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We have observed in recent years a continuous growth in the quantity of RDF data accessible on the web. This evolution is primarily based on increasing data on the web by different sectors such as governments, life science researchers, or academic institutes. RDF data creation is mainly developed by replacing existing data resources with RDF, changing relational databases into RDF. These RDF data are usually called qualified linked data URIs and endpoints of SPARQL. Continuous development that we are experiencing in SPARQL endpoints requires accessing sets of distributed RDF data repositories is getting popularity. This research has offered an extensive analysis of accessing RDF data across distributed ontologies. The existing approaches lack a broad mix of RDF indexing and retrieving of distributed RDF data in one package. In addition, the efficiency of the current methods is not so dynamic and mainly depend on manual fixed strategies for accessing RDF data from a distributed environment. The literature review has acknowledged the need for a robust, reliable, dynamic, and comprehensive accessing mechanism for distributed RDF data using RDF indexing. This thesis presents the conceptual framework that demonstrates the SPARQL query execution process, which accesses the data within distributed RDF sets across a stored index. This thesis introduces the semantic algebra involved in the conversion of traditional SPARQL query language into different phases. The proposed framework elaborates the concepts included in selecting, projection, joins, specialisation and generalisation operators. These operators are usually in assistance during the process of processing and converting a SPARQL query. This thesis introduces the algorithms behind the proposed conceptual framework, which covert the main SPARQL query into sub-queries, sending each subquery to the required distributed repository to fetch the data and merging the sub queries results. 4 This research demonstrates the testing of the proposed framework using the unit and functional testing strategies. The author developed and utilised the Museum ontology to test and evaluate the developed system. It demonstrates all how the complete developed and processed system works. Different tests have been performed in this thesis, like the algebraic operator's test (e.g., select, join, outer join, generalisation, and specialisation operators test) and test the proposed algorithm. After comprehensive testing, it shows that all developed system units worked as expected, and no errors found during the testing of all phases of the tested framework. Finally, the thesis presents implemented framework's performance and accuracy by comparing it to other similar systems. Evaluation of the implemented system demonstrated that the proposed framework could handle distributed SPARQL queries very effectively. The author selected FedX, ANAPSID and ADERIS existing frameworks to compare with developed system and described the results in a graphical format to illustrate the performance and accuracy of all systems.

This work is concerned with the role of the public library in England and Scotland in the twenty-first century. The findings derive from the analysis of empirical data collected in 24 focus groups over a period of four years between 2014 and 2018. The main contribution of the thesis is that it extends understandings of the significant part that the public library plays as a 'public sphere', achieved through the fulfilment of three fundamental roles: (1) epistemic; (2) community; and (3) political. This is manifest in the provision of secure, neutral spaces where social, human and transactional capital is exchanged. The contribution is significant because previous research in Information Society Studies has presented public libraries merely as peripheral players in the public sphere. In this prior work the focus has fallen on the epistemic function of public libraries in furnishing access to information: there is little acknowledgement of the generation of social, human and transactional capital amongst active public library users. Similarly, in the Library and Information Studies (LIS) literature, the role of the library as a public sphere is under-played at the expense of attention paid to value, impact and performance measurement - currently in respect of societal outcomes and, in the past, by usage. A further contribution of the thesis is to methodologies in LIS research. The empirical study demonstrates the value of the implementation of a flexible, multi-locational, longitudinal, focus group method to explore perceptions of public libraries held by active users. This approach may be transferable to other library sectors.

In this thesis I describe an ethological approach to the study of information which moves from the traditional ethological binary of body + environment in creating a subjective world, called an Umwelt, to include a third element, technics. In moving from a dyadic to a triadic relationship, I show the fundamental interconnectedness of these three elements of being inthe- world in the specific grounding context of information and demonstrate how we form and interact with new environments through media, computing and digital technologies, thereby creating meaningful spaces for interactions and information sharing. I begin with an introductory discussion regarding ethology and information. I then examine the nature of our interconnected dwelling in environments through the ethological lens of Jacob von Uexküll’s notion of Umwelt, and the cognate fields of cybernetics, biosemiotics and cybersemiotics which he greatly influenced. I use this ethological lens in order to further explore ideas of space, place and dwelling in thinkers such as Heidegger, Westling and Ingold, whose notion of the ‘meshwork’ (2015) I repurpose for thinking through digital connection. I discuss phenomenological engagement, body development, bodily performance, and the body’s integration with technology through the work of Husserl, Merleau-Ponty and Nancy among others. From there I move to technical development, evolution and environments through the philosophical ideas of Ernst Kapp, Ernst Cassirer and Gilbert Simondon. Simondon in particular is of great importance when considering the interlinking of technical and human environments in terms of information studies and digital information environments. This is followed by an exploration of four thematic theoretical lenses: entanglement, rhizome, interface and diffraction through which to bring together and frame the previous research. Finally, I close the main thesis argument with a multimodal media phenomenological account of first-person research in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Media Archaeology Lab in order to demonstrate the use of an ethological approach to the study of information, media and computing technologies. Through this research, including photography and text, I demonstrate the phenomenological use of historic technologies to step outside of the reticulated meshwork of technology use and bodily integration, to slow down and listen to the body in strange multimodal mediatic encounters in order to demonstrate how these technologies are integrated within the horizon of experience which is our subjective world. I end with a conclusion that focuses on the ethics of information, technologies, media and being-with.

This thesis explores how the increasingly prevalent terse text format of Social Media communication has affected the way we seek to persuade one another and whether it has impacted the applicability of existing models of persuasion, influence and attitude change. Over the past few decades, communication behaviour has evolved dramatically. As a society we increasingly consume information in the format of short messages, rather than lengthy text and verbose speech. Meanwhile our understanding of persuasion has hardly moved on from the 1980's and continues to be spread across a variety of academic disciplines, such as Behavioural Science/Psychology, Philosophy/Rhetoric, and various sub-fields of linguistics. Existing models of persuasion are to date lacking interdisciplinarity and applicability to the terse text format found in Social Media. The data used in this research is in the format of Twitter microblogs gathered throughout a number of recent political campaigns, such as the 2016 UK Brexit referendum and the 2016 US General Election. The research purpose is fundamental, rather than applied, meaning that it seeks to expand knowledge by increasing the understanding of fundamental principles, rather than answering specific questions and offering a precise solution to a practical problem. The research philosophy that has been adopted for this project is interpretivism. The research approach is idiographic, and the methodology is predominantly qualitative, with occasional use of descriptive statistics. The research was conducted in several distinct phases, starting with the construction of the theoretical model, followed by two validation exercises and further experimental exploration by means of a recall test and computational linguistic analysis, culminating in a revised model of terse text persuasion. This research draws upon and collates existing knowledge from behavioural science, rhetoric, linguistics, and cognitive science and develops a comprehensive understanding of how we seek to persuade through terse text media, based on data collected around a number of recent political campaigns and topics of debate. The research demonstrates that existing models of persuasion, such as the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986) and the Heuristic Systematic Model (Chaiken et al., 1989)cannot be applied to the terse text context without significant modification. A new theoretical model of persuasion in terse text is proposed and evaluated. The findings also show that there is a distinct preference for heuristic over systematic cues in terse text messages with persuasive intent, and - in terms of Aristotelian rhetorical appeals - a preference for appeals to credibility (ethos) and emotion (pathos) over appeals to reason (logos). Additionally, the research explores, by means of a recall test, the most memorable subcategories of terse text microblogs, as well as the examining message structure and features through computational linguistic tools. Although this research focusses on political persuasion in terse text Social Media, the findings have implications that reach far beyond the political sphere into activism, marketing, social engineering, strategic communication and (human centred) information warfare.

This thesis examines e-book cultural value in terms of legitimacy, particularly as framed by readers in terms of 'realness' and 'bookness'. Legitimacy is only one aspect of cultural value, but for e-books it is a fundamental aspect, crystallising the central question of whether e-books can be classed with books and partake of the book's cultural status and privileged cultural position, or belong in a separate, almost inevitably lesser, category. The research gathers data relevant to many types of digital texts but focusses on e-novels. The thesis uses a mixed methods study design to gather data from surveys, focus groups, interviews and three pilot experiments conducted with readers. The discussion investigates how e-book legitimacy is constituted by readers, and how these qualities relate to and interact with other e-book attributes (e.g. instant access, materiality, etc.). The dissertation concludes with discussion of the implications of these findings for readers, authors, and publishers. Findings indicate that legitimacy in the form of realness or bookness remains highly relevant for readers, but conceptions of realness and bookness are flexible and contextspecific. These data confirm that while realness and bookness are widely recognised as desirable qualities, many e-novels function as useful fakes, where realness is unnecessary or actually undesirable. Further, the moiety of unrealness is as important as the unrealness itself, with three main categories of unrealness emerging as most prominent: e-novel as ersatz book, as digital proxy, and as incomplete book. Individual readers move between conceptions, demonstrating willingness to adopt different ideas of realness (and by extension different stances regarding the nature, legitimacy and cultural value of e-novels) depending on their needs in the moment, and what they require from a given e-novel at a particular time.

Background: Healthcare services around the world have developed computerised information systems to gradually replace traditional paper-based medical records. In oncology services, a diverse range of multi-organisational patient record systems are currently undergoing continuous development and improvement. Achieving technology acceptance in clinical environments is a complex aspect of the development and implementation of socio-technical systems. Whilst there has been previous research conducted about technology acceptance in oncology, gaps and limitations remain unexplored, particularly in relation to the full range of EPR system functionality. From a clinical end users' perspective, this research aimed to discover the factors that influence clinicians' attitudes towards and their use of oncology EPR systems. Methodology: This mixed methods research comprised two studies. In the first exploratory study, a patient records survey questionnaire was conducted to gather information about participants' use of patient records and clinical information systems at a large regional cancer hospital. The findings and themes that emerged from the first study were used in conjunction with a social-technical systems theoretical framework to design and structure the second study. In the second study, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with oncologists to further investigate their views and identify key factors that affect their adoption and use of EPR systems. Phenomenography was used as the main qualitative approach for analysing the interview transcripts, and the researcher identified categories of description and the "outcome space" that explains the different ways that oncologists think about EPR systems. Following triangulation of the results, the findings were developed into recommendations for further research and practical guidance for health informatics practitioners in the form of a conceptual reference model, CICERO (Comprehensive, Integrated, Customised Electronic Records for Oncology). Findings: The exploratory study found that while the majority of respondents found the existing EPR systems easy to use, a range of factors affected the full adoption and use of these systems. Medical staff, in particular, reported problems with accessibility, integration, and usability. The qualitative study found that the alignment of technology, tasks, and individuals could be improved with increased emphasis on understanding the fit between oncologists and the clinical tasks they perform. Phenomenographical analyses produced an outcome space that included three categories of description related to the qualitatively different ways in which oncologists think about EPR systems. In the first category, oncologists thought of EPR systems as a simple legal record of a patient's care and treatment; in the second category, where most oncologists were positioned, they viewed EPR systems as a means of providing information to aid memory and communication; and in the third category, oncologists thought of EPR systems as advanced tools for clinical workflow, decision support, and interoperability. Conclusion: Various socio-technical factors should be considered when designing, developing, and implementing EPR systems in oncology, with a view to maximising technology acceptance by clinical end users. In line with prior studies, the key factors identified were accessibility, integration, and usability. Additional factors included clinical staff participation in system design and development activities. In summary, oncologists are more likely to perceive EPR systems in the third category of description and adopt them if they can see specific benefits being gained from their use. Keywords: Oncology, information systems, electronic patient records, technology acceptance, cancer services, socio-technical systems.

