in global supply chains (GSC).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper used a case study methodology applied to eight global projects developed by an Austrian company leader in global market intra-logistics solutions and warehouse automation. The cases were studied by two approaches in network analysis. First, visual and descriptive analysis to describe structural aspects of the network. Second, stochastic network analysis to evaluate the influence of contributory factors in the structure of the collaboration network.
Findings
The results evidence that independently of the project size and project manager influence, project team roles (PTR) who have a reciprocal communication among other PTR tend to have a higher collaboration intensity (CI). Additionally, the results highlight the influence of the project manager in shaping the collaboration network in standard projects (STP) and small projects (SMP). According to the project size, the results show that the PTR that form complete triangles or cluster or who communicate frequently among each other tend to have a high CI, being more evident these tendencies in large-scale projects than STP and SMP.
Originality/value
This research provides a framework to identify the key actors and contributory factors in shaping collaborative relationships in GSC. The findings could be used to support the decision-making process and formulation strategies for effective collaborative relationship management in GSC.
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Elaine K. Bailey and Morton Cotlar
Addresses the critical need for managers to be trained in the useof current technology. Also discusses strategies to manage moreeffectively with technology in the international…
Abstract
Addresses the critical need for managers to be trained in the use of current technology. Also discusses strategies to manage more effectively with technology in the international marketplace.
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To provide insights around navigating, coping and tackling racial inequalities at university through three key areas: peer support through sharing stories, motivating others in…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide insights around navigating, coping and tackling racial inequalities at university through three key areas: peer support through sharing stories, motivating others in the call to action through developing an anti-racist socially just consciousness and student staff co-creation to build belonging and community at university.
Design/methodology/approach
Varied approaches are included around pedagogy, curriculum, peer support, using creative outputs, sharing stories and valuing student wisdom through co-creation underpinned by empirical research.
Findings
I concede that establishing race equity in higher education continues to be an ongoing struggle, complete with trials, tribulations and trauma. As “The Forced Silence” outlines, to affect any changes in the institution or in the community and wider society, the changes have to take place at the peer level initially, as it is people and individuals who make up the system. This means that tackling racism is everyone’s business and we all have a responsibility for this work. Privileged folks who are seemingly disaffected by racial discrimination are indeed misguided, as racism is an illness in society and significantly harms our global community. Within higher education institutions, educators occupy a position of power (Hearn, 2012), which I argue we must use in a socially just manner to support all our students to succeed. By embodying and enacting care, compassion and respect within our practice, we can then instil the same in our students, just as we would do for our own children. Our students, just like our children, can then go into society as holistic and socially just conscious members of our community, which I argue is even more important than graduating with a good university degree.
Originality/value
I use a range of original poetry and theory with a view to supporting my academic professional practice in higher education.
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Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan, Wafaa Laalaoui, Fatma Hokal, Mariam Tareq and Laila Ahmad
Reverse logistics (RL) has become integral in modern supply chains, with many companies investing in circular economy (CE), a recuperative and effective industrial economy. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Reverse logistics (RL) has become integral in modern supply chains, with many companies investing in circular economy (CE), a recuperative and effective industrial economy. The traditional linear model triggered many negative environmental consequences such as climate change, ocean pollution, loss of biodiversity and land degradation. The development of RL strategies that support the transition between RL to CE is crucial. The purpose of this paper is to connect RL with CE in the context of Industry 4.0 and develop a hierarchal structure to explore the relationship between RL and CE critical success factors in the context of Industry 4.0.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used both qualitative and quantitative approach. Literature review in collaboration with the Delphi method is used to identify and validate critical success factors. Then, the ISM-based model and MICMAC method were used to determine the relationship between CE and RL success factors and its driving and dependence power.
Findings
This study result shows that waste reduction, skilled employees and expert's involvement and top management commitment and support will provide guidelines and paths for implementing CE and RL, leading to the competitiveness of a firm.
Practical implications
The findings provide managerial insight, particularly useful to third-party logistics companies' managers who are looking to implement RL and CE, to help prioritize where to invest company resources to generate prime difference. Furthermore, this study also identified Industry 4.0 technologies, which would tackle top identified critical success factors within the hierarchical model such as block chain and digital platforms.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the connection between RL and CE in the context of Industry 4.0 that determines the critical success factors enabling sustainable inter-firm collaboration.
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When the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines international awareness was heightened about the efforts of NGOs worldwide to ban…
Abstract
When the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines international awareness was heightened about the efforts of NGOs worldwide to ban landmines. The international Mine Ban Treaty was signed on March 1, 1999 after serious use of the Internet to communicate how critical this was to global safety. The methods of sharing information between foreign governments and being able to track this critical communication is central to understanding how the treaty gained visibility and how NGOs created coalitions to assure the success of this work. This article talks about global communications and sharing that could not have taken place with speed, worldwide coverage, efficiency and cost‐effectiveness, if the Internet had not been born.
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