Information behaviors of elite scholars in the context of academic practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 953-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Falciani-White
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Academic Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Behaviors ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the information behaviors in which scholars regularly engage, in participants’ own words wherever possible, and discuss how those behaviors function in the broader landscape of scholars’ academic practice. Design/methodology/approach Scholars’ information behaviors were investigated using semi-structured interviews, along with document analysis. Three scholars recognized for significant contributions to their fields were identified from each of the three major divisions of academia (humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences) using intensity sampling, for a total of nine participants. Interviews asked each participant to describe a recent research project from conceptualization to completion, focusing on how scholars engaged with ideas, information resources, tools, and processes. Findings Information behaviors were found to permeate scholars’ work from conceptualization through publication, and included behaviors such as skimming, reading, data collection and analysis, and writing. Of particular interest are the specific information behaviors that fall into the broader category of information use. Originality/value This study uses established definitions of information behaviors to broaden the information behaviors conversation to include the entirety of academic practice. The study shows how scholars from across the academy engage with information throughout the course of their academic work, not just when they are engaged in more traditional information seeking activities.

Reasons, motives and motivations for completing a PhD: a typology of doctoral studies as a quest

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Skakni
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Context ◽  
Instrumental Case Study ◽  
Institutional Conditions ◽  
Theory Of Structuration

Purpose This study aims to examine how PhD students with diverse profiles, intentions and expectations manage to navigate their doctoral paths within the same academic context under similar institutional conditions. Drawing on Giddens’ theory of structuration, this study explores how their primary reasons, motives and motivations for engaging in doctoral studies influence what they perceive as facilitating or constraining to progress, their strategies to face the challenges they encounter and their expectations regarding supervision. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative design, the analysis was conducted on a data subset from an instrumental case study (Stake, 2013) about PhD students’ persistence and progression. The focus is placed on semi-structured interviews carried out with 36 PhD students from six faculties in humanities and social sciences fields at a large Canadian university. Findings The analysis reveals three distinct scenarios regarding how these PhD students navigate their doctoral paths: the quest for the self; the intellectual quest; and the professional quest. Depending on their quest type, the nature and intensity of PhD students’ concerns and challenges, as well as their strategies and the support they expected, differed. Originality/value This study contributes to the discussion about PhD students’ challenges and persistence by offering a unique portrait of how diverse students’ profiles, intentions and expectations can concretely shape a doctoral experience.

Recognising diversity in managing work life issues of flexpatriates

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 589-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helene Mayerhofer ◽  
Angelika Schmidt ◽  
Linley Hartmann ◽  
Regine Bendl
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Work Lives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Life Issues

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore flexpatriates' perceptions of work life balance (WLB) issues and identify possible adjustments of WLB programs to better meet the needs of flexpatriates. This paper investigates flexpatriates' challenges at the interface of personal and work lives and their perception of standard WLB programs and then proposes organizational adjustments to better meet the needs of flexpatriates.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a qualitative research approach and two kinds of empirical data were collected: first, through in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 40 employees involved in flexpatriate assignments in multinational companies operating in Austria and, second, through a document analysis of the homepages of their employing organizations to gain information about WLB practices.FindingsDrawing upon the study findings, the authors present a typology of flexpatriates and propose a model that considers both WLB and work life imbalance as a desirable or acceptable option and offers a new theoretical perspective for examining organization and individual dimensions in WLB.Originality/valueThe authors' contribution is a new contextualization of WLB initiatives that incorporates both WLB and work life imbalance as valid perspectives of employees.

Is Wa’dan any different to Muwa’adah? Empirical evidence from Malaysia

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Faruk Abdullah ◽  
Asmak Ab Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Commercial Banking ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Innovative Tool