Providing safe, timely and affordable treatments is a major challenge addressed by big pharma. An important computational technique that is established in risk assessment as an alternative method to animal testing is Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) modelling. In drug discovery, QSAR models are utilised to predict the properties of new compounds, thus reducing the number of tests required and associated risks of potential side effects leading to high costs and drug attrition. Yet, their value is limited in the absence of information regarding the reliability of their predictions. The current research contributes to the understanding of limitations associated with uncertainty estimation methods for QSAR models and their implications on the validation of Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME) models. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the value of machine learning algorithms in the estimation of errors in QSAR models and report on their performance for different ADME endpoints. The study focuses on the evaluation of error models as a method for identifying poorly predicted compounds and estimating the uncertainty of QSAR predictions. Assessment of the models takes into account the correlations of the error estimates to the actual prediction errors and the magnitude of the error estimates in relation to the experimental error. The error models are then integrated in the conformal prediction framework for the estimation of compound-specific prediction intervals. For this purpose, a new normalisation method that combines error models and applicability domain features is defined. The results of the assessment suggest that the performance of error models is influenced by the quality of the QSAR model and the presence of measurement bias in the modelled ADME data. It is shown that considering different types of features in the error models provides a flexible approach for optimising not only the efficiency of prediction intervals but also ensuring that they are correlated to the actual prediction error.

Much has been written about the role of social media in the Arab countries following the uprisings of 2011, most of it focused on Tunisia and Egypt. There has been very little research, however, that looks at the role of social media and its democratic potential within the Libyan context. Drawing on different understandings and critiques of the public sphere concept and how internet technology has transformed it, this qualitative study aimed to investigate the nature of the emergent Libyan networked public sphere, and traced how it has evolved over time. More specifically, this study focuses on three critical phases: immediately before, during, and after the uprising, covering primarily the period between 2011-2016, with a brief glance at Libya's public sphere in the pre-uprising period. This study adopted an interpretative qualitative methodology, relying on multiple research techniques as part of a process of triangulation to provide a broader understanding of the research questions, and assure validity of claims and arguments. These qualitative methods were: (1) semi-structured Skype-based interviews with young Libyans with varying shades of political opinion aged between 25-35 years old in three cities, Tripoli, Benghazi and Sabha; and (2) qualitative content analysis of two selected Facebook pages, the revolutionary-oriented LW Facebook page, and the LI Facebook page, which was anti-revolutionary-oriented. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis, while content analysis was used to analyse the Facebook data. The study revealed that while social media may make it easier to mobilise populations, this does not mean it is easier to achieve gains or to sustain movements. The study revealed that the social media landscape that opened up suddenly after the uprising, revealing a vibrant political environment marked by different forms of political activities and practices, has devolved into an environment of conflict and chaos. The enthusiasm and hope for change has largely been replaced by frustration, distrust and fear in a way that has disempowered people and led many to stay passive recipients rather than active contributors in democratic debate and practice. The study also shows how Libya's pre-existing divisions might have exacerbated online polarisation. More specifically, it illustrates how Libya's complex tribal composition, and its pre-existing regional cleavages, mainly the East-West divide, have been reanimated, and came to characterise the online practices and discussions of publics. This division along tribal and regional lines turned social media networks into spaces of contention and conflict, that led many to eventually abandon political participation. This suggests that although there were some tentative signs of the development of a more democratic networked public sphere in the immediate aftermath of the revolution, the deepening crisis and shrinking space for public debate indicate a complex, shifting and uncertain picture of the role of social media in the development of Libya's post-uprising public sphere. Because social media landscape in Libya has continued to change and evolve since 2011, this study recommends that to understand the nature of emergent networked publics in post-revolutionary societies, the theoretical framework ought to be longitudinal because countries in transition are often experiencing fast-paced changes in a way that makes it problematic to generalise from a snapshot moment. This study also recommends that recognising and adapting to these changes needs to be at the heart of any social media strategy for Libya for some time to come.

Crowdsourcing is becoming more popular as a means for scalable data processing that requires human intelligence. The involvement of groups of people to accomplish tasks could be an effective success factor for data-driven businesses. Unlike in other technical systems, the quality of the results depends on human factors and how well crowd workers understand the requirements of the task, to produce high-quality results. Looking at previous studies in this area, we found that one of the main factors that affect workers' performance is the design of the crowdsourcing tasks. Previous studies of crowdsourcing task design covered a limited set of factors. The main contribution of this research is the focus on some of the less-studied technical factors, such as examining the effect of task ordering and class balance and measuring the consistency of the same task design over time and on different crowdsourcing platforms. Furthermore, this study ambitiously extends work towards understanding workers' point of view in terms of the quality of the task and the payment aspect by performing a qualitative study with crowd workers and shedding light on some of the ethical issues around payments for crowdsourcing tasks. To achieve our goal, we performed several crowdsourcing experiments on specific platforms and measured the factors that influenced the quality of the overall result.

Cities all over the world have invested in and implemented smart city technologies, and governments have shown huge interest in developing these technologies. Smart cities use innovative information and communication technologies (ICT). Their purpose is to provide more efficient and convenient services in different city areas as well as real-time information to enable a smarter living environment. Smart transportation as one of the 'hottest' smart city domains, such technologies are representatively delivered through mobile applications to citizens. Citizens are playing an increasingly important role in the development and implementation of smart city technology. Consequently, there is a need for research about what factors influence citizens to accept smart technology, as well as about their perception of the benefits from extensively adopting this technology. Although a lot is known about the acceptance of information systems and services within a range of organisational and consumer contexts, little is known about acceptance, or the factors and conditions that influence acceptance within the context of smart cities. This study aims to close that research gap. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) was chosen as the basic model to understand citizen acceptance. By integrating the substantial literature on user acceptance in different research contexts within a consideration of the implementation of smart transportation, this research aims to identify the influential factors that affect citizen acceptance of smart transportation mobile applications (STMAs) in China from both service providers' and citizens' perspectives. A sequential embedded mixed methods case study approach was adopted. This comprised a two-phased study: a preliminary qualitative study was followed by a quantitative study. The mixed methods approach enabled the researcher to gain in-depth insights, and particularly to explore the perspectives of both service providers and citizens on the influential factors of STMA acceptance in order to compare the similarities and differences of the results between these two groups. In the first qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 officers involved in the processes of a governmental smart transportation project in Shenzhen, China. This phase investigated service providers' perceptions of facilitating citizens to accept and use a STMA. The interview data was analysed by the thematic analysis method through applying categories from an extended UTAUT2 framework. The second phase (quantitative study) used an online survey to test the factors involved in the theoretical framework of acceptance established from the literature review and the preliminary qualitative study. The proposed model was validated by analysing 621 questionnaires completed by actual users of the STMAs. The data analysis adopted the structural equation modelling (SEM) method. The qualitative study found that the service providers did not have a good understanding of acceptance, and that they did not focus enough on how to improve citizens' acceptance of the STMA. The activities conducted to facilitate citizen acceptance of the services were mainly based on service providers' experience and perceptions. The findings indicated that project management issues were likely to influence the service providers to deliver activities to support citizens in accepting the mobile applications. This was considered as a contextual factor to extend the framework. The findings also extended and modified the constructs to make the proposed factors more grounded in the smart transportation context. The results generated new factors, namely familiarity with issues and utility data. Based on the qualitative findings, the proposed framework was modified in preparation for the quantitative research phase. The quantitative findings suggest that citizens' perception of factors influencing their acceptance were both similar to and different from the service providers' perceptions. For example, network externalities, habit, trust, smart city environment and effort expectancy significantly and positively influenced citizens' intention to use such technologies. The findings also clarified the effects of a set of moderators on the behavioural intention to use a STMA. The study contributes to our knowledge on technology acceptance in STMAs in a Chinese context. The study indicates that the UTAUT2 partially explains STMA acceptance. However, the most important factors were partly the new factors identified to extend the baseline UTAUT2 model, as well as the contextual factors particular to the smart transportation context. Additionally, practical recommendations are suggested to help the service providers to design appropriate marketing strategies and deliver corresponding activities based on the identified factors in China. Finally, this study opens up opportunities for future research to other domains of smart city technologies.

This work is concerned with the role of online information in the building, management, and evaluation of personal reputations. The main contributions of the research relate to: (1) the means by which people evaluate the personal reputations of others from the online evidence available to them, and (2) strategies for the building and management of personal reputations through the use of online information. The findings extend knowledge within the domain of Information Science, notably with respect to the established body of research on human information behaviour and use. They are set against a theoretical framework that is anchored to research in bibliometrics (for example on citation practice and citation analysis), and takes into account the multidisciplinary nature of the field of Information Science. A multi-step data collection process was implemented following the practice of extant studies in Information Science and human information behaviour and use. This focused on a sample of forty-five UK-based social media users. A qualitative analysis of data collected from participant diaries and interviews was undertaken using NVivo10.The main contribution of this work with respect to the evaluation of personal reputations on the basis on online evidence is that the information available is largely consumed and evaluated in a passive manner: social media users are more interested in the content of the information that is shared on social media platforms than they are in the signals that this information might convey about the sharer(s). Closer attention is paid in cases where the information shared is in stark contrast to the opinions and practices of those who consume it. In terms of the management of personal reputations through the use of online information, this work introduces and develops new concepts related to managing the "blur" that occurs at the intersection between private and professional lives, and online and offline environments.

This research investigates various factors, including standards and standardisation, which have shaped and continue to shape archival practices at the National Archives of Thailand (NAT). It also explores standards or approaches to standardisation that might be suitable for archival practices in Thailand and the perspectives of NAT staff members towards standards and standardisation. The study employs an interpretivist approach with data collected in 2014 from a literature review, interviews (with UK standardisers and NAT archival professionals), and surveys (of NAT users, non-users, and Thai central government ministries). The research results include the development of a "Conceptualised Diagram of Factors Impacting on Recordkeeping Culture" showing that the various factors shaping archival practices at the NAT include recordkeeping legislation, standards and standardisation systems, and the NAT itself (in terms of its status, its origin, recordkeeping culture, mechanisms of performance assessment and quality assurance, archival professionals' development and attitudes). These factors further include political, economic, IT, and educational factors driven by the phenomenon of globalisation. The results reveal that existing standards at NAT: the Principles of Fundamental Administration and Archives Management (Fine Arts Department, 1999) and the Standard for Records and Archives Preservation of the National Archives (Fine Arts Department, 2012) are not sufficient for archival operations in the digital age of the 21st century. They suggest suitable kinds of standards and standardisation approaches for the NAT and show that archival professionals at the NAT are aware of the necessity to implement new standards and are not against the ideas of adopting international standards. The findings lead to suggestions for developing the quality of archival practices at the NAT, which include improving the regulatory frameworks and policies for recordkeeping practices, and also active outreach programmes to increase public awareness of archival services.

