solyman shafee; Mohsen Nowkarizi; Amin Zare
Abstract
The Objective: The objective of this study aims at the identification of the resources of knowledge, study the effect of Dalkir’s integrated life cycle of organizational knowledge on documenting knowledge and provide a practical model of knowledge documentation in central libraries of the state universities ...
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The Objective: The objective of this study aims at the identification of the resources of knowledge, study the effect of Dalkir’s integrated life cycle of organizational knowledge on documenting knowledge and provide a practical model of knowledge documentation in central libraries of the state universities in Iran.Methodology: The research methodology of this study is based on the analytical survey with an applied purpose. The statistical population of the study included the heads, assistants and the directors of the central libraries of the state universities in Iran. Out of the survey population of 172 members, based on the size and sample table of Krejcie & Morgan, 113 people were randomly selected, with response rate of 88% and 100 returned questionnaires. An electronic self-made questionnaire with 100 questions was used for the data collection purposes. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by 8 specialist professors of this field and its reliability, according to the average Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated at 87.45.Results: The result of the multiple regression analysis showed that the Dalkir’s integrated life cycle of organizational knowledge had significant relationship with knowledge documentation and the correlation between the variables was 0.63 which was at high level. According to the adjusted correlation coefficient, 0.40 percent of the dependent variable was covered by the aforementioned cycle. The estimated direct and indirect effects of the independent variables showed that the variables knowledge capture, knowledge refinement and knowledge sharing directly with coefficients of 0.39, 0.34 and 0.27, and variables of knowledge filtering/selection and knowledge access indirectly with total coefficients of 0.22 and 0.25 were effective on knowledge documentation. The results of exploratory factor analysis resulted in extracting three factors of extraction resources and recording tacit knowledge of managers, extracting new knowledge from sources of explicit knowledge for data and web searching and 63.35% of the total variance was explained.Originality/Value: This is the first study of its kind relating to the documentation of knowledge in central libraries of the state universities in Iran with the aim of providing a practical model.
Mohsen Nowkarizi; Fahimeh Rajabi; Masoumeh Tajafari
Abstract
Aim: Surveying the reading status after implementing the reading station project in Mashhad and evaluating the users' satisfaction of the reading stations. Method: The population consisted of people who have used the reading stations in Mashhad and librarians responsible for these stations. the sample ...
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Aim: Surveying the reading status after implementing the reading station project in Mashhad and evaluating the users' satisfaction of the reading stations. Method: The population consisted of people who have used the reading stations in Mashhad and librarians responsible for these stations. the sample size for the users, was 180. In the second community, an interview was implemented. Findings: The users' satisfaction of stations was significantly above average. The user' satisfaction of the stations' location was significantly above average. The role of reading stations was successful in promoting the reading of people. The average users' reading level was increased with the implementation of the reading station project. There was no significant difference between female and male's use level of the reading stations. The findings also didn't show any significant differences between the use of reading stations and their level of education and age groups. According to the experts' viewpoints, the reading station project had a great impact on increasing the level reading of citizens. Again they said the reading station project, to be more successful, requires much time and advertising. Conclusion: According to the results, it seems if sufficient funding is provided to equip the reading stations and if the habits to use and to introduce them are created through the help of advertising and informing, and finally the book number is increased, the plan will reach the goals and will consult more and more
Mohsen Nowkarizi; Mohammad Ghaneie; Azam Sanatjoo
Abstract
Background and Objectives: : Information technology is one of the most important management tools that affect a variety of organizations, including the library, in our era. This part of the information industry is rapidly expanding, but with proper management and precise planning via it, one may provide ...
