Volume 68, Issue 2 -

With the use of machine learning and other advances, modern information search systems make it easy for searchers to access information to meet their most frequent information needs. Building from Kuhlthau’s concepts of exploration and differentiating, this article argues that along with the benefits of greater accessibility, these advances impede the development of information literacy, conceptualized as processes for planning, accessing, judging and communicating information. It is argued that information literacy emerges during interaction with search systems and modern system designs hide or render unworkable the contextual information needed for the judgment processes of information literacy. In response to these concerns, the article contributes desiderata for new designs that facilitate the discovery, navigation and use of context information.

During the last two decades or so we have witnessed unprecedented growth and expansion in higher education not only in the high income countries but in middle income and low income countries as well, Pakistan being no exception. In 2002 a new apex body, Higher Education Commission was established to manage affairs of higher education which adopted measures to improve the quality of higher education in the country. The HEC adopted a new framework and policy towards higher education and made strenuous efforts not only to bring quantitative expansion but to improve the quality of higher education in the country as well. Consequently, the academic community has witnessed an unprecedented expansion in higher education in terms of number of higher education institutions and its enrolment. One of the goals of Higher Education Commission was to develop research culture within the country and enhance research productivity of the universities and higher education institutions to help achieve the objectives of knowledge economy. This paper attempts to analyse the available data to assess the research productivity of Pakistani institutions of higher education, trends over the last decade or so in the number of articles produced and their citation index and to see what factors have contributed towards increasing the number of research articles, enhancing the visibility of research produced by Pakistani universities and identifying the most productive institutions in this regard. Results of the study may help in framing a policy and developing a strategy increase the research productivity of Pakistani institutions of higher education and improving its visibility and impact.

Acceptance and intention to use mobile applications in a library context is attracting a great deal of interest in education field. A sparse amount of research was conducted in mobile library applications (MLA) previously, investigating the influential factors of intention to use MLA. Research here aims to provide empirical support on acceptance of MLA, library access through mobile applications, with the model developed by taking a technology acceptance model (TAM) in MLA context by adding perceived mobility value, system accessibility and satisfaction for investigating the influence on behavioural intention to use MLA. A self-administrated cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 321 users of MLA in the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) in Islamabad, while a structural equation model (SEM) using analysis of moment structure (AMOS) software was used for examining quantitative data. Results revealed that satisfaction and perceived ease of use are direct significant predictors of intention to use MLA, whereas system accessibility was influenced by the perceived ease of use. However, the perceived mobility value shows a weak effect on intention to use MLA in terms of perceived usefulness. Results serve as a guide for effective decision-making in development and resource allocation to ensure the success of the library’s vision and mission.

Our study aims to reveal the ICT use and related perceptions of university students through a self-developed online questionnaire. The research questions focus on (1) ICT attitudes, (2) frequency of ICT tool usage in a broad context and (3) frequency of ICT tool usage in the context of language learning. There seems to be agreement among both language and non-language majors concerning the motivating role and personal significance of ICT. Strong evidence is provided for the significant motivational role of ICT tools, while overall results confirm the substantial role of ICT use in learning, learner engagement and efficacy. Furthermore, ICT tool usage is more prominent among language majors in the areas of language, social and media tools, as well as blogs and vlogs. Generally, online dictionaries and lexicons are evaluated as most frequently used.

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which individual factors such as academic tasks, preference for print sources and information skills influence distance learners’ use of digital libraries in a teacher distance education programme at the University of Education, Winneba in Ghana. The population of the study consisted of 1,834 distance students and from a sample size of 641 distance learners spread across three distance study centers, namely, Winneba (247), Kumasi (276) and Asante-Mampong (118). A total of 453 (70.67 percent) distance learners, selected randomly, completed a 31-item questionnaire. In addition, 30 distance education tutors, four coordinators and four librarians were purposively selected to participate in the study. The findings showed that academic tasks of distance learners did not require them to use digital library resources, which resulted in low or no academic use of digital libraries. The findings also pointed to a high preference for print resources among distance learners which resulted in the low use of digital library resources. Finally, it was noted that even though most of the distance learners possessed basic ICT skills, this did not result in their of use of digital library resources. To improve digital library use in distance education, it is recommended that academic librarians seek and foster collaboration in teaching information literacy and library instruction in distance education, an approach which must be backed by a policy that mandates the use of (digital) library scholarly resources in teaching and learning in distance education. It is also recommended that the Centre for Distance Education and the University Library collaborate to offer training programmes in specific digital resources and general information literacy courses for all distance education stakeholders in the university to boost digital library use.

Recent advances in augmented reality (AR) have attracted much attention in nutrition and healthcare education. In the context of obtaining dietary knowledge, a mobile AR system was developed for learning and exploration, which allowed students to scan food images, receive information about nutrient content and record as well as accumulate daily nutrient intake. Students could also access learning materials provided in the system to achieve the learning objectives. Their learning outcomes were gathered at the close, with reactions to the learning experiences also assessed via a set of questionnaire items (using a 5 point Likert scale) in various criteria. Both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered, showing that most students achieved the learning objectives and were positive about exploring with AR. The results of this study indicated that students with high levels of monitoring had better learning outcomes (p<0.05) and were more positive about the varied criteria in their responses, including: visual interest and learning enjoyment, functional use, personal relevance and learning of knowledge (p<0.05). The effect of the self-participatory aspect of AR on learning is emphasized.

Information and knowledge are the foremost tools in fighting the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Previous studies have focused more on HIV/AIDS and Nigerian undergraduates’ attitudes, beliefs and protective practices than how information factors influence their knowledge of the pandemic. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of access to HIV/AIDS information on its knowledge among undergraduates of federal universities in Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design, with a combination of the purposive, proportionate and stratified random sampling technique used to select 1,679 undergraduates from five universities across five geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Questionnaire was the instrument used for collecting data, which were analyzed using Pearson’s product moment correlation and multiple regression. The most accessible sources of HIV/AIDS information among undergraduates were television (94.5 %), radio (93.0 %) and the Internet/ICT centers (90.5 %). The types of HIV/AIDS information frequently assessed were information on how to refuse sex (Mean=3.15), how to be faithful to one partner (Mean=3.12), sharing of sharp objects (Mean=3.12), blood transfusion (Mean=3.11), unprotected sexual intercourse (Mean=3.10) and how to use condoms correctly (Mean=3.09). Access to HIV/AIDS information (r=0.15) resulted in positive significant relationships with HIV/AIDS knowledge, thus access to HIV/AIDS information has a positive influence on the promotion of knowledge of HIV/AIDS among undergraduates. The level of study was also a predictor of HIV/AIDS knowledge, which was not the case for factors of age, discipline, gender, marital status, tribe and religion. The AIDS service organizations and program developers should come up with strategies that would strengthen and improve the content, accuracy and ease of understanding of HIV/AIDS information that students have access to in order to facilitate its use.