This thesis examines the way that art historians build their personal information collections through focusing on how they gather, use and manage information in the context of their research and teaching projects. In recent years, the rapid technological advancements and the proliferation of digital resources have greatly affected the way scholars approach, create and manage information in the Arts and Humanities. Regarding art historians, most studies so far have looked at their information seeking behaviour. Therefore, there is little information available on how researchers in this area handle the information after discovery. This is the first study exploring this aspect of scholarship in the field of art history; for this purpose, individual interviews with twenty art historians were conducted along with observation of their personal information collections in the physical and digital environment. The results showed that certain areas in art history have still limited access to useful digital resources while there were certain factors- previously not thoroughly explored- influencing scholars' trust of resources, such as the design of a resource. The emerging types of information objects used for research and teaching in the field, such as born digital data, were also linked to needs noted throughout the scholarly workflow that have not been met yet. Moreover, the two-phase gathering behaviour of scholars suggested that art historians have different information needs at different stages of the research process; an important issue considering that previous research has looked at this practice more as part of the initial stages of research in the field. Finally, examining the information management behaviour of scholars led to the identification of the implications for resource design to effectively facilitate research and pedagogical practice in this area; flexible designs, intuitive and visual interaction with information as well as simple interfaces were some the main things scholars needed.

Background: One area of public health research specialises in examining public views and opinions surrounding infectious disease outbreaks. Although interviews and surveys are valid sources of this information, views and opinions are necessarily generated by the context, rather than spontaneous. As such, social media has increasingly been viewed as legitimate source of pragmatic, unfiltered public opinion. Objectives: This research attempts to better understand how users converse about infectious disease outbreaks on the social media platform Twitter. The study was undertaken in order to address a gap in knowledge because previous empirical studies that have analysed infectious disease outbreaks on Twitter have focused on employing quantitative methods as the primary form of data analysis. After analysing individual cases on Ebola, Zika, and swine flu, the study performs an important comparison in the types of discussions taking place on Twitter and is the first empirical study to do so. Methods: A number of pilot studies were initially designed and conducted in order to help inform the main study. The study then manually labels tweets on infectious disease outbreaks assisted by the qualitative analysis programme NVivo, and performs an analysis using the Health Belief Model, concepts around information theory, and a number of sociological principles. The data were purposively sampled according to when Google Trends Data showed a heightened interest in the respective outbreaks, and a case study approach was utilised. Results: A substantial number of themes were uncovered which were not reported in previous literature, demonstrating the potential of qualitative methodologies for extracting greater insight into public health opinions from Twitter data. The study noted several limitations of Twitter data for use in qualitative research. However, results demonstrated the potential of Twitter to identify discussions around infectious diseases that might not emerge in an interview and/or which might not be included in a survey.

The aim of this thesis is to identify different sets of skills that facilitate the knowledge sharing practice of project managers within the context of a construction project. This aim stems from a gap identified in the knowledge sharing literature concerning the individual skills that contribute to knowledge sharing by project managers in the applied setting of construction projects. In order to achieve the research aim, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted following a combination of Grounded Theory and case study as the research method. The study focuses specifically on a construction project in China. The construction industry in China has been experiencing an increasing development as a result of the national economy’s sustained growth and continuing urbanisation trends, but it is still confronted with challenges in knowledge sharing practice especially concerning the role of project manager, who performs the high level control of projects. Grounded Theory is the main method and a case study provides the appropriate context for the research. Empirical data were collected through a total of twenty-one interviews at a five-star hotel construction project, located in Hebei Province, eastern China. Following the constant comparison method, iterations in data analysis contributed to the development of an integrative framework. The framework indicates knowledge pertaining to five domains, including risk, planning, implementation, people, and business strategies and operations, needs to be shared by project managers. It also illustrates three sets of skills that contribute to the practice of sharing knowledge. Social cognitive skills assist project managers in interpreting differences in knowledge and achieving mutual understanding; interpersonal skills facilitate knowledge sharing through creating a positive project environment; strategic orientation skills contribute to reaching agreement among participating organisations and stakeholders. Furthermore, the framework reveals the specific relationships between the knowledge domains and skills, within the three phases of the construction project. In addition, findings suggest that the sharing of knowledge and the application of skills are of a dynamic and relational nature. The project is a collective and interactive process where knowledge pertaining to different domains needs to be dynamically shared and skills need to be dynamically applied. The knowledge domains and skills do not operate independently but overlap and interact over the duration of the project. Moreover, they are open to different interpretations according to various positions of actors within the project. This thesis contributes to an enhanced theoretical understanding of skills for knowledge sharing in the specific context of construction projects. It also delivers practical guidance for project managers on how to develop and apply the skills in these knowledge sharing practice.

Background: The successful implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) in healthcare presents many challenges; the failures outnumber the successes in the implementation of ICT in the health sector. A better understanding of technology acceptance among healthcare professionals will be useful for managers in overcoming barriers to adopting ICT in healthcare. Aim and objectives: The principal gap in the literature that this research was intended to address was the lack of knowledge about the implementation and acceptance of e-Health and electronic health record (EHR) technologies among healthcare professionals in the Republic of Macedonia, in South East Europe (SEE). This research was intended to assess national readiness for acceptance of e-Health/EHR systems in an SEE country through technology acceptance, and to identify the main predictors of behavioural intentions towards e-Health/EHR. Using these findings, it was hoped to propose management, policy and government measures to increase healthcare professionals’ acceptance of e-Health/EHR systems. The ultimate aim of this is to improve the quality of services for patients and provide better health care. Methods: A positivist quantitative approach was used for the research undertaken for this Thesis. A research instrument based on modified technology acceptance models was developed and six hypotheses were tested. Attitudes of healthcare professionals to the new e-Health/EHR systems were assessed through two studies. A new model presenting healthcare professionals’ attitudes to the e-Health/EHR systems was developed, and technology acceptance predictors were identified. Results: Hierarchical linear regression, stepwise linear regression, and structural equation modelling indicated that perceived ease of use and effort expectancy are the strongest determinants of healthcare professionals’ attitudes concerning their intention to use future e-Health/EHR systems. Perceived usefulness and performance expectancy were excluded, or showed a weak effect in the overall prediction model. The findings on the importance of technology acceptance constructs (perceived ease of use and effort expectancy) are novel, and differ from those described in the relevant literature, where perceived usefulness and performance expectancy were identified as the most effective predictors of behaviour in healthcare settings. Technology acceptance variables such as job relevance, subjective norm, facilitating conditions, descriptive norm, and social influence were identified as having a strong influence on intentions to use prospective e-Health/EHR systems. Conclusions: This research assessed the national readiness for acceptance of future e-Health/EHR systems in an SEE country, and yielded novel findings that contribute to our current knowledge of technology acceptance in healthcare. Therefore, the findings of this Thesis can serve as a basis on which to build a bridge between policy makers, (i.e., government and management), industry, (i.e., producers of ICT hardware and software for healthcare), and end users (i.e., healthcare professionals). A set of specific measures are proposed for future managerial and policy interventions concerning the implementation of e-Health/EHR systems in a developing country in SEE. Finally, this may have many benefits, including reducing time and costs, making the adoption of e-Health/EHR systems more efficient and providing more effective healthcare.

This thesis presents my scholarship into Inquiry-based Learning (IBL), and related support structures and pedagogical approaches, in Higher Education. Research in teaching has come to be labelled as the "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning" (SoTL), this thesis and the papers presented in it, present a broad and wide-ranging example of SoTL. This commentary summarises five peer-reviewed journal papers that were published over an eight-year period, and distil the learning from my 13-year exploration of IBL, and the specific strategies that can be used to support and develop the use of inquiry in Higher Education, not least of which is the development of Information Literacy (IL) and inquiry-based pedagogies for teaching IL. The commentary outlines the two contexts of the research, and describes the process that led to the creation of each paper and my role in that process. This commentary presents the research worldviews and methodologies that have been used in the five papers. Two papers use Theory of Change impact evaluation methodology and feature both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, with data drawn from a range of IBL curriculum development projects. The remaining three papers are qualitative studies, and feature a range of approaches including thematic analysis, Situational Analysis and the draw and write methodology. Data in these papers is drawn from assessed student reflective writing and student-created drawings. I discuss my work in relation to research in conceptions of IL and models of IL, and state the role of my research in advancing understanding of inquiry-based pedagogy for IL, and in developing new understandings of the nature of IL and IL teaching in Higher Education. I discuss the value of reflective writing for supporting and assessing IBL, and demonstrate how models of reflection and models of IL can be combined to analyse reflective writing about IL development. I discuss the use of two different methodologies with reflective and drawn data to illuminate how students work together in groups, revealing new conceptions of group work, and challenging existing models of group functioning. I reflect on my development as a researcher and present a summary of the impact of my research. I discuss the central contribution to knowledge of the five papers, situated within a broad reflective pedagogical and research environment. Theoretical contributions include defining the relationship between inquiry-based learning and Information Literacy, the value of the Seven Pillars model for IL research, and developing new understandings of how students work together in groups. Methodological contributions including demonstrating the value of Theory of Change for impact evaluation in HE, and extending the use of Situational Analysis and the Draw and Write methodology in this context. Practical contributions include a range of pedagogical approaches for teaching Information Literacy through inquiry, and evidence of the value of librarians/academic/educational developer partnerships.

Since the expansion of the European Union in 2004 to include Poland as a member, there has been a substantial increase in the number of migrants moving from Poland to the UK, and there are now almost one million Poles living in the UK. These migrants are generally young and highly educated, and are moving to the UK for reasons of economic improvement and self-fulfilment. Furthermore, many are women migrating independently, which is an emerging trend in migration in general. While the information behaviour of migrants has been studied, this work has tended to focus on certain populations, such as refugees. Less research has been done to examine the information behaviour of economic migrants, particularly within an EU context, which becomes more timely with the UK’s decision to leave the EU. This thesis therefore investigates the role of information in the migration experience of young Polish women in the UK. This study takes an interpretivist, constructionist perspective, with a broadly ethnographic approach to data collection and analysis. An exploratory study was undertaken to contextualise the research and refine the methodology, involving expert interviews, pilot interviews with Polish women, and analysis of a previous study of recent Polish migration to the UK. In the main study, twenty-one participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview technique and mental mapping. Data was analysed thematically. The study provides insights into the information behaviour and experience of young Polish women migrating to the UK. It contextualises these findings against previous research within migration in the field of information science, and presents a conceptual model of the underlying factors shaping the relationship between migration and information behaviour. It also contributes to the use of visual methods in information behaviour research, and delivers practical recommendations for migrational individuals and those working with them.

