Marion Lucille Williams, Alexander Dhoest and Ian Saunderson
The purpose of this paper is to explore social media usage in an academic library in South Africa and the factors influencing its use. The primary goal of the study was to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore social media usage in an academic library in South Africa and the factors influencing its use. The primary goal of the study was to examine perceptions surrounding the impact of non-adoption of social media on morale, and to explore the consequences of digital inequality.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative method, in-depth interviews were conducted with a small sample comprising six key informants at the University of Limpopo Libraries.
Findings
The findings suggest that non-adoption of social media has a negative influence on morale, and that it is a very necessary tool required for interaction with students as well as promotion and marketing of the library’s resources.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is limited to one academic library in South Africa situated in a rural area. The research suggests that more academic libraries in rural areas be studied to ascertain if geographical location and finance are barriers to social media adoption.
Originality/value
This study addresses non-adoption of social media and suggests ways to improve employee morale and retention. The research contributes to current research.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of how gay and lesbian spaces are constructed and deployed within the context of asylum claims by sexually diverse people…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of how gay and lesbian spaces are constructed and deployed within the context of asylum claims by sexually diverse people. Through doing this, the author details the ways in which the present deployment of place, as a form of evidence for a relatively fixed conception of sexual difference, does not correspond to the self-conceptions of sexually diverse asylum seekers.
Design/methodology/approach
This article draws on the experiences of eight sexually diverse refugees who agreed to participate in semi-structured interviews. Deploying a queer narrative analysis approach, these experiences are explored to develop a detailed understanding of how sexually diverse spaces are constructed within refugee status determinations. This interview-led approach is combined with a critical epistemology informed by the queer theory to understand the role of place in the construction of sexual identity.
Findings
The central finding of this article is that engagement/attendance with/in particular places and spaces is overdetermined as a form of evidence of LGBTIQA+ identity within refugee status determination. Further findings relate to the relationship between places and sexual identities more generally. The paper helps to shed light on how sexually diverse identities are conceived in essentially ontological and fixed terms, with the result that places are often flattened, with the diversity and tensions within them being ignored and occluded.
Originality/value
The originality of this study emerges from the analysis of new qualitative data. This originality is strengthened by the successful combination of empirical research, queer theoretical insights and the application of this combination to policy. This remaining a relatively rare combination. In addition, in contrast to the existing literature, the paper looks specifically at how LGBTIQA+ or queer spaces are conceptualised within refugee status determination processes.
Details
Keywords
The present study aimed to investigate the impact of social networks on the use of academic libraries by university students.
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aimed to investigate the impact of social networks on the use of academic libraries by university students.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used in the present study was a survey. The statistical population included 461 university students. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. The result of the Cronbach test was equal to 0.726 indicating the acceptable reliability of the questionnaire. For data analysis, descriptive statistical methods and inferential statistical methods using SPSS 21 software were employed.
Findings
The findings showed that 243 of the participants used social networks for 4–6 h a day, 192 students never used university libraries and 229 used the university library only once in a month. Communication with friends was also reported to be one of the main goals in using social networks. The results of regression analysis also indicated that four predictor variables including information retrieval, social influence, trust and attractiveness of social networking environment were statistically able to explain the variance of reluctance to use university libraries.
Originality/value
The present study is one of the few studies that has examined the negative impact of social networks on visiting university libraries.