This research focused upon issues associated with access to Digitised Visual Art (DVA) that is Visual Art in any form that is held and made available as a shared electronic resource; the value to the individual from the experience of such access and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in offering a new space to visual art and the individual user. Within the overarching framework of the learning society this study was designed to gain an understanding of the way in which individuals use and value access to DVA within their everyday life. It had a particular emphasis on the individual's own construction of value and the concept of a 'new space'. This study relied on the hermeneutic perspective of a shared meaning and understanding. Hermeneutics was both the underpinning philosophy and the specific framework and method for analysis and interpretation. Design of the research was emergent employing a user centred approach; meaning was determined by the context of the study, new space. This offered the researcher the opportunity to use methods that would yield rich data including on-line and email interviews - actual tools in new space. Key to this research was the relationships between the individual, new space and visual art. Hypertext is concerned with relationships and it is for this reason that an electronic hypertext document (EHD) was created as a holistic tool to present an electronic version of the research. The development of the EHD has become the basis to begin further research in the pedagogical application of such technology as a research and teaching tool. Gateshead, Tyne and Wear in the North East of England was chosen as a case study site, in particular the Library and Arts Service. This study provides an insight into the vision and foresight that Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council has placed on learning, culture, arts and the Information Society. This research also provides a discourse and insight into the utility and importance of DVA and the benefit and opportunity afforded by access in a new space. It offers an understanding of the meaning of Culture in the context of the research and interpretation of value advocating a meaningful framework in which value can be discussed.

Over the past two decades Greek university libraries have had to respond to a changing academic and information landscape which impacts significantly on the type of services offered as well as on the way in which these services are offered. The development of Electronic Information Services (EIS) is a major priority in the Higher Education sector. In the same time, the evolution of learning and teaching practice and the changing demands of the academic community affect the libraries’ role and mission. This research explores the relationship between the education system, in terms of the teaching and learning process that are used particularly in the Greek context and EIS provided by libraries. There is a focus here on whether EIS satisfy users’ needs in the current Higher Education context. A qualitative methodology has been followed in order to provide an in-depth user-centred investigation in two of the libraries at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The empirical investigation draws data from three different groups of participants: students, academics and librarians. It is a user-centered study which presents a picture of the use and understanding of EIS in the context of the library. Conclusions show that the education system strongly influences the library’s operation by determining its role and services. The research is focused on defining the extent to which EIS meet their objectives from the perspective of all the participants groups. It also emphasizes the importance of the communication between the different parts of the university community and the role of the education system regarding the use of the EIS. IT skills and computer access have been identified as two important parameters in defining the effective use of EIS. The findings of this research, based on the two research sites under investigation, will provide an insight and an understanding of the needs of users and the characteristics of the context. Additionally, it can support librarians and academics in their decision about library operations and how those fit with the wider educational setting.

Governments around the world are increasingly investing in the publication of data and information on the internet in a bid to promote transparency and public engagement. However, studies have found that there is a poor audience and citizens’ engagement with online contents in general, and with governments’ digital data and information in particular. Studies have also shown that it is important that governments who seek to engage the citizens in State’s decisionmaking process should first engage them with their informative online contents. But the challenge is that e-public engagement research has been predominantly techno-centric. Therefore, with an exploratory research design and a sequential-mixed methods approach, this study investigated the factors influencing citizens’ engagement with governments’ online contents based on the views of Nigerians. From the qualitative phase of the study, a citizen-content engagement (C-CE) model was developed. This model was then tested in the quantitative phase, and findings indicate that citizens’ engagement with governments’ online contents (CE) is directly influenced by the quality and ability of the contents in meeting the citizens’ information need (INPCQ), and by the citizens’ affinity for governments’ platforms (IVP). IVP is influenced by trust in the government (TGA), the ability to actively participate in information creation on governments platforms (CC), and the ability to interact and deliberate with other citizens and government’s officials on those platforms (IDelib). Governments’ platform-type and citizens’ level of political awareness also played a moderating role on IVP. Governments’ use of social media was found to be more important than the use of websites in the influence of TGA, CC, and IDelib on IVP. Poor level of political awareness was more important than the optimal level of political awareness in the influence of IVP on CE, which indicates that the more aware citizens are about the government, the less the affinity they have for their platforms. This research is important as the outcome may help governments that are interested in e-participation to shape their contents better in ways that would encourage citizencontent engagement and citizen participation.

