Chenicheri Sid Nair, David Pawley and Patricie Mertova
This paper aims to report on how an Administrative Division at a research‐intensive Australian university utilised feedback data from the Learning and Growth Survey, to initiate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on how an Administrative Division at a research‐intensive Australian university utilised feedback data from the Learning and Growth Survey, to initiate changes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper refers to the actions taken by the Administrative Division to the results obtained from the Learning and Growth Survey. The questionnaire items are based on the “Balanced Scorecard” system outlined by Kaplan and Norton in 1996. It consists of a number of items identified as integral to effective growth and learning strategies for staff‐development. The questionnaire seeks staff perceptions of the individual items and how their needs are met in the current University management practices.
Findings
The results of this survey indicate that employees were willing to provide practical feedback on a range of dimensions, which they felt would assist improvement of their development and growth opportunities. Further, this paper demonstrates that in any exercise which involves collecting information on staff perceptions, staff not only expect that the data would be utilized constructively, but also that the institution would also make practical changes based on their feedback and that they would be informed about these changes.
Practical implications
This survey revealed that some of the feedback obtained from participants had limitations as to what actions could be taken within the Administrative Division because of the ramifications for institutional budgets. However, issues related to improvement of the learning and growth environment were possible to address through practical changes within the bounds of the Division's budget. Further, when conducting similar surveys among university staff, it is essential that anonymity of the participants is ensured. It is also vital that the purposes, outcomes, proposed actions and progress in implementation of these actions are well communicated to all the staff.
Originality/value
A growing number of tertiary institutions have recently started conducting surveys among their staff concerning the staff satisfaction with their work in the organisation(s). Despite this growing number of employee surveys, there is a lack of academic literature available describing how such surveys are conducted and the issues that institutions face when designing, implementing and evaluating these surveys. From the available information, it was also unclear what aspects of employee experience these surveys cover and whether they focus on staff learning and development. Therefore, this paper attempts to make a step in that direction by describing an employee survey regularly conducted among staff within administrative units at a large Australian University.
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This is a troubled age for democracy, but the nature of that trouble and why it is a problem for democracy is an open question, not easy to answer. Widespread wishing for…
Abstract
This is a troubled age for democracy, but the nature of that trouble and why it is a problem for democracy is an open question, not easy to answer. Widespread wishing for responsible leaders who respect democratic norms and pursue policies to benefit people and protect the vulnerable don’t help much. The issue goes well beyond library contexts, but it is important that those in libraries think through our role in democracy as well. Micro-targeting library-centric problems won’t be effective and don’t address the key issue of this volume. The author can only address the future if we recover an understanding of the present by building up an understanding of actually-existing democracy: (1) the scope must be narrowed to accomplish the task; (2) the characteristics of the retreat from democracy should be established; (3) core working assumptions and values – what libraries are about in this context – must be established; (4) actually-existing democracy should then be characterized; (5) the role of libraries in actually-existing democracy is then explored; (6) the source and character of the threat that is driving the retreat from democracy and cutting away at the core of library assumptions and values is analyzed; (7) the chapter concludes by forming a basis of supporting libraries by unpacking their contribution to building and rebuilding democratic culture: libraries are simultaneously less and more important than is understood.
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This paper aims to examine barriers to information literacy (IL), including: language use, social structures, and the neutrality‐advocacy dilemma.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine barriers to information literacy (IL), including: language use, social structures, and the neutrality‐advocacy dilemma.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper critical analysis is used to discuss: effect of language used on audience reach; cognitive locus assumptions in IL standards and oversight on structural factors; opportunities for libraries to overcome IL barriers. Arguments are substantiated with theories and research from sociology, psychology, and education.
Findings
Effective diffusion of IL depends on using common language and being relevant to learners. However, knowledge differences between librarians and the public can make finding common language challenging. Additionally, by assuming information illiteracy in people, the term may convey negative‐evaluation, which may negatively affect learners' sense of competence and motivation for learning, and result in ineffective learning. Extracurricular/civic activities in schools are rich settings for effective learning, but structural factors, often overlooked by proponents of IL, constrain students' opportunities for civic participation. Fortunately, the library provides a sense of relatedness to students and has the potential to support conditions for effective learning in civic contexts.
Research limitations/implications
Propositions have not been empirically tested in IL contexts.
