This paper aims to explore integrating chatbot applications into libraries to improve reference services.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore integrating chatbot applications into libraries to improve reference services.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper explores the benefits of using chatbots as virtual reference librarians. Emma the Mentor Public Library’s Catbot is used as a case study.
Findings
Chatbots cannot replicate the complexity of human interaction (both knowledge and emotional), but these can provide a cost-effective way to answer the majority of routine reference questions and direct users to the appropriate service.
Originality/value
Readers will increase their awareness of how chatbots can streamline the work of the reference department by answering the majority of routine reference questions and freeing library staff to focus on more demanding research and tasks uniquely suited to humans.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a curated sample of consumer healthcare mobile apps that can be recommended to library patrons for obtaining health-related information…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a curated sample of consumer healthcare mobile apps that can be recommended to library patrons for obtaining health-related information and/or monitor and track their health.
Design/methodology/approach
Various health and medical apps listed on major app stores have been explored to address diverse consumer health and medical needs.
Findings
Healthcare mobile apps are increasingly being used by patients and consumers.
Originality/value
This paper examines some mobile apps that consumers are using as healthcare tools or for finding health information.
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The main purpose of this paper is to explore how robots are being used in the library to transform library services and what are the future possibilities of application of robots…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to explore how robots are being used in the library to transform library services and what are the future possibilities of application of robots in libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
Analyzing various library websites and consulting literature relating to the use of robots in libraries, the current application of robots in libraries has been enumerated.
Findings
With the practical examples of libraries using different types of robots, this study summarizes diverse activities of artificial intelligence-mediated robots: managing the shelf, controlling circulation workflow, assisting in document retrieval, transporting articles, acting as subject guides, attending reference queries, etc.
Originality/value
This paper highlights how the introduction of robots in libraries improves the service productivity and creates a more engaging environment with the user group. The benefits and challenges of using robots in the library and the future possibilities are also discussed.
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Sharesly Rodriguez and Christina Mune
This paper aims to detail how a university library developed an AI chatbot to meet a growing need for virtual reference services. This chatbot was developed using Google's free…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to detail how a university library developed an AI chatbot to meet a growing need for virtual reference services. This chatbot was developed using Google's free Dialogflow bot platform and embedded in the library's website. With the onset of COVID-19 and a greater reliance on virtual services, chatbots have become of increasing interest to libraries as a tool to provide enhanced services during non-staffed hours and to perform basic information triage when virtual chat transactions reach an overwhelming number of available staff.
Design/methodology/approach
Using in-depth research into current practices and readily available tools, a small non-technical team at a university library designed and piloted an AI chatbot that employs natural language processing and AI training. This article describes the chatbot development and implementation process. Results of chatbot interactions after one academic year of usage are also reviewed.
Findings
This study reveals that a university library chatbot may be developed and deployed with minimal coding knowledge using existing tools. Chatbot content can be populated through current library information sources and trained to address typical information inquiries. However, additional development and testing is needed to increase user engagement.
Originality/value
This study indicates that libraries can develop and deploy chatbots to meet user information inquiries without onerous technical training or IT resources. It describes best practices for chatbots and the steps necessary to deploy a chatbot on a library website.
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Thuy Chung Phan, Marc Oliver Rieger and Mei Wang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate segmentations by finance-related attitudes and behavior of financial consumers in Switzerland and Vietnam.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate segmentations by finance-related attitudes and behavior of financial consumers in Switzerland and Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors replicated the questionnaire measuring attitudes toward financial affairs as used in the study of Fünfgeld and Wang (2009). In order to extract factors and identify profiles of financial customers, the authors applied the same techniques including factor analysis and a two-step cluster analysis (Ward and K-means) to both samples. Linear regressions were used to examine the impact of socio-demographic variables.
