Data Mining, Linked Data, and Library Service Delivery

There is no doubt that data mining and linked data can enhance library service delivery. Data mining aspects such as text and image mining will enable libraries to have access to data that can be used to discover new knowledge aid planning for effective service delivery or service improvement. Also, linked data will enable libraries connect with other libraries to share such data that can enhance job performance leading to enhanced productivity, improved service delivery, and wider visibility and access to library resources.

Social Media as a Driver of Innovative Service Delivery in Academic Libraries

As technology continues to impact the delivery of library and information services, traditional academic library systems have continued to experience changes. Social media are changing and becoming more sophisticated, and librarians need to adopt them for innovative services to their users. Library staff skills and library services have to shift from book-eccentric to user-eccentric. As the academic library continues to redefine its role in the digital environment, it needs to leverage its strengths and create responsive and convenient services. The chapter discusses how social media can be adopted and utilized for delivering innovative services and the various innovative ways social media can be utilized in effective service delivery, the challenges associated with social media and innovative service delivery, and the strategies to enhance the use of social media for innovative service delivery in academic libraries. The chapter serves as guide to students and practitioners on the various ways to use social media for effective service delivery in academic libraries.

Preparing Academic Libraries for Service Delivery in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Era

This chapter focused on preparing academic libraries for effective service delivery in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) era. The chapter discussed issues relating to various services rendered by academic libraries to their users and how these services are being rendered (primitively and the use of ICT facilities). The chapter also discussed various developments in 4IR era and the technologies that are associated with 4IR that are useful to libraries. The chapter also discussed how libraries can be prepared to adopt advanced technologies associated with 4IR and how they can be utilized for effective service delivery in libraries. The chapter also discussed types of training needed by academic library staff to be able to function and render effective services to their user in the 4IR. The chapter reviewed relevant literature on the topic of discussion, and the researchers utilized Google search engine to gather scholarly articles from databases that are open access and are relevant to the study, which formed the basis for all the literature that was reviewed in the study.

Knowledge Management and Improvement in Library Services at Fourah Bay College Library: a Statistical Approach

The purpose of the paper is to statistically examine the way knowledge management is done at Fourah Bay College in the improvement of library services with the aims of identifying the types of knowledge managed, facilities, equipment, and supplies; policies used to manage the knowledge; knowledge management acquisition skills; relevancy and challenges to managing knowledge at FBC library. The study was informed by the triangulation of the Staff and knowledge Continuum Theories which tend to fill the gap of Robertson and Brun(2021) who considered computer as explicit knowledge. But that gap was filled to indicate knowledge resided in computer as an implicit knowledge in this research. Data used for analysis were drawn from thirty-three(33) participants from six section with the use of questionnaires, personal interview and personal observations. A total of 33 questionnaires were returned in their complete forms and used for the analysis. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed by using SPSS version(16.0) to ascertain the relevance of managing knowledge at FBC library in enhancing efficient and effective service delivery. For inferential statistics both ANOVA and Chi-square hypothesis testing were used to test the variables. The key findings of the research revealed that FBC manages the different types of knowledge but the policies governing the management of knowledge are not popularized to staff to understand about the relevance of the management of knowledge at FBC library. For the ANOVA hypothesis testing, it revealed that the mean of the variables are not statistically different while the chi-square revealed that there is a statistical variance between the means of the variables. However, provision is made for further research to be done in order to complement this current research.

Does Information Technology Competencies and Fleet Management Practices lead to Effective Service Delivery? Empirical Evidence from E- Commerce Industry

Competency Model requires knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for fleet and distribution management for ecommerce industry to maintain successful movement of materials between parties within their supply chain to achieve high levels of reliability and cost-efficiency. This research aims to investigate the relationship and impact of information technology competencies and fleet management practices to achieve effective service delivery. A quantitative approach used to examine the model validation. The methodology of this research follow the descriptive correlational design. A real data records used to collect empirical from e-Commerce industry. Results of analysis proved the relationship and impact of information technology competencies and fleet management practices to achieve effective service delivery, as a result of analyzing the data the hypotheses. Some recommendations regarding information technology competencies and its dimensions should be enhanced, also, incorporating the latest innovations to facilitate fleet management.

Family and Psychosocial Considerations in Critical Care

This chapter discusses the expanding movement to humanize critical care and intensive care settings. An international perspective is provided with regard to how patients, families, and professionals, along with health care managers and authorities, can redesign health care systems to overcome the obstacles of dehumanization in hospitals and health centers, with social interest at the core. The authors maintain that caring for all parties, including the family, that coexist in the health care system is critical to building an excellent and effective service.

“We Do Exist”: The Experiences of Women Living with a Sexual Interest in Minors

The current body of the literature studying minor-attracted persons (MAPs) predominantly focuses on the experiences of men who experience sexual attractions to children. To shed more light on the experiences of women within this population, we conducted anonymous semi-structured interviews with six self-identified female MAPs, who were recruited through online support forums for individuals with sexual attractions to children. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the interview transcripts. Two superordinate themes were identified from the dataset that highlighted the uniqueness of the experience of being a woman within the MAP community (“A minority within a minority”) and themes of social isolation and the effects of this on identity (“A lonely secret existence”). The findings reported here highlight how the experiences of female MAPs both converge with and diverge from their male counterparts in important ways. We discuss the implications of these experiences in relation to more effective service provision for women who are sexually attracted to children.

Sustainable Development and Livelihoods of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: The Effects of COVID-19

Bangladesh is one of the top refugee-hosting countries of the world and adversely affected by the COVID-19. This paper aims to identify how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the Rohingya refugee and expose the vulnerability that challenges SDGs. The study follows a system approach grounded on a sustainable development model and uses secondary sources of data. The study found that fragmented and random policies in refugee crisis management during the COVID-19 reveals the policy lacks structural fragility due to inadequate policy and programs. Besides, the limited number of health care, food, education, washing facilities, housing, and the utilization of inferior materials in camps put pressure on the refugee health, education, and well-being during COVID-19. It also reduces the monetary funds, which affects humanitarian support, and limits the aid to SDGs in refugee camps due to restrictive policies. Moreover, refugees' inability to include an inclusive social security system is far from existing social inequality. This paper calls for robust policies and programs with adequate funding for structural logistics and effective service delivery in refugee management for their future well-being and promoting SDGs in refugee camps.

Strategic Human Resource: Enhancing Performance With Six Sigma Approach

Human resource (HR) is the backbone of an organization and hence, there is need to build its underlying capabilities for effective service delivery. Six Sigma aims at improving the effectiveness of processes by collecting data and then using advanced statistical analysis tools to solve the problems. Six Sigma deployment in HR provides consistency in operations and leads to quality excellence by providing better services at lower costs. Six Sigma approach adds more science to the art of HR, which is used to measuring outcomes it can control, rather than those it can influence. Six Sigma deployment in HR transforms typical HR practices with a proactive approach and leads to better, faster and more cost-effective services; improve internal customer satisfaction and greater motivation and job satisfaction of employees. The research develops various framework for Six Sigma deployment in HR and provides case studies of successful Six Sigma deployment in various areas of HR.