Purpose – The study aims to consider wa’dan-based products in Islamic banks in Malaysia and discuss the validity of wa’dan in those products from the perspective of Shari’ah. Design/methodology/approach – Case studies were conducted of three Islamic banks in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with bankers as well as Shari’ah scholars. The document analysis method was adopted to strengthen the findings. Findings – The study shows that three Islamic banking products: Musyarakah Mutanaqisah (MM) home and property financing; Al-Ijarah Thumma Al-Bai’ (AITAB) vehicle financing; and Ijarah rental swap (IRS) use wa’dan in their product structures. After discussing the different views of the scholars, the study concludes that wa’dan should be allowed in the above-mentioned products because it is different from muwa’adah. In wa’dan, every single wa’d is separate from each other, as every one of them is related to different types of events. With regard to the issue of Shari’ah in MM home and property financing, it was concluded that wa’d from the customer to purchase the bank’s share is not a capital guarantee. Moreover, IRS is not a form of gambling but is in line with Maqasid al-Shari’ah. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to three Islamic banks in Malaysia that focus on retail and commercial banking products. Therefore, the study excludes application of wa’dan in sukuk and some other Islamic derivatives that are not the practice of these three banks. Originality/value – This empirical study adds new knowledge by developing the concept and practice of wa’dan. Wa’dan as an innovative tool for product development to overcome Shari’ah issues in conventional banking may be of interest to practitioners all around the world.

“We Need Psychological Support”: the information needs and seeking behaviors of African refugees in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 869-885
Author(s):  
Musa Dauda Hassan ◽  
Dietmar Wolfram
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
African Refugees ◽  
Information Behaviors ◽  
Midwest United States

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the information needs and seeking behaviors of African refugees in the Midwest United States. The research also investigates the sources participants consulted and their satisfaction with their information seeking and the information found.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research study recruited 18 African refugees to participate in one or more data collection modes used in the study (questionnaire, interview, focus group). The data were analyzed using qualitative open, axial and selective coding approaches to identify themes.FindingsThe analysis of the data collected provides evidence that refugees had specific information needs centered on housing, health care, employment and education. They were not necessarily satisfied with the information they were able to find. Participants reported initially relying heavily on their caseworkers as sources of information when they first arrived in the United States until they were able to establish larger networks of contacts, which then expanded their information behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of participants and regional focus of the study do not allow for generalization of the findings to all African refugees in the United States. Still, the findings shed light on how to better serve the information needs of African refugees to help them adjust to life in their new environment.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study provide guidance for agencies that assist African refugees in adjusting to life in the United States.Originality/valueThis study represents one of the few investigations of the information needs and seeking behaviors of African refugees in the United States.

State of government accounting in Ghana and Benin: a “tentative” account

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Jacques Codjo Lassou
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
The State ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Accounting ◽  
Data Collection Technique

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the state of government accounting in Ghana and Benin using neo-patrimonial and organizational façade lenses. Design/methodology/approach The study used two country case studies that engaged with stakeholders including donors, civil society, politicians, and civil servants. Semi-structured interviews were used as the main data collection technique, which were complemented by document analysis. Findings The study finds that government accounting reforms are decoupled and used in both countries as a façade which is caused, to a varying degree, by indigenous neo-patrimonial governance traits of informal institutions, patronage, and clientelism. And despite the relatively superior Ghanaian system, in terms of its functioning, compared to the Beninese, government accounting plays a more symbolic role in the former than in the latter. Originality/value This is one of the very few theoretically informed empirical studies that examine the state of government accounting in the two major African settings – Anglophone and Francophone. The results inform policies more tailored to indigenous governance issues for better outcomes.

scholarly journals Life after trafficking: reintegration experiences of human trafficking survivors in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwafiokun Idemudia ◽  
Nnenna Okoli ◽  
Mary Goitom ◽  
Sylvia Bawa
Keyword(s):  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
African Context ◽  
New Community ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Reintegration programs have emerged as part of the regimes of care for survivors of human trafficking. However, empirical analysis of the reintegration outcomes for survivors remains limited in the African context. Hence, this paper aims to examine the challenges and opportunities of reintegration assistance programs for survivors of human trafficking in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with repatriated women who have accessed reintegration assistance in Nigeria, and data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings The findings suggest that while the reintegration programs might address the procedural aspect of reintegration, the achievement of substantive reintegration remains incomplete. This is because of the structural conditions of the context within which reintegration is supposed to occur. Practical implications There is a need to take seriously the distinction between the reintegration of survivors into a new community or a former community in the design of a regime of care for survivors of human trafficking in Africa. Crucially, the focus on procedural reintegration should not also divert attention away from the structural conditions and reforms needed to ensure survivors achieve substantive reintegration. Originality/value This paper contributes to the limited literature on life after trafficking and demonstrates the strengths and limitations of reintegration programs as a regime of care for survivors of human trafficking. In addition, this study empirically grounded the theoretical distinction between different aspects of the process of reintegration.

