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1 – 10 of 971Haleema Saadia and Muhammad Asif Naveed
This research examined the effects of information literacy on lifelong learning, creativity, and work performance among journalists in Pakistan.
Abstract
Purpose
This research examined the effects of information literacy on lifelong learning, creativity, and work performance among journalists in Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey research design was applied to conduct this research. The participants were recruited through a stratified convenient sampling process from the press clubs of four provinces (e.g. Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Baluchistan) and the federal capital Islamabad with the consent of relevant authorities for data collection. An online questionnaire was distributed among these journalists and a total of 1,089 responses were received. The data were analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS.
Findings
The results revealed that these journalists perceived themselves as information literate. The information literacy (IL) skills of journalists appeared to have a direct and positive effect on their lifelong learning, creativity, and work performance. In other words, the lifelong learning, creativity, and work performance of journalists increase as their levels of IL skills increase.
Practical implications
These results generated useful insights for academicians and organizations about the importance of IL in the workplace and its influence on organizational effectiveness and performance in gaining a sustainable competitive advantage. This knowledge might be crucial for media employers to initiate training programs for journalists to impart IL education.
Originality/value
This research would be a worthwhile contribution to the existing research on workplace IL, particularly in the context of journalists' workplace as no such comprehensive study using these variables appeared so far.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-06-2022-0345.
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Annemaree Lloyd and Alison Hicks
The study focussed on information literacy practices, specifically on how higher education staff managed the transition from established and routinised in-person teaching…
Abstract
Purpose
The study focussed on information literacy practices, specifically on how higher education staff managed the transition from established and routinised in-person teaching, learning and working practices to institutionally mandated remote or hybrid working patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative study forms part of a broader research project, examining how information literacy and information practices unfolded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Phase Three of this project, which forms the subject of this paper, employed semi-structured interviews to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace and, in particular, the role that technology and digital literacy plays in enabling or constraining information literacy practices necessary for the operationalisation of work.
Findings
The complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a fracturing of workplace information environments and worker information landscapes by disrupting all aspects of academic life. The study recognises that whilst the practice of information literacy is predicated on access to modalities of information, this practice is also shaped by material conditions. This has implications for digital literacy which, in attempting to set itself apart from information literacy practice, has negated the significant role that the body and the corporeal modality play as important sources of information that enable transition to occur. In relation to information resilience, the bridging concept of fracture has enabled the authors to consider the informational impact of crisis and transition on people's information experiences and people's capacity to learn to go on when faced with precarity. The concept of grief is introduced into the analysis.
Originality/value
This study presents original research.
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Franklin Gyamfi Agyemang, Nicoline Wessels and Madely Du Preez
This study examines what constitutes competence and how a novice becoming a competent weaver is enabled by information literacy in the fabric-weavers’ workplace landscape.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines what constitutes competence and how a novice becoming a competent weaver is enabled by information literacy in the fabric-weavers’ workplace landscape.
Design/methodology/approach
Ethnography as a research design was employed using participant observation and semi-structured interviews as the data collection techniques.
Findings
Competence constitutes the demonstration of Kente knowledge and mentorship capability enabled by information literacy through access to the on-the-loom and off-the-loom information in the Kente-weaving landscape.
Research limitations/implications
This study explains how the transition from a novice weaver to a competent weaver is underpinned by information literacy.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies that contribute to the understanding of information literacy in the craft workplace. The study proposes a framework for weavers' information literacy practice.
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Franklin Gyamfi Agyemang, Nicoline Wessels and Madely du Preez
This paper aims to examine the ways becoming information literate relates to the material objects in the Kente-weaving landscape.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the ways becoming information literate relates to the material objects in the Kente-weaving landscape.
Design/methodology/approach
An ethnographic research design was adopted wherein data was collected using participant observation and a semi-structured interview with 24 participants through their roles as either master weaver, junior weaver or novice weaver. Thematic analysis through a practice-based approach to information literacy frames the analysis of this study.
Findings
Information literacy relates to the material objects in terms of developing the know-how knowledge regarding the Kente-weaving tools used as well as what constitutes the quality of Kente fabrics.
Practical implications
Information literacy goes beyond having theoretical knowledge of the material objects of an information landscape. It is practical, not merely knowing the names of the material objects and what they are literary used for.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that contributes to the understanding of how information literacy relates to material objects in the craft workplace.
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Effective use of data is critically important for the provision of health services. A large proportion of employees in health organisations work in non-clinical roles and play a…
Abstract
Purpose
Effective use of data is critically important for the provision of health services. A large proportion of employees in health organisations work in non-clinical roles and play a major part in organisational information flows. However, their practice, data-related capabilities and learning needs have been rarely studied. The purpose of this paper is to investigate issues of capabilities and learning needs related to employees' interactions with data in non-clinical work roles.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a mixed-method approach. Qualitative methods were used to explore issues, and survey was administered to gather additional data.
Findings
Data use and related capabilities at the workplace are highly contextual. A range of general, core and data-specific capabilities, underpinned by transferable skills and personal traits, enable successful interactions with data. Continuous learning is needed in most areas related to data use.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted in a large public-health organisation in Australia, which is not representative of unique organisations elsewhere. The study has implications for the provision of health services, workplace learning and education.
Practical implications
Findings have implications for organisational decisions related to data-use and workplace learning, and for formal education and lifelong learning.
Originality/value
The study contributes to closing a research gap in understanding interactions with data, capabilities and learning needs of employees in non-clinical work roles. Capabilities continuum presented in this paper can be used to inform education, training and service provision. The workplace-based results contribute to theoretical considerations of capabilities required for work in technology-rich environments.
