International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology (IJKCDT)
Not a member yet
251 research outputs found
Sort by
Acceptance of Moodle as a Teaching/Learning Tool by the Faculty of the Department of Information Studies at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman based on UTAUT
Get PDFThis research aims to explore the acceptance of Moodle as a teaching and learning tool by the faculty of the Department of Information Studies (IS) at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in the Sultanate of Oman. The researchers employed the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine the effects of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions on the behavioural intention of SQU faculty members to employ Moodle in their instruction. Data were collected by the interview method. Results showed the emergence of two faculty groups: the use of Moodle and the one does not use Moodle groups. In the use of Moodle group, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and behavioural intention are positively related, thereby influencing the faculty members’ use behaviour. In addition to the aforementioned UTAUT constructs, four moderators affect the use of Moodle’s adoption of Moodle. These moderators are gender, age, experience and voluntariness of use, amongst which gender exhibits the least influence on Moodle adoption. That is, male and female faculty generally both use the learning platform. Although some members of the does not use Moodle exhibit optimistic performance expectancy for technology, the overall perception in this regard for Moodle is negative. The other UTAUT constructs exert no influence on this group’s adoption of the learning platform.URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/08901/08901.pd
A Global Analysis of Open Access Books: A Study Based on Directory of Open Access Books
Get PDFOpen Access Publishing provides free access to scholarly literature over the internet and has gained enormous momentum in the recent years. This paper discussed about a global analysis of open access books which are available in the Directory Open Access Books (DOAB). For this the required data has been collected from the open access directory from http://www.openbooks.org/ on 20th October 2015. Totally 3379 books were published as on and the first book was published in the year 1866 and the second book in 1867 but after the year 1962 there is gradually increased the publication of books. The maximum number of books i e., more than 300 were published in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. During the period of 1866 to 2015 totally 3379 books were published but from the year November 2011, 487 books were added in the Directory. URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/06467/06467.pd
Challenges in Information Technology Adoption in Pakistani University Libraries
Get PDFUse of information technology in providing efficient library services is inevitable in today’s information world. Its implementation causes many challenges for all the stake holders. This study is an attempt to identify challenges faced by university libraries of Pakistan in information technology adoption. To dig out the research problem, a combination of quantitative and qualitative research method was used. Valid received questionnaires (N=52) and recorder interviews of 51 LIS professionals having experience in library automation were analyzed to draw the results. The study disclosed that ‘lack of training opportunities for LIS professionals’ and ‘lack of IT skills among majority of LIS professionals’ are major challenges in adaptation of IT. The discussion found similarities in the results of this study and some previous studies conducted at national and international level.URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/06468/06468.pd
Conceptual Retrieval of Chinese Frequently Asked Healthcare Questions
Get PDFGiven a query (a health question), retrieval of relevant frequently asked questions (FAQs) is essential as the FAQs provide both reliable and readable information to healthcare consumers. The retrieval requires the estimation of the semantic similarity between the query and each FAQ. The similarity estimation is challenging as semantic structures of Chinese healthcare FAQs are quite different from those of the FAQs in other domains. In this paper, we propose a conceptual model for Chinese healthcare FAQs, and based on the conceptual model, present a technique ECA that estimates conceptual similarities between FAQs. Empirical evaluation shows that ECA can help various kinds of retrievers to rank relevant FAQs significantly higher. We also make ECA online to provide services for FAQ retrievers. URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/04193/04193.pd
Do Younger Researchers Assess Trustworthiness Differently when Deciding what to Read and Cite and where to Publish?