This thesis investigates the role of records management education in alleviating challenges in Jamaica's development initiative. This investigation was done through an evaluation of the connection between records management education and national development by identifying and evaluating the role that records management plays in supporting the delivery of Jamaica's development initiative. Previous works suggest that records management is an essential component of government business operations as it encourages greater transparency, accountability and good governance. While the majority of previous works evaluated the significance of records management in public sector efficiency in developing countries, they have not specially addressed the roles of records management in supporting the delivery of national development plans or highlighted the Jamaican situation. This study examines the role of records management in supporting the delivery of Jamaica's national development plan. Additionally, it evaluates the impact of the records management staffing capacity and capability on development work. The study adopts a qualitative approach that utilises interview data from 34 participants including practitioners, educators, students and administrators of development programmes and projects, drawn mainly from Kingston, Jamaica. There is also an evaluation of documentary evidence related to records management, education and national development. An analysis of the data reveals a general emphasis among development administrators of the need for information to support the delivery of the National Development Plan (NDP). However, on closer examination, the information they need mainly resides in records. Records are used by respondents to support consensus building, harmonisation of policies, intra and inter-entity collaboration, organisational changes and identification of appropriate human resources. In spite of their evident importance, records are not always effectively managed in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) mandated to implement the NDP policies and programmes. Often, the records management function is not prioritised in MDAs and not enough practitioners with keen understanding of the underlying principles and practice in records management are assigned to appropriate roles, leading to a problem of limited records management capacity. Practitioners are recruited at a low level, and are commonly underqualified or unqualified for their roles and responsibilities, leading to problems of records management capability. Consequently, many do not carry out records management tasks well. In preparing for the records management profession, practitioners primarily depend on training programmes and qualifications in another area, particularly librarianship. However, these means of preparation generally fail to meet the need for a more in-depth understanding of records management principles and practice.

This thesis is an examination of archival value and its compatibility with social values held in Thai society, under the research question: How might an improved understanding of Thai values help to address the problems facing archives in Thailand? The research was prompted by a desire to understand problematic situations at the National Archives of Thailand by which archives are accessed by only a limited group of users, little impact is made on the wider society and there is a lack of support from the government. Through a literature review in sociology, psychology and archive studies, the research explores different cultural entities - namely value, attitude and worldview - in the Thai archival milieu, with special comparative reference to these aspects in British society. The research found that the modern archival system, which is largely based on Western models, does not support prominent Thai values and even conflicts with them, while the traditional Thai archival system is a closer fit. Archives are not widely understood; often they are associated with the traditional sense of archives, which focuses on archives as heritage or high art that is distant from ordinary life. Comprehensive treatment of these issues also requires analysis of perceptions on topics such as history, knowledge and education, identity and rights. All of these are uniquely shaped by the Thai Buddhist worldview and old social structure, which values hierarchy and social harmony over the concern for rights and identity that is more prevalent in the British context. Nevertheless, the thesis also notes the relatively recent growth of more horizontal, democratic values. This thesis provides recommendations emphasising archival value that fits into Thai society. At the same time, the evidential value in archives is shown to have the potential to build on new societal values that are well adapted for the globalised world.

This thesis examines how national museum libraries are planning to respond over the next decade to the strategic challenges and opportunities they are facing as a result of socio-technological changes that are occurring during the digital age. The study adopts a pragmatic philosophical approach and uses an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design. The research consists of a two round Delphi survey, which was distributed to two hundred national museum libraries across forty countries, and seven case studies, which were undertaken across five countries. The case studies are comprised of semi-structured interviews with library managers and users, and document analysis of library strategies and policies. The results are presented as thematic conclusions and possible future scenarios. The research shows that many library managers have a clearly defined sense of their libraries' roles, values, and future strategic priorities. However, there is a lack of consensus concerning strategic positioning, with some seeking to augment internal museum support and others aiming to increase public engagement. Collection development is set to remain predominantly print focused, with acquisition of electronic resources likely to develop gradually. This position contrasts with libraries in other sectors, notably academic libraries, where the print to digital change process is typically occurring more rapidly. Similarly, utilisation of digital technologies that support service provision and content delivery will take place in a highly selective and planned manner. Most library users have a positive outlook about their national museum libraries. They particularly value the specialist nature of the collections, the subject knowledge of library staff, and opportunities for scholarly collaboration. However, there are concerns about collection discoverability and library communication. The research findings point towards three possible future scenarios for national museum libraries - internally focused consolidation, externally focused commercialisation, and mixed economy contradistinction. Each offers plausible options for strategic planning over the next decade.

The overall aim of the study was to investigate barriers to online professional information seeking, use and sharing occurring within the NHS in England, their possible effects (upon education, working practices, working lives and clinical and organisational effectiveness), and possible explanatory or causative factors. The investigation adopted a qualitative case study approach, using semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis as its methods, with three NHS Trusts of different types (acute - district general hospital, mental health / community, acute – teaching) as the nested sites of data collection. It aimed to be both exploratory and explanatory. A stratified sample of participants, including representatives of professions whose perspectives were deemed to be relevant, and clinicians with educational or staff development responsibilities, was recruited for each Trust. Three non-Trust specialists (the product manager of a secure web gateway vendor, an academic e-learning specialist, and the senior manager at NICE responsible for the NHS Evidence electronic content and web platform) were also interviewed. Policy documents, statistics, strategies, reports and quality accounts for the Trusts were obtained via public websites, from participants or via Freedom of Information requests. Thematic analysis following the approach of Braun and Clarke (2006) was adopted as the analytic method for both interviews and documents. The key themes of the results that emerged are presented: barriers to accessing and using information, education and training, professional cultures and norms, information governance and security, and communications policy. The findings are discussed under three main headings: power, culture, trust and risk in information security; use and regulation of Web 2.0 and social media, and the system of professions. It became evident that the roots of problems with access to and use of such information lay deep within the culture and organisational characteristics of the NHS and its use of IT. A possible model is presented to explain the interaction of the various technical and organisational factors that were identified as relevant. A number of policy recommendations are put forward to improve access to published information at Trust level, as well as recommendations for further research.

Despite existing work, the nature and construction of knowledge boundaries remains little explored. Moreover, previous studies that have examined how knowledge is managed across boundaries, have usually been in the context of new product development in industry. Models developed in this context may be less applicable in the public sector because of its hierarchical structures and requirements for accountability. The aim of this research is therefore to explore the nature of boundaries and how knowledge is managed across them in a public sector context. The research takes a case study approach focusing on an interdisciplinary research project that was set up to develop Computerised Tomography (CT) and Digital X-Ray (DR) scanners in a governmental research organisation in Thailand. This is an ongoing joint project between two different knowledge communities from different disciplines and national research centres. It proposed the first development of the cone-beam CT scanner in Thailand, called DentiiScan. The research adopts an interpretative methodology to explore multiple viewpoints and meanings that actors attach to phenomena. Data were collected through a multi-method qualitative approach based on: face-to-face interview; participant observation; and collection of documentation and other artefacts. Data were analysed through thematic analysis. The findings from this case study suggest, in line with previous research, that there are three progressively complex boundaries: information-processing, interpretative, and political boundaries; and three progressively complex processes to overcome them: transfer, translation, and transformation. However, the findings suggest that knowledge management in such contexts is a more challenging and complicated undertaking than currently portrayed in previous work because: (i.) knowledge boundaries are dynamic and tend to change throughout the project life cycle, often co-existing and overlapping; (ii.) different actors look at the same phenomena but sometimes perceive them as different types of knowledge boundaries; and (iii.) boundaries do not only arise from differences in knowledge and disciplinary perception, but also from ignorance of these differences between interacting actors from different communities. Furthermore, in this case, the hierarchical organisational structures help to clarify differences and dependencies in knowledge and responsibility among members, and create clear lines of communication. This helps overcome boundaries though the chain of command makes decision-making slow. A framework for managing knowledge across boundaries that emerges from the analysis is proposed. This research extends theory and a model for managing knowledge across boundaries, more specifically Carlile’s three-tier model (2004, 2002), and demonstrates their applicability in a new setting. The findings bring into focus the complexity of knowledge management across boundaries by suggesting that sometimes they cannot be categorised easily. There is a need to acknowledge the dynamic nature, blurring, and simultaneity of boundaries; the potential for different actors to perceive the same phenomena as different types of knowledge boundaries; and ignorance of differences in knowledge and disciplinary perceptions between different interacting actors. The findings of this research can be used to identify the nature and construction of knowledge boundaries, the types of knowledge boundaries and processes to overcome them, including boundary-spanning mechanisms and competences that actors, whether they are individuals, groups or organisations, can develop to bridge them. In practical terms, the findings of this study suggest that: (i.) actors should pay attention to flexible and multi-dimensional perspectives for addressing the dynamic nature, blurring, fluidity, overlapping, and simultaneity of boundaries; (ii.) they should broaden their perspectives to understand differences in perceptions of where boundaries lie; (iii.) they should also expand their perceptions to understand the construction of knowledge boundaries from different dimensions such as lack of a full understanding and awareness about differences in knowledge between different knowledge communities; and (iv.) they should consider what are effective organisational structures, which combine both hierarchical and flexible elements, to support knowledge management and collaboration across boundaries.

Electronic books (e-books) have become another option for reading and have gained in popularity in the last five years, especially for fiction. In the academic community, however, e-books have not seen the same success in terms of usage and acceptance. Further research is required to find out why this is the case among academic users. In addition to user-focused studies, e-book management strategies in libraries is another important point for investigation. These two aspects of e-books need to be examined in parallel because users and library staff are the main stakeholders in the academic community. There are few studies regarding e-book usage and acceptance, with all the studies carried out thus far having been conducted only in developed countries such as the US or UK. This research topic has rarely been considered in developing countries such as Thailand. This study aims to understand how Thai academic libraries manage their e-book collection and how these management approaches relate to attitudes and behaviours concerning e-books among library users. An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was used to explore the relationship between academic libraries’ management of e-books and students’ reading attitudes and behaviours. The study is separated into three phases: the first phase is concerned with the management of e-books in Thai academic libraries and the second phase explores library users’ attitudes to e-books. In addition, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was adopted as a theoretical framework to identify the factors influencing the use and acceptance of e-books among Thai library users. The final phase concludes with an adaptation of Keller’s model to conduct an in-depth investigation into library users’ reading behaviours. In Phase 1, approaches to e-book collection management were examined through qualitative interviews with academic librarians from nine university libraries in Thailand. In Phase 2, a questionnaire was used to explore the attitudes of students to print and electronic books, together with the students’ views on e-book provision in their libraries. The elements in the UTUAT model were used to construct the survey items. In Phase 3, library users’ reading behaviours were explored using photo-diaries and interviews, allowing the researcher to gain a rich picture of users’ reading behaviours as part of their daily routines. Finding from the three phases revealed the key factors affecting the relationship between academic librarians and library users regarding e-books management and use. Library organisational structure, budget constraint, attitude of librarians and users toward each other, user reading habit, and educational system were found to have an effect between the two sets of stakeholder. This study makes a major contribution to knowledge on the area of e-book management in academic libraries. It is also a pioneer work in developing an understanding of the relationship between academic librarians and users with regards to the e-book management and use in the context of Thai academic libraries with a combination of the two theoretical frameworks (UTAUT and Keller’s model). The study’s goal is to provide a better understanding of e-books in the Thai academic context and to help academic librarians to understand user needs and behaviours, which will assist them in developing effective e-book collection management strategies and policies that are compatible with user requirements.

