Everyday data cultures and USB portable flash drives

2021 ◽  
pp. 136787792110479
Author(s):  
Rowan Wilken ◽  
Jenny Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Cloud Storage ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Portable Devices ◽  
Personal Information Management ◽  
Hard Drives ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Considerable Complexity

In this article, we present a deeper understanding of everyday data cultures in regards to personal information management practices. We draw on a study involving 14 in-depth interviews with users of portable hard drives and USB portable flash drives in Melbourne, Australia, to examine participants’ reflections on their management of personal information on USB portable devices. In examining participant use of these devices, we consider how they kept (stored) and organized (arranged) information on these devices. We also examined device and data sharing. We conclude by thinking about their increased use within cross-tool information management, including the nexus of portable hard drive/USB use and cloud storage. The argument of this article is that portable hard drives and USBs, due to their miniaturization, ease of portability, affordability and storage capacity, add considerable complexity to established understandings of personal information management practices.

scholarly journals “You made it, you take care of it”: Data Management as Personal Information Management

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Fear
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Central Research ◽  
Personal Information Management ◽  
Midwestern University ◽  
Quantitative Results

This study explores how researchers at a major Midwestern university are managing their data, as well as the factors that have shaped their practices and those that motivate or inhibit changes to that practice. A combination of survey (n=363) and interview data (n=15) yielded both qualitative and quantitative results bearing on my central research question: In what types of data management activities do researchers at this institution engage? Corollary to that, I also explored the following questions: What do researchers feel could be improved about their data management practices? Which services might be of interest to them? How do they feel those services could most effectively be implemented?In this paper, I situate researchers’ data management practices within a theory of personal information management. I present a view of data management and preservation needs from researchers’ perspectives across a range of domains. Additionally, I discuss the implications that understanding research data management as personal information management has for introducing services to support and improve data management practice.

scholarly journals Personal Information Management Practices and Behaviors of Social Sciences’ Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanwal Ameen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Personal Information Management ◽  
Technology Infrastructure ◽  
Google Docs ◽  
The University

This study reports the personal information management (PIM) behavior of university students under the backdrop of development of information and digital technology infrastructure in Pakistan. The PIM field has been explored through various perspectives in the developed world, but hardly any studies from the developing countries, specifically from the South Asian Region were found. The present, first study from Pakistan , adopted quantitative research design based on a pretested questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 221 students of master programs who were studying in their final semesters in five social sciences disciplines under Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences at the University of the Punjab (PU), Pakistan. The key findings revealed that most frequently used tools for relocating information once found are downloads on personal computers, self-created digital document (e.g. MSWord, Excel, Google Docs, etc.), URLs and hyperlinks. URLs are the most commonly used elements to save online information for future use. The revelation of their practices establishes that they need appropriate training regarding their personal information management.

scholarly journals Information School academics and the value of their personal digital archives

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loukia Drosopoulou ◽  
◽  
Andrew M. Cox ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Creative Process ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Digital Archives ◽  
Storage Space ◽  
Personal Information Management ◽  
Digital Archiving ◽  
Digital Storage ◽  
Digital Material ◽  
Depth Interviews

Introduction.This paper explores the value that academics in an information school assign to their digital files and how this relates to their personal information management and personal digital archiving practices. Method. An interpretivist qualitative approach was adopted with data from in-depth interviews and participant-led tours of their digital storage space. Analysis. The approach taken was thematic analysis. Results. Participants placed little value on their digital material beyond the value of its immediate use. They did not attach worth to their digital files for reuse by others, for sentiment, to project their identity or for the study of the development of the discipline or the study of the creative process. This was reflected in storage and file-naming practices, and the lack of curatorial activity. Conclusions. This paper is one of the first to investigate academics' personal information management and personal digital archiving practices, especially to focus on the value of digital possessions. The paper begins to uncover the importance of wider contextual factors in shaping such practices. Institutions need to do more to encourage academics to recognise the diverse types of value in the digital material they create.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document