Purpose This study aimed to examine organizational digitalization of farmers' associations (FAs) by conducting internal and external analyses of the contextual and geo-spatial attributes of the organizations, and further explored the role such associations play as key change agents in activating agricultural innovations and development in Taiwan.

PurposeThis paper aims to report a study of researchers' preferences in selecting information from cited papers to include in a literature review, and the kinds of transformations and editing applied to the selected information.Design/methodology/approachThis is a part of a larger project to develop an automatic summarization method that emulates human literature review writing behaviour. Research questions were: how are literature reviews written – where do authors select information from, what types of information do they select and how do they transform it? What is the relationship between styles of literature review (integrative and descriptive) and each of these variables (source sections, types of information and types of transformation)? The authors analysed the literature review sections of 20 articles from theJournal of the American Society for Information Scienceand Technology, 2001‐2008, to answer these questions. Referencing sentences were mapped to 279 source papers to determine the source sentences. The type of information selected, the sections of source papers where the information was taken from, and the types of editing changes made to include in the literature review were analyzed.FindingsIntegrative literature reviews contain more research result information and critique, and reference more information from the results and conclusion sections of the source papers. Descriptive literature reviews contain more research method information, and reference more information from the abstract and introduction sections. The most common kind of transformation is the high‐level summary, though descriptive literature reviews have more cut‐pasting, especially for information taken from the abstract. The types of editing – substitutions, insertions and deletions – applied to the source sentences are identified.Practical implicationsThe results are useful in the teaching of literature review writing, and indicate ways for automatic summarization systems to emulate human literature review writing.Originality/valueThough there have been several studies of abstracts and abstracting, there are few studies of literature reviews and literature review writing. Little is known about how writers select information from source papers, integrate it and present it in a literature review. This paper fills some of the gaps.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the level of HIV/AIDS information among undergraduate students at two university colleges in Tanzania, and its role in changing risky sexual behaviour.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 151 undergraduate students from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College and Moshi University College of Cooperative and Business Studies were surveyed by means of a questionnaire.FindingsOf respondents 86 per cent were aware of the pandemic and its modes of transmission. The main sources of information were books, journals, magazines, television, internet, DVD/CD, radio and research reports. A total of 32 per cent reported having tested for HIV/AIDS; 40 per cent use condoms during sexual intercourse. Among condom users 63 per cent used them consistently. Factors hindering the use of HIV/AIDS information include the time spent on studies, the unavailability of the information, and the religious, cultural and family background of respondents.Research limitations/implicationsIn a country with over 30 university and university colleges, generalization is not possible on the basis of research restricted to a small number.Practical implicationsUniversities should establish partnerships and networks with various stakeholders to ensure access to HIV/AIDS information and to share experiences.Originality/valueThe level of HIV/AIDS information among Tanzanian undergraduates is under‐investigated. This paper helps to fill some of the gaps in the research.

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement and analyze if university library resources correlate with academic research achievement. Design/methodology/approach – The paper seeks to verify the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement and to examine which university library resources relate to research achievement. A variety of research questions were posed concerning the relationship between a university's library resources and academic research achievement. Structural equation models (SEMs) were developed to answer the research questions. Most research questions posed were affirmatively answered using the SEM process. Findings – This study confirmed that labor and budget, investment in e‐resources and an investment in university libraries enhances academic research achievement. Research limitations/implications – An SEM for verifying the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement was developed in the study. Originality/value – This study is the first including an investment factor in e‐resources for verifying the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement.

PurposeLibrarians have traditionally followed a model of service based on a professional ethic. Attempts to introduce a retail model of service have generally met with staff resistance. The study aims to ask librarians about their attitudes to the retail and professional models of service and what they did not like about the retail model.Design/methodology/approachData were drawn from focus groups consisting of experienced reference librarians.FindingsResults suggest that librarians behave differently while front‐stage and backstage. They resist the retail model because it is perceived to replace service based upon knowledge with fake behaviour.Practical implicationsManagers can draw on the results when considering how best to improve the service provided by library staff who prefer the professional model of service over the retail model.Originality/valueThe use of Goffman's theory of dramaturgy has highlighted previously unknown attitudes to service held by reference librarians that will slow or stop the introduction of the retail model of service.