This thesis aims to explore information sharing in two ESOL classes. ESOL learners are migrants learning English as part of adult basic education. Information sharing is explored through a practice theory lens using the framework of information grounds theory. The research investigates the characteristics of the two classes as information grounds, how people, objects and places mediate information sharing in these classes, how information sharing is interleaved with other practices and how critical theories of place and embodiment can inform our understanding of information practice. The research was a constructivist case study of two community ESOL classes in an English city. Observation was the primary data collection method but a range of other methods were used to build an understanding of the case. The characteristics of the two classes as information grounds were explored, giving a rich picture of the overlapping contexts of migration and ESOL and the particular contexts of the two classes. A structured contextual narrative of information sharing episodes was used as the basis for analysis. Information sharing was identified as a core information practice for the two classes, and its links with information literacy were explored. The concepts of informative people, places and objects were developed to explore how information sharing was mediated in these two cases. Key characteristics of accessibility, mediation, pleasure and the non-cognitive were identified as central to the informative person, place and object. Further findings related to the need to take a critical approach to embodied information practice. The research adds to our knowledge in a number of areas. It provides more context to LIS migration research; offers insight into information sharing more generally, and involves a novel application of information grounds theory. It also contributes to ESOL by demonstrating the value of ESOL classrooms as information grounds and suggesting what kinds of arrangements may be productive of information sharing.

Molecular shape has long been recognised as a key determinant of molecular interactions (Nicholls et al., 2010). Several methods have been developed to represent the shapes of molecules, however, their performance is inadequate for large-scale virtual screening both in effectiveness and throughput (Maggiora, Vogt, Stumpfe, & Bajorath, 2014). In general, this has been attributed to computational complexity with regards to finding the optimal alignment and bioactive conformation of the small molecules. This work addresses this problem by applying spectral geometry to three-dimensional molecular shape representation. Spectral geometry has been developed in the field of computer vision for information retrieval of flexible three-dimensional shapes. Typical applications include identifying a shape, such as a human form, in a variety of poses. Of particular interest is the ability to produce 3D shape descriptors that are alignment invariant and capture some notion of flexibility. The main contribution of this thesis is the application of spectral geometry to the domain of 3D molecular shape and the derivation of descriptors suitable for large scale virtual screening. The spectral geometry descriptors are compared to existing shape comparison methods to evaluate their performance for virtual screening. The result is an efficient descriptor that outperforms existing descriptor methods and performs as well as a Gaussian alignment-based approach on some measures.

This research investigates the information behaviour of cult media fan communities on the internet, using three novel methods which have not previously been applied to this domain. Firstly, a review, analysis and synthesis of the literature related to fan information behaviour, both within the disciplines of LIS and fan studies, revealed unique aspects of fan information behaviour, particularly in regards to produsage, copyright, and creativity. The findings from this literature analysis were subsequently investigated further using the Delphi method and tag analysis. A new Delphi variant – the Serious Leisure Delphi – was developed through this research. The Delphi study found that participants expressed the greatest levels of consensus on statements on fan behaviour that were related to information behaviour and information-related issues. Tag analysis was used in a novel way, as a tool to examine information behaviour. This found that fans have developed a highly granular classification system for fanworks, and that on one particular repository a ‘curated folksonomy’ was being used with great success. Fans also use tags for a variety of reasons, including communicating with one another, and writing meta-commentary on their posts. The research found that fans have unique information behaviours related to classification, copyright, entrepreneurship, produsage, mentorship and publishing. In the words of Delphi participants – “being in fandom means being in a knowledge space,” and “fandom is a huge information hub just by existing”. From these findings a model of fan information behaviour has been developed, which could be further tested in future research.

The cultural heritage of the Lanna region of upper northern Thailand is unique. One of its distinctive features is palm leaf manuscripts (“Khamphi Bailan”), which are viewed simultaneously as examples of sacred writing, means of transferring cultural knowledge, religious symbols, artefacts of beauty, products of a particular cultural tradition, and fragile historical documents. The aim of this study is to develop a model of community-based collection management for palm leaf manuscripts by exploring the views of community members and experts. Four models of community involvement provide possible guidelines for the management of these manuscripts. The first model is that of community-focused information services (Becvar & Srinivasan, 2009), taken from librarianship studies. The second and third are from archival science: participatory archiving (Shilton & Srinivasan, 2007) and community archiving (Flinn, 2007, 2010). The last model is that of indigenous curation (Kreps, 2005, 2008), which is influenced by the new museology. All of them are based on community engagement with cultural collections. The research method was interview-based and qualitative. Semi-structured interviews, participant observation and a photographic inventory (Collier & Collier, 1986) were used as the methods of data collection. The two groups of participants within the main study comprised 11 community members and 12 experts. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The results of the study revealed that the community members and experts had similar ideas about the knowledge contained in PLMs, seeing their value in terms of Buddhism, herbal medicine, history, language and literature, and academic study and research. However, certain emphases were different. For example, although both groups regarded the teaching of Buddhist concepts as the most important content of PLMs, community members had more belief in the value being primarily sacred; the manuscripts, to them, allowed the making of religious merit. Further, the results demonstrated that the two sets of participants held slightly different views about how PLMs should be managed. In this respect, the experts thought that custodians should be the owners of PLMs because it was they who were directly responsible for the manuscripts; community members, in contrast, felt that the community itself should be recognised as possessing ownership. In terms of the classification of PLMs, the community group held the opinion that manuscripts should be classified by age and value; the experts showed a preference for using the content of PLMs to separate them into subject categories. Moreover, the experts opted for practicality and appearance in accessible storage methods to keep PLMs, but the community wanted to see the manuscripts stored in traditional ways, with new designs created in order to display the PLMs to the public. With regard to PLM preservation, it emerged that community members wished to maintain traditional approaches, particularly in the way that PLMs were kept but also in community events and community involvement, for example through following religious traditions and producing copies of the manuscripts. The experts tended to focus more on knowledge preservation, employing such methods as digitisation and protection of intellectual property rights. All four prior models of community involvement considered in this study concern communities which possess a level of control over their archives. This is not entirely the case for PLMs as Lanna communities are unable to read their own ancient script and thus rely on experts who can. It is these experts who manage the manuscripts. Moreover, PLMs are not used in daily life due to their being ancient material. Therefore, communities often tend to be unaware of their PLMs. Therefore, none of the existing models can be applied exactly to PLMs. For example, Srinivasan is mostly concerned with orally-transmitted knowledge. Flinn (2007, 2010) concentrates on how people might gather material of their own choice, but in the Lanna case the monasteries already hold their collections. The model proposed by Kreps (2005, 2008) is the most relevant here, focusing as it does on how, within existing social practices, people might develop their own ways of collecting, preserving and displaying objects. Given, then, that these existing theories do not deal adequately with PLMs, it became necessary to develop a model suitable to the context. The model proposed in this study contains two stages, where the initial process involves preparing the community to participate in the management of PLMs by having knowledgeable local people or experts supply information and education. The subsequent process concerns the creation of a form of sustainable community engagement, one in which the concept of PLM ownership emerges within the community, thus enabling a community-based management of the manuscripts which allows the making of merit.

Nearest neighbour searching is a fundamental concept for many ligand-based virtual screening applications. The system searches for the nearest molecule by quantifying their similarity using various molecular representations and similarity coefficients. These similarity measures are the key components of the system where the variability and the characteristic of the components affect the effectiveness of the search. The first aim of this thesis was to investigate the effects of 2D fingerprint dimensionality on the effectiveness of chemoinformatics applications and the contributing factors were analysed. Two nearest neighbour search applications, similarity searching and molecular clustering were conducted. Various types of coefficients were used to measure the similarity and distances of the chemical dataset. It was observed that the effectiveness of the similarity search and clustering applications varied depending on the coefficient used to measure the degree of similarity or distances. The sparseness of the representations also affects the similarity measures. The second aim of the study was to quantify the relative importance of the components influencing 2D fingerprint similarity searching and this research was carried out using cross-classified modeling. Effectiveness values produced by different types of 2D fingerprints and similarity coefficients were used to model the more important component. The bioactivity of the molecule was the most important factor identified, followed by the reference structure. Evaluation between the fingerprint representation and the similarity coefficient revealed that the fingerprint had a greater role in determining the effectiveness of the similarity searching than the similarity coefficient. This research contributes to the knowledge of similarity measures in the chemoinformatics domain on the impact of high dimensional space and the similarity search components. This contribution provides a practical implication on the effectiveness of the similarity search application in particular and ligandbased virtual screening applications.

The research underpinning this thesis takes a practical approach to engaging with the concept of a ‘participatory archive’. It uses the process of constructing the Archive of Mental Health Recovery Stories (https://mentalhealthrecovery.omeka.net) as a basis for exploring and challenging participatory rhetoric. The disentangling of ‘control’ running through the participatory process has emerged as a dominant theme: who has controlled the construction of the archive? Who has controlled the resulting knowledge production? To what extent can either the construction, or the research around the construction be seen as ‘participatory’? ‘Legitimacy’ is also a central theme: how has legitimacy in and for this work been built, negotiated and contested? How does the grounds for legitimacy alter across different contexts and situated positions? Another strand emerges around the question of ‘activism’ in archival frameworks: to what extent is deep engagement a necessary pre-requisite for archival practice that seeks to embrace social justice as a central aim? To what extent is archival activism possible in mainstream cultural institutional contexts? The narrative leads to a final unraveling of the central contradictions inherent in practices underpinned by participatory discourses, with an articulation of what unraveling these contradictions means for me as I move forward. Whilst beginning from ‘I’, my writing draws directly on reflections from the contributors to the archive, as well as reflections from staff at my host institution (Wellcome Library). As well as addressing the central themes outlined above, I use this thesis to explicitly surface the process of self-negotiation that I have entered into as part of the process. I seek to disentangle the roles and relationships that I have embodied as I have undertaken this research, and I address the discomfort that I have experienced in the collision between my professional, academic and collaborative ‘selves’. In summary, this thesis is about the ‘we’ of participation, but it also seeks to explore how this ‘we’ has affected ‘I’.

