The benefits of the application of ICT tools in the education of high school learners have been well-established in various studies. As developments in technology have increased the reach of electronic information resources and enhanced learners’ access to educational information, it is imperative that these tools be available and accessible without any hindrances whatsoever to high school learners

We open this first issue of 2021 with a paper from Africa: ‘The impact of mobile phone use on farmers’ livelihoods in post-insurgency Northeast Nigeria’, by Chioma Anadozie, Mathias Fonkam, Jean-Paul Cleron and Muhammadou MO Kah of the American University of Nigeria. This study combines the strengths of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) and Systems Theory (ST), as a theoretical lens to understand

This study examined the use of smartphones as an academic tool amongst medical students from a developing country context. The study also aimed at identifying the perceived benefits and barriers to using smartphones in medical education. A cross sectional survey was administered to the students from nine medical institutes in Pakistan. A structured questionnaire was self-administered to 270 students

This paper investigates the challenges affecting knowledge sharing among lecturers using web 2.0 platforms to meet the requirements of the digital age of the 21st century. Knowledge sharing is an exchange of skills, ideas, experience, and understanding among people. The study is base on the digital divide theory, which focuses on discrepancies or inequality of access to the Internet and technological

This study aimed at assessing the status of library automation, the impact of automation on library services and challenges university library is facing in maintaining automated system towards effective library services delivery. The population in this study consists of 697 library personnel in 9 university libraries in Southwest Nigeria. A structured questionnaire Appendix A) was used for data collection

The study examined the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) skills on job performance among librarians in the university libraries in South-South, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design using a self constructed questionnaire as instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was constructed after consulting other related literature in order to ensure that relevant

In the modern world, the amount of information stored in modern technology has been exponentially increasing. Access to vast amounts of information has changed how governments, institutions, organizations, and individuals conduct their business and record keeping. The increased use of cloud computing in conjunction with information and communication technologies (ICT), office automation, and digitalization

This paper explores the trends, patterns and determinants of research productivity at the Technical University of Kenya (TU-K). It analyses the research output of full-time academic staff collected from Google Scholar using Harzing’s “Publish or Perish” software. Further information was obtained from the top ten researchers based on productivity from the analysed research output. Additional information

Electronic resources (ERs) in academic libraries have become a global phenomenon due to technological developments, and these resources are changing the expectations of library users as well as the nature of the work of librarians. Although there is an extensive body of literature on the management and usage of ERs in academic institutions, few researchers have taken a holistic view by studying both

The future of journalism is being shaped by the convergence of technology and societal shifts. For indigenous language press in Africa battling to stay afloat amidst stiff competition from traditional media, the pervasive and rapidly encroaching digital transformation holds both opportunities and potential threats. Using a qualitative approach, this paper examined the implication of the shift to digital

Luo C, Shang J and Zhu Y (2020) Internet as a context: Exploring its impacts on scientific optimism in China. Information Development. Epub ahead of print 21 October 2020. DOI: 10.1177/0266666920965638.

The role of public/community libraries in promoting national development is undeniable. It is therefore not surprising that these libraries are being heralded as partners in e-government service delivery. The libraries however experience challenges in providing this important service, many of which emanate from poor funding. The paper presents findings of a study that was conducted in urban, semi-urban

This article contributes to the emerging body of knowledge on the role of the private sector in knowledge brokering in international development because very little is known about the role of the private sector. It attempts to validate the findings of the only literature review to date (Kiwanuka et al, In Press) on the subject and other literature on knowledge brokering by consulting international

Health information shared on the Internet has the potential to improve people’s quality of life. However, the level of health information literacy and informational skills determines the individuals’ ability to obtain credible health information useful for them. This study investigates the Egyptian LIS undergraduates’ health information behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study has adopted

Many of the current tests that evaluate information problem-solving skills suffer from ecological validity weakness and from library-bias. The Procedural Information Problem-Solving Knowledge Evaluation in Education test (PIKE-E) aims to assess information problem-solving skills of college students in relation to an academic literature review task in educational sciences. It entails a confirmatory

