Volume 59, Issue 4

Scientific rigor and practical relevance are extensively discussed and highly important criteria of the quality of scientific articles. This research examines the balance of these criteria within the domain of technology acceptance research for mobile services. 2073 articles were considered for the study and 24 that covered the topic were chosen for detailed review. Five sub-criteria for rigor (theoretical base, research model, sample choice, questionnaire and tests) and four sub-criteria for relevance (success factors, target group, timeliness and limitations) were elaborated to evaluate the articles. Most articles meet rigor criteria quite well, whereas the number of articles with sufficient relevance is significantly lower. The often-assumed contradiction of rigor and relevance could not be supported. The study thus concludes that both criteria are non-exclusive and can coexist in one article

The 2001 foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak con stituted the biggest crisis ever to affect the UK farming system; it was one of the worst epidemics of its kind in the world. Farmers and rural communities were disrupted and traumatized as FMD spread rapidly through the whole of the country. The crisis unfolded as a series of information and communication problems, primarily from government to farmers, with consequences for action in a time of crisis. Farmers needed information at the different stages of the crisis to inform them about the various processes and procedures that had to be carried out once a farm had been infected, and information on the complex system of bio security measures introduced by the government. As these measures were implemented to control the spread of the disease, the places where farmers usually met to communicate and exchange information either shut down or became in accessible. There were many gaps in the information needed; there was not enough information; it conflicted with earlier information or information from other sources; and it was disseminated and received too late for the required purpose. The paper explores the role of rumour and gossip as a means of conveying information between the various actors during the crisis. During the FMD crisis there was much confusion and distrust, which provided the right kind of setting for rumour and gossip to flourish. Rumour and gossip took on new dimensions and played an important role in the exchange and transfer of information about events and also in people's behaviour and activities. As farmers were isolated, unable to meet, much of their information came third- and fourth-hand via informal channels of gossip and rumour. This study used a mixed method approach of semi-structured interviews with members of farming house-holds. It concludes with suggestions as to what various actors, including libraries, in similar crisis situations could learn from this study by examining how lessons learned concerning the role of gossip and rumour in the FMD crisis may be applied to other crises, particularly the current H1N1 virus (swine flu) pandemic.

An overview of U.S. and UK Copyright legislation reveals that fair use/fair dealing guidelines do not directly address the use of copyrighted materials in course management systems. Although many colleges and universities develop and share their own guidelines, there is no consensus among those institutions or between those institutions and publishers. Research on the use of copyrighted materials with course management systems is lacking and, together with the absence of legal or professional association mandates, librarians and institutions are open to charges of copyright in fringement. This situation is problematic for universities and may be fueling the trend toward Open Access publication of university research. This paper reviews the existing codified guidelines for fair use of copyrighted materials from the 1970s through the present, some legal challenges that have occurred, and how some of the larger universities are currently handling the questions of fair use and licensing as they pertain to course management systems. In addition, a recommendation is made for research to bring the parties closer to an accepted set of guidelines.

As living standards have risen in recent years the citizens of post-Soviet states are turning increasingly toward newly-available high bandwidth Internet connections as a new medium for the exchange of music, films, and computer soft ware. Taking Ukraine as an example, the author argues that users are literally and metaphorically reconstructing imported Internet technologies in accordance with their own pre-existing cultures. The author probes these understandings through analysis of statements on file sharing behavior made by a sample of Ukrainian Internet users. To explain this distinctive technological path, the author examines the interaction of technologies, users, and regulatory regimes. These have shaped the understanding of ordinary users toward what the author, following E.P. Thompson, calls the “moral economy” of copyright and file sharing. The transition from this moral economy of intellectual property to the global intellectual property regime has occurred in law but not in practice.

This study investigates how far European national libraries have adopted marketing principles and developed a marketing orientation to face new challenges. The degree of a marketing orientation was analysed in the websites of 14 national libraries, the national library buildings of Austria, Belgium, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal were observed and rated, and managers of these organisations interviewed. Analysis showed varying attitudes to marketing, with the British Library having the most advanced approach in developing a marketing orientation. Other national libraries had adopted certain aspects of a marketing orientation but lacked a coherent approach. Recommendations made in the area of website design included the better use of digital re-sources and introduction of Web 2.0 features. In regard to national library buildings it was recommended to have one central point of access from where the visitor is guided through the building. Developing a marketing orientation was a major but beneficial step in the evolution of a national library. It required a shift of perspective from inward to outward looking and the willingness to learn from other markets. A marketing orientation was a way of addressing the future challenges successfully.

The paper describes an exploratory needs analysis for a digital library of Malay manuscripts. The manuscripts are facing several problems, including (a) the lack of trained manuscript librarians; (b) budgetary constraints in manual and digital preservation initiatives; (c) the problems in storage and maintenance of the collection; (d) restricted access for users, (e) the need to preserve the fragile manuscripts, (e) the difficulty of undertaking collaborative transliteration work because of the access problems; (f) the dispersal of titles at several repositories which exacerbates the access issue; and (g) a lack of detail in the description in the manuscript library catalogues. The objectives of this study are: (a) to find out the current state of manuscript collection management and practices in selected libraries; (b) to identify the problems faced by manuscript repositories; (c) to study the meta data schema used by repositories to describe their manuscript collections, and (d) to identify a suitable open source digital library software to support a digital library of manuscripts. The study gathers qualitative data from an open-ended questionnaire distributed to five manuscript librarians in Malaysia. Cataloguing practices in manuscript repositories were observed and the open-source digital library software Green stone was studied for its suitability. The information gathered and observed which helped determine the requirements of a digital library that empowers repositories in building, storing, preserving and disseminating information about manuscript collections is presented. The design and modules of the digital library are described.

The aim of this study was to investigate the information-seeking behaviour of academic staff in the schools of medical sciences of Iran and to draw up a model of their information-seeking behaviour. A qualitative research method – Grounded Theory – was employed to carry out this research, analyze the data, and data were collected through interviews. Data analysis showed that the information-seeking behaviour of these Iranian Medical Schools' academic staff has seven stages: selecting subjects, searching information, retrieving information, browsing, gathering information sources, using information, and transferring information to others.