Digital preservation is a topic that has been extensively explored over the last thirty years in the fields of archival and information studies. However, relatively little literature has touched on the topic of Trusted Digital Repositories (TDRs). A TDR is '[A]n archive, consisting of an organization of people and systems that has accepted the responsibility to preserve information and make it available for a Designated Community.'1 Standards governing TDRs, namely the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) and Repository Audit and Certification (RAC), have been designed and tested by developed nations with minimal reference to the developing world. Little attempt has been made to question whether these standards, entirely developed in one context, are actually transferable or applicable to another. There is an assumption, however, that because these standards have been generalised, they are ubiquitous and robust, transferable to any locale. This thesis seeks to question the basic assumptions that are made when standards or best practice created in the developed world are applied to different contexts outside of the original milieu of elaboration. Further, this thesis considers the applicability of TDRs to the Eastern African archival context. Using threefold mimesis, the study examines the standards development process, identifying underlying socio-economic, cultural, infrastructural, educational and other presumptions that may exist in the documented standards. It also examines whether these biases impact on the applicability and transferability of standards to Eastern Africa. During the course of this study the author analyses both the digital preservation scholarship and also research related to technology transfer. Parallels are drawn between technology transfer and standards development and implementation, to identify and detail some of the potential obstacles that may preclude the transferability of TDR standards to Eastern Africa. In the end, this thesis finds that TDR standards have little relevance both in developed-world case study digital repositories and in the East African national archives context. These findings challenge the notion held by many that standards have been generalised to such an extent that they are transferable to any context. Further this conclusion brings into question the perceived universality of standards as unbiased documents capable of guiding the establishment of TDRs.

The digital revolution was an almost unprecedented shift in the way humans communicate and interact, bringing with it ease of communication and sharing of copyright content. This thesis answers the question of whether copyright as it stands in the mid-2010s is still a valid bundle of rights to ensure that authors and creators maintain control over their creative works, while still allowing the sharing of creative works and ensuring the spread of knowledge. It approaches the question of copyright from several contexts - including the legal and enforcement mechanisms which have developed in response to the digital shift, and the rise of digital piracy, including graduated response, notice and takedown, and website blocking. A second approach is considering the economic and financial standpoint of the creative industries, particularly the publishing industries. It includes a survey into the economic contribution of the core copyright industries based on guidelines from the World Intellectual Property Organization, as well as assessing a variety of economic reports published in the early 2010s. From there, the thesis considers the case study of the UK text and data mining and private copying exceptions as examples of interventionist legislation which attempt to deal with the rise of digital. Finally, the thesis considers the implementation of shared, non-legislative initiatives which have attempted to approach copyright from different perspectives to the rigid approach of legislative intervention. The thesis concludes by suggesting that adaptation to new norms is possible without the need for extensive reform of copyright, provided that all parties involved are willing to take a flexible view of the change that digital has wrought upon the copyright landscape.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of Kuwait University (KU) libraries in supporting graduate students' research. The focus is on the information use and behaviour of graduate students and the research process. The study is a mixed methods case study carried out in two phases. The first phase (quantitative) is based on responses to a questionnaire distributed to 587 graduate students from four colleges (engineering, arts, science and law) at KU. The second phase (qualitative) is based on in-depth semistructured interviews conducted with 48 students from the same sample. The results of the first phase highlighted disciplinary differences in using the library. Whitley's theory (2000) was used as a framework to help understand disciplinary differences that shaped the information use and behaviour of the graduate students in the studied cases. However, no research has been conducted using Whitley's theory to understand the role of the library in supporting graduate students' research, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, this research aims to fill that gap. In addition, the findings of this study may assist Kuwait University Libraries Administration (KULA) in designing an intervention to support different disciplinary needs. The four specialised fields (electrical engineering, microbiology, Islamic history and public law) are compared as nested cases. Each discipline has its own culture and needs, which in turn shape the students' information needs. An analysis of these needs revealed similarities in the use of the library across the disciplines, as well as significant differences. The findings indicate that cultural elements - such as the nature of the discipline; the study mode; information needs; students' personal experiences; library services; external sources and financial adequacy - all had a great influence on graduate students' use of KU libraries during the research stages.

This research investigates the use of social tagging systems in facilitating access to academic libraries. Social tagging allows users to assign free-text keywords, or 'tags', to describe information items. Users' tags are usually employed to provide a flexible way to access, manage, and share information. This research is a usercentred study focusing on bilingual students (Arabic/English speakers) to explore the use of social tagging in academic library catalogues. Several aspects are examined regarding library catalogue usage, language skills and preferences in tagging and searching; students tagging behaviour; and the potential use of social tagging functionalities in academic libraries. The participants in this research were students and librarians from Kuwait University, the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait; and the University of Sheffield (UK). A mixed-methods approach was adopted, which included: a comparative analysis of 11 existing social tagging systems; a survey involving 241 students; an interactive tagging experiment involving 46 students; and semi-structured interviews with 10 librarians. Methods were employed in two phases and results were analysed using quantitative methods and qualitative thematic analysis. The key contributions to this research include developing a descriptive model of bilingual (Arabic-English) students' tagging behaviour. This captures interactions between users, resources and tag, and highlighting the influencing factors on the creation of tags. This includes cognitive, text/content and tag language choice influences. In addition, the research has established five main categories of social tagging functions: posting, searching, browsing, managing and sharing. The categories were linked to the SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy (IL) that were explored and evaluated to provide a framework of social tagging and information literacy that situate the prospective use of social tagging and it support to IL practices within academic libraries. The findings of this research confirm that students and librarians are interested in using social tagging within the library catalogue and perceive tags in multiple languages to be appropriate as a way of supporting information discovery. The research also recommends that social tagging functions should be considered for the future development of academic library catalogue services to support the engagement and participation of students. Furthermore, to obtain the greatest utility of social tagging systems in academic libraries this research also proposes guidelines regarding best practices of using tags, as well as recommendations for implementing social tagging systems.

This thesis examines school libraries in Qatar between 2002-2012, assessing purpose, operation and evaluation and mapping provision against policy during this critical period of evolution of educational and digital development. It also considers research practice and communication in the school library sector in Qatar. The research is unique in providing a comprehensive study of school libraries at national and local levels, involving librarians, academics, students and parents through a mixed method approach combining interviews, surveys and library visits, supported by exceptional access to internal government reports enabling a systematic analysis of research and policy documentation in Qatar. Key findings identify a lack of coherent research culture at all levels shared across education and library communities in Qatar. There are also wider difficulties with systematic publication and retrieval of research and best practice literature across Arab nations. Current national reform recognizes the importance of literate, independent Qatari learners in a global digital environment, but there is limited understanding of the contribution school libraries and librarians can make to this, at strategic level, amongst teachers and students and even amongst some library practitioners. The research found that school librarians can offer much to literacies and cultural heritage. Recommenations are made for development of: research culture, curriculum mapping, evaluation, recognition of school librarians as education professionals working in equal partnership with teaching colleagues, and training and development. Also recommended are: the creation of a professional body and support network for librarians, an advocacy campaign and the development of practical models and toolkit resources. A key role is proposed for the Qatar National Library to lead evidence-based research and practical action in the field of (school) libraries in the Middle East. It is anticipated that the findings and recommendations can usefully inform strategy and practice at national and individual school levels in Qatar.

From the 1990’s there have been an increasing number of countries promoting laws to enhance public participation, transparency and accountability. Regarding legislation, this tendency reached a peak of 52 countries from 2000 to 2010, and currently there are around 102 countries which have enacted laws on ‘access to information’. Increasing number of countries with legislation suggests a need for assessment, but how to measure ‘impact’ and ‘compliance’ of the legislation considering the complexity of both constructs? The thesis examines methodological foundations applied to the design, and validation of a conceptual model to assess both constructs. As research problem, the thesis examines which analytical constructs withstand the assessment tests and which are vindicated to be included as independent variables of the conceptual model. Mixed methodology was applied to conduct the research. Papers published in mainstream publications during the last ten years were selected by relevance to create the model. Content analysis, expert panel technique, and statistical analysis were applied to support decisions on (1) dependent variables operationalisation, (2) underpinning components of the model definition, and (3) independent variables inclusion criteria. The proposed model was validated by 17 experts from 10 countries, and it has two dependent and 66 independent variables. The construct ‘impact’ was measured applying an innovation to Pastakia’s matrix – RIAM–, and ‘compliance’ was assessed through statistical analysis of three questionnaires. The proposed model was applied in public higher education institutions under the legislation in UK and Chile, through case studies. Although impact and compliance are different constructs, their assessment when examining the incidence of legislation on ‘access to information’, held by public HEIs reported no considerable asymmetries in term of impact scores and compliance achievements. When major positive impacts were obtained, compliance also reported positive results, and when impact was slightly positive, compliance was equally moderate or good.

This thesis charts a course through an emerging landscape of online user participation in archives, focusing upon user involvement at the point of practice known to professional archivists as archival description. Recent years have seen significant growth in participatory initiatives in the archive sector, and the application of Web 2.0 technologies — augmenting traditions of user engagement and volunteering — has been widely heralded as a new opportunity to ‘democratise’ archival practice. The study considers a spectrum of online initiatives which have sought to benefit from the skills or knowledge of diverse user groups: from mass participation ‘crowdsourcing’ transcription projects, via tagging and commenting functionalities added to traditional archive catalogues, to community engagement programmes which have attempted to build up multiple layers of narrative interpretation. The research was designed around three principal stakeholder groups, professionals, participants, and users, seeking to address three main research questions: • Does online user participation constitute an evolution or a revolution in archival practice and professionalism? • What contexts and circumstances motivate and sustain participation? • Who benefits from user participation in archival description? Two new analytical frameworks are presented as navigation aids for this exploration of participatory archives, taken from the perspective of professional archivists and of participants respectively. The discussion on users is necessarily more speculative, but concludes that realisation of the claims made for the transformative impact of online user participation is dependent upon a redefinition of archival use which is inclusive of both participation and the communication of meaning, in addition to the routine processes of information seeking. Future research directions are identified therefore which lie at the points of intersection between engagement (participation and use combined) and professional theory and practice.

Collecting Institutions in the Network Society is a multidisciplinary study examining present practices and policies of collecting institutions (museums, galleries, libraries and archives) in their use and development of digital technologies, within the context of wider socio-technical change. It investigates whether existing service paradigms are best suited to future digital delivery of services in the emergent Network Society. It uses an interpretive methodological approach creating a body of phenomenological evidence enabling comparison between the organisational context, internal practices, histories and policies of collecting institutions, and the wider socio-technical impact of the Internet. Literature reviews provide evidence from the 'outer world' of Internet developments and impact to establish four Generic Drivers of Internet Change. For the 'inner world' of collecting institutions, organisational context and research and development on innovation are examined to analyse various perspectives on common approaches to service policy and practice. Additionally, textual analysis of institutional mission statements and policy documents is used to establish the degree of common purpose across collecting institutions and the preparedness of practitioners and policymakers to deal with rapid socio-technical change. The evidence is synthesised to define an Institutional Paradigm describing the present operational processes and practices of collecting institutions. This is compared with the four Generic Drivers to define opportunities and challenges that collecting institutions face in exploiting the Internet. This synthesis demonstrates that the siloised and fragmented nature of the Institutional Paradigm creates significant barriers to effective exploitation. Evidence from the textual analysis is used to develop a Shared Mission Statement for all collecting institutions as the foundation of a strategic digital future. The study proposes a radically new service paradigm (the Digital Knowledge Ecology) enabling collecting institutions to achieve maximum user value in their delivery of digital services, and concludes with proposals for actions to build a collective strategy.