Findings
Factor analysis reveals surprisingly similar underlying dimensions of financial attitudes and behavior for participants in both countries. The five clusters based on these dimensions exhibit strikingly similar characteristics. The authors also find that socio-demographic variables such as gender, age and education significantly vary across groups.
Research limitations/implications
There are small differences in the composition of the revealed dimensions between the two countries, mainly a mixture of intuitive decisions and free-spending aspects. Future research may investigate more countries with comparable samples to further test the reliabilities and validities of the scales.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the instruments as developed by Fünfgeld and Wang (2009) can be used not only in highly developed Western markets but also in non-Western and emerging markets. Such instruments can be very useful for offering financial advice based on market segmentation in a global market.
Originality/value
The study provides empirical evidence on universal segmentation variables that reflect financial consumers’ psychological traits and attitudes toward saving and spending. Furthermore, the study stresses the need for a broad use of those variables when studying consumer decision-making in international financial markets.
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Andrei Panibratov and Liana Rysakova
The aim of this study is to identify the distinctive features of the diaspora phenomenon through the aggregation and systematization of the business and management literature and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to identify the distinctive features of the diaspora phenomenon through the aggregation and systematization of the business and management literature and propose a framework to apply in the future studies.
Design/methodology/approach
The two-step research was based on a combination of bibliometric analysis and a manual in-depth study of academic articles. Overall, 421 academic papers in management and business journals until 2019 year were analyzed.
Findings
The authors provide a new holistic insight on the role of national diasporas for business outcomes via the analysis and systematization of the extant diaspora research. They revealed four definition approaches and five main clusters in the diaspora literature that have three main directions of research as international marketing with the tourism management focus, the IB research and diaspora entrepreneurship studies. The authors cover these main research streams and their contribution to the development of a topic.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed framework including definition approaches and suggestions on the further research can serve as a foundation for future studies to investigate the diaspora phenomenon. The findings also are of practical value for firms whose attention is paid to the effective management.
Originality/value
To bring more clarity to the existing and future development of diaspora research, this paper improves the structuring of the overall diaspora literature through clarification of the existing definitions of diaspora, provision of the criteria qualifying someone to be identified as a member of a diaspora, as well as an analysis and systematization of existing diaspora research streams and suggestions for future research directions.
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Joakim Kävrestad, Fredrik Eriksson and Marcus Nohlberg
Using authentication to secure data and accounts has grown to be a natural part of computing. Even if several authentication methods are in existence, using passwords remains the…
Abstract
Purpose
Using authentication to secure data and accounts has grown to be a natural part of computing. Even if several authentication methods are in existence, using passwords remains the most common type of authentication. As long and complex passwords are encouraged by research studies and practitioners alike, computer users design passwords using strategies that enable them to remember their passwords. This paper aims to present a taxonomy of those password creation strategies in the form of a model describing various strategies used to create passwords.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in a three-step process beginning with a short survey among forensic experts within the Swedish police. The model was then developed by a series of iterative semi-structured interviews with forensic experts. In the third and final step, the model was validated on 5,000 passwords gathered from 50 different password databases that have leaked to the internet.
Findings
The result of this study is a taxonomy of password creation strategies presented as a model that describes the strategies as properties that a password can hold. Any given password can be classified as holding one or more of the properties outlined in the model.
Originality/value
On an abstract level, this study provides insight into password creation strategies. As such, the model can be used as a tool for research and education. It can also be used by practitioners in, for instance, penetration testing to map the most used password creation strategies in a domain or by forensic experts when designing dictionary attacks.
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Francesca D’Errico and Marinella Paciello
The purpose of this paper is to explore the “dark nuances” of social media by identifying moral disengagement (MD) mechanisms and hostile emotions in people discussing the hosting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the “dark nuances” of social media by identifying moral disengagement (MD) mechanisms and hostile emotions in people discussing the hosting of immigrants and examining the relationship between MD mechanisms and hostile emotions expressed online (annoyance, irritation and contempt).
