As the number of citation management tools including Refworks and EndNote increased in recent years, academic libraries struggle to remain on top of new developments and support…
Abstract
Purpose
As the number of citation management tools including Refworks and EndNote increased in recent years, academic libraries struggle to remain on top of new developments and support all of the tools used by their users. This paper seeks to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A librarian at the University of Illinois surveyed graduate students and faculty about which tools they use, reasons for tool adoption, features that influence adoption, and support they expect from their library.
Findings
The results highlight that many users still use older tools including EndNote and RefWorks, but do have interests for and reasons to use new tools including Zotero and Mendeley and may not need as much library support as librarians believe.
Originality/value
This is the first research paper on citation management use and can influence what products libraries use and the support they offer.
Details
Keywords
Millie Jackson, Ayse Gider, Celeste Feather, Kelly Smith, Amy Fry, Jamene Brooks‐Kieffer, Christopher D. Vidas and Rose Nelson
To keep librarians and colleagues informed about the issues and programs of the Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L) Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia on the Georgia…
Abstract
Purpose
To keep librarians and colleagues informed about the issues and programs of the Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L) Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus in February 2007.
Design/methodology/approach
Provides a review of the conference.
Findings
Acquisitions staff, catalogers, public service staff, administrators, IT personnel, information providers from the vendor side, content managers, and others all came together to assess what needs to be done to continue high servicing of both born digital and electronically available resources in a hybrid environment that continues to describe all library settings today. As the percentage of electronic resources quickly grows, there are new challenges in acquiring, caring for, servicing, preserving, using and citing them that keep librarians up at night to consider short‐and long‐term solutions in how they should be organized bibliometrically and how we can re‐engineer some of our procedures to best treat the wide range of e‐Resources now common in all libraries.
Originality value
The program blended services with processing reinforcing the importance of electronic resources for the “total” library environment. It seemed like there was nothing left out.
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Maarten B. Eppinga, Jenny Lozano-Cosme, Tobia de Scisciolo, Patrick Arens, Maria J. Santos and Eric N. Mijts
Despite increasing efforts to incorporate sustainability in curricula and practices of institutions of higher education, effective implementation remains challenging. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite increasing efforts to incorporate sustainability in curricula and practices of institutions of higher education, effective implementation remains challenging. The purpose of this study is to present an approach to incorporate sustainability into a practice-oriented research skills course, which was implemented at a small island state university in the Caribbean.
Design/methodology/approach
First-year university students followed a four-week course module, starting with the introduction of the sustainable development goals, and culminating in a symposium in which the students present the findings of their research projects to the campus community. Pre-course module and post-course module surveys measured the students’ knowledge and perceptions regarding sustainability. These survey results were also compared with the result of a similar survey held for the university’s employees.
Findings
The survey results suggested that following the course module increased students’ knowledge about sustainable development, as well as their support for the university campus and its community putting more emphasis on teaching, practicing and encouraging sustainability. Interestingly, university employees scored significantly higher on the latter component than students, suggesting that in this case a lack of interest of the staff is not a barrier toward a sustainable campus.
Originality/value
The presented course module offers a novel and low-cost approach to introducing sustainability into a broad range of academic curricula, specifically tailored to the needs of institutes of higher education in small island states. The survey results suggest that this type of education may not only ensure reaching academic goals but also increase students’ interest in sustainable development within their local environment.
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With the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, competitive data science platforms like Kaggle are gaining momentum. From a host's perspective, the platforms offer…
Abstract
With the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, competitive data science platforms like Kaggle are gaining momentum. From a host's perspective, the platforms offer access to a large crowd of data scientists who can solve their data science problems efficiently and cost-effectively. From the participant's perspective, the platforms provide the opportunity to apply their skills to real-world problems, interact with other data scientists, and win prizes. The chapter provides an overview of competitive data science platforms and assesses their potential for business and academia. A series of opportunities and challenges of data competitions are outlined, and a concrete case is illustrated. The chapter also demonstrates common pitfalls that hosts of data competitions need to be aware of by discussing the relevance of problem definition, data leakage, and metrics to evaluate different solutions.
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Arne De Keyser and Werner H. Kunz
Service robots are now an integral part of people's living and working environment, making service robots one of the hot topics for service researchers today. Against that…
Abstract
Purpose
Service robots are now an integral part of people's living and working environment, making service robots one of the hot topics for service researchers today. Against that background, the paper reviews the recent service robot literature following a Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methodology (TCCM) approach to capture the state of art of the field. In addition, building on qualitative input from researchers who are active in this field, the authors highlight where opportunities for further development and growth lie.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies and analyzes 88 manuscripts (featuring 173 individual studies) published in academic journals featured on the SERVSIG literature alert. In addition, qualitative input gathered from 79 researchers who are active in the service field and doing research on service robots is infused throughout the manuscript.