This PhD research aims to identify, analyse and evaluate a decision model for an e-procurement Decision Support System (DSS) for the public sector in Maldives, especially focusing on the Education Sector. The DSS uses Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to evaluate procurement alternatives. The features and characteristics of public sector procurement are based on major public sector principles, such as non-discrimination, equality, transparency and proportionality. This results in an organised step-by-step procedure for public sector procurement. However, this research focuses only on decisions that are based on the performances of the suppliers against a pre-set list of criteria where MCDA is applied to the evaluation. This research studied the applicability of a comprehensive set of published MCDA methods identified in the literature to the problem context. The MCDA methods used in this research involves linear weighting methods, single synthesising criterion or utility theory, outranking methods, fuzzy methods and mixed methods. This research adopted the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, which is intended to design an artefact. The artefact in this case is the decision model. The methodology provides the artefact, explains how to use it, and how to evaluate the artefact. As these three components are of prime importance for the research project, DSR is chosen. The methodology follows a set of specific guidelines provided by Information Systems (IS) research scholars for such IS research projects. To support the process steps of the research project, literature reviews of public sector procurement and MCDA were undertaken, field research of focus groups was carried out, and selected documented data on procurement evaluations were collected for performance analysis of the MCDA methods in context. The first part of the literature review provided the requirements and constraints of the public sector procurement in general and specifically in relation to Maldivian public sector. The second part of the literature review identified MCDA methods and their procedures and characteristics. The focus group discussions were conducted with public sector procurement evaluation officials of selected education institutions, to identify operational constraints and requirements of the procurement. Criteria-based evaluation was conducted on the characteristics of MCDA methods compared to the public sector requirements gathered through literature review and focus groups. This analysis was to identify the applicable MCDA methods based on public sector requirements. The analysis filtered only two applicable methods namely, TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) and COPRAS (COmplex PRoportional ASsessment). Finally, performance analysis was done on the two methods by applying real life procurement data collected from selected public sector institutions. Congruence/incongruence analysis, variance analysis, stability analysis and MCDA were performed based on the results of the two methods, with real life data. The performance analysis shows TOPSIS having higher variance and stability over COPRAS. However, congruence/incongruence analysis was inconclusive. Based on the results of criteria-based evaluation and performance analysis, MCDA was applied on TOPSIS and COPRAS. The current public sector procurement evaluation method, weighted sum and the two filtered methods are used for MCDA on TOPSIS and COPRAS. The MCDA also resulted in favour of TOPSIS. Therefore, based on this research, the recommended decision model for the public sector e-procurement DSS for the Maldivian context is TOPSIS. The major research outputs are the identification of public sector requirements in context, the characteristics of the majority of MCDA methods in context, and strengths of performance of TOPSIS and COPRAS. In addition, the research identified the suitable decision model for the context, a theory of use of it in the context of the Public Sector of the Maldives and a framework to identify and evaluate the decision model.

The purpose of this study is to develop a clearer understanding of the factors influencing the decision making of public sector administrators at the postimplementation stage of electronic government (e-Government) projects in the UK. Egovernment refers to the provision of government services through the use of a government portal based on e-Government development models. Despite a wealth of e- Government adoption and implementation studies, there is a paucity of literature describing the roles of e-Government decision makers post-implementation. Therefore, this single case (i.e. Sheffield City Council) interpretivist study, using semistructured interviews for data collection, makes a unique contribution to the literature. Semi-structured interviews were applied to collect the data and the researcher interviewed 17 managers and member of staff from Sheffield City Council. Subsequent data and thematic analysis has revealed four themes. The first theme concerns organisational management issues (e.g. corporate strategy, reputation management, project initiators, etc.). The second theme concerns financial factors of post-implementation decision making behaviours. The third theme relates to technological factors, including IT risks, scale of IT improvement and system accessibility. While the fourth theme concerns the influence of government policy factors. These themes are interrelated and impact upon each other. Also, organisational management theme is identified as core factor of e-Government post-implementation decision making. The findings of this study have implications in the field of postimplementation e-Government decision making. Public sector managers should be sure to give due consideration to each of these themes ahead of post-implementation decision making in order to arrive at better and more informed decisions.

Twitter is one of the most widely used social media tools, increasingly the object of academic research but also in use by academics themselves in their daily professional practice (Focus, 2010; Gerber, 2012; Lupton, 2014; Rowlands, Nicholas, Russell, Canty, & Watkinson, 2011). A number of empirical studies have been conducted to identify the uses and benefits of Twitter by scholars, at a general level. Among its core benefits appear to be that it offers a professional and scientific conversation channel, a means for sharing research ideas and increased research visibility, bridging geographical distances among academics community and practitioners; the facilitation of global partnerships in research; augmentation of teaching and learning; and the strengthening of academics’ engagement with public audiences, enhancing academic esteem and self-promotion (Lupton, 2014; Pearce, Weller, Scanlon, & Kinsley, 2010; Veletsianos & Kimmons, 2012a; Veletsianos, 2013). However, there has been little qualitative research on how academics practice Twitter (Kieslinger, Ebner, & Wiesenhofer, 2011; Lupton, 2014; Veletsianos, 2011, 2013). In this context, the aim of the study was to explore academics’ adoption and use of Twitter in UK Higher Education and the factors that influence their use of it. The study employed a qualitative method within an interpretive methodology (Mason, 2002; Miles & Huberman, 1994). A semi-structured interview was the main method of data collection; complemented by digital observation and interview observation. A total of 28 academics from five faculties at The University of Sheffield (UoS) were interviewed. A thematic approach was taken to data analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Findings captured detailed trajectories of academics’ Twitter use and six main themes emerged in the findings, namely: (1) the characteristics of Twitter users, (2) immediate drivers to adopt Twitter, (3) the pattern of adoption, (4) the range of Twitter uses, (5) temporal and behavioural patterns of Twitter use and (6) academic concerns over using Twitter. In addition, the study explores how attributes of the platform and technology affordances have key roles in shaping the practice. The study found that academics’ participation on Twitter is complex and multifaceted. Academics engage with Twitter for different purposes mainly in pursuit of academic interests and not for personal use. Findings identified nine types of Twitter use namely: (1) communication; (2) dissemination; (3) pedagogical activities; (4) building relationships and maintaining networks; (5) performing digital identity; (6) taking micro-breaks; (7) information seeking and gathering; (8) learning and (9) coordinating or amplifying other social media and website use. They perform these activities in strategic ways through a certain routines and develop approaches in managing its use. However, there is no simple formula to carrying out these activities. From a broader perspective, this study recognised two different views of the academic experience in relation to technology that could be relevant also to microblogging: a pessimistic and an optimistic view. Twitter use reflects issues identified by pessimistic commentators relating to the challenges faced by modern academics, such as: increasing competition to produce more quality and ‘impactful’ research; an agenda of excellence in teaching; pressure for public engagement; the rise of the academic ‘portfolio CV’; the research excellence framework (REF); and the wider effects of globalisation and the neoliberalism agenda (Henkel 2005; Clegg et al. 2003; Selwyn 2007; Fanghanel & Trowler 2008; Fanghanel 2011; Clegg 2012; Lorenz 2015). All these could be thought to affect how microblogging is taken up. On balance however, the experience of academics reflected more optimistic views of the impact of technology in Higher Education (Kirkup, 2010; Pearce et al., 2010; Scanlon, 2014; Veletsianos & Kimmons, 2012c; Veletsianos, 2013; M. Weller, 2011). Interviewees saw themselves as innovators and use Twitter as a vehicle to respond to the heavy workload that burdens them and they found the tools support their work in convenient and effective ways. The research makes a number of practical recommendations, providing suggestions to stakeholders in higher education such as institutions, academics and software developers. These include recommendations to provide staff with social media awareness training, promoting policies and guidelines for effective use for academics work including teaching activity, fostering take up through ‘key evangelist’ and promotional activities, offering helpdesk support, and teaching staff to anticipate risks such as managing social etiquette on Twitter. From a technical perspective, the study could inform the future design of technologies to support academic work.

In the face of rapidly increasing technological changes to the educational and information environment, the academic library has continued to play a significant role as a social organisation in support of knowledge creation and research within the higher education system. Academic libraries are thus expected to comply with rapid global developments in education through efficient delivery of services in order to contribute to the growth of the institution it serves. In Nigeria, quality management models have been identified as the appropriate management structures that can provide libraries with the necessary techniques to improve their value through efficient services to their user communities. Even though a few studies have identified the benefits of quality management adoption and implementation in higher education institutions (HEIs), there are no studies reporting on quality management adoption and implementation in Nigerian university libraries. A sequential mixed methods approach was used to explore quality management practices in academic libraries in south-western (SW) Nigeria in a two-phased study in which the second phase was dominant. The choice of the approach was because it was found appropriate for answering the research questions of the study. The approach afforded the opportunity of gaining a better insight into the investigation, with the two methods complementing each other as opposed to a single method. The first (quantitative) phase involved an exploratory online survey which was conducted to assess management practices and quality service delivery in 24 university libraries studied. The study found a wide range of views on management practices and service delivery. The findings suggest that the respondents were aware of QM practices, service delivery and its impact on the mission and vision, learning outcomes, employee satisfaction, staff development and performance. They were therefore able to give informed views on the issues being investigated in the study. It was also revealed that despite the fact that participating universities fell into different categories, the majority of the university librarians agreed on the need for QM practices as a means of improving academic library services. In the second phase, semi-structured, in depth interviews with 15 heads of libraries and 10 focus group discussions with non-management staffs (73) of the libraries were conducted to build on and confirm the findings from the quantitative phase of study. The study found that the application of QM principles in the university libraries was not in line with any best practice to shape QM and as such could not lead to consistent QM implementation. The study found that most of the university libraries adhered to the external quality assurance system prescribed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) for the university for the purpose of accreditation of academic programmes. There were no quality management tools in place for use in Nigerian university libraries, but rather libraries employed the principles to guide their procedures without any systematic procedures. A QM maturity assessment was conducted to ascertain the positioning of the libraries in QM practices. The findings from analysis of data from the survey, interviews and focus groups are discussed in relation to the key objectives of the study, explaining the key observations and findings. The findings were also triangulated for a better understanding of the situation of libraries investigated, while factors perceived as vital to the actualisation of QM were also highlighted. An exploratory model of QM implementation programme for university libraries is proposed which seeks government intervention in formulating and implementing effective quality improvement in university library operations. A maturity model to help in post-implementation assessment of QM maturity levels of libraries is also developed. This study makes a contribution to knowledge by developing an empirically supported model that seeks the intervention of major stakeholders in the HEIs for QM implementation in university libraries. The model acknowledges the roles of both internal and external actors of the library in actualisation of a library quality improvement programme. Though the model was developed on the basis of evidence gathered from libraries in SW Nigeria, it may be transferable to other university libraries in other zones in Nigeria and possibly within the West African region. Furthermore, this thesis presents the contributions and limitations of the study and suggests areas of future research.

