ABSTRACT
PurposeThe research examined Scottish public libraries and the libraries' response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020–2021. The research focussed particularly around the way that the libraries helped to support community resilience and cohesion during periods of lockdown. The study considered issues around the closure of services in March 2020, digital services, the loss of physical library spaces and governance models. The research presents the voice of service managers rather than being a user study. The research was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UKRI (United Kingdom Research and Innovation), as a part of the council's scheme to provide response to the pandemic of 2020.Design/methodology/approachThis was an exploratory study examining how Scottish public library services responded to the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Three methods were deployed in the investigation. First, the gathering social media and other web-based content from library services over the months March–September 2020 (amounting to over four thousands snips of content) were analysed thematically. Second, 19 semi-structured interviews with service managers across Scotland were conducted. These were recorded, transcribed and analysed. These elements formed the cornerstone of the research but were supported by a short survey distributed to all public library services in Scotland focussed on e-lending during lockdown.FindingsFindings are presented in respect of the lessons to be learnt from the closure of physical services and the migration to digital only provision, the contribution made to supporting communities, health and well-being, the importance of the balance of physical and digital library services around governance models for library services, as well as around the process of reopening services. This research explores how staff responded to this unparalleled situation, how the staff maintained close relationship with the communities the staff serve, what services themselves learnt through lockdown, and how the staff's management practices adapted. The findings present voices from Scottish libraries during 2020.Research limitations/implicationsThe research presents a snapshot of activities during a period of fast-moving change. The research, therefore, presents a snapshot of March–December 2020, which is, however, an extremely important snapshot. The first lockdown was perhaps most interesting to study from a research perspective because the authors witnessed, real-time, how the staff responded and reacted (with lessons learnt and applied in subsequent regional or national lockdowns later in 2020 and in the 2021). The second lockdown and subsequent periods were outside the scope of this research.Practical implicationsRecommendations are offered around the need for a national conversation about digital content provision in public libraries and the exploration of possibilities of a national approach, the role libraries have as digital enablers (in supporting effort to overcome the digital divide in society), the crucial nature of continued strong advocacy for public libraries, the importance of the library as a physical space, and on how to maintain the flexibility, agility and autonomy which emerged during lockdown.Social implicationsThe research presents strong testimony about the social value of public libraries as free, safe and public spaces within communities. It also highlights the continued digital divide which exists in many places and the important role that public libraries have in being digital enablers for many members of the public. The closeness of library service staff to users is strongly evidenced in the testimony from managers as is the need for parent organisation (local authorities or in culture or leisure trusts) to recognise more fully the breadth of services the public library provides and how these are "essential” for many users.Originality/valueThe value and distinctiveness of this research lies in the fact that the research captured the voices, thou hts and perceptions of Scotland's public libraries during the period of lockdown in 2020. The evidence gathered suggests important conversations are required around equity of e-lending provision, the role of libraries as digital enablers, the balance between physical and digital provision and around the ways libraries are managed (directly by local authorities or in culture trusts). The research affords lessons for public library provision beyond Scotland with many issues being transferable to other contexts.
ABSTRACT
The main aim of the current study is to investigate the relationship between governance characteristics, information technology governance, and continuity management during Covid-19 in an emerging economy. The study also examines the moderating role of information technology governance in the relationship between governance characteristics and business continuity management. The quantitative approach is used by utilising a survey questionnaire. A sample of 232 questionnaire surveys has been collected from the board of directors, top and middle management executives, external auditors, information technology experts, and some other respondents. The results were estimated using structural equation modelling. The results indicate that information technology governance has a statistically significant effect on business continuity. Board size, board independence, audit committee independence, audit committee diligence, and external audit have a statistically significant positive effect on information technology governance. Further, the results indicate that information technology governance significantly moderates the effect of board size, board independence, board diligence, audit committee independence, audit committee diligence, and external audit on business continuity. However, information technology governance does not moderate the relationship between board committees and business continuity, which indicates less board involvement in information technology governance. The current research provides insight into the role of information technology governance in business continuity management during crises. The present study provides a unique contribution as it investigates the relationship between corporate governance characteristics, information technology governance, and business continuity management during Covid-19, providing empirical evidence from an emerging country.
