Information Seeking Behaviour among Millennial Students in Higher Education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connection between musicians’ information seeking behaviour and the creative process in music, providing a framework for understanding the role of information needs satisfaction in musical creativity. A number of studies in information science literature have been carried out attempting to model cognitive, affective, behavioural and contextual factors associated with music information seeking behaviour. However, only few studies have addressed the relationship between information seeking behaviour and musical creative activities such as composition, performance and improvisation, listening and analysis. Design/methodology/approach – The focus of this paper is to provide a framework for the study of information seeking behaviour for the purposes of satisfying musical creativity information needs, combining the theoretical basis of an established model of information behaviour developed by Wilson and the theoretical perspectives of a music creative thinking model proposed by Webster. The key features of the two models are synthesized in a unified model of information seeking behaviour for musical creativity and enriched with research findings identified in the literature of both musical information seeking and musical creativity. Findings – The proposed conceptual framework offers an integrated interpretation of the combinations of information needs, information resources and environmental/personal barriers, which enable musical creativity. In the authors’ approach “musical creativity” is treated as a musician’s aim or ambition or drive for expression and is influenced by the way musicians seek information for that purpose. Therefore, musical creativity is an intentional behaviour which acts as motivator for information seeking and is affected by the available information and the musician’s information seeking profile. The current study include three important findings: first, the design and development of music library and information services for musical creativity; second, the development of music information literacy skills for creativity; and third, the information seeking behavioural perspective for universal musical creativity, and the implications for cultural musical heritage diffusion around the world. Originality/value – An integrated information seeking behaviour model which includes musical creativity is developed through the synthesis of two already existing approaches, that of Wilson for information seeking behaviour and that of Webster for creative thinking in music. The present conceptual study presents a three stage pattern or process for modelling information seeking for musical creativity: the process initiates with the intention-motivation for creativity, then proceeds to information seeking behaviour and then concludes with the musical creativity outcomes. This is the first study that seeks to understand the relationships between creativity and information seeking behaviour.

Inquiry-based instruction is an approach which enhances students’ academic excellence by engaging them in the learning process through various classroom activities that build their confidence and understanding of the subject matter. Inquiry-based learning appreciates the sense of inquiry and investigation in which questions are answered and students are facilitated to memorize the information through the instructional materials. Alvarado and Herr (inquiry-based learning using everyday objects: hands-on instructional strategies that promote active learning in grades, Corwin Press, 2003) advocated that inquiry-based approach promotes intellectual engagement among students and motivates them to improve their performance. Besides that, Rotgans (Learn Instr 32(2):37–50, 2014) had also argued that student’s interest toward their studies is the core element that drives their academic performance. Since preparing the situational interest of students is deemed as an important responsibility of lecturers, hence, the objective of this study was to identify the relationship between inquiry-based instruction and situational interest of students in higher education. In this study, survey questionnaires had been administered to students from different levels of programs, namely diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate studies. Finally, a total of 470 complete questionnaires had been collected and analyzed by identifying the mean, standard deviation, and correlation between the variables. The results indicated that inquiry-based instruction has been implemented at a high level in higher education. Basically, students investigated had agreed upon their situational interest at a high level. The correlation analysis further indicated that a moderate, positive, and significant relationship between inquiry-based instruction and the situational interest of students in higher education. The findings indicated that teaching strategy adopted by lecturers is a crucial factor in improving interest in learning among students in higher education.

The proportion of disabled students in higher education across the UK has increased over the last 20 years as a result of equalities legislation and widening access measures promoted by the Scottish Government. For monitoring and reporting purposes, disabled students have often been treated as a homogeneous group. Drawing on an analysis of administrative data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), as well as student case studies, this paper identifies important within-group differences, questioning whether certain sub-groups of disabled students have benefitted from systemic expansion more than others. The main finding of the paper is that the increase in participation by disabled students mainly reflects the growth in the number of those with specific learning difficulties, who are disproportionately drawn from middle class backgrounds. By way of contrast, there has been only a very small increase in the proportion of disabled students from less advantaged backgrounds and with severe low incidence disabilities. Despite the fact that disabled students tend to be from more advantaged backgrounds than others, the case studies illustrate the types of barriers they encounter, which may be compounded by socio-economic disadvantage. The paper concludes by suggesting that, in the future, regulatory regimes might encourage institutions to undertake a more fine-grained analysis of the participation of disabled students in higher education, taking account of both type of impairment and social class background.