This project, undertaken in collaboration with OCLC, aimed to investigate the potential role of recommendations within WorldCat, the publicly accessible union catalogue of libraries participating in the OCLC global cooperative. The goal of the project was a set of conceptual design guidelines for a WorldCat.org recommender system, based on a comprehensive understanding of the systems users and their needs. Taking a mixed-methods approach, the investigation consisted of four phases. Phase one consisted of twenty-one focus groups with key user goups held in three locations; the UK, the US, and Australia and New Zealand. Phase 2 consisted of a pop-up survey implemented on WorldCat.org, and gathered 2,918 responses. Phase three represented an analysis of two months of WorldCat.org transaction log data, consisting of over 15,000,000 sessions. Phase four was a lab based user study investigating and comparing the use of WorldCat.org with Amazon. Findings from each strand were integrated, and the key themes to emerge from the research are discussed. Different methods of classifying the WorldCat.org user population are presented, along with a taxonomy of work- and search-tasks. Key perspectives on the utility of a recommender system are considered, along with a reflection on how the information search behaviour exhibited by users interacting with recommendations while undertaking typical catalogue tasks can be interpreted. Based on the enriched perspective of the system, and the role of recommendation in the catalogue, a series of conceptual design specifications are presented for the development of a WorldCat.org recommender system.

Microblogging tools, such as Twitter and Yammer, are examples of social media that allow users to share messages about personal activities, share opinions and to receive quick notifications. They have become very popular, for both personal and professional pursuits, with millions of users worldwide. Some authors have claimed that social media can radically transform organisations. However, there is a lack of empirical research that evaluates that claim. Not much is known about internal organisational uses of microblogs, in comparison to their public uses, for example for marketing. Also, less research has been devoted to microblogging adoption and use in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), organisation with less than 250 employees. Yet, SMEs are recognised to be key to the economy. Accordingly, this thesis investigates the uses and perceptions of risks of microblogging in UK based SMEs. The research adopts a qualitative, interpretive methodology because of the intention to explore how participants understand microblogging themselves. 21 semi-structured, face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted with managers, directors and employees in SMEs in IT/software, Sports and Consultancy organisations based in South Yorkshire, UK. A thematic approach was taken to analysing the interview data. Most organisations in the study had adopted microblogs by a process of trial and error. Microblogging was mostly used by the manager or director. Smaller organisations did not make much use of the platforms for direct advertising i.e. selling products to others through the tools. The participants focused more on other types of uses, such as internal communication, knowledge and sharing data, as well as customer relations. Internally, microblogs such as Yammer was chiefly used by individuals to collaborate remotely with their co-workers and to ask or respond to questions. Externally, Twitter was mainly used to enable users to exchange information such as details about events, to communicate more with customers and potential customers and to build relationships with clients. A visual representation was developed to illustrate the uses of microblogging in SMEs. The participants in the study particularly valued microblogging for its limited functionality, its cost effectiveness and because it could be used via mobile phones. Perceptions of risk emerged as a stronger theme in the analysis than expected. Most participants perceived microblogs to be highly risky i.e. to expose the organisation and employees to danger, though not too risky to use. The commonest type of risk was seen to be the danger of damaging the reputation of the business. Leaking confidential information to the public, negative media coverage, too much noise, misleading information, computer security, bullying, loss of personal privacy and losing valuable information were also identified as risks. Most organisations took specific action to manage and mitigate such perceived risks. The majority of participants talked about controlling what types of information should be shared on the tools. They had a policy on appropriate content. Other types of actions mentioned were controlling who should engage with microblogging, training, having review procedures and complaint procedures to deal with the consequences of mistakes such as providing people with incorrect information. To illustrate such feelings around risks, two visual representations were developed. This research is the first in-depth study about the uses of microblogging in UK based SMEs. It was found that microblogging did not radically transform organisations. It was seen as a useful form of communication for SMEs, but no more than that. The limited financial resources and professional expertise that SMEs have, was key to how they adopted the technology. As regards practical implications, something could be done to address the trial and error approach to using microblogs found to be typical of smaller organisations. For example, managers could be given training courses and guidance on how to best adopt and use microblogging. To improve management of risks, more concrete expert advice could be developed and organisations would benefit from sharing of model policies.

This thesis investigates the extent of provision of LGBT-related fiction to children and young people in English public libraries, how it is procured and made available, staff attitudes, and factors affecting provision. The research drew on a pragmatic philosophy and used a mixed-methods approach, comprising a checklist study, questionnaires and interviews. The literature review highlighted a need for portrayals of LGBT people in children’s and Young Adult fiction: this can have benefits for young LGBT people and children of LGBT parents, as well as for increasing understanding among others. Despite this, there has been little attention to the area in UK library research or practice, and the small amount of extant research suggests provision is poor. The study found that provision of LGBT-related fiction to children and young people was generally limited in the participating authorities, particularly as regards younger children’s books and accessible formats. Staff attitudes were positive but not pro-active, with many admitting to never having thought about the area. Some concerns emerged, namely the provision of materials to younger children; materials with sexual content; the quality of materials; US-focused titles; promotion; and the possibility of complaint. The thesis presents a number of models of factors resulting in poor provision. A key factor is that many books are published outside the UK and consequently do not come through mainstream suppliers. This combines with a lack of awareness among librarians, who consequently do not seek out titles elsewhere. Budget and workload seem likely to have an increasing impact in the current economic situation. The model is situated within a broader environment of hetero/cisnormativity, stigma, and a neoliberal approach to library provision which may result in the neglect of areas perceived as ‘niche’. The thesis concludes by summarising the contributions of the study to research and practice, and presenting recommendations.

There being no cure for HIV, information continues to play an important role in the management of the pandemic. However, the ability to design successful HIV and AIDS information campaigns is highly dependent on knowledge of people’s information behaviour. Accordingly, there is a need for a clear understanding of the information behaviour of specific groups of people affected and infected by HIV. This phenomenological study investigates how serodiscordant couples experience HIV and AIDS information. In-depth interviews were conducted in the homes of twenty-one serodiscordant couples and three individuals who had separated from their partners. Participants for the study were selected purposively. Data analysis was done using Max Van Manen’s phenomenological approach to generate descriptions and interpretations of the couples’ experiences of HIV and AIDS information. The findings of this study identify three major aspects of experiencing HIV and AIDS information. First, the life-world is the overarching context of experiencing HIV and AIDS information. The study identified five existentials of the life-world of serodiscordant couples. The four of the five existentials were similar to those described by Max Van Manen. These are: lived body, lived space, lived others, and lived time. In addition, my study identified spirituality as a fifth existential. The second aspect of experiencing HIV and AIDS information concerns the nature of HIV and AIDS information. Serodiscordant couples experienced information sources before experiencing the information itself. In these sources serodiscordant couples categorised HIV and AIDS information as being available or unavailable, and accessible or inaccessible. Thirdly, HIV and AIDS information was experienced with various emotional and cognitive states of mind. The emotions were categorised as positive, negative, and ambiguous. Furthermore, this study proposes a conceptual framework for experiencing HIV and AIDS information. The conceptual framework suggests that HIV and AIDS information was experienced while anticipating it, interacting with it, acting on it, and reflecting on it. These findings reveal the complexity of experiencing HIV and AIDS information among serodiscordant couples. Recommendations are made for policy makers and practitioners on the importance of using knowledge of how serodiscordant couples experience HIV and AIDS information to design information services that suit their needs. In addition, this thesis highlights the need to have standard information materials for specific groups such as serodiscordant couples in order to effectively address their unique information needs.

In this research the virtual product user community is defined as a producer sponsored customer aggregation existing on the Internet to share usage experience and to collaboratively find technical solutions to problems with specific brand products. Such groups have a variety of benefits to members and organisations, one being that they are a knowledge resource for product users to look for solutions to specific problems with products and identify how to use them effectively. They are also a platform for the producer to communicate with its customers, to collect market intelligence, and to incorporate users’ innovative insights and problem solving skills. However, how knowledge is constructed and shared in such groups has been rarely studied. Previous literature that focuses on cognitive development and critical thinking stages in a formal online learning context may offer some relevant insights and methodologies but requires translation to the new context, and is not likely to provide a comprehensive understanding of this area. Accordingly, this thesis aims to explore knowledge construction in virtual product user communities. The philosophical basis of the research design was constructivism and interpretivism. A qualitative research methodology was adopted. Dozens of discussion threads of theoretical interest were chosen from a typical virtual product user community on the Dell User Support Forum (and from the Dell Idea Storm Community) and were analyzed through a qualitative content analysis method. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 20 community members of the Dell User Support Forum were conducted via e-mail. A deductive thematic analysis method was used for analysing the interview transcripts. More threads were chosen from a range of other virtual product user communities for content analysis in order to explore the influences of attributes such as language, national culture and technology platform on knowledge construction. A new content analysis tool, which is based on a combination of prior codes and new categories identified from the data, was created, in order to analyze the knowledge construction embedded in the discussion of technical problems. The research identified five types of key knowledge construction episodes that make up the knowledge building process and which are characterised by low-level cognitive engagement. A knowledge construction model which represents knowledge building in reality was developed. Furthermore, problem description episodes, non-constructive episodes, and moderation episodes were identified and their relations clarified. The problem description episodes were found to facilitate knowledge construction by providing knowledge about the problem and knowledge about its context. Following from this the peer advisor could diagnose the cause of technical problems and propose tailored solutions ideas based on the users’ experiential knowledge. The moderation episode can offset the negative influence of non-constructive episodes, maintaining social order and promoting knowledge contribution. The findings illustrate that knowledge construction needs collective contribution through various types of participation by community members at different knowledge levels. The influences of contextual attributes of a virtual product user community, including communication technology, sponsorship, national language and culture, moderation, and discussion topics, on knowledge construction, were all explored in this research. Models of different types of knowledge transfer across the boundaries between the virtual product user community and the organization, highlighting the role of moderators, were constructed. Besides the above findings, this research identified and defined this specific type of online community on the Internet, i.e. the virtual product user community. In addition, it provided a content analysis tool which is tailored to the purpose of examining low-level critical knowledge construction, which complements existing analytical frameworks, derived from formal learning contexts. The study mainly contributes to the general area of information and knowledge management, specifically knowledge construction in the virtual product user community and other low-level cognitive engagement contexts. It provides a theoretical basis for practices in managing online communities, and offers useful suggestions for educators in designing and managing formal online learning communities.