ABSTRACT
The difficult public health situation by COVID-19 represented a challenge from the end of March 2020 to 2021 in different areas. Academic libraries had the opportunity to strengthen their mission of supporting society. They took advantage and diversified their services, among which stands out the virtual reference service aimed at supporting users to locate and get information and data. This case study has the purpose of evaluate the reference service provided by the Daniel Cosio Villegas Library (BDCV) of El Colegio de Mexico from January 2019 to December 2021. The queries that were asked to the reference librarians were analyzed based on the READ scale (Reference Effort Assessment Data). The data analysis was performed based on the variables of duration and type of question. The results show a slight increase in queries during the pandemic, related to the search for documents.
ABSTRACT
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the librarians at the Brooklyn Campus of St. Joseph's College New York developed a new embedded librarianship model of instruction, incorporating scaffolded information literacy modules that could be delivered remotely. To measure the new model's efficacy, the researchers administered the 15-item First Year Experience (FYE) Library Literacy Scale to 118 students at the start of the semester as a pretest and again at the end of the semester as a posttest. Results indicated a significant improvement from pretest to posttest, as supported by a significant paired sample t-test, t(117) = –9.01, p <.001. Additional analysis revealed that this result was not influenced by course modality, gender of the student, or which librarian taught the class. The benefits of an embedded librarianship model compared to the traditional one-shot session are discussed. © 2023 by Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 21218.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the entire human race's routine and put a temporary halt to global interactions. This epidemic has also had a negative influence on academic libraries. This is one of the most serious consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic for academic libraries, particularly at Malaysia's Institute of Teacher Training. It also, predictably, gives libraries the potential to shift their traditional role in offering services by utilizing the most up-to-date technologies. The purpose of this study was to show how academic libraries use social media platforms to deliver library services, highlighting the importance of strong and structured collaboration to reach customers during this epidemic. At the same time to increase users in the virtual world, promote library services and activities in a more engaging way. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Purpose>Currently, knowing where to seek for reliable information may be one of the most important human skills. Data reliability is a matter of debate. The online dissemination of information has been a field for the reproduction of fake news. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) states that libraries are part of the answer to this ever-increasing problem. The purpose of the study is to investigate libraries' role in combating the fake news phenomenon.Design/methodology/approach>The study was designed to record attitudes of professionals and students of library science on the libraries' role in the battle against misinformation. The study was conducted through an online survey using a questionnaire consisted of closed-ended, seven-point Likert scale questions. The data collected were subjected to a descriptive statistical analysis. The median was used to present the results. In order to perform analysis between genders, as well as age groups, the non-parametric criteria Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis were applied to determine the existence of differences in participants' beliefs. Spearman's rank correlation test was used in order to examine whether participants' replies were interrelated.Findings>Responses by 434 individuals were obtained. Participants highlighted primarily the educational role of libraries and agreed that the fake news phenomenon is an opportunity to promote the libraries' role in society. No clear direction was recorded in the participants' beliefs about the plethora of information and fake news as a potential threat to libraries. The respondents partly agreed that the plethora of information caused work-related emotional disorders and feeling that the respondents were not able to keep track of developments in the field. Finally, the study depicted the participants' need for training on combating fake news, information sources evaluation and recognizing predatory journals.Originality/value>The study's significance lies in the following: the study contributes to the recording of professionals' as well as students of library science views about (1) libraries' role, (2) working environment and (3) training needs, concerning fake news and the overabundance of information in the digital era.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Since 2020 the world has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with consequences such as the temporary paralysis of in-person services to the public by libraries. Although Brazil is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, there have been attempts to return to face-to-face activities in many educational institutions, generating apprehension and doubts among students and employees. In this context, the libraries of these institutions need references on how to analyze their situation and thus establish a safe return strategy. Objective: Thus, the research aimed to outline and implement a route of analysis of the conditions for the return of libraries belonging to teaching institutions to face-to-face activities, using the collection and analysis of the opinion of those in charge as to the compliance (or not) of the sanitary criteria indicated by the biosafety protocol of the Regional Council of Library Science of the State of Sao Paulo 8th Region (CRB-8). Method: The research is classified as exploratory, with a quantitative approach and case study design, being an educational institution the case unit. Results: Among other results, it was found that 15% of the participants believe that their campus will guarantee the supply of individual protection equipment for servers and users, and 41% believe that there is enough space to guarantee distance between their users. Conclusion: It is concluded that the work contributes to the effort of confronting the pandemic by collaborating in the production of an instrument that can be replicated to other institutions, besides inspiring listening actions to those involved in the impediments of confinement.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Social responsibility consists of the professional's performance and commitment to provide services and perform actions aimed at the needs of its users and the production of results that benefit the entire target community. Objective: The general objective of this article is to analyze the dimensions and actions related to social responsibility developed by librarians in public libraries. Methodology: It is characterized as a descriptive, quali quantitative, bibliographic and documental research. Data were also collected in three public libraries in the city of Recife, using a questionnaire sent to the librarians of these libraries via e-mail. Additionally, activities and services offered remotely were mapped, through the use of the libraries' social networks, during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused the suspension of the activities, starting in March/2020. Content analysis was applied to the collected data. Results: The result was the mapping of the dimensions and actions of the social function of libraries related to social responsibility, based on the theoretical framework, on document analysis and on the analysis of the questionnaires applied to the libraries studied. Conclusion: It is concluded that most of the mapped social responsibility practices are already part of librarianship and that the ethical, political, educational and cultural dimensions contemplated in librarianship activities are covered in those dimensions and actions. Therefore, it is notorious the social responsibility of the librarian and also of the public library as a space conducive to the promotion of reading and citizenship, the encouragement of culture, and social and digital inclusion.