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Background and Objectives: : Information technology is one of the most important management tools that affect a variety of organizations, including the library, in our era. This part of the information industry is rapidly expanding, but with proper management and precise planning via it, one may provide the library with much added value. In order to prepare a strategic plan for the use of information technology in libraries, we should examine the governing model on the use of information technology dimensions, ie, the acceptance and use patterns of information technology in the library, which suggests the current conditions of the library. About the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM) libraries, it is not clear which factors have the most impact on the faculty members and graduate students' acceptance and use of information technology? What is the status of the information technology acceptance and use in the population and what is the best model for predicting information technology acceptance and application? To achieve the localized strategic pattern to help to formulate a strategic program, by identifying factors influencing the acceptance and use of technology in FUM libraries was the main purpose of the research.Methodology: It was an analytical survey. The population included all the faculty members and postgraduate students studying in the second half of 2013, who used the FUM libraries, the total population of the study was 12538 people. Stratified random sampling method was used and two samples of 201 and 373 were selected for two stages of factor analysis and path analysis. The first sample for the factor analysis was to confirm the fitness of the model, confirming the validity of the construct of the tools and identifying the effective factors. The second sample included 373 people for the path analysis and measuring the effect of each factor on the use of information technology applying. The random stratified sampling was used with two samples of 201 and 373 people for two phases, factor analysis and path analysis from a population of 12538 members of FUM. The data gathered by a questionnaire in 2 phases. The face validity of the questionnaire was approved by some KIS faculty members. The Internal validity of the original questionnaire was approved by using Promax correlation matrix in factor analysis method. The observed variables related to measuring the latent variables were technology use, technology characteristics, task characteristics, Task-Technology Fit (TTF), and personal capability. The observed variables regarding measuring the latent variable of the acceptance technology included the prediction of performance, prediction of effort, social influence, facilitating conditions and behavioral tendencies. Two questionnaires were used in the study. The first questionnaire was developed after the extraction of some factors from the theoretical foundations and the literature. It was prepared as a researcher-made questionnaire. The second questionnaire was extracted after the analysis of the first questionnaire. In the study, two statistical models have been used based on the theories of TTF and the UTAUT as the base model. Regarding to the fact that the qualitative and strategic management approach dominated the study, path analysis was used. The confirmatory factor analysis was used to be informed of the coverage of all dimensions of the model and the maximum fitness of the model used before the path analysis.Findings: In the first stage, most of the respondents were from the Faculty of Agriculture and the least of them were from the Faculty of Theology. About 62.7% of the respondents were male. In the following, factor analysis assumptions (missing data, outliers and collinearity, normality, and linear relationship between variables) were evaluated and data were prepared. In this case, missing data and outliers (between 1 to 100) were not analyzed. In order to measure the collinearity of the tolerance and VIF coefficients, SPSS20 was used. The tolerance coefficients for contact numbers, scientific databases, directories, and e-mails showed a serious decline. The VIF for contact numbers was more than 1.5 and had a collinearity with another indicator because its Eigenvalue and condition index were respectively 0.016 and 29.36. After the examining, it became clear that the contact numbers had the most internal consistency with the e-mail, so they were summarized in a new indicator entitled the contact ways. The indicators of the collinearity recognition of the indicators of the information process and needed trainings were close to the critical level. They had the highest correlation with each other, so were summarized in a new indicator called training and informing. To solve the problem of normality, Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests were used to normalize the data. In order to know the linearity of the correlation, multiple regressions were used t and this precondition was also satisfied. After satisfying the assumptions of the confirmatory factor analysis (checking missing data, outliers, collinearity test, normality, linearity of the relationship of variables) in SPSS, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to confirm the goodness of fitting the models used in the population, using diagonal correlation matrix and goodness index of fitness in LISREL. The results of the factor analysis on 201 respondents in the first stage showed that in factor analysis phase, GIF with 0.92 for the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of technology and with 0.94 for the Task-Technology Fit theory was fit to the research population. After verifying the confirmatory factor analysis and ensuring that the chosen model could cover all aspects of the phenomenon of using information technology and not revealing additional dimensions that were not appropriate to the population, as well as reaching the model that had the maximum fitness for the population, the second stage or path analysis was used to test the hypothesis. In the second phase, 357 people were surveyed. The most were from the Faculty of Science and the least of them were from the Faculty of Physical Education. 67% of them were male and the rest were women. The mean age of responders was 29 years and the max and minimum were respectively 53 23 years. According to the results of the path analysis, the fitness index of the RMSEA for both models was less than the critical value of 0.08 (for TTF model equal to 0.073 and for the technology acceptance model equal to 0.023). As mentioned, the significance of the coefficients of the models was also higher than 0.05. As a result, the zero hypotesis was rejected, which implies the lack of goodness of fitting the models, and the lack of significance of the path coefficients and factor loadings. The hypothesis was based on the significance of the coefficients and factor loadings, and it was determined that the used models were the ability to predict the factors of the use of technology, ie, technology use and acceptance, in the population. In other words, by fitting the models used, a localized model was found that factor loadings and its path coefficients were of enough significance. This meant that the models used in the population were a high predictor to achieve a strategic model.Discussion: The results indicated that the use of information technology in libraries is more focused on the task, which is to meet the information needs, and can see the fact in the variable in satisfying the information needs along with the characteristics of the task as an effective factor in the use of information technology. But the result also suggests that the technology available in the library is unattractive that can be considered as a factor in technology use. This means that there is a link between the concepts of the technology acceptance and use, because, as noted, there was a low impact of the facilitating conditions such as hardware and software technology acceptance in the population. Today, with the advent of various types of technology, especially in libraries, the users' focus and attention have shifted from technology to the use of technology to meet their information needs.
