Shaheen Majid

Transformation in managers’ information seeking behaviour: a review of the literature

There has been a transformation in managers’ information seeking behaviour over the decades. Based on an extensive literature review, this article analyses the factors which have influenced managers’ choice of source preferences. The review reveals four key dimensions used to study source preferences, i.e. contextual, situational, personal/sociocultural, and informational and identifies common factors under each. The factors given main weight in the literature are accessibility, quality, and richness of the information, as well as individual and institutional characteristics. The article also reflects on the data collection techniques used in information needs studies.

Computer literacy and use of electronic information sources by academics

This study investigates the relationship between computer literacy of academic staff and their use of electronic information sources. The impact of other factors such as age, gender and educational background on the use of electronic information sources is also investigated. A statistically significant relationship is found between computer literacy and the use of electronic information sources and services. The study reveals that computer literature academics use electronic information sources more frequently. Similarly, a significant relationship is noted between the age of academics and their use of electronic information sources.

Usage of information resources by computer engineering students: a case study of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

This study investigates the information needs and information seeking behaviour of computer engineering undergraduate students at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. The purpose was to investigate the types of information sources used by the students, their preferred information formats, the importance of and reasons for using certain information sources and the use of various electronic information sources. A questionnaire was distributed to 200 randomly selected students and 102 completed questionnaires were returned. The study found that printed materials were the most preferred information format among the students. The top five most preferred information sources, in the order of importance, were books, lecturers, the Internet, friends and manuals. Unexpectedly, the use of databases and electronic journals was quite low among the computer engineering students. The study recommends a promotional campaign for introducing electronic information sources to the library users.

Information Needs and Information Seeking Behavior of Agricultural Scientists in Malaysia

Knowledge about the information needs and seeking behavior of scientists could play a vital role in meeting their information needs effectively. Libraries can use this knowledge for re-orienting their collections and facilities to attune them to the needs of the scientific community. This study explores information needs and seeking behavior of Malaysian agricultural scientists. It was found that research scientists spent 16% of their office time on reading and literature searching, whereas academicians spent 9.3% of their time for this purpose. The study also revealed that scientists preferred using primary sources of information, particularly journal and review articles. Informal communication with professional colleagues was also considered important for exchanging current research information. A large number of the participants felt that they had not been keeping in touch with scientific literature due to deficient library collections and services. This article recommends that science and technology libraries should periodically survey the information needs of their users, assess their collections and facilities, and strengthen their promotional activities.

Environmental scanning: An application of information literacy skills at the workplace

The business environment is increasingly becoming uncertain and complex. Environmental scanning is a systematic way for organizations to detect changes, and hence formulate adaptive strategies for coping with uncertainties. Information literacy skills are required to conduct effective and efficient environmental scanning activities as it is an information intensive process. Moreover, the development of information technology and telecommunication provides various channels and applications for accessing, processing and distributing information, which also proposes higher requirements of information literacy skills for dealing with environmental information. However, despite the number of studies undertaken to investigate the role of information literacy at the workplace, few have integrated information literacy skills with a specific business management activity or have tried to evaluate the impact of information literacy on real business applications. This paper provides an overview of environmental scanning and information literacy skills. A refined model, showing the relationship between environmental uncertainty, information literacy skills and environmental scanning, is also presented.

User perceptions of library effectiveness in Malaysian agricultural libraries

This study investigated those factors that contribute positively in shaping users’ perceptions of library effectiveness. A questionnaire‐based survey of five major agricultural libraries in Malaysia was conducted. It was found that the adequacy of collections, services and facilities were closely linked to the perceptions of library effectiveness. Certain other factors contributing positively to the perception of library effectiveness were the adequacy and effectiveness of library promotion, involvement of users in the selection of library materials, convenient library location, participation in user education programmes, availability of assistance for using library resources and facilities, and subject background of library professionals. The paper suggests that for any reliable library effectiveness study, all factors associated with user satisfaction should be investigated together.

Use of school libraries by teachers in Singapore schools

Purpose – This paper presents the findings of a study that explores the use of school libraries and their resources by teachers, their level of collaboration with their school librarian, and the problems faced by them in using these libraries.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted and 76 teachers from seven schools in Singapore participated in the study.Findings – The results showed that teachers generally did not use their school libraries and various information resources effectively, mainly due to the inadequacy of their school libraries in terms of educational materials. In addition, teachers typically did not collaborate with their school librarian in planning their lessons or other academic activities.Research limitations/implications – The study only managed to involve 76 teachers from seven schools. A larger number of respondents would have been more desirable. However, these 76 respondents represented teachers with teaching experiences that ranged from less than 3 year...

Perceptions and Knowledge Sharing Practices of Graduate Students in Singapore

The concept of knowledge sharing is gaining popularity due to increased awareness and new initiatives in knowledge management. However, its implications in the educational arena have been relatively unexplored. The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions, nature and extent of knowledge sharing among graduate students in Singapore. A questionnaire was used for data collection and 183 students from two public universities in Singapore participated in this study. The study revealed that the participants were primarily motivated to share knowledge in an attempt to build relationships with their peers and email was the preferred communication channel. However, intense competition among the students to outperform their classmates and the lack of depth in relationship were the two most cited factors hindering knowledge sharing. The study suggests that academic institutions should review their instruction approaches to make the learning process less competitive which would help improve knowledge sharing among students.

Knowledge reuse in action: the case of CALL

This paper reviews how the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), an intelligence unit within the US Army, has entrenched a unique knowledge reuse process into its modus operandi. It highlights several issues related to knowledge reuse, including the collection, distillation and dissemination of knowledge, the role of subject experts in the knowledge reuse process and how technology facilitates knowledge reuse. For practitioners, this paper offers an inspiring exemplar of knowledge reuse success. For researchers, existing theoretical grounds for knowledge reuse have been opened for further debate.

Assessing students' information literacy skills in two secondary schools in Singapore

Appropriately measuring information literacy (IL) skills is essential to understand their educational impact as well as exploring pedagogies to improve teaching of these skills. This paper reports findings of a baseline study to understand the IL level of secondary school students in Singapore. A comprehensive instrument encompassing a new dimension of ethical usage of information as well as major IL principles and guidelines was developed for data collection. A total of 298 responses were gathered through the online survey. The findings indicate that overall there was a scope to improve students’ IL skills. That stated, higher order IL skills (such as information use, synthesis, and evaluation) demand more attention, as comparatively lower levels of proficiency were observed in this study.