ABSTRACT
Introduction/Objective: It presents a theme linked to the analysis and verification of delays in indexing scientific journal articles with the terms of the controlled vocabulary Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in the PubMed search engine. Methodology: Includes bibliographic research for thematic contextualization, and is exploratory and descriptive with practical applicability on subjects related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A search strategy was built on PubMed with 16 terms related to the theme in the MeSH Terms and Text Word fields. The study was published in 2021 in the Portuguese language. The metadata of the 85 publications were exported for analysis in a spreadsheet under the aspects of entry of the publication in PubMed, time until indexing with the MeSH terms and category of the publication. Results: About 89% of the publications, considering the sample of 62 items with MeSH Terms, had a delay in indexing of at least 15 days;and about 11% collapsed in 15 to 135 days. Conclusion: In order for researchers to be able to retrieve the most scientific content on COVID-19, it is essential that they are constructed of searches that contemplate the use of the MeSH controlled vocabulary term combined with the use of the nomenclature variations of the theme in other fields, such as Text Word, since publications may appear in the search engine, but have not yet been indexed, in order to retrieve a greater number of scientific literature already published.
ABSTRACT
Purpose This study focused on parents' health anxiety by proxy about their children when they started learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic, to explore the impact of academic stress by parent-proxy on parents' learning support services with the mediating role of health anxiety by parent-proxy and the moderating role of parental educational level. Design/methodology/approach In total, 8,940 primary school students' parents participated in the study. Bootstrapping was performed to test the constructed model. Findings (1) Academic stress by parent-proxy positively predicted health anxiety by parent-proxy. (2) Health anxiety by parent-proxy significantly positively predicted learning support services. (3) Academic stress by parent-proxy also significantly positively predicted learning support services. (4) Academic stress by parent-proxy positively predicted parents' learning support services through the mediating effect of health anxiety by parent-proxy. (5) Parental educational level moderated the relationship between academic stress by parent-proxy, health anxiety by parent-proxy, and learning support services. Academics and parents will benefit from the conclusions of this study in both theory and practice. Originality/value During the COVID-19 pandemic, offline learning has been replaced with online learning, which has brought with it many physical and mental health problems, including additional academic stress. Most studies on learning support services have focused on offline learning. However, this study explored the relationships between academic stress by parent-proxy, health anxiety by parent-proxy, learning support services, and parental educational level in the context of online learning. Results show that it is necessary to pay attention to academic stress and health to provide children with appropriate learning support services.
ABSTRACT
Purpose Building supply chain resilience is increasingly recognized as an effective strategy to deal with supply chain challenges, risks and disruptions. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how to build supply chain resilience and whether supply chain resilience could achieve a competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach By analyzing the data collected from 216 firms in China, the current study empirically examines how information technology (IT) capability and supply chain collaboration affect different forms of supply chain resilience (external resilience and internal resilience) and examines the performance implications of these two forms of supply chain resilience. Findings Results show that IT capability is positively related to external resilience, whereas supply chain collaboration is positively related to internal resilience. The combination of IT capability and supply chain collaboration is positively related to external resilience. In addition, internal resilience is positively related to firm performance. Research limitations/implications This study used only cross-sectional data from China for hypothesis testing. Future studies could utilise longitudinal data and research other countries/regions. Practical implications The findings systematically assess how IT capability and supply chain collaboration contribute to supply chain resilience and firm performance. The results provide a benchmark of supply chain resilience improvement that can be expected from IT capability and supply chain collaboration. Originality/value The study findings advance the understanding of supply chain resilience and provide practical implications for supply chain managers.