The use of social media in judicial trials has in recent past become a common phenomenon in the legal fraternity. For many years, judicial trials have relied on the conventional method of one way communication from courts to adjudicate legal cases. However, the developments of social media have brought about a shift in the adjudication of justice. The paper examines the factors which influence the

Knowledge management (KM) is a complicated process that involves socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization and requires close collaboration among the people involved. Although Nonaka proposed the SECI (Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization) model and the concept of Ba, which provides a process-oriented view of knowledge creation and transfer, practicing

The relationship between political competition and social polarization has been studied extensively while overlooking the divisive rhetoric in online political discourses and how media’s coverage creates the social-psychological barriers to peace and a unified sense of national identity/unity. Adapting Galtung’s peace-journalism model through the qualitative content and news frame analyses of contenders’

As information and communication technologies (ICT) continue to impact and shape modern society, and e-justice has gained momentum in recent years. China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) set up a trial management information system that connects all courts in China. Designed to be online, transparent, and intelligent, China’s Smart Court development began in 2016. In practice, SPC promoted modernization

Mobile-based advisory services have significant benefits, including access to agricultural information, knowledge sharing, meteorological information, marketing-related information, and financial services for smallholder farmers. This study aimed to assess farmers’ information behavior regarding mobile-based advisory services and how farmers with different characteristics and attitudes access and adopt

In previous studies, Knowledge Management (KM) strategies have been examined as objects of organizations, instead of scrutinizing their characteristics or relative quality and content. This study aims to examine the key characteristics of KM strategies in Agricultural Research Organizations (AROs) in East Africa in terms of what exists, what does not exist and why. To comprehensively answer the research

This study aims to discern China’s approach to the development of ‘Internet Plus Government Services’ (IPGS) through the systematic search, collection, and analysis of IPGS working plans issued by provincial-level government entities in China. Eighty-one IPGS working plans were retrieved and analysed by applying a qualitative content analysis approach. The analysis identified 16 work packages in four

The Internet brings new opportunities and challenges to scientific development and science communication. Previous studies overwhelmingly focused on individual-level Internet factors but overlooked the potential explanatory strength of Internet context. This study addresses the existing gap by examining how the Internet influences Chinese people’s scientific optimism from a comprehensive perspective

Quality academic achievement is based on the development of good reading skills. Generally, reading is important for students to cope up with the evolving world of knowledge. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have vastly influenced the reading practices of students. The younger generation of the information age spends most of their time in front of screens. Due to these drastic changes

The purpose of this study was to assess the preservation of and access to archives at the eSwatini National Archives (ENA). The study was based on the interpretive research paradigm, which encompasses a systematic literature review. Data were collected through different documents, such as journal articles, web pages, monographs, strategic plans, annual reports and archival legislation, with the latter

Colombia is one of the Latin American countries with the most human rights violations directed toward journalists. This article presents a brief review that identifies the main characteristics of Colombian journalism, among others its connections with powerful corporate and political sectors that have facilitated the development of an official kind of journalism that is comfortable with those in power

Moodle is one of the most widely used learning management systems currently and has traditionally been studied through the Technology Acceptance Model. Existing literature is scattered and does not allow us to clearly conclude what characteristics this technological acceptance has as well as its main progress. The study aimed to provide an overview of the scientific literature on the application of

The electronic Hospital management Information System (eHMIS) can improve care for vulnerable patients, help collect important disability and maternal health data, and improve the hospital’s overall data management. This study assessed the use of HMIS and factors influencing the usage and behavioral intentions to use the eHMIS at the Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT)

Financial information literacy helps to manage earnings, especially among those students who study non-commerce subjects. Thus, this study attempts to explore the differences in such literacy through their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. A well-structured instrument was used to gather data from 382 non-commerce students in universities in Pakistan using a multi stage sampling technique

This issue (Vol. 36, no. 4) contains the following papers:

This article analyzes the importance of scientific evaluation in Latin America, by identifying the institutions regulating it in each country, reviewing their strategic objectives for recognizing researchers and analyzing the use of diverse evaluation criteria. From a documentary analysis of the models for evaluating researchers in 19 countries, we unified the activities and products that are considered

