Information Development

Technology adoption has been studied extensively within the IS discipline. However, few if any have studied end users’ acceptance of newly implemented technologies within organizational contexts before end-users start using the technology. Additionally, information management motivation is one of the areas that have not yet been sufficiently integrated with the technology acceptance literature. The present research investigates the personal information management motivation and its sub-dimensions, such as proactiveness, sharing, transparency, and formality, based on the extant literature from information systems (IS), social psychology, and knowledge management fields, and their relationships to behavioral intention to adopt content management systems in a mandatory setting. The proposed model was empirically tested using the data collected from 148 end users using PLS. The study findings provide important insights on understanding information management motivation in a mandatory adoption environment.

This study explored the information literacy of women on family planning in rural communities of Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo state, Nigeria. Multistage sampling was adopted. Akinyele local government was divided into 12 wards and from these, six rural communities were purposively selected. Convenience sampling was used to select respondents, who were women within the reproductive age of 18–49 years. Focus group discussion was used to collect data from 78 respondents and interview from five key informants. The data collected in the Yoruba language were transcribed verbatim and translated to English. The collected data were analysed thematically. Findings showed some basic level of knowledge about family planning among the women, although the majority were yet to adopt family planning. Acquisition of family planning information was mainly through the radio and health centres, where available. Reasons for non-adoption included husbands’ disapproval and unavailability of health facilities as well as reported complications arising from use. There were no reported cases of enlightenment programmes by the government except in one of the communities, where such programmes were introduced but stopped. Provision of fully equipped and functioning health centres with well-trained health professionals is recommended to improve information literacy on family planning.

A number of studies have examined the failures of e-government efforts from various theoretical perspectives in the domains of government-to-citizen (G2C) and government-to-business (G2B). However, only a few studies have been done in government-to-government (G2G) e-government projects. This paper examines the impasse reached during the implementation of a statewide Digital Secretariat Project in India through the lens of stakeholder theory. A qualitative case study approach employing semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders was employed to explore the issue. The results reveal the importance of power dynamics, which can stall the entire project. In a G2G project, that is interactional in nature and has to be used by multiple departments, it is crucial for the implementing agency to identify dominant stakeholder departments and take them into confidence right from the beginning of the project. In such cases intervention by higher level government offices is important to impart saliency to the implementing agency and prevent any other dominant stakeholder from stalling the project. Undertaking such widespread projects without strong government support can lead to failure of implementation and waste of important public resources. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

This paper investigated the relationship between staff development and job performance of the library staff of five selected universities in Ghana. The paper examined the effectiveness of staff training and development policies, programmes, methods, training needs analysis and the monitoring and evaluation methods of the university libraries in order to establish the effectiveness of staff development initiatives in library and information services. The study adopted survey design and mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative approaches in a single study. Data was largely collected with a questionnaire, while interviews were used to collect data from head librarians and heads of departments. The observation instrument was also used to confirm some information provided by the respondents. The findings of the study established that there is a positive relationship between staff training and development and work performance of library staff in the selected university libraries in Ghana. The results also revealed that even though staff development contributes greatly to effective provision of library and information services, staff training alone did not contribute to staff effectiveness. Staff development must be complemented with other human resource management strategies such as reward, promotion, retooling, etc. The paper makes recommendations on how staff development can help improve upon library staff effectiveness.

Relocation to residential care facilities by older persons (60+) can decrease their social connectedness with their primary networks. The purpose of the study was to identify the use and acceptance of technology-assisted communication to increase social connectedness in older persons (N = 103) in an urban residential care facility in South Africa. The research design was a non-experimental quantitative descriptive survey using self-administered questionnaires based on the Technology Acceptance Model. All residents were included in the study. Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness and Attitude scales were calculated and the Behavioural Intention for technology use was measured. Participants with the highest Behavioural Intention were residents in their first year of relocation, younger participants (60–74 years), divorced participants and participants with higher educational qualifications. Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness were low and were directly correlated. Perceived Ease of Use contributed significantly towards Attitudes concerning technology use. The overall Behavioural Intention for technology use was good (60/75) and the Technology Acceptance Model pathway was confirmed using Structural Equation Modelling. Video chat offered greatest appeal for future use.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), according to the latest figures and studies, affects a large segment of people who need more services from all fields in their countries whether they be the educational sector, health sector, or others. Public libraries are considered to be one of the most important sources of information for the whole community. Furthermore, the core aim of this type of library is to identify community needs, to provide materials, programs and technologies to meet those needs, and to cooperate with other agencies and organisations which serve the community as a whole. Although individuals with ASD are considered an important part of the population of the State of Kuwait, libraries and public libraries, in particular, do not pay attention to this segment for several reasons, such as lack of sufficient awareness of ASD. Public libraries` services to individuals with ASD are not clear and need to be investigated. This research attempts to investigate the new role of public libraries in order to serve individuals with ASD and their families in the Kuwait. Data was gathered from individuals with ASD and/or their families by using questionnaires and by interviews with 27 librarians in Kuwaiti public libraries.

The purpose of the study was to explore how public libraries in Meru County, Kenya, address the information needs of small-scale business enterprises (SBEs) in the region. It was carried out from 2013 to 2015. A quantitative approach and survey research design were adopted to collect data from SBE traders and staff from three public libraries in Meru County. The study found that the business information needs of SBEs are myriad, sector-specific and cut across all stages of business development. These needs are fulfilled by consulting informal information resources and places. The few SBEs traders who were using public libraries for business information expressed high levels of satisfaction. The study concludes that public libraries have facilitative and functional roles of providing business information to SBEs by collaborating with like-minded stakeholders. The study recommends symmetrical dissemination of business information and the re-positioning of public libraries as community development centers by providing value-based and sector-specific business information solutions.

The current presence of Latin American journals in Web of Science and Scopus is analyzed, as the first part of a quality roadmap intended to strengthen regional publications, especially those that have started as institutional publications. The next issue will study the quality requirements and journals’ presence in other recognized indexes and platforms such as Scimago Journal and Country Rank, the Directory of Open Access Journals, Latindex, SciELO, and RedALyC.