Online programming discussion forums have grown increasingly and formed sizable repositories of problem-solving solutions. In this paper, we investigate programming learners’ information seeking behaviors in online discussion forums, and provide visual navigational support to facilitate information seeking. We design engines to collect students’ information seeking behaviors, and model these behaviors with sequence pattern mining techniques. The results show that programming learners indeed seek for information from discussion forums by actively search and read progressively according to course schedule topics. Advanced students consistently perform query refinements, examine search results and commit to read, however, novices do not. Finally, according to the lessons learned, we propose, design and evaluate Personalized Information Seeking Assistant system to help query refinement by summarizing the search results and to provide social-based browsing history. Findings suggest that paying attention to the query history may lead to further reading events, which subsequently resulting in potential learning activities.

Private for-profit higher education has grown rapidly in many parts of the world. This growth is attributed to many factors, including a broadening of the student population and the recognition that wider access to higher education will be economically beneficial to individuals, governments and society as a whole. In Australia, the number of students in private for-profit higher education is rising, with dramatic projections for the next 10 years. The Australian government has set a target to increase the participation of students in higher education, with a focus on increasing the access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is unclear, however, what role the burgeoning private for-profit institutions will play in meeting the government's targets, and what incentives will be provided for them to increase the access and participation of students from disadvantaged groups. This paper analyses the key drivers of growth in private for-profit higher education in Australia, and discusses issues around quality and standards. It examines the strengths and limitations of the sector, and the extent to which it contributes to diversity, access and the participation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It argues that the sector needs clear government directions to improve levels of access, and new government policies to encourage public-private collaborations to help ensure sustainability. The paper also briefly touches on the need for a review into the current structure of Australia's higher education sector as a whole, and whether higher education would benefit from the formation of public community colleges with the explicit aim of widening access for disadvantaged student groups. Further, the paper suggests that encouraging such public-private collaboration may be beneficial to ensure access and participation of students from all walks of life, including disadvantaged groups.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine information seeking behaviour targeted to music information seeking by amateur musicians, accompanied with empirical evidence from a survey on a community concert band. While several studies in the literature have examined information seeking in the context of hedonic motives (e.g. entertainment oriented), music information can also be used for utilitarian purposes by providing amateur musicians the necessary tools to improve their skill and become better in their practice. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature on music information seeking and an empirical study on members of an amateur concert band are presented. The theoretical construct of the survey is informed by Wilsons’ macro model of information seeking behaviour. This is employed in order to understand information motives and needs, as well as obstacles in information seeking of musicians. Findings – Musicians seek information not only for entertainment but for educational purposes as well as for the acquisition of certain music works. The use of the internet for information seeking as well as the gradual adoption of online social networks has provided access to new musical resources within the digital music networks. Originality/value – A person-centred approach for information seeking behaviour is studied and adapted for musicians. The survey provides new information behaviour results for designers of music information spaces which in turn are creating a new model of the relationship between music and society.

BackgroundA significant gap exists between advances in technologies in agriculture and what Ghanaian farmers practice on their farms. This paper examines rice farmers’ information seeking behaviour and the determinants of information utilization at Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of Ashanti region of Ghana.MethodsUsing a two-stage sampling technique, a total of 109 rice farmers were selected for the study. The probit model was used to examine information seeking behaviour and the determinants of information utilization.ResultsThe results showed that most of the respondents were literate and relied on interpersonal information sources. The major type of information received was on agronomic practices, and majority of the respondents utilized the information received. Respondents’ information seeking behaviour and utilization was found to be high which implied rice farmers are willing to utilize information received to improve their productivity and incomes. The results further signify that to enhance the use of information among farmers for relevant production activities such as fertilizer application, pesticide application, disease and weed control will require investments in extension services, increasing farmers’ access to education, targeting farmers with larger farm sizes, and higher rice yields. These factors have the potential to enhance information seeking and utilization for enhanced rice productivity in Ghana. Majority of the respondents are willing to pay for their preferred information needs. The constraints limiting rice farmers’ information seeking behaviour and utilization were the inadequate extension agents and lack of agricultural information services in the communities.ConclusionIt is recommended that the Government improve access to extension services by employing more extension workers to provide the necessary training support to farmers.