ABSTRACT
Purpose Knowledge management during the pandemic has been a challenging task due to the sudden intervention of technology in the organisational environment and the unexpected shift to the work-from-home culture. This study aims to investigate the role of technology intervention in the relationship between knowledge diffusion and knowledge application. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study was conducted and data were collected from 541 employees who were working from home during the pandemic in India. Findings This study found significant relationships between knowledge diffusion and technology intervention. This study also observed the mediating role of technology intervention in the relationship between knowledge diffusion and knowledge application. Originality/value Tis study stands with other pioneering studies that have explored the role of technology intervention in the knowledge diffusion-application relationship using the job demand-resource model.
ABSTRACT
We investigate the impact of the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market value and trading volume of supply chain finance (SCF) firms. Using an event study, we observe a significant valuation loss and higher trading volume of SCF firms. However, blockchain-enabled SCF firms are protected from such valuation loss and volatility in trading. We find that higher research and development (R&D) and capital expenditures by firms prevent the loss. Moreover, the firm value of blockchain-enabled SCF firms is impacted by their membership in a blockchain consortium and progress in blockchain implementation. Investors' confidence in blockchain reduces the market uncertainty.
ABSTRACT
Introduction. This study was designed to evaluate the accessibility of peer-reviewed literature regarding COVID-19 and the ten diseases with the highest death toll worldwide. Method. We conducted extensive searches of studies concerning COVID-19 and other diseases using the Web of Science, and the Google and Google Scholar search engines. Analysis. Open access rates were obtained from the Web of Science database, taking into account different types of publications and research areas. Quantitative analyses based on random samplings were used to estimate the potential increase of open access rates achievable with open archiving of post-prints. Results. The open access rate of COVID-19 papers (89.5%) largely outnumbered that of the ten most deadly human diseases (48.8%, on average). We estimated that most of the gap (70%) could be bridged by making available online, post-print manuscripts. Conclusions. The pandemic represents a real breakthrough, in scientific publishing, towards the goal of health information for all, demonstrating that much greater access to medical literature is possible. The green road may be the best way to bring open access rates of peer review of other major diseases closer to that of COVID-19. However, it needs to be implemented more effectively, combining bottom-up and top-down actions and making the open science culture more widespread.
ABSTRACT
Introduction. This paper examines the potential of the motivated reasoning approach as a framework explaining why people prefer and use health-related misinformation. Method. Conceptual analysis of a sample of 41 studies drawing on the motivated reasoning approach examine the selection and use of information and misinformation. Results. Preferring and using health-related misinformation occur most likely when people are primarily driven by directional goals. They tend to give rise to confirmation bias which favours the adherence to existing beliefs about the relevance of information sources of certain types, for example, websites advocating anti-vaccination ideas. Moreover, disconfirmation bias results in the rejection of information that challenges the existing beliefs about an issue. Directional goals seldom appear in a pure form because motivated reasoning is also driven by accuracy goals motivating people to select and use information that enables them to support, justify and defend their beliefs against critique. Conclusion. Motivated reasoning offers a relatively robust psychological approach to the study of reasons by which people prefer and use misinformation in order to confirm their existing beliefs and to protect their identities. There is a need to explore further the potential and limitations of the motivated reasoning approach by conducting empirical research focusing on controversial and politicized issues such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
In the current global context, characterized by the Covid-19 pandemic, the circulation of information about this topic has become one more problem to be addressed. The quick distribution of messages of dubious origin and often manipulated for intentional purposes has put the whole population in a vulnerable situation with respect to the access to quality information on the pandemic. It is not new from information literacy, the treatment of information competencies that allow people to be in a better position to access, evaluate and select the information they need, even in relation to issues related to health. At the same time,, useful elements can be taken to address the problem in question from the perspective of media literacy. This relation between information literacy and media literacy has been reflected in recent working documents generated by Unesco, through its work line Media & Information Literacy - Informational and media literacy where both concepts are addressed from their particularities, but it is detected the need to treat them together in a single global concept. The objective of this work is to research, based on the existing bibliographic production, the main information and media competencies that have been reconfigured from a global pandemic context. As the main results, it is expected to show the existence of sufficient material to think about a revaluation of the mentioned competences and the corresponding proposal of alternatives for their reflection in information and media literacy programs.