scholarly journals User-driven efforts in creating knowledge graph information system

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Stanislava Gardasevic
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Resource Discovery ◽  
The Body ◽  
Knowledge Graph ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper presents the results of a qualitative study that involved students of an interdisciplinary PhD program. The study objective was to gather requirements to create a knowledge graph information system. The purpose of this study was to determine information-seeking practices and information needs of this community, to inform the functionalities of a proposed system, intended to help students with relevant resource discovery and decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The study design included semi-structured interviews with eight members of the community, followed by a website usability study with the same student participants. Findings Two main information-seeking styles are recognized and reported through user personas of international and domestic (USA) students. The findings show that the useful information resides within the community and not so much on the program website. Students rely on peer communication, although they report lack of opportunities to connect. Students’ information needs and information seeking are dependent on their progress through the program, as well as their motivation and the projected timeline. Practical implications Considering the current information needs and practices, a knowledge graph hosting both information on social networks and the knowledge produced by the activities of the community members would be useful. By recording data on their activities (for example, collaboration with professors and coursework), students would reveal further useful system functionalities and facilitate transfer of tacit knowledge. Originality/value Aside from the practical value of this research that is directly influencing the design of a system, it contributes to the body of knowledge on interdisciplinary PhD programs.

scholarly journals Teaching innovations in Asian higher education: perspectives of educators

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
The Many

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined. Findings The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them. Originality/value The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.

scholarly journals Exploring producers' motivations and challenges within a farmers' market

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (7) ◽  
pp. 2089-2103
Author(s):  
Rosario Michel-Villarreal ◽  
Eliseo Luis Vilalta-Perdomo ◽  
Martin Hingley
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Farmers Markets ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Farmers Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Supply Chains ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Short Food Supply Chains

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore food producers' motivations and challenges whilst participating in short food supply chains (SFSCs). This paper compares findings with previous literature and investigates the topic in the context of producers' motivations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper includes a literature review concerning producers' motivations to engage in SFSCs. A case study was designed to investigate motivations underlying producers' engagement in SFSCs, as well as the challenges that they face. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a farmers' market located in Mexico. Thematic analysis is used to identify the principal issues for producers'. Propositions based on findings are presented.FindingsFindings suggest that small, large, part-time and full-time producers are willing to engage with farmers' markets for diverse primary economic and non-economic motivations. Individual and collective challenges were also identified.Originality/valueThis research helps to explain producers' motivations and challenges within SFSCs in an under-researched context, namely a focus on producers' and in the Global South.

Has Lean improved organizational decision making?

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 536-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Simons ◽  
Jos Benders ◽  
Jochen Bergs ◽  
Wim Marneffe ◽  
Dominique Vandijck
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Lean Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organizational Decision Making ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Sustainable Improvement ◽  
Care Processes ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Sustainable improvement is likely to be hampered by ambiguous objectives and uncertain cause-effect relations in care processes (the organization’s decision-making context). Lean management can improve implementation results because it decreases ambiguity and uncertainties. But does it succeed? Many quality improvement (QI) initiatives are appropriate improvement strategies in organizational contexts characterized by low ambiguity and uncertainty. However, most care settings do not fit this context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a Lean-inspired change program changed the organization’s decision-making context, making it more amenable for QI initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – In 2014, 12 professionals from a Dutch radiotherapy institute were interviewed regarding their perceptions of a Lean program in their organization and the perceived ambiguous objectives and uncertain cause-effect relations in their clinical processes. A survey (25 questions), addressing the same concepts, was conducted among the interviewees in 2011 and 2014. The structured interviews were analyzed using a deductive approach. Quantitative data were analyzed using appropriate statistics. Findings – Interviewees experienced improved shared visions and the number of uncertain cause-effect relations decreased. Overall, more positive (99) than negative Lean effects (18) were expressed. The surveys revealed enhanced process predictability and standardization, and improved shared visions. Practical implications – Lean implementation has shown to lead to greater transparency and increased shared visions. Originality/value – Lean management decreased ambiguous objectives and reduced uncertainties in clinical process cause-effect relations. Therefore, decision making benefitted from Lean increasing QI’s sustainability.

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