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Maria Aslam, Syeda Hina Batool and Kanwal Ameen
The study aims to develop a validated scale to measure the workplace information literacy (WIL) skills of Quality Enhancement Cell’s staff based on the i-skills model.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to develop a validated scale to measure the workplace information literacy (WIL) skills of Quality Enhancement Cell’s staff based on the i-skills model.
Design/methodology/approach
To develop scale, a multi-stage scale development procedure was adopted. The comprehensive WIL scale was developed and validated in four phases. The first phase involved reviewing literature, content and face validity through experts. In the later stages, through survey method, the construct validity was tested with the application of the exploratory factor analysis and principal component analysis. The scale reliability further calculated through Cronbach’s alpha internal reliability coefficient. The SPSS was used to test and validate the designed scale.
Findings
A multi-dimensional, reliable 62-item scale classified into eight factors was developed. Results indicate that the designed scale achieved internal, face, content, construct validity and reliability. The refined scale has the potential to be used in similar context, however, can be modified for diverse contexts and situations.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first validated scale of WIL based on the i-skills model. Looking at the prior developed scales, this tool is unique in nature to focus on the skills of administrative staff.
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Carolyn Caffrey, Hannah Lee, Tessa Withorn, Elizabeth Galoozis, Maggie Clarke, Thomas Philo, Jillian Eslami, Dana Ospina, Aric Haas, Katie Paris Kohn, Kendra Macomber, Hallie Clawson and Wendolyn Vermeer
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications organized thematically and detailing, study populations, results and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for academic library practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This article annotates 340 English-language periodical articles, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2022. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Elsevier SCOPUS and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Sources selected were published in 2022 and included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, subject terms, or author supplied keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations were made summarizing the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was then thematically categorized and organized for academic librarians to be able to skim and use the annotated bibliography efficiently.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of 340 sources from 144 unique publications, and highlights publications that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions. Further analysis of the sources and authorship are provided.
Originality/value
The information is primarily of use to academic librarians, researchers, and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy published within 2022.
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Florence Lunkuse, John C. Munene, Joseph M. Ntayi, Arthur Sserwanga and James Kagaari
This study aims to examine the relationship between tool adoption and information literacy within smallholder farmers (SHFs).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between tool adoption and information literacy within smallholder farmers (SHFs).
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was used to gather data for this quantitative study from 225 SHFs. Structural equation modelling was done to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The findings established that tool adoption dimensions (Information and communication technologies (ICT) acceptance, language use and information culture) positively and significantly influenced information literacy. Information culture had the strongest impact.
Research limitations/implications
The study enriches the situated learning theory (SLT) literature by introducing tool adoption as a predictor of information literacy in a new context of SHFs. Use of tools as independent variables is a positive deviation from previous studies that have used them as mediating variables. Despite the contributions, the cross-sectional design study undermines the ability to solicit more detailed perspectives from the lived in experience of the respondents.
Practical implications
Managers should promote usage of context-specific tools like local radio stations and mobile phones, but also use language tailored to farmer contexts when disseminating information. Policymakers should leverage on social and cultural settings when designing information interventions.
Social implications
The study highlights critical factors that significantly promote information use for improved productivity for SHFs, cumulatively increasing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Socially, findings may reduce on their poverty levels of farmers.
Originality/value
This study offers a novel perspective in information literacy domain by using the SLT to delineate contextual tools that are paramount in predicting of information literacy in an under research informal context of SHFs.
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Alemayehu Molla, Victor Gekara, Stan Karanasios and Darryn Snell
Information technology (IT) personnels’ technical, business and behavioral skills are critical enablers for generating IT value. In an increasingly digitalized working environment…
Abstract
Purpose
Information technology (IT) personnels’ technical, business and behavioral skills are critical enablers for generating IT value. In an increasingly digitalized working environment where non-IT employees participate in digital innovations, a focus on IT personnels’ skills only doesn’t meet researchers’ need for a framework to study digital skills and managers’ need to address digital skills challenges across an enterprise’s workforce. Nevertheless, the digital skills topic is complicated by conceptual ambiguity and a lack of theoretically derived and empirically validated model. The purpose of this study is to address this problem.
Design/methodology/approach
Theoretically, this study draws on human capital (HC) and resource-based view (RBV) theories. Empirically, it follows mixed method combining interviews and a survey.
Findings
The digital skills construct is a multidimensional second order reflective construct. While its development is influenced by an organization’s commitment and exposure to digitalization, it influences the value organizations obtain from digitalization.
Research limitations/implications
This study conceptualizes the digital skills construct, identifying technology agnostic subdimensions that are meaningful beyond a particular digital domain [information and communication technology (ICT), information, Internet, Inter of Things (IoT)] and establishing a valid measure. Other researchers can improve both the indicators of the existing four conceptually distinct and managerially recognizable workplace digital skills dimensions as well as testing new ones.
Practical implications
Managers can use the instrument to assess the extent to which their non-IT workforces are equipped with digital skills and get strategic insights for specific interventions such as upskilling or buying in skills.
Originality/value
The main theoretical contribution of the paper is the conceptualization and validation of the digital skills construct for the non-IT workforce. Furthermore, we provide a theoretical framework to explain the factors that could influence the development of digital skills and demonstrate the impact that digital skills have on selected digitalization value indicators. This contribution provides the foundation for investigating the drivers, outcomes and the relationship of digital skills to other constructs such as digital transformation, innovation and firm performance.
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