Judith Goldie and Jacki Pritchard
Project INISS was established on July 1st 1978 with a grant from the Department of Health and Social Security, and completed its work in October 1980. The aim of the project was…
Abstract
Project INISS was established on July 1st 1978 with a grant from the Department of Health and Social Security, and completed its work in October 1980. The aim of the project was to evaluate a number of small‐scale experimental innovations for the improvement of information services in social services departments. Three interviewing techniques were used: one to one, group and telephone interviews. This article describes these methods and offers guidelines for their suitability in particular situations.
The purpose of this paper is to respond to Bawden's review of Wilson's 1981 paper, “On user studies and information needs”.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to respond to Bawden's review of Wilson's 1981 paper, “On user studies and information needs”.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reflects on the context of the original paper, and on subsequent developments.
Findings
The paper comments on a variety of issues relating to information science as a discipline, and its research programme and methods, with specific emphasis on the understanding of human information behaviour.
Originality/value
The paper provides a unique perspective on the development of this aspect of the discipline.
Details
Keywords
Sarah Kate Merry and Anoush Simon
This paper aims to report on research investigating the benefits of membership of the online community LiveJournal, for both active and non‐active participants (lurkers). It also…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on research investigating the benefits of membership of the online community LiveJournal, for both active and non‐active participants (lurkers). It also aims to build on and develop previous research on this topic in a new context and to present some alternative perspectives on how lurking is understood by both active participants and lurkers themselves.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered using an online questionnaire made available to members of two different LiveJournal communities.
Findings
The data indicate that both active participants and lurkers receive similar benefits from their membership of LiveJournal in terms of their sense of community and satisfaction with experience of the community. The percentage of lurkers who felt a sense of community and high levels of satisfaction was lower than that of the respondents who posted regularly to the community, but nonetheless represented the majority of the lurkers. The majority of overall respondents said that lurkers are members of the community, in contrast to earlier research in this area.
Social implications
The research contributes to an understanding of the fast‐developing world of online communities, including individuals' reasons for joining and participating in communities.
Originality/value
The research builds on an earlier research in a new context; the findings present a different, developing understanding of how non‐active participants are viewed as part of the community of LiveJournal.
Details
Keywords
ON another page will be found preliminary notes with regard to the Annual Conference of the Library Association at Liverpool. We have before us at the time of writing only an…
Abstract
ON another page will be found preliminary notes with regard to the Annual Conference of the Library Association at Liverpool. We have before us at the time of writing only an outline of the programme, but we hope to foreshadow in the May Number further features of the June Meeting, and to publish articles on the Literary Associations and Libraries of Liverpool.
This chapter argues that the theoretical core of the First Amendment can be found in the concept of disestablishment, and that the meaning of disestablishment can be, and has…
Abstract
This chapter argues that the theoretical core of the First Amendment can be found in the concept of disestablishment, and that the meaning of disestablishment can be, and has been, extended from the religious sphere to the secular. It explores the historical development of rights of conscience and dissent, and the application of those rights to various changing historical circumstances, such as the development of political parties and the struggle over slavery. It then turns to an application of this analysis to several contemporary First Amendment controversies, including campaign finance and sexual expression.