This thesis presents a study of risk management within records management that focuses on small to medium enterprises(SMEs)in the UK. Cases tudies of three SMEs based in the north of England, ranging from micro-businesses to large scale, were undertaken in a two year period. The aims of the study were to investigate risk in the context of electronic information and records management within SMEs, and to develop a working conceptual model or theory for risk management of electronic information and records. This thesis aims to characterise the approaches to risk and electronic information and records management taken by SMEs throughc case studies, narrative analysis and corpus linguistics. Attitudes and drivers for risk management of electronic information and records management in SMEs were investigated and analysed. The history and historiography of risk management and records management were investigated as part of the preliminary research for the project. The objectives included critically evaluating the vocabulary of risk and risk management, and identifying the use of a common vocabulary of risk in records management within the SME context. This was carried out by a transdisciplinary use of the techniques of computer corpus linguistics (CCL). The creation of a corpus from material collected from interview and questionnaire format contributes to a greater linguistic and semiotic comprehension of the ideas and thoughts behind risk management of records management by different levels of employees in an SME. he corpus was used to identify a vocabulary of terms used by the SMEEs in describing their own risk management in terms of records management, and their experience of risk events in their records management. The outcome of the research will inform the practice of managing risks associated with electronic information and records management in SMEs by distribution of results to relevant small businesses working groups.

In 1998 a village in Northumberland was at the centre of a suspected TB infection. This thesis describes a research project that aimed to characterise and evaluate the dissemination of information to the community during the crisis. The context within which the incident occurred is discussed, and the main areas of research within which this project is located are reviewed. The following objectives were set for the project — 1. To determine existing evidence of effective information dissemination 2. To determine the criteria for dissemination in the specific context of the crisis 3. To identify and develop research methods that reflect the cross-disciplinary nature of the topic. The project employed a broadly qualitative methodology and was firmly grounded in information science. A qualitative systematic review of research literature identified the existing evidence of effective information dissemination. The technique was adapted from systematic reviews conducted in health research. Twenty relevant studies were identified and their results synthesised and analysed using a meta-ethnographic approach. From this analysis the elements of effective dissemination were extracted, and when combined produced a model of effective information dissemination. Interviews conducted with key informants ascertained the criteria specific to the TB incident. The information providers for the information dissemination process set three explicit criteria during the TB incident. These criteria were underpinned by a set of assumptions about the audience for the information. A questionnaire survey of respondents in the community was conducted to incorporate their perspective in the evaluation. Analysis of the survey and interview data shows that, whilst the criteria set for the dissemination process were mostly achieved, the assumptions underpinning the dissemination process were not wholly correct. The research data was compared to the model of effective information dissemination. Additional elements were identified and a model of effective information dissemination in a crisis was produced. Further research is required to test the validity of this model. It is proposed, however, that extracting the elements from the unique situation enables translation of the research findings to other crisis situations.

Information seeking in context is a developing area of research, which explores the subject in settings ranging from high schools to legal practices to health organisations. Relatively little research, however, has been devoted to information behaviour in disadvantaged communities from a non-library perspective, particularly within a UK context. This study contributes to this field of research by exploring the information worlds — the everyday lives and information behaviour — of people living on a disadvantaged estate in Northeast England. The project was firmly rooted within the qualitative paradigm and employed a combination of ethnographic data collection methods to explore information behaviour including episodic narrative and extended participant observation. Interviews were carried out with 21 estate residents and with 13 key workers. The study discovered that everyday life on the estate was difficult and complex, a fact mirrored in the participants' information needs and in their information seeking behaviour. Cognitive information needs stemmed from everyday life issues such as debts, employment and health problems and were often met only with affective support from informal networks of family, friends and trusted on-estate regeneration workers. Trust was a major factor in information seeking owing to the insular nature of the estate and the participants' need for confidentiality and privacy. Participants often used the term information to indicate what was happening on the estate in terms of gossip and local news, but they also found the term a worrying one, associating it with intrusive questioning and with formal institutions. Formal, off-estate information providers were used for health reasons or in crisis situations, and the public library was not considered as an information source. In order to overcome the many barriers to information seeking, information providers need to focus on working in ongoing partnership with other agencies and on developing trusting relationships with people within their communities.

As the emphasis on accountability in the Electronic Government (EG) environment has increased, the interest in providing the requisite knowledge and skills for the employees and potential employees (i.e. students) to manage electronic records has been heightened. A number of initiatives aimed at providing educational and training opportunities for administrators, archivists, IT personnel and records managers to manage electronic records have been developed. The primary aims of this study are: (a) to analyse the education and training programmes in electronic records management (ERM) for record keepers and develop a model, (b) to examine the needs of record keepers in relation to such knowledge and skills as are required to manage electronic records in the specific context of the EG in Malaysia, and (c) to provide a suitable vocational and professional education and training model for record keepers in Malaysia to acquire and maintain knowledge and skills required for the effective management of electronic records. To achieve the above aims, the research adopted a case study approach that combined both quantitative and qualitative data to answer the various research questions. Quantitative data was gathered from a high level web survey of the national archives and related professional organisations world-wide to identify and examine education and training programmes for record keepers and current international best practice. A questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews were used to investigate and identify the roles and responsibilities of different record keepers in the Malaysian Federal Ministries, explore the context in which the record keepers managed electronic records, and examine their needs for education and training in ERM. Different software packages such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access and NUD.IST (Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorising) were used to analyse the data. This study developed a generic model relating to vocational and professional education and training in ERM. It was based on a review of the various concepts on education and training, as well as concepts underpinning the four pragmatic examples of education and training programmes in ERM developed in Europe and UK. This generic model was used to explore the emergent issues in Malaysia that were related to the need for knowledge and skills in ERM. The model was discussed and tested with the Malaysian record keepers through five focus group discussions. It was found that the generic model matched the situation in Malaysia, even though there were variations in the details due to the varying needs of the Malaysian record keepers within the EG environment and the Malaysian government bureaucracy. The underlying concepts which underpinned the generic model for vocational and professional education and training in ERM developed in this study have been validated within the Malaysian public sector setting. Therefore this generic model must be understood within the specific context of the environment in which the fieldwork was carried out. In order to assess the extent of its universal application, similar projects employing the same methods but conducted in contrasting environments or in other countries have been found to have great value.