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Investigating Learning Challenges Faced by Students in Higher Education

Qatar has gone through an educational reform in year 2000; its educational and particularly schooling system went through a major overhaul from K-12 reaching higher education providers. The major reasons for the educational reform were to increase the level of student academic achievement. Concomitantly, the rapid growth of Qatar's economy over recent decades has created a situation in which the demand for skilled labor far exceeded the supply of qualified Qatari nationals. The Qatar National Development Plan identified acute needs for highly educated and skilled Qatari nationals in the areas of health and biomedical sciences, engineering, energy and environment, and computer and information technology (Qatar National Development Strategy, 2011). Two significant higher education providers' serve post-secondary students, being Qatar University (QU) and American Branch Universities at the Qatar Foundation have grown tremendously over the years. Understanding the factors that affect Qatari students' post-secondary persistence and achievement is crucial for achieving the country's human capital growth. Tinto (1975) deposited his theory about student integration into the academic and social system of the higher education providers, Tinto suggested a multidimensional component which underlined the higher education community engaging students in all aspects of higher education including academic and non-academic. Tinto's theory basically hypothesizes that persistence is determined by the match between an individual's motivation and academic ability and the institution's academic and social characteristics. A second and major model is Bean's (1986) student's intention to stay or leave into the attrition model, derived from psychological theories and based on attitudinal research of Ajzen and Fishbein (1972) which later developed by Bentler and Speckart (1981). Key ideas from the model suggest that a strong association was related to intentions and behaviors and that an undergraduate student decision to persist or dropout was strongly related to affect. One conclusion about student engagement was students need to be satisfied and academically prepared especially those in the first years to achieve success and maintain continuous enrollment in higher education (Astin, 1985; Tinto, 2005; Kuh, 2001, 2007). Tinto's integration theory has received considerable validation of non-academic factors and impacting student continuation (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1977; Terenzini & Pascarella, 1977; Chapman & Pscarella, 1983; Pascarella & Chapman, 1983). The latter model has received empirical validation and support based on a large number of studies that looked at background information as the socioeconomic levels of students' families and its effect on postsecondary continuation in higher education (Astin & Oseguera, 2004; Sewell & Shah, 1968). With the large number of studies coming from the United States (US) and other western countries (Kenny & Stryker, 1994; Dekker & Fischer, 2008) have underlined the differences on how students develop and internalize beliefs, needs, and wants that in turn impact academic motivation to persist and succeed in higher education. While few studies have emerged from the Middle East, the recent establishment of the Middle East and North Africa Association of Institutional Research has prompted many researchers in this area to seek the understanding and experiences of students in higher education. In Qatar for instance, the first year experience study and National Association of Colleges and Employers Survey have just recently been implemented at Qatar's national public university. Faced with the danger of students dropping out from the university, and a large number of students who are likely to remain in the first years for longer years reflects the dangers of higher education being a bottleneck to economic development and human resource development (Qatar University Fact Book, 2011). One clear indication and dangers of Higher education completion rates as anywhere in the world is disparaging. It has been reported that in the US for instance 55% of undergraduates who begin study at a 4-year institution complete a degree at that same institution within 6 years of their initial enrollment and another 7% completed baccalaureate degrees within six years after attending two or more institutions (Lotkowski, Robbins & Noeth, 2004; Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges, & Hayek, 2007). Pascarella (1985) and Adelman (2006) came to the conclusion that continuous enrollment is the most powerful variable in explaining degree completion and time to