Design/methodology/approach
The method was based on a psycho-lexicographical approach that analysed the in vivo real words, adopting a quanti-qualitative point of view. The investigation started from the case of a Facebook post in support of immigrants after a serious shipwreck causing the death of more than 700 would-be migrants. More than 10,000 comments were codified. For the comments against the hosting of such immigrants, the authors followed a codebook aimed at identifying MD mechanisms and hostile emotions.
Findings
The main findings show an interplay between different hostile negative emotions and online MD mechanisms. The greater the intensity of hostile emotions, the more the locus of disengagement moves from the unethical individual’s behaviour – for example, offering moral justifications – to the target recipient of such behaviour – for example, blaming or dehumanising.
Practical implications
The study could be applicable in designing and developing algorithms and technological tools aimed at preventive interventions to promote moral awareness and emotional regulation in online settings.
Social implications
The study may be a useful contribution to understanding unethical orientation by identifying areas where education can intervene in reducing harmful behavioural tendencies.
Originality/value
This study takes together expressed hostile emotions and MD mechanisms by means of the analysis of real words in vivo through social media discussions.
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Community economic development (CED) focuses on the creation of sustainable communities. To that end, a reciprocal relationship that sustains the community and business alike can…
Abstract
Purpose
Community economic development (CED) focuses on the creation of sustainable communities. To that end, a reciprocal relationship that sustains the community and business alike can be created. However, little is known about the nature of informal interactions between residents and businesses that achieves that end. This study aims to explore the nature of these interactions and their contribution to CED within a rural context.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach was used with interviews with five rural entrepreneurs. Questions explored the nature of the support that they receive from their home community and their contributions back to it.
Findings
The results show that communities and businesses do not operate independently of each other, but rather are mutually supportive and contribute directly to the other’s objectives. These relationships are reinforced over time by a business owner’s direct involvement in the community, though this process takes time and effort.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on a limited geographical area in British Columbia with a small group of rural entrepreneurs. The results may not be generalizable to other contexts.
Practical implications
The results suggest concrete actions that both the rural entrepreneurs and their associated communities can take to be mutually supportive of each other to the benefit of each party alike.
Originality/value
This paper enlarges the understanding of the types of interactions, especially informal ones, that can support both businesses and the larger community in their efforts to sustain themselves and contribute to CED efforts.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the social and affective aspects of communication in school-age children with HFA and school-age children with WS using a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the social and affective aspects of communication in school-age children with HFA and school-age children with WS using a micro-analytic approach. Social communication is important for success at home, school, work and in the community. Lacking the ability to effectively process and convey information can lead to deficits in social communication. Individuals with high functioning autism (HFA) and individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) often have significant impairments in social communication that impact their relationships with others. Currently, little is known about how school-age children use and integrate verbal and non-verbal behaviors in the context of a social interaction.
Design/methodology/approach
A micro-analytic coding scheme was devised to reveal which channels children use to convey information. Language, eye gaze behaviors and facial expressions of the child were coded during this dyadic social interaction. These behaviors were coded throughout the entire interview, as well as when the child was the speaker and when the child was the listener.
Findings
Language results continue to pose problems for the HFA and WS groups compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. For non-verbal communicative behaviors, a qualitative difference in the use of eye gaze was found between the HFA and WS groups. For facial expression, the WS and TD groups produced more facial expressions than the HFA group.
Research limitations/implications
No differences were observed in the HFA group when playing different roles in a conversation, suggesting they are not as sensitive to the social rules of a conversation as their peers. Insights from this study add knowledge toward understanding social-communicative development in school-age children.
Originality/value
In this study, two non-verbal behaviors will be assessed in multiple contexts: the entire biographical interview, when the child is the speaker and when the child is the listener. These social and expressive measures give an indication of how expressive school-age children are and provide information on their attention, affective state and communication skills when conversing with an adult. Insights from this study will add knowledge toward understanding social-communicative development in school-age children.