Purpose – The main aim of the study is to determine whether information therapy (Ix) services are rendered in hospital/medical libraries in Iran and India and to identify the role of librarians in providing health information to patients in the context of information therapy (Ix) services, and the problems and prospects for rendering Ix services in hospital/medical libraries.Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory survey was conducted using a questionnaire to collect data. Librarians were selected by a simple random sampling method from the membership list of the Iranian Medical Library Association and the Medical Library Association of India. In total, 100 questionnaires were distributed through mail and e‐mail to each of the sampling frames. A total of 71 and 84 valid responses were collected from Iran and India, respectively. Simple descriptive statistical analysis was utilized using SPSS version 15.5. A Chi‐square test or Fisher's exact test was used to compare variables.Findings – Information th...

PurposeMedicine is heavily dependent on images and health care professionals use medical images for clinical, educational and research purposes. This paper aims to investigate the resources used by health care professionals while searching for medical images.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on a qualitative study that uses the Straussian version of grounded theory and involved 29 health care professionals from various health and biomedical departments working within Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS (National Health Service) Foundation Trust. Data collection was carried out using semi‐structured interviews and think‐aloud protocols.FindingsThe findings show that health care professionals seek medical images in a variety of visual information sources, including those found online and from published medical literature. The research also identified a number of difficulties that health care professionals face when searching for medical images in various image resources.Originality/valueThere have been few studies that investigated the image resources used by health care professionals. Thus, this study contributes to the understanding of medical image resources and information needs of health care professionals. A clear understanding of the medical image information needs of health care professionals is also vital to the design process and development of medical image retrieval systems.

PurposeThis paper seeks to report the results of a study, which investigated the use of the internet by political parties and individual candidates in Scotland as part of their campaign for election to the UK Parliament in 2010.Design/methodology/approachThree methodologies were used in gathering data: the content of the web sites of 18 parties and 12 candidates was analysed in order to identify the ways in which participation by the Scottish electorate was encouraged via the provision of information and of opportunities for interaction, debate and feedback; the extent to which parties and candidates adopted and used social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, during the campaign was investigated and measured; and using e‐mail, Facebook and Twitter, a series of enquiries based around topical campaign and policy issues was directed at parties and candidates to measure the speed and extent of response, as well as any efforts made towards the creation of an ongoing relationship with potential voters.FindingsParty and candidate web sites were being used extensively for information provision, income generation and the recruitment of members and volunteers. However, Scottish political actors were reluctant to encourage online contact and debate, and were unwilling to answer contentious policy questions online. Social media applications were adopted by a significant number of parties and candidates, but were used primarily for the one‐way flow of information to known associates and party activists.Originality/valueThis study forms part of an ongoing series of investigations by the authors, which has examined the use of the internet by political parties and candidates during parliamentary election campaigns in Scotland. These are the only such studies which have looked specifically at the Scottish political arena.

PurposeThis paper seeks to draw on the linguistic model of narrative recursion developed by Ochs and Capps and on data collected and analysed in previous research projects conducted by Shenton in order to synthesise a new framework that represents the information behaviour of children and young people.Design/methodology/approachThe model of narrative recursion provides the basis of the framework proposed. However, additional, LIS‐specific details have been introduced to ensure that the reworked version represents the phenomenon of information behaviour pertaining to the young as appropriately as possible.FindingsThe individual elements within the Ochs and Capps model correspond closely to three phases typically associated with information behaviour – the emergence of an information need, information‐seeking action, and information use.Research limitations/implicationsNo claim is made that the model delineates all instances of information behaviour. It ignores cases where information is acquired incidentally, where no clear goal is involved in the activity and where no enhancement of the knowledge state results, even though information has been accessed.Practical implicationsThe model is sufficiently simple to be employed in information literacy sessions with secondary school pupils. It could also be extended to provide an instructional tool and is useful in highlighting various points in youngsters' information‐related action where intermediaries may help.Originality/valueAlthough the adoption of ideas and frameworks from other disciplines with the aim of increasing understanding of LIS phenomena is a growing trend, the paper forms one of the first attempts to apply to information behaviour an existing model associated with linguistics.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the publications of, and the citations to, the current staff of 19 departments of computer science in Malaysian universities, and to compare these bibliometric data with expert peer reviews of Malaysian research performance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper searches citation of the Scopus and Web of Science databases.FindingsBoth publication and citation rates are low, although this is at least in part due to some Malaysian universities having only a teaching function. More of the departments' publications were identified in Scopus than in Web of Science, but both databases were needed for comprehensive coverage. Statistically significant relationships were observed between the departments' publication and citation counts and the rankings of the departments' parent universities in two evaluations of the research performance of Malaysian universities.Originality/valueThis is the first comparison of bibliometric and peer‐review data for Malaysia, and, more generally, for a country with a newly developed higher education system.