Ensuring continued use of a digital library: a qualitative approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman ◽  
Suhana Mohezar
Keyword(s):  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Military Education ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to identify the factors affecting continued use of digital libraries in a military context. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews with four focus groups consisting of 21 respondents, who are military education instructors and librarians, were carried out. This qualitative approach study adopted content analysis methods that were designed to contrast and make comparisons based on the participants’ responses. The valid responses were analyzed using NVivo 12 Plus. Findings Using semi-structured interviews, this study presents five dimensions of critical success factors generated from the analysis of the content of the qualitative data. The dimensions highlighted are as follows: perceived quality factors; perceived instrumental support; perceived ease of use; users’ expectation and users’ satisfaction; and net benefits and perceived usefulness. Research limitations/implications This study is only focussing on military education instructors and librarians in the vicinity of four regions in Peninsular Malaysia. For practical implications, it provides an understanding of how the organization could sustain the continued use of a military-context digital library (DL). Practical implications This study makes a new practical contribution to DL information systems’ successful implementation practices in a military context. This study also serves as a guideline for the organizational stakeholders to have a better understanding of their knowledge and the digitalization environment. The findings of this study provide an understanding of how the organization could sustain the continued use of digital libraries in a military context. Originality/value This study fills the void in the literature by investigating the DL use in the context of a military setting.

scholarly journals Cognitive styles within an exploratory search system for digital libraries

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 970-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Goodale ◽  
Paul David Clough ◽  
Samuel Fernando ◽  
Nigel Ford ◽  
Mark Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Search System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
User Attitudes ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of cognitive style on navigating a large digital library of cultural heritage information; specifically, the paper focus on the wholist/analytic dimension as experienced in the field of educational informatics. The hypothesis is that wholist and analytic users have characteristically different approaches when they explore, search and interact with digital libraries, which may have implications for system design. Design/methodology/approach – A detailed interactive IR evaluation of a large cultural heritage digital library was undertaken, along with the Riding CSA test. Participants carried out a range of information tasks, and the authors analysed their task performance, interactions and attitudes. Findings – The hypothesis on the differences in performance and behaviour between wholist and analytic users is supported. However, the authors also find that user attitudes towards the system are opposite to expectations and that users give positive feedback for functionality that supports activities in which they are cognitively weaker. Research limitations/implications – There is scope for testing results in a larger scale study, and/or with different systems. In particular, the findings on user attitudes warrant further investigation. Practical implications – Findings on user attitudes suggest that systems which support areas of weakness in users’ cognitive abilities are valued, indicating an opportunity to offer diverse functionality to support different cognitive weaknesses. Originality/value – A model is proposed suggesting a converse relationship between behaviour and attitudes; to support individual users displaying search/navigation behaviour mapped onto the strengths of their cognitive style, but placing greater value on interface features that support aspects in which they are weaker.

Evaluation of PPP road projects in Greece

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Marinelli
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Practices ◽  
Road Projects ◽  
Revenue Risks ◽  
Managerial Experience ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Geographical Context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and evaluate the problems encountered by five major road projects recently implemented in Greece as public–private partnerships (PPP) and make recommendations for improvement of the relevant managerial practices and contractual clauses for the benefit of similar future projects. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was adopted in this research as only senior engineers with specific managerial experience were deemed suitable for the purposes of this research. In total, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with CEOs of the PPPs and heads of independent engineers involved in the projects’ implementation as well as with senior officials of two Greek Ministries. Findings The experts identified different areas of weakness relevant to the revenue risks, the planning of the scope, the management of designs and legal permits as well as the toll policy selected. They also made specific recommendations for the streamlining of the relevant procedures in the future. Practical implications The experts’ opinions and recommendations constitute a solid basis for the achievement of higher efficiency in the management of future PPP projects worldwide. Originality/value This research offers a holistic perspective to PPP project management as it sheds light to the problems encountered by the Greek PPP programme as a whole and incorporates the experience gained at the contracts’ renegotiation. The research draws from the experience of experts and offers recommendations for systemic improvements which can be widely applied in any geographical context.

Conceptual mindsets and heuristics in credibility evaluation of e-Word of Mouth in tourism

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 954-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lluisa Llamero
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Formal Knowledge ◽  
Think Aloud Protocol ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find out how credibility judgements intervene in the consumption of electronic-Word of Mouth (e-WOM) in tourism, as there is discrepancy in the literature about its influence on decision-making processes. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach is explored, based on semi-structured interviews and observation through think-aloud protocol. This methodology provides fruitful insights as it focuses on the users’ browsing habits. The author interviewed a sample of professionals of tourism, cybertourists and bloggers. Findings – Results reveal that only part of e-WOM is granted credibility. Therefore, its persuasiveness depends on those limited positive judgements. Travellers use a conceptual mindset and a series of cognitive heuristics (homophily, crowd consensus, etc.) to assess credibility. Formal knowledge background and social pressures have proven to be weak. Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to a reduced sample of informants but their adjustment to the most typical profiles interviewed compensates this restriction. Another limitation is that data comes from a single cultural context (Spain), but on the other hand provides data that did not exist in the international literature on the topic. Practical implications – Outcomes can help tourism managers to monitor key heuristics employed by end-users in webs of e-WOM and detect new trends of travelling habits. Originality/value – The paper is original in that it establishes the rationalities behind the daily use of cognitive heuristics explored through different traveller's profiles.

