Examination of how social aspects moderate the relationship between task characteristics and usage of social communication technologies (SCTs) in organizations

Because of the increasing significance of social communication technologies within an organization, they have become a new form of information processing, resulting in business process transitions and increased benefits. By applying media richness theory and social theories, this study investigated how social communication technologies (SCTs) can be used by an employee to fit his/her task characteristics. Additionally, it also examined how the employee's social relationships moderated media usage in the current job environment and how this usage influenced the task performance. Five media were selected in this study (telephone, video conferencing, email, instant messaging, and blog). Using a hierarchical regression approach, we found that task characteristics were related to media usage, whereas social factors (social influence and social affinity) moderated the degree of the relationships. A few particular media and technologies seemed to perform well, however these are influenced by the social aspects. Moreover, the usage of social technologies results in positive task performance. The performance of a few specific technologies demonstrated binding effects (email performance was associated with instant messenger performance). In summary, we found that the usage of SCTs is instrumentally determined by the interaction between the task and social relationships.     

Web 2.0 and folksonomies in a library context

Libraries have a societal purpose and this role has become increasingly important as new technologies enable organizations to support, enable and enhance the participation of users in assuming an active role in the creation and communication of information. Folksonomies, a Web 2.0 technology, represent such an example. Folksonomies result from individuals freely tagging resources available to them on a computer network. In a library environment folksonomies have the potential of overcoming certain limitations of traditional classification systems such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Typical limitations of this type of classification systems include, for example, the rigidity of the underlying taxonomical structures and the difficulty of introducing change in the categories. Folksonomies represent a supporting technology to existing classification systems helping to describe library resources more flexibly, dynamically and openly. As a review of the current literature shows, the adoption of folksonomies in libraries is novel and limited research has been carried out in the area. This paper presents research into the adoption of folksonomies for a University library. A Web 2.0 system was developed, based on the requirements collected from library stakeholders, and integrated with the existing library computer system. An evaluation of the work was carried out in the form of a survey in order to understand the possible reactions of users to folksonomies as well as the effects on their behavior. The broad conclusion of this work is that folksonomies seem to have a beneficial effect on users’ involvement as active library participants as well as encourage users to browse the catalogue in more depth.     

Examining the antecedents of knowledge sharing in facilitating team innovativeness from a multilevel perspective

This paper examines how transformational leadership (TFL) climate influences employees’ team identity and their intentions to share knowledge and how team knowledge sharing intention subsequently influences team innovativeness. Data was collected from 301 employees comprising 52 R&D teams. Hypotheses were tested with both hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and regression analyses. Results indicated that TFL climate was related to employees’ intention to share knowledge through team identity. At the group level, results supported the relationships between team knowledge sharing intention and team innovativeness. The results also indicated that team knowledge sharing intention mediated the relationship between TFL climate and team innovativeness.     

Role of knowledge conversion and social networks in team performance

This study aims to find out how different processes of knowledge management and patterns of social networking affect team performance. Our data on teams originate from a sample of different organizations from a variety of both public and private industries in Finland (76 teams; 499 employees). One of the main deficiencies in the current literature on knowledge and networks is that they tend to concentrate on specific types of teams in a single organization context. Our aim was to put the team phenomenon into an everyday context by analysing the interplay of knowledge creation and social networks in teams which function on a permanent basis in a variety of industry contexts. Both knowledge creation and social networking contributed to performance, but the results showed that whereas team members see the knowledge conversion processes as central to performance, top management emphasize the importance of social networks in value creation. In our examination, lively interaction between team members, combined with team leaders’ intra-organizational networks, contributed to team performance.     

e-Government legislation: Implementation issues for programs for low-income people

This paper introduces a research agenda to explore the intersection of e-government implementation and the key federal programs – Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, a.k.a. food stamps), (SSI), and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF, a.k.a. welfare) – that provide assistance to low-income citizens in the United States. To lay the groundwork for on-going research, this paper focuses on the implementing statutes that require different levels of automation for delivering these programs to the public. It discusses the programs in terms of their breadth, impacts to recipients, and the effects of automation as implemented for each. It identifies some of the consequences of automation, such as potentially faster service delivery, different approaches to information access, and issues of privacy. It then suggests some points to consider for policymakers and for future research to more deeply understand this unique and little-studied aspect of e-government implementation. By understanding the impacts of implementing statutes on the poor, policymakers can develop a deliberately inclusive strategy that leverages technology to support access to assistance in measurable models that can be implemented at the federal, state, and county levels. This can further democratize the government-to-citizen relationship and support greater accountability to taxpayers.     

Stakeholders as researchers: A multiple case study of using cooperative inquiry to develop and document the formative leadership experiences of new school library professionals

Cooperative inquiry, a form of qualitative research used in community building, has not often been applied in educational contexts. Through the lens of formative leadership theory, the researchers studied the abilities of three new school librarians trained in cooperative inquiry and leadership to engage in collaborative problem solving for technology-related school challenges. Due to internal and external factors, participants experienced various levels of success with their challengers, but cooperative inquiry proved to be a viable methodology to evaluate the outcomes of library education for school librarians' formative leadership.     

Providing a clearer view: An examination of transparency on local government websites

This study examines the role of content professionalism and public outreach, along with partisanship in the availability of online local public information. Comparing county and school board websites in Florida, the author suggests that online public records serve as a proxy for the entity's overall level of transparency. A content analysis of 134 local government websites reveals that school boards had a higher level of transparency than counties in Florida, while websites with a more professional look and those located in communities with a high Republican proportion had greater transparency than others. Finally, implications for scholars and government leaders are discussed.     

Duct tape and WD-40: The information worlds of female investors

Using an everyday life information-seeking (ELIS) perspective, this ethnographic study describes the information-seeking behaviors of women's investment club members. It identifies three general motivations for interest in investing and club membership, and ties those motivations to distinct variations in information behavior. Study findings identify gaps between information needs and use, and highlight potential areas for improving the abilities of female investors to locate, evaluate, and use information for investment decision-making.     

Public libraries: A meeting place for immigrant women?

The potential role of the public library in the lives of immigrant women is elicited by in-depth interviews with nine female immigrants to Norway from Iran, Afghanistan, and Kurdistan. The research utilizes social capital theory, the concepts of communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation, as well as the concepts of high intensive versus low intensive meeting places. The results indicate that the library plays different roles in the different stages in the respondents' experiences as immigrants. It allows for legitimate peripheral participation when the immigrants move from observing at a distance to more active participation. The library functions as a high intensive as well as a low intensive meeting place and seems to contribute to building social capital in a variety of ways.