Practical implications
The paper proposes ways to address barriers to information literacy and calls for empirical research.
Social implications
The paper legitimizes librarians to play advocacy roles for students' civic engagement.
Originality/value
No literature in information literacy examines in‐depth the effects of its language choice and cognitive locus on audience reach. This paper integrates theories from sociology, psychology, and education, to argue how language choice and social structures constrain IL attainment and proposes ways to address those barriers.
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The purpose of this paper is to show how different approaches to information literacy, such as are mediated through web‐based tutorials, are used as tools in negotiating the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how different approaches to information literacy, such as are mediated through web‐based tutorials, are used as tools in negotiating the information‐seeking expertise of university librarians.
Design/methodology/approach
A textual analysis of 31 web‐based Scandinavian tutorials for information literacy has been conducted. The similarities and differences identified are analysed as linguistic expressions of different approaches to information literacy. The approaches are seen as constructions based on a dialogue between the empirical data and the theoretical departure points.
Findings
Four approaches to information literacy emerge in the results: a source approach, a behaviour approach, a process approach, and a communication approach. The approaches entail different perspectives on information literacy. They impart diverging understandings of key concepts such as “information”, “information seeking” and the “user”.
Practical implications
A reflective awareness of different approaches to information literacy is important for both researchers and LIS practitioners, since the approaches that come into play have practical consequences for the operation of user education.
Originality/value
The present study supplements the information literacy research field by combining empirical findings with theoretical reflections.
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Lauren N. Smith and David McMenemy
The purpose of this paper is to explore young people’s conceptions of political information. The study sought to identify what political information sources young people…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore young people’s conceptions of political information. The study sought to identify what political information sources young people encounter, how they construe these sources and the messages they communicate, and how the information experiences of young people may be better understood to inform information literacy interventions to support the development of political agency.
Design/methodology/approach
Using personal construct theory as a conceptual framework, repertory grid (RG) interviews were used to explore the different ways in which 23 young people aged 14-15 from a town in Northern England conceive of political information and how they evaluate its quality and authority.
Findings
The study identified the sources of information young people engage with for finding and receiving what they understand as political information. The results from the RG interviews indicated that young people use a wide range of sources of political information to become informed about politics and the world around them. These sources of information include family, friends, teachers, television news, newspapers, radio shows, comedy shows, social media and community meetings. Participants were aware that they passively encounter information sources as well as actively engage in debate and discussion with other sources. Some participants had difficulty critically evaluating the political information sources they encounter. The nature of young people’s experiences of political information varied greatly. The degree of complexity in the experiences of political information varied not only between participants but was also dependent on their particular relationship with the information sources under scrutiny.
Research limitations/implications
The paper has implications for personal construct analysis as a research approach broadly, from the point of view of its use within library and information science research. It is the first study to apply the personal construct approach to the study of young people’s political information use and to consider implications for information literacy support that would have been difficult to access using other approaches.
Practical implications
The paper provides insight into an understudied area; that of young people’s conceptions of political information. This insight may be used to inform the improvement of political information provision and information literacy support for young people.
Social implications
A deeper understanding of the different ways in which young people identify, engage with and use information for political purposes may contribute to a clearer understanding of young people’s information needs, ideally leading to improved political education and a strengthened democratic process.
Originality/value
The paper explores a relatively under-researched area of library and information science research, and does so using a relatively under-used method in the domain. Insights into the perceived characteristics of different sources of political information are novel and contribute to the development of information behaviour and information literacy fields in terms of information for empowerment and democracy.
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Communication of information from manufacturer to design office is important in raising specifiers' awareness of new building products and product improvements. Efficacy of this…
Abstract
Communication of information from manufacturer to design office is important in raising specifiers' awareness of new building products and product improvements. Efficacy of this process will influence the uptake of innovations, yet the small amount of published research suggests that professionals operate managerial systems, both to limit the volume and to control the quality of this information, in an attempt to ensure its relevance to specifiers in their offices. The research reported here looked at the reasons for filtering information coming into the office and the mechanisms used to achieve these objectives. Interviews with partners of architectural practices and their receptionists, together with views from a number of trade representatives helped to identify and illustrate a number of issues concerning the relationship between manufacturers and designers. Combined, the interviews provide a valuable insight on an area largely neglected by researchers, yet a vital part of the specification process.
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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.
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.