‘Two-path model of information sharing in new product development activities’ by Shiwen Luo, Jie Wang, Yuhong Xiao and David Yoon Kin Tong. 180 participants from 60 teams were invited to attend a simulation experiment designed to explore the mechanism of information sharing in new product development activities. The results showed that unique information and common information are indispensable in

The possibility to use mobile phones to provide affordable, effective and accessible healthcare solutions has continued to attract significant investments in the application of formal m-health schemes in Africa. However, while the formal m-health schemes in Africa are limited and benefited only a handful of people, a majority of individuals are using their own phones to create an informal m-health

This study investigated information behaviour of citrus farmers residing in rural areas of Sargodha, Pakistan. The data were collected from 120 adult male farmers through face to face interviews using preformulated questionnaire and analyzed by applying descriptive statistics. The citrus farmers required information on land preparation, soil fertility management, better citrus varieties, citrus trees

The aim of this article was to develop a model for the usage of Open Access Institutional Repositories (OAIR) in university libraries in Ghana. The article adopted the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which was then modified to fit the study. The variables were adapted to improve the fit between data and the theoretical model, keeping the characteristics of TAM. Accessibility, availability and visibility

This paper explores the implication of the use and appropriation of collaborative technologies in digital disaster response. Using a virtual ethnographic approach, we studied the work of Humanity Road through participant observation of seventeen response operations across thirteen countries for seventeen months. The results identify critical areas where collaborative technologies have been successfully

The recent COVID-19 pandemic, and associated mitigation strategies of social distancing and self-isolation, has elevated the importance of telecommunications networks. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, and associated mitigation strategies of social distancing and self-isolation, has elevated the importance of telecommunications networks. In the current era there is little dispute amongst governments and

Digital libraries continue to be an important source for indigenous content and research output in developing countries, especially in the context where traditional distribution mechanisms failed. It is therefore useful for continual research to maintain and enhance our standing on the topic and to improve ways of making digital libraries more usable and sustainable to the user community. It is with

This study investigates the relationship between social media and inclusive human development in 49 African countries for the year 2012. Social media is measured with Facebook penetration whereas inclusive human development is proxied by the inequality- adjusted human development index. The empirical evidence is based on Ordinary Least Squares, Tobit and Quantile regressions. Ordinary Least Squares

We open this issue with a paper from the Arab world. In ‘Farmers’ perception of the quality of mobile-based extension services in Egypt: A comparison between public and private provision’, Hazem S. Kassem, of King Saud University and Mansoura University, Rasha M. Shabana, of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, Yomna A. Ghoneim, of Mansoura University, and Bader M. Alotaibi, of King Saud University

In this article, we review the process behind the establishment of the Bibliometrics Research Unit at the San Ignacio de Loyola University (Peru), as a specialized unit that has aided in enhancing its university’s scientific production and research practices. The Unit’s functions and its role as a dynamic engine for scientific production are also presented and discussed under the Peruvian and Latin

“Libraries can make significant contribution to all levels of data collection. However, libraries are somewhat forgotten as active players.” (Group 2)

This paper assesses the perceptions of a group of employees from the federal judiciaries of Brazil and Argentina regarding the impact of electronic lawsuits on individual performance and public service quality. A model is proposed and tested with data collected from 14 interviews with public managers and employees. The results of this study suggest that court administrators should align task characteristics

This study reviews literature on the use of Social Media (SM) in emergency response operations while identifying gaps in this research stream that need attention from Information Systems (IS) researchers. The research is grounded in past works and attempts to build on research on the application of SM in emergencies. It focuses on understanding the role of SM in the prevention, management and response

In recent years, there has been a surge of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the conduct of business. Public sector institutions in Zimbabwe have also embraced ICTs with an objective of promoting accountability, transparency and service delivery. This has increased the generation of digital records which are key in day-to-day business activities. However, the management of such records