ABSTRACT
The editorial comments that covid-19 pandemic affected libraries and many of them, were caught by the back foot, that is, they had to close their doors and left their users helpless! Therefore, digitization and the creation of a digital library is not the future of libraries, it is the present. The library needs to digitize its old materials to save space, the ability to start a digital collections management project is becoming an essential skill for today's librarian. In addition, articles included in first issue of 2022 of the Ibero-American Journal of Information Science are commented.
ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, large amounts of data have been generated in social media, for the processing of which automatic methods such as topic modeling become necessary. In various studies, this has already provided fundamental insights into the topics discussed in different geographical regions and at different points in time. Other parameters such as authorship have also taken into account for additional differentiation, or individual sub-areas of corona discourse have been considered separately. Another interesting subfield here is science communication, whose importance for successful pandemic response is often mentioned. Here, too, topic modeling can serve as an approach in the future to examine science communication in the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects in more detail.
ABSTRACT
Purpose This paper attempts to provide significant information on the increased growth of literature of chatbots and virtual assistants. Technological changes are dynamic and keep changing at regular intervals. Therefore, it becomes highly crucial to review the performance of chatbots and virtual assistants. This paper aims to review the literature by eminent researchers in the form of authors, keywords and major contributing organizations. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis is used to analyze the growth of literature on chatbots. A sum of articles has been extracted from Scopus database with selected keywords and with certain filters. VOSviewer software is used for analysis of data. A total of 130 documents are extracted from Scopus database from 2017 to 2021 (31st August). Findings This study provides a significant contribution to an existing literature and provides the understanding of research in the area of chatbots and virtual assistants. The authors with maximum number of citations are Yan, Zaho, Bengio, Weizenbaum, Song, Zhou and Maedche with jointly 180 citations. Research is been contributed by different countries where the United States is the country with highest number of documents published. The United States contributes 17% of the total production in the area of chatbots and virtual assistants. The analysis shows that the area is gaining momentum as contribution in this area is been increasing in last few years. Research limitations/implications The study shows that several branches of chatbots are also in mainstream like natural language processing, e-learning, behavioural research, conversational agents, virtual assistants, human-computer interaction, natural language and so on. It provides a wider scope to authors and researchers to gain useful insights. The bibliometric study will provide a broader spectrum in this area. Social implications The developments in technology and also the effect of COVID-19 pandemic is boosting the adoption of technology in different sectors. Deployment of technology will uplift the economy and social infrastructure. Society can avail different services from their comfort area and also in real time. This will help in reducing wastage of resources like people visiting offices for routine jobs which can be easily availed from their workplace. Society may access better services without much human interaction. Originality/value This paper adds significant contribution to the existing literature by analysing the published papers from Scopus database. The study contains new and significant information as this study covers all industries where chatbots and virtual assistants are being applied whereas in previous literature only specific industry has been taken into consideration.
ABSTRACT
Purpose This study seeks to explore digital natives' mobile usage behaviors and, in turn, develop an analytic framework that helps articulate the underlying components of mobile addiction syndrome (MAS), its severity levels and mobile usage purposes. Design/methodology/approach The investigation adopts a survey method and a case study. The results of the former are based on 411 random classroom observations and 205 questionnaire responses, and the insights of the latter are derived from 24 interviews and daily observations. Findings The findings validate five distinctive signs that constitute MAS and their significant correlations with each of the Big Five personality traits. Classroom observations confirm the prevalence of addiction tendency among digital natives in the research context. Seven levels of MAS and six different mobile usage purposes further manifest themselves from case analysis. There appears to be a sharp contrast between the addicted and non-addicted groups in their mobile purposes and behavioral patterns. Additionally, family relationships seem influential in shaping non-addictive mobile usage behaviors. Research limitations/implications Psychological perspectives on MAS may be important but insufficient. Empirical investigation on a global scale, especially with distinctive cross-cultural comparisons, will be highly encouraged. How MAS evolves over time should also serve as future research interests. Practical implications Teaching pedagogy of college education might need certain adjustments to intrigue digital natives' learning interests. Future managers might also need to adopt better performance measurements for digital natives who barely separate work from personal matters in their mobile devices. Social implications Parents and healthcare institutions may need to develop response mechanism to tackle this global issue at home and in society. The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on MAS might also deserve global attention. Originality/value The analytic framework developed provides an original mechanism that can be valuable in identifying MAS severity and associated behavioral patterns.