degree. There are several factors academic and non-academic likely to affect students as they make the transition to post-secondary institutions. Many students may experience stress, anxiety, withdrawal, and even depression (Robbins, Lauver, Le, Davis, Langley & Carlstrom, 2004; DeStefano, Mellott & Peterson, 2001; Feldt, Graham, & Dew, 2011; Wie, l & Zakalik, 2005). There are also a variety of non-academic challenges that have bearing on the likelihood on academic persistence and success of students. A fairly large body of research undertaken in a number of countries have examined the experiences of international students, and compared their experiences to those students of native to the host country. Academic factors (i.e., secondary preparation) appear to influence postsecondary success (see Robbins, Lauver, Le, Davis, Langley & Carlstrom, 2004). But also a range of non-academic factors, influenced by culture and values, thus may contribute to challenges faced by students in higher education in their local context. This study attempts to address Qatari student challenges in their lives in the higher education in Qatar. The study draws on student, perceptions, beliefs, outlook and context; we approach the study through grounded means by leading interview questions through exploration and probing. The approach is grounded in ways that no specific theory drives the questions rather the responses from the interview often call upon theory to justify the findings. The sample will be made of 35 students who were interviewed through probing and questioning techniques. The questions will probe and guide students with converging responses leading to themes. The long-term goal of this line of research is to provide the Qatari society with mush needed scientific information regarding the challenges that its students face in completing their university education at the competence needed to build Qatar's human capital to support its rapidly expanding economy. Finally, we believe that is a broader regional need for specific and focued information on this topic as the study findings are directly applicable to students from several other countries in the region. Reference Adelman, C. (2006). The Toolbox Revisited: Path to Degree Completion From High School Through College: U.S. Department of Education. Ajzen, L., & Fishbein, M. (1972). Attitudes and normative beliefs as factors influencing behavioral intentions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21(2), 1–9. Astin, A. W. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of college student personnel, 25(4), 297–308. Astin, A., & Oseguera, L. (2004). The declining” equity” of American higher education. The Review of Higher Education, 27, 321–341. Bentler, P., M. & Speckart, G. (1981). Attitudes “cause” behaviors: A structural equation analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40(2), 226–238. Chapman, D., W., & Pscarella, E., T. (1983). Predictors of academic and social integration of college students. Research in Higher Education, 19, 295–322. Dekker, S. & Fischer, R. (2008). Cultural differences in academic motivation goals: A meta-analysis across 13 societies. Journal of Educational Research, 102(2), 99–110. DeStefano, T.J., Mellott, R.N., & Peterson, J.D., (2004). A preliminary assessment of the impact of counseling on student adjustment to college. Journal of College Counseling, 4, 113–121. Kenny, M. E. & Stryker, S. (1994). Social Network Characteristics of White, African-American, Asian and Latino/a College Students and College Adjustment: A Longitudinal Study. Kuh, G. (2001). Assessing what really matters to student learning: Inside the national survey of student engagement. Change, 33(3), 10–17. Kuh, G. (2007). What student engagement data tell us about college readiness. Association of American College and Universities (AAC&U).Peer Review, 9(1), 4–8. Retrieved June 26, 2015, from http://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/what-student-engagement-data-tell-us-about-college-readiness . Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek, J. C. (2007). Piecing Together the Student Success Puzzle: Research, Propositions, and Recommendations. ASHE Higher Education Report, Volume 32, Number 5. ASHE Higher Education Report, 32(5), 1–182. Lotkowski, V.A., Robbins, S. B. & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The role of academic and non-academic factors in improving college retention. ACT Policy Report. Qatar National Development Strategy (2011). Qatar General Secretariat for Development Planning: Doha. Pascarella, E. T. (1985). Racial Differences in Factors Associated with Bachelor's Degree Completion: A Nine-Year Follow-up. Research In Higher Education, 23(4), 351–373. Pascarella, E. & Chapman, D. (1983). A m