The study, ‘Publishing and perishing? Publishing patterns of information science academics in Kenya’, is by Tom Kwanya of the Technical University of Kenya. The findings revealed low quantity, quality and visibility of research publications by information science academics in Kenya. Twenty (22.4%) serving academics are yet to publish any scholarly work, and 185 (42%) of the published papers have not

The questions over the endeavors of the humanities and social sciences have the merit of being renewed with each generation and context. Philosophy is no exception and one question emerges: why is philosophy useful for research? In this article we contribute an answer to such a question, considering the study of philosophy in Mexican education to exemplify our reflection, which was motivated by the

The current research aimed to develop and evaluate a fundamental and international model for assessment of electronic readiness (e-readiness) in university libraries, following an extensive investigation of existing theoretical frameworks at national, international and organizational levels. Documentary research and analytical survey were the methods used in this study. Considering the factor loading

Although searching for information in an electronic environment is generally seen as an efficient and easy process, accessing the desired information within the breadth of data available on the web can be a complex and difficult process. For students preparing for a life at sea, it is important to establish and determine the appropriate strategies for accessing and interpreting information on the web

In order to facilitate the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for accessing agricultural information by smallholders, it is critical to understand their perspectives on the use of ICT. However, few empirical studies have considered how smallholders utilise ICT in Central Vietnam. This research investigates the Central Vietnamese smallholders’ views on the extent of use of ICT

Most of the altmetric research in developing countries is descriptive and has not tested models exploring relationships among article-level factors. Therefore, there is a knowledge gap on this issue. The research question for this study was the following: Social dimension is the factor that activates the usage and citation of Open Access publications in Andean countries. DOIs of Andean countries publications

Prior research has highlighted the pivotal role of trust in the adoption of e-voting. However, trust as a construct has generally been studied without clear specifications of its underlying dimensions. As part of building a more comprehensive understanding of trust in e-voting, we propose and validate the underlying dimensions of trust in technology to be security, usability, privacy and validity.

Preservation of medical histories records is very crucial to patients’ healthcare quality since when preservation is not being discharged properly; medical histories records are either inaccessible or difficult to access, which has a detrimental effect on the healthcare services provided to patients. The purpose of the study was to investigate strategies for the preservation of medical records and

This study was carried out to investigate the current and prospective challenges faced by academic libraries in Pakistan and to present possible solutions addressing these challenges. The research design was qualitative, adopting the phenomenology approach. In-depth interviews of 14 senior academic library leaders from public and private sector universities of Pakistan were conducted. Leadership crisis

This study examined the relationships among KM (knowledge creation, sharing), professional development, therapy team’s (TT’s) operation modes, interaction modes and collaborative technologies’ use determinants. A sample survey research design and mixed methods approach that combined quantitative research methods guided the study. Quantitative data was collected from 283 therapy team members in two

This study analyzes the scholarship on the classification of war and peacemaking potential of media in the conflict-ridden milieu of Pakistan. Borrowing from peace studies and the existing journalistic practices in the country, the researchers present and empirically test a new model for evaluating conflict journalism in terms of its escalatory and de-escalatory trends. For this purpose, news stories

The theoretical and practical impact of dynamic capabilities on organizational performance remains elusive. This study investigates the mediating role of a firm’s dynamic capabilities, measured by IT capability and environmental scanning. In addition, by proposing that knowledge management (KM) strategies play a crucial moderating role in the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation (EO),

The presentation and sharing of information, especially in digital environments, have become significantly easier with information and communication technologies and this has caused an increase in copyright problems. The aim of this study is to reveal the levels of awareness of academic and postgraduate students of copyrights in relation to digital products. The survey model was used in research conducted

Despite widespread adoption of crowdfunding for funding social donation projects, its adoption among start-up entrepreneurs is significantly low, in developing countries in particular. Research has been performed to investigate the crowdfunding adoption intention of start-up entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. This study aimed to identify the motivation behind the intentions of the entrepreneurs to adopt

This research presents an application of a mixed narrative review, including grey literature, to broaden knowledge about the value of educational management information systems (EMIS) for accountab...