Semantic Web and ontology-based applications for digital libraries

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 826-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shakeel Ahmad Khan ◽  
Rubina Bhatti
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Web ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Web Applications ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Semantic Web Technologies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Web Technologies ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore useful Semantic Web technologies and ontology-based applications for digital libraries. It also investigates the perceptions of university librarians and academicians in Pakistan about Semantic Web technologies and their use in digital libraries. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory research design based on Delphi research strategy was conducted to answer the research questions. Interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 50 key informants including university librarians and academicians to explore their perceptions about Semantic Web technologies and their use in digital libraries. Thematic analysis of interview data was conducted to obtain results. Findings The results of this paper showed that DuraCloud, Semantic information mashup, OntoEdit and resource description framework (RDF) are the various Semantic Web applications which are useful for digital libraries to develop semantic relationships among digital contents and increase their accessibility in the web environment. Findings revealed that Semantic Web provides precise results and meets user information needs in an effective way. Results also showed that next-generation digital libraries use context-awareness technology, intelligent agent software and detecting sensors to analyze user information needs and provide dynamic information services. This paper recommended that librarians should embrace the use of emerging web technologies in libraries and offer library services through the medium of the web. Practical implications This paper envisaged the future of digital library services and Semantic Web applications that can be used to re-structure metadata of digital library. This paper has practical implications for librarians to consider the useful applications of Semantic Web for digital library and enhance the interoperability of metadata among heterogeneous information systems. Practically, results obtained from this paper are highly useful for library schools and LIS teachers to up-date their curriculum by incorporating new contents related to web languages and Semantic Web applications for digital libraries. Originality/value This paper identifies various Semantic Web applications which are useful for developing Semantic Digital Libraries.

Developing a model to identify the antecedents and consequences of user satisfaction with digital libraries

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 979-997
Author(s):  
Nima Soltani-Nejad ◽  
Fatemeh Taheri-Azad ◽  
Nayereh Zarei-Maram ◽  
Mohammad Karim Saberi
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Future Research ◽  
System Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences

PurposeThe primary objective of the present study was to design and develop a model to identify the antecedents and consequences of user satisfaction with digital libraries.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework of this study was based on information system success theory, technology acceptance model (TAM), media affinity theory, satisfaction-loyalty theory and engagement theory. In so doing, eight hypothesized relationships were formulated to develop the conceptual model. The study approach was quantitative. Using simple random sampling technique, a total of 409 Iranian students participated in the study and responded to the survey. Descriptive and inferential data analysis was also performed using SPSS and SmartPLS3 software.FindingsThe results showed that the generic usability of digital library and the quality of digital resources could be used as a functional theoretical framework to predict and understand the factors contributing to user satisfaction in the domain of digital library. Increasing user satisfaction with digital library may have implications including recommending the digital library to others, the digital library reusing as well as the digital library engaging and integrating with them. It should be noted that system quality, service quality, and information quality are important factors in the formation of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and digital libraries' affinity.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to empirically evaluate the antecedents and consequences of the user satisfaction with digital library presenting a new model. The model presented in this study can be used in future research as well. Also, this study has eloquently expanded the theories of user satisfaction with digital libraries.

Factors influencing e-government adoption in India: a qualitative approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 413-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajiv Kumar ◽  
Amit Sachan ◽  
Arindam Mukherjee ◽  
Ritu Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Support ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Adoption Factors ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that enable citizens to adopt e-government services in India. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews. Findings The study reveals novel e-government adoption factors, namely, auxiliary facilities, corruption avoidance, transparency and fairness in process, customer support, connectedness and forced adoption, previously unexplored in e-government adoption literature. In addition, the results highlight 17 e-government adoption factors that strengthen the findings from previous literature. Research limitations/implications This study was qualitative in nature, and rather than generalization, the focus was explicitly on obtaining an in-depth understanding. The sample used was sufficient for the purpose of this study and allowed reasonable conclusions to be drawn; however, it cannot be considered representative of a vast country like India. Academicians and information systems researchers can use these findings for further research. Practical implications The findings of this study provide useful insights into the decision-making process of e-government services users in India and similar emerging economies. These findings can be important for government officials tasked with providing e-government services. Originality/value Previous studies in the context of e-government adoption, so far, have tried to integrate adoption factors from previous technology adoption models. Hence, these studies have not been able to capture the complete essence of e-government characteristics. In addition, there are limited studies in e-government adoption in the Indian context.