Maryam Saberi; Mohsen Nowkarizi; Mohammad Hossein Dayyani
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Attention to the users and their attitudes is one of the important concerns of designers of information systems which has led to the design of several models for acceptance and use of technology. One of these models is the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology ...
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Background and Objectives: Attention to the users and their attitudes is one of the important concerns of designers of information systems which has led to the design of several models for acceptance and use of technology. One of these models is the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model, which consists of four main dependent variables of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions and two main independent variables of intention and behavior, and use (user).On the other hand, despite the efforts and costs involved in designing scientific databases in Persian language, these databases have so far failed to find their proper place among scholars and the scientific community of Iran. The set of IRANDOC databases is among these databases. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to determine the position of the main variables (dependent and independent) of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model among users of the IRANDOC databases. Methodology: The approach adopted in the present research is quantitative and in terms of purpose it is an applied research. Also, it is a survey. The statistical population of this study included all potential users of the set of the IRANDOC databases (known as Ganjineh). The size of the research population was infinite. For this reason, the Morgan formula was used to determine the sample size for indeterminate statistical population. The number of sample members of this study was 325. Simple random sampling method was used. Finally, 250 questionnaires (77% of the total distributed questionnaires) were received and considered as the final sample. In this study, a questionnaire was used as a tool for surveying the variables of research and data collection. In order to measure the research variables, a pre-prepared standard questionnaire based on UTAUT model, including six sub-variables and twenty one items was used. Since the tool was designed by the developer of the model, for the instrument's validity only experts were used to adapt the English to Persian translation. Cronbach's alpha was calculated as 0.94. To determine the rating of each item in the tool, the 5 value Likert scale was used. In order to analyze data, descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (factor analysis and one sample T-test) were used. Findings: The findings of this study are presented in three sections: 1. Study of the status of variables based on the average of the participants’ opinion: In this section, it was found that the "performance expectancy" variable had a higher score. 2. Comparison of the mean of UTAUT model: In order to determine the effect of each of the sub-variables of acceptance and use from the IRANDOC databases users’ views and also to calculate the position of these components factor analysis was carried out. It was found that among the independent variables, the "effort expectancy" variable was more influential concerning the acceptance and use of the IRANDOC database than other related variables. Meanwhile, there was no difference between the two dependent variables (behavior intention and use) in influencing the acceptance and use of the users of these databases. 3. Comparison of acceptance status and use of the IRANDOC database with the average status: The results of one-sample T-test and comparison with the average condition (3) showed that with the exception of the "use" variable, the remaining variables were higher than the average. Also, the comparison of the overall UTAUT model (the acceptance index and the technology utilization) with the average showed that the index was also above the average. Discussion: Based on the effect of influential variables, the “effort expectancy" variable had a higher score than other variables .Accordingly, it seems that from the viewpoint of users of the set of the above mentioned databases, the ease of use (user-friendliness) of these databases has had the greatest impact on the acceptance and use of them. Moreover, the results of the research showed that the level of all the main variables of the UTAUT, with the exception of the use (user), was higher than the average (3). This finding is debatable from two perspectives: firstly, the users of IRANDOCT databases have largely accepted and used these databases due to their specific characteristics (such as the diversity of information resources, the age, availability, speed of access Resources, and updates). On the other hand, the results of the present study showed that the use variable (user) was in the middle position, unlike other variables of the model. Also, the comparison of the mean user opinion confirmed this finding as the mean of this variable was lower than other variables. This result can be explained by the fact that other variables, appear to affect the user's use of the databases. In summary, the results of this study show that the design of scientific databases should be carried out with a futuristic and accurate attention to the factors affecting the acceptance and utilization of these technological tools, so that the cost, the usefulness of the databases and information resources are guaranteed.