Findings
The key research foci of the service robot literature to date include comparing service robots with humans, the role of service robots' look and feel, consumer attitudes toward service robots and the role of service robot conversational skills and behaviors. From a TCCM view, the authors discern dominant theories (anthropomorphism theory), contexts (retail/healthcare, USA samples, Business-to-Consumer (B2C) settings and customer focused), study characteristics (robot types: chatbots, not embodied and text/voice-based; outcome focus: customer intentions) and methodologies (experimental, picture-based scenarios).
Originality/value
The current paper is the first to analyze the service robot literature from a TCCM perspective. Doing so, the study gives (1) a comprehensive picture of the field to date and (2) highlights key pathways to inspire future work.
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Raul P. Lejano, Ahmadul Haque, Laila Kabir, Muhammad Saidur Rahman, Miah Maye Pormon and Eulito Casas
The intent of the work is to go beyond the conventional model of disaster risk prevention, where community residents are objects of risk communication initiatives, and develop and…
Abstract
Purpose
The intent of the work is to go beyond the conventional model of disaster risk prevention, where community residents are objects of risk communication initiatives, and develop and implement a relational model of risk communication wherein they are active agents of knowledge transfer.
Design/methodology/approach
The relational model of risk communication translates risk knowledge into narrative forms that community members can share. The article discusses the conceptual basis of the model and, then, describes how it has been pilot tested and implemented in the field. Evaluation of the pilot tests consist of pre- and post-surveys comparing control and test groups.
Findings
Encouraging results have been seen among vulnerable communities, such as residents in a refugee camp and schoolchildren in a storm surge vulnerable town. These outcomes support the idea that the relational approach can empower residents to be active agents of risk communication.
Originality/value
The relational model taps into the knowledge and agency of community.
Details
Keywords
To provide an in-depth survey and review of innovation in library and information services (LIS) and to identify future trends in innovative research and its practical application…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an in-depth survey and review of innovation in library and information services (LIS) and to identify future trends in innovative research and its practical application in the field.
Methodology/approach
An in-depth review and summation of relevant literature over the last twenty years, along with an analysis and summary of the other papers in the volume.
Findings
Innovation in library and information work varies between the evolutionary and the discontinuous. A taxonomy of innovatory approaches to development and provision in the sector is provided, along with a detailed listing of the key elements of successful and not-so-successful innovative practice.
Research limitations/implications
The work is dependent on existing literature rather than direct empirical work. However, because it draws together all major aspects of the topic, it has the potential to be used as a springboard for further generic studies and also specific programmes of work.
Practical implications
The need for innovation in LIS will be ever more pressing. The present chapter provides a necessary and rigorous overview of the necessary elements required for success in this area. It will be useful as a reference tool for intending researchers in library and information provision in a wide range of environments.
Originality/value
Because the chapter brings together a substantial body of information on the topic of innovation, it provides a comprehensive study of major developments and likely future trends in the field.
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Usability studies are a form of library evaluation that are often passed off as research. However, at its core, usability is an evaluation method, not a research method. The goal…
Abstract
Purpose
Usability studies are a form of library evaluation that are often passed off as research. However, at its core, usability is an evaluation method, not a research method. The goal is to make an argument that usability studies can be a valid form of scholarly research if certain limitations inherent in usability studies are addressed in the research design.
Design/methodology/approach
Through evaluating literature in the social sciences, this paper makes an argument for usability as a research method if certain limitations inherent within usability testing are addressed.
Findings
Usability is not only an evaluation method, but when limitations are addressed; it can be considered an important research tool within libraries.
Originality/value
No other article in the library and information sciences literature talks about methodologies for usability. Most usability articles do not address methodologies utilized in a way that would be considered research in a broader social sciences context. This article bridges the gap from when usability is considered evaluation to when it is considered research within library science.
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This paper aims to offer practical guidance on teaching about digital extremism – defined here as the intersection of digital disinformation campaigns with political extremism �…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to offer practical guidance on teaching about digital extremism – defined here as the intersection of digital disinformation campaigns with political extremism – by highlighting four pedagogical challenges: the danger of unintentionally “redpilling” students; the slippery slope to false equivalency and “bothsidesism” in turbulent partisan waters; the difficulty of separating empirical analyses from prescriptive debates circulating in popular media; and the trouble of getting students to understand digital extremism as a sociotechnical problem rather than as a social-or-technical problem. The conclusion proposes opportunities for educators to integrate practical approaches to confronting digital extremism with digital civics curricula.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews pedagogical challenges and outlines a curricular program for teaching about digital extremism drawn from the author’s experience designing undergraduate courses and open teaching modules between 2016 and 2021.
Findings
Educators should shift focus from the substance of digital extremism to its tools – social media platforms’ surveillance and data-gathering methods, advertising technologies and monetized user-generated content, personalized recommendation algorithms and media manipulation strategies that amplify some narratives while suppressing others – and the media and political institutions that benefit most from it. Proposed lessons include: how digital extremists manipulate social media metadata; engagement with data creation and targeting practices; and analysis of information production, circulation and consumption exploring media manipulation tools and their effects.
Originality/value
This paper’s added values are the insights and practical recommendations for undergraduate educators teaching on a topic of urgent contemporary concern: digital extremism.