Suggests that we are in the early stages of an information revolution which will have an effect similar to that of the industrial revolution of the last century. Looks at the…
Abstract
Suggests that we are in the early stages of an information revolution which will have an effect similar to that of the industrial revolution of the last century. Looks at the development of electronic news production, the technology required and in particular at the services to shipping offered by IMC Ltd. Warns that information should remain public property and care should be taken to ensure that the elderly, the technophobic, the under‐educated and the poor for whom modems and gateways are as alien as Close Encounters, should not be denied their right to information. Concludes that electronic news could replace ink on paper, but only when something better than a PC screen comes into widespread use.
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This article looks at work carried out by City University Library Information Services to develop a library staff Intranet. A simple design was adopted to ensure maximum usage…
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This article looks at work carried out by City University Library Information Services to develop a library staff Intranet. A simple design was adopted to ensure maximum usage, but features such as drop‐down menus and forms added extra functionality. A range of content was made available, divided into sections. The various ways of providing security and plans for future developments using more sophisticated technologies are outlined. The return on investment is still subject to debate, so work continues on developing the site and monitoring and evaluating usage.
Growth in electronic information services, pressure on staff resources and developments in the area of electronic learning have resulted in a need for online information skills…
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Growth in electronic information services, pressure on staff resources and developments in the area of electronic learning have resulted in a need for online information skills delivery. Edinburgh University Library has developed some simple animated tutorials using Macromedia Flash to support use of a number of library services. The process of planning, creating and evaluating the modules is described, and the need to consider issues of accessibility, usability and pedagogy is emphasised. Technical aspects of design and documentation are considered. We conclude that it is important to consider the cost and time involved in even a modest exercise of this nature, but that the Flash software makes it very achievable, given an initial investment in development time and training.
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Cranfield University Library has a tradition of matching technological developments to user needs, but it is important to ensure that a move from mediated to end‐user searching…
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Cranfield University Library has a tradition of matching technological developments to user needs, but it is important to ensure that a move from mediated to end‐user searching does not have a detrimental effect on the quality of the results. This study was designed to evaluate methodologies to measure end‐user searching effectiveness. Questionnaires, observation, search strategy analysis and interviews were employed, using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Results are presented, which demonstrate that a librarian can perform searches of greater complexity and comprehensiveness than research students. The main emphasis is on the critical examination of methodologies, which finds that methodological pluralism and triangulation can increase validity and reliability provided that care is taken when deciding on a sample.
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Siobhán Burke, Ross MacIntyre and Graham Stone
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the Jisc and Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Library Data Labs project and its outputs. This collaboration involved…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the Jisc and Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Library Data Labs project and its outputs. This collaboration involved bringing together cross-institutional library teams to produce proof of concept data-visualised dashboards using library analytics data that could be made available to others via the Heidi Plus service.
Design/methodology/approach
The teams used an agile approach, which adapted the agile methodology for non-technical and disparate team members. The key agile elements were followed, including the Scrum approach, whereby teams had a product owner, several development team members, a data wrangler and a scrum master. Many of the dashboards took inspiration from some of the earlier Jisc work on library analytics.
Findings
A wide variety of proof of concept dashboards were created addressing a range of library issues. These fell into two main categories for the cross-institutional teams, namely, comparing the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) annual statistics results against the National Student Survey (NSS) data and collection management and analysis.
Research limitations/implications
Some of the HESA data were potentially sensitive. In effect, this created a walled garden as some of the data were not designed for sharing. Furthermore, the data that the Jisc team used were restricted by publisher agreements, meaning that specific institutions’ usage could not be identified to others.
Originality/value
The paper provides insight into the Library Data Labs project and discusses a number of implications from the outcomes of the project. These are now being investigated by HESA, Jisc and individual institutions.
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Holly A. Schroth, Jon Bain‐Chekal and David F. Caldwell
The International Journal of Conflict Management 2005, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 102–127Although there is clear evidence that particular words and phrases evoke emotional reactions…
Abstract
The International Journal of Conflict Management 2005, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 102–127
Although there is clear evidence that particular words and phrases evoke emotional reactions, little research has explored these in the context of negotiations. In two studies, we identify words that trigger emotional responses in the other party in conflict‐laden negotiations and demonstrate how the perception of negotiators is affected by the use of those words. Words that elicit emotional responses are likely to increase the perception that the party using them is unfair but paradoxically increase the optimism of observers that the conflict will be successfully resolved. This effect is influenced by the gender of the observer.