There has been a long history of studying library users and their information seeking behaviors and activities. Researchers developed models to better understand these information seeking behaviors and activities of users. Most of these models were developed before the onset of the Internet. This research project studied faculty members' use of and their information seeking behaviors and activities on the Internet at Angelo State University, a Master's I institution. Using both a quantitative and qualitative methodology, differences were found between tenured and tenure-track faculty members on the perceived value of the Internet to meet their research and classroom information needs. Similar differences were also found among faculty members in the broad discipline areas of the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Tenure-track faculty members reported a higher average Internet use per week than tenured faculty members. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with seven tenured and seven tenure-track faculty members, an Internet Information Seeking Activities Model was developed to describe the information seeking activities on the Internet by faculty members at Angelo State University. The model consisted of four basic stages of activities: "Gathering," "Validating," "Linking" with a sub-stage of "Re-validating," and "Monitoring." There were two parallel stages included in the model. These parallel stages were "Communicating" and "Mentoring." The Internet Information Seeking Activities Model was compared to the behavioral model of information seeking by faculty members developed by Ellis. The Internet Model placed a greater emphasis on validating information retrieved from the Internet. Otherwise there were no other substantive changes to Ellis' model.

The purpose of this study was to identify pedagogical conditions that would successfully model with distance learning technologies for students in higher education. For this, the degree of satisfaction was investigated in 206 1st-4th-year students of speciality “Pedagogy” by questionnaire method and application of distance learning was studied in 28 teachers of the Institute of Continuous and Distance Education of K. Karasaev Bishkek State University. The study described the definition of distance learning, analysed the types of learning in the system of higher professional education, named the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning, principles and forms of learning, pedagogical methods. Student questionnaire data show that 11% of respondents are not satisfied with distance education. Degrees of dissatisfaction include internet outages, quality of education, lack of communication with classmates and teachers. However, 89% favoured this type of learning. The key advantages of distance learning are the time and budget saving for travelling and living, comfortable home learning conditions, availability of searching for necessary information, free choice of pace and time of learning. As a result of the interviews with the teachers of the institute, the following aspects were voiced that require improvement: students’ assimilation of information, lack of teaching experience in conducting this type of classes, as well as administrative issues. The study showed that distance learning technologies differ from the conventional form, being aimed at the development of students’ independent activity; obtaining knowledge and skills are oriented towards the application of information technology, search and exchange of information. Successful application of distance technologies in education requires systematic work on professional activities of teachers, increasing students’ interest in distance learning, establishing a relationship with students’ parents, and uninterrupted operation of Internet resources.

Recently, there has been an increased interest in the well-being of students in higher education. Despite the widespread consensus on the importance of student well-being, a clear definition continues to be lacking. This study qualitatively examined the student perspective on the topic through semi-structured interviews at a university of applied sciences in the Netherlands (n = 27). A major recurring theme was well-being as a balance in the interplay between efforts directed towards studies and life beyond studies. This method of perceiving well-being deviates from theoretical definitions. Students mentioned various factors that influence their well-being. Responses ranged from personal and university related factors to external factors beyond their educational institution. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the well-being of students in higher education and provides suggestions for educational institutions, such as incorporating a holistic perspective on students and learning; and focus points for the development of policies and practices.

Using Facebook for Learning: A Case Study on the Perception of Students in Higher Education

This paper addresses a critical issue with global relevance: the relationship between higher education quality and student engagement, focusing on how these factors influence the success of educational institutions. The study aims to assess the engagement perceptions of higher education students and the quality perceptions of their respective institutions in Portugal, comparing these with the key critical success factors defined as quality criteria for accreditation. The research is grounded in a sample of 1,190 higher education students in Portugal and examines the influence of students’ academic engagement across three dimensions on their perception of the concept of quality in higher education. The methodology is based on the Classical Multiple Linear Regression Model, which is used to evaluate the variables that significantly influence perceived quality from the students’ perspective. The findings reveal a positive and significant correlation between variables relevant to influencing perceived quality from the students’ perspective, helping to identify the main critical success factors for higher education institutions. These results provide valuable insights that can guide educational policy and quality assurance standards worldwide, making the study highly relevant on a global scale.