The recent promotion of male circumcision as a public health strategy in settings with low circumcision rates is based on research evidence suggesting that male circumcision provides heterosexual men with 50 to 60 per cent protective benefit against HIV infection. For the Kikuyu people in Kenya, male circumcision is a cultural ritual and a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. The study explored the male circumcision ritual and practices in Muranga, Kenya and their implications on public health. A qualitative research design underpinned by an Interpretivist paradigm was employed. Focused ethnographic methodology was used to capture the cultural context of the ritual and its meanings. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling method. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 13 circumcision mentors, participant observations in three churches and written narratives with 43 male students from six schools. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings suggest a changing circumcision ritual with women as key agents of change in a ritual considered a male arena. The church, hospital and urbanisation emerged as the drivers of the changes which women effected with the aim of protecting their sons from institutional bullying and the culture of pain in the era of HIV and AIDS. The latest change in the ritual feature boys getting circumcised and recuperating in hospitals. The changes in male circumcision practices are of significance to public health. The changes in sexual practices are likely to increase the risk of HIV infection counteracting the protective effect expected of circumcision. The study recommends a revision of policies especially the WHO policy on male circumcision for the effective impact on HIV prevention among the circumcising communities. Women can be engaged in mobilising changes in the circumcision ritual that are significant to the health of young men through institutions such as hospitals and churches.

This research project critically explores the manner in which online interaction between individuals affects their understanding of information and what this means for the meaning of information within this context. In order to examine these interactions and their effects the research question asked is: To what extent is digital discourse within the context of the online information explosion rendering all information effectively subjective? The aims of the research were to investigate the relationship between individuals and information and to develop a conceptual framework through which to understand this relationship. Coupled with this concept of interpretative methodology within this research is the idea of Verstehen as a way of developing an understanding of language and behaviour. As the research required public online discourse surrounding an information rich topic it was decided that the issue of climate change would meet these needs. It is an issue which is steeped in debate and that features a significant volume of publicly available information in the form of official statistics, reports and projections as well as widespread media coverage. The analysis of this data highlighted the prominence of certain key elements, such as notable individuals who can be seen taking on roles which direct the discourse shaping it either through the comments they make or the information which they share. This generative role-taking plays into the idea that social validation and the perceived credibility of an individual are vital to the impact which they can have on a discussion and in their ability to shape the opinions of others. The contribution to knowledge can be found in the relationships with the discourse with regard to the issue of who constructs meaning for a piece of information; reconceptualising who is regarded as owning a source and who is regarded as credible in an online social context.

This study was carried out in the field of information behaviour, which includes information sharing behaviour. The study set out to answer the research question: what are the factors that influence proactive information sharing behaviour in organisations? The aim of the study was to explore in depth, factors that influence proactive information sharing behaviour, and understand the degree to which these factors influence proactive information sharing behaviour. The study provides a unique contribution to research by developing an understanding of factors which influence proactive information sharing behaviour in organisations; the understanding of how these factors are related in context; and the development of tools to identify proactive information sharing behaviour. The research approach was based on a constructivist philosophical perspective, grounded in information behaviour theories and models. A case study methodology was used to collect rich data specific to each context; three cases, and two organisations were used overall, and data collection was done using mixed methods, to give a holistic understanding. Research techniques were tailored based on a theoretical framework, which included four theories; autopoesis, social network theory, sense making, and appreciative inquiry. Data collected was analysed using the coding method used in grounded theory, going through the stages of open coding, axial coding, and some selective coding. The key findings were: role responsibility and involvement; reciprocity and trust; open office design, open conversations, and information overload; proactivity and personality; knowledge, experience, and length of time in the organisation; use of technology and resistance to change; organisational objectives, organisational policy, organisational structure, size of group, and lack of resources; enthusiasm, satisfaction / dissatisfaction, low morale, feeling of power, and expectation; difference in objectives between colleagues, personal agenda, and lack of authority. These factors influence the proactive information behaviour of individuals in organisations, and the influence of each factor is deeply rooted in the specific organisational context. A model of proactive information sharing behaviour was developed in this study, which illustrates and explains how the factors, intervening variables, and context, all combine to influence proactive information sharing behaviour in organisations.