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Maria E. de Boyrie, Simon J. Pak and John S. Zdanowicz
Presents a statistical auditing system which gives a methodology for statistical analysis of international trade prices. Discusses how this can help governments and international…
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Presents a statistical auditing system which gives a methodology for statistical analysis of international trade prices. Discusses how this can help governments and international lending agencies, or internationally trading firms, determine the optimal level of audits and physical inspections of cargoes in order to detect abnormally priced imports and exports, using a cost ‐ benefit approach. Applies a computer program to analyse transactions in any commodity between the USA and any other country, and describes the data set and methodology for determining upper and lower bound prices, using the inter‐quartile range as the benchmark for determining abnormality. Presents results from earlier studies and gives an example of how the proposed statistical auditing system can be used.
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Katarzyna Czernek-Marszałek, Patrycja Klimas, Patrycja Juszczyk and Dagmara Wójcik
Social relationships play an important role in organizational entrepreneurship. They are crucial to entrepreneurs’ decisions because, despite the bleeding-edge technological…
Abstract
Social relationships play an important role in organizational entrepreneurship. They are crucial to entrepreneurs’ decisions because, despite the bleeding-edge technological advancements observed nowadays, entrepreneurs as human beings will always strive to be social. During the COVID-19 pandemic many companies moved activities into the virtual world and as a result offline Social relationships became rarer, but as it turns out, even more valuable, likewise, the inter-organizational cooperation enabling many companies to survive.
This chapter aims to develop knowledge about entrepreneurs’ SR and their links with inter-organizational cooperation. The results of an integrative systematic literature review show that the concept of Social relationships, although often investigated, lacks a clear definition, conceptualization, and operationalization. This chapter revealed a great diversity of definitions for Social relationships, including different scopes of meaning and levels of analysis. The authors identify 10 building blocks and nine sources of entrepreneurs’ Social relationships. The authors offer an original typology of Social relationships using 12 criteria. Interestingly, with regard to building blocks, besides those frequently considered such as trust, reciprocity and commitment, the authors also point to others more rarely and narrowly discussed, such as gratitude, satisfaction and affection. Similarly, the authors discuss the varied scope of sources, including workplace, family/friendship, past relationships, and ethnic or religious bonds. The findings of this study point to a variety of links between Social relationships and inter-organizational cooperation, including their positive and negative influences on one another. These links appear to be extremely dynamic, bi-directional and highly complex.
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The paper aims at dealing with the role of users in the creation (or curation) and distribution of digital contents. User generated contents (UGCs) refer to a variety of media…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims at dealing with the role of users in the creation (or curation) and distribution of digital contents. User generated contents (UGCs) refer to a variety of media such as Wikis, question-answer databases, digital video, blogging, podcasting, forums, review sites, social networking, social media and mobile phone photograph. It attempts assessing their potential role as co-innovators. The paper follows the progressive creation of a new space for users, tracking its specific forms in each subsector of the media and content industries. Each subsector reveals a disruption in the production and circulation of new content.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on desk research, a review of literature, review of the technical journals, and analysis of annual reports. The paper is part of an on-going research project on media and content industries.
Findings
The paper argued that since 2007 (release of iPhone and Kindle) the landscape went through a dramatic change, scaling up. It illustrates how the entire value chain of content (production/distribution/consumption) has opened up. The amount of UGC produced triggered a qualitative jump, ushering in new modes of interaction between the customers and creators, without necessarily turning the consumer into a full-fledge producer. The UGC model adds another source of production, thereby increasing diversity, ushering in new ways for talent scouting. It reveals various forms of co-creation and the role of a community model while also showing its limits.
Research limitations/implications
This paper concentrates on digital media and does not deal with any other aspect such as knowledge sharing (Wikis). The paper does not cover the reactions of traditional industry players to UGC (some elements are given for newspaper), neither possible policy and regulatory responses The paper relies mostly on reports from news agencies, consultancies or annual reports from companies so as to delineate the main trends.
Practical implications
It shows that the role of customers did change within this context. The new channels offer novel ways to produce, curate and disseminate contents. It offers a range of examples from different industries.
Social implications
The paper documents the participation of consumers in the production of content. it hints at the evolution of labour, alludes to the issue of diversity and of creativity, but does not address other societal issues.
Originality/value
Some reports were devoted to UGC in 2007 (OECD) and 2008 (Idate-IVIR-TNO) but in spite of the major changes that took place over the past decade, the research has been scarce, or has concentrated on a specific segment of the media industry. The paper is trying to offer a comprehensive overview of the various segments. Each sub-segment of the media industry illustrates a specific dimension.