Get PDFAn international survey of over 3600 academic researchers examined how trustworthiness is determined when making decisions on scholarly reading, citing, and publishing in the digital age and whether social media and open access publications are having an impact on judgements. In general, the study found that traditional scholarly methods and criteria remain important across the board. However, there are significant differences between younger (age 30 & under) and older researchers (over 30). Thus younger researchers: a) expend less effort to obtain information and more likely to compromise on quality in their selections; b) view open access publishing much more positively as it offers them more choices and helps to establish their reputation more quickly; c) compensate for their lack of experience by relying more heavily on trust markers and proxies, such as impact factors; d) use all the outlets available in order to improve the chances of getting their work published and, in this respect, make the most use of the social media with which they are more familiar.URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/05533/05533.pd
Institutional Repositories in BRICS Countries
Get PDFAn institutional repository includes digital assets generated by academics, such as administrative documents, course notes, learning objects, or conference proceedings. It will provide a window that gives open access to improve the sponsoring institution’s visibility and status. This paper discusses the growth and development of Institutional Repositories available in BRICS Countries. The relevant data was collected from the directory of OpenDOAR. Based on the data in OpenDOAR, 242 repositories are represented from BRICS countries. Among the 242, 84 (34.71%) repositories are from Brazil, 39 (16.12%) from China, 68 (28.10%) repositories from India, 22 (9.109%) repositories from Russia, and 29(11.98%) repositories from South Africa. Brazil has the largest number of records (11, 17,688) among BRICS Countries repositories. URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/04192/04192.pd
A Study on Evaluating Learning Effects Based on Analysis of Satisfaction in E-learning
Get PDFThis study examined student satisfaction with e-learning experiences in order to determine which factors had the greatest impact on reports of satisfaction among students at Konkuk University. We surveyed 4,889 students enrolled in e-learning courses and analyzed 830 completed questionnaires to identify factors that influence student satisfaction with e-learning. Results showed significant correlations between system factors and satisfaction (R2 = 0.577; p = 0.000). The system factor with the greatest impact on satisfaction was course attendance rate (0.224; p = 0.000).URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/05536/05536.pd
Blog Citations as Indicators of the Societal Impact of Research
Get PDFThis article analyzes motivations behind social sciences blog posts citing journal articles in order to find out whether blog citations are good indicators for the societal impact or benefits of research. A random sample of 300 social sciences blog posts (out of 1,233 blog posts) from ResearchBlogging.org published between 01/01/2012 to 18/06/2014 were subjected to content analysis. The 300 blog posts had 472 references including 424 journal articles from 269 different journals. Sixty‐one (22.68%) of all cited journals were from the social sciences and most of the journals with high frequency were highly cited general science journals such as PNAS and Science. Seventy‐five percent of all journals were referenced only once. The average age of articles cited at the time of citation was 5.8 years. Discussion and criticism were the two main categories of motivations. Overall, the study shows the potential of blog citations as an altmetric measure and as a proxy for assessing the research impact. A considerable number of citation motivations in blogs such as disputing a belief, suggesting policies, providing a solution to a problem, reacting to media, criticism and the like seemed to support gaining societal benefits. Societal benefits are considered as helping stimulate new approaches to social issues, or informing public debate and policymaking. Lower self‐citation (compared to some other altmetric measures such as tweets) and the fact that blogging involves generating content (i.e. an intellectual process) give them an advantage for altmetrics. However, limitations and contextual issues such as disciplinary differences and low uptake of altmetrics, in general, in scholarly communication should not be ignored when using blogs as a data source for altmetrics. URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/04191/04191.pd
Information, Knowledge, Wisdom: A Progressive a Value Added Chain
Get PDFThe paper lists problems in defining information and knowledge and also in differentiating between the two. It separately describes physical, economic and cognitive properties of information and knowledge. A long drawn comparative chart of the nature, characteristics and properties of knowledge and information is given. In addition it explains their relation with wisdom. The paper emphasizes that knowledge is only a human preserve. Also it finds common grounds and mutual dependence between information, knowledge and wisdom. The purpose is to clear confusion between knowledge and information, and find their relation with wisdom and tradition by placing these in value added and evolutionary chain: Signals--data-- Information--Knowledge--Wisdom--Tradition.URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/05534/05534.pd
NOT CHANGE TO…CHANGE! The Last 40 Years in (Academic) Librarianship and What it Tells Us
Get PDFLibrarianship. It was once regarded as the most calm, indeed static, of professions – a quiet refuge for bespeckled academic types who explained in hushed tones about use of the card catalog or regretfully informed patrons that food and drink were not allowed in the library. Books and journals were purchased title by title after careful review by subject specialists often in consultation with departmental library committees, keeping shelved books in order was a major preoccupation, filing new cards correctly in the card catalog was necessary drudgery, and circulation desks required special carpentry to accommodate the trays and trays of checkout cards carefully put in order day by day so overdue materials could be easily identified. All that, and much, much more has changed, indeed such reminders feel like viewing a different galaxy, far, far away.What happened of course was the digital revolution, and indeed more than libraries were changed. The whole culture has changed. People who had grown up with rotary dial telephones used almost exclusively for local calls now routinely talk to colleagues or family in other countries face to face using Skype. A question such as who was the winner of the 1946 World Series in baseball which formerly required a trip to the local library and perhaps consultation with the reference staff, now is answered in seconds in the midst of a night out with friends by asking your smartphone. But while all aspects of our lives have been affected by the digital revolution it has played a special role in the transformation of libraries. This is because libraries, particularly academic libraries, serve as central repositories of cultural information and the digital revolution is above all an information revolution.The digital transformation of libraries has been not just remarkable, but actually astonishing. And it is clearly by no means over – in fact, the transformation appears to be one of continued acceleration and growing depth. The question facing library professionals today, therefore, is how do we take our bearings in such a dynamic situation, how do we prepare ourselves to productively and creatively shape the future of libraries, and how do we prepare future professionals? While there is no crystal ball allowing us to see the future, paradoxically there is a proven approach which can help us anticipate the future and prepare ourselves for dealing with it. By looking at the past and in particular the path the digital revolution has taken to date in libraries we can gain a perspective which will help us deal with what is to come. After all, the future arises out of, is created by, the past.URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/05673/05673.pd