Evaluation and usage scenarios of open source digital library and collection management tools

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Gkoumas ◽  
Fotis Lazarinis
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Collection Management ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technical Features ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate open source software (OSS) for digital libraries and collection management and to propose different utilization scenarios based on the characteristics of the tools. Design/methodology/approach – The tools are assessed on the basis of their technical features and options, the type of the content they manage, the support for common library operations such as cataloging and circulation, the searching support and the interoperability options. Then they are evaluated by users and finally a number of usage scenarios are analyzed based on the results of the evaluation. Findings – The basic findings of the study is that open source digital library and collection management tools offer advanced operations and support various metadata and interoperability protocols with easy and user-friendly interfaces. Most of the tools are extensively used under various settings and establishments already. Language support for the interfaces should be extended with more languages and some tools with limited operations should be improved to be of practical use. Practical implications – The findings of the paper could be used support the selection of specific open source tools for various types of establishments. Originality/value – The study reviews the characteristics of a few OSS for digital libraries and collection management and reveals their specific strengths and weaknesses. It also presents a number of realistic scenarios and proposes the usage of specific tools based on time, technology and staff constraints.

Opinion mining towards blockchain technology adoption for accessing digital library resources

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asad Ullah Khan ◽  
Zhiqiang Zhang ◽  
Milad Taleby Ahvanooey ◽  
Wajid Rafique
Keyword(s):  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Opinion Mining ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Digital Resources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blockchain Technology

PurposeBlockchain technology is a distributed and decentralized public digital ledger, which is employed to save dynamic transaction data and static records across several computers so that each record could not be modified retroactively without the collusion of the network and alteration of all subsequent blocks. Recently, it has become immensely popular in digital resource sharing in different research areas such as healthcare, smart cities, cryptocurrency and libraries. Since the current eLibrary systems are vulnerable to issues such as unauthorized access, plagiarism, etc., there is a lack of access control system that can efficiently address these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe authors designed a conceptual model for evaluating the users' intention in the use of blockchain-based digital libraries, which can facilitate the resource organization and provide additional security to interactive processes between users. To conduct our survey, the authors devised and shared two versions, English and Chinese, among 298 participants. Moreover, 7 PhD students participated in the pre-testing of the questioner design. The authors analyzed the demographic data using the Jamovi software and SmartPLS in order to generate the path modeling.FindingsThis study revealed that blockchain technology adaption in eLibraries is essential for enhancing the quality of services, infrastructure and resources for libraries. The study’s results show that optimism, informativeness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and intention to use blockchain technology for accessing digital resources in libraries.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the adoption of blockchain technology in the digital library. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first empirical attempt to provide a new perspective of developing digital libraries based on security policies. This model shows the underpinning knowledge to manage digital resources, which can facilitate the design phases and enhance the management costs in eLibraries.

Digital library technology in J-ISIS: concept, implementation and comparison with GSDL

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-89
Author(s):  
Egbert de Smet
Keyword(s):  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Storage Efficiency ◽  
Text Indexing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Berkeley Db ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Library Technology ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Although the new J-ISIS software from UNESCO, based on Berkeley DB and Lucene technology, complies with some of the technical requirements as seen necessary for digital library applications, an easy way of building collections so far was not available. The purpose of this paper is to give a report on some necessary DL technological requirements, such as the capability to deal with any metadata structure and alphabets and full-text indexing of documents of any length, and how J-ISIS can deal with these, as well as on the production of the DL interface for digital library applications based on Tika technology. Design/methodology/approach – A brief comparison is made with a well-established DL software, i.e. Greenstone Digital Library, regarding the concepts and performance. Findings – While using a quite different architecture and approach, the test shows that J-ISIS can process the documents faster and with more economical storage efficiency, inviting UNESCO to invest more into it in order to allow incorporation of some more advanced features like Greenstone's capability to process intra-document segments and images, but also to allow for new exciting features for digital libraries such as interactivity. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on the J-ISIS prototype implementation of digital library technology and could only be tested on a limited set of documents. Practical implications – Librarians interested in building digital library collections, esp. when doing this integrated with their library systems and catalogs, have a viable new option now within the FOSS-market. Originality/value – This is the first description on J-ISIS for digital libraries.

scholarly journals Sinabung volcano: how culture shapes community resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-303
Author(s):  
Marta Mori ◽  
Ronan McDermott ◽  
Saut Sagala ◽  
Yasmina Wulandari
Keyword(s):  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aid Dependency ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Cultural Experts ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how culture, including traditions and social structures, can influence resilience and how culturally sensitive relief operations can put affected people and their context at the core of any interventions. Design/methodology/approach A case study of the Mt Sinabung volcano area in Indonesia was undertaken. As part of the case study, an analysis of interventions was conducted, which was complemented by semi-structured interviews with Karo cultural experts and humanitarian organisations. Findings Culture influences the manner in which the Karo people react to volcano eruptions with varying implications for recovery. In addition, relief organisations which understand people’s actions through a cultural lens have better managed to tailor programs with long-term impact, thereby avoiding aid dependency. Practical implications Practical examples of disaster management activities that adequately account for the beneficiaries’ way of living prior to the eruptions are provided. Aid actors are provided with guidance concerning how to better tailor their activities in line with a cultural lens. Originality/value The study provides empirical grounding for claims concerning the role of culture in planning interventions in Indonesia and other similar contexts.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document