Libraries as coworking spaces Bilandzic, Mark; Foth, Marcus
Library hi tech,
01/2013, Letnik:
31, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Purpose - This paper aims to inform design strategies for smart space technology to enhance libraries as environments for coworking and informal social learning. The focus is on understanding user ...motivations, behaviour, and activities in the library when there is no programmed agenda. Design/methodology/approach - The study analyses gathered data over five months of ethnographic research at The Edge - a "bookless" library space at the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, that is explicitly dedicated to coworking, social learning, peer collaboration, and creativity around digital culture and technology. Findings - The results present five personas that embody people's main usage patterns as well as motivations, attitudes, and perceived barriers to social learning. It appears that most users work individually or within pre-organised groups, but usually do not make new connections with co-present, unacquainted users. Based on the personas, four hybrid design dimensions are suggested to improve the library as a social interface for shared learning encounters across physical and digital spaces. Originality/value - The findings in this paper offer actionable knowledge for managers, decision makers, and designers of technology-enhanced library spaces and similar collaboration and coworking spaces.
Keeping in view the increasing importance of users in shaping and acceptance of Information Systems (IS) products, there is a need for deeper understanding of IS user requirements. However, currently ...there is a gap in IS literature. Virtually no theory-based Typological Scheme (TS) exists for IS user requirements. And a typology is widely acknowledged as the first step towards understanding a phenomenon (). Using concepts from inter-disciplinary review of research in the areas of requirements engineering, product quality, and customer satisfaction this study explores the possibility of developing a TS suitable to the IS context. The proposed TS scheme, iteratively constructed, through literature review and experimentation demonstrates promise. The requirement types identified in the suggested TS are found to have both theoretical and empirical support and have useful implications for future research as well as practice.
This study investigated students' use of the central library of the University of the Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan, including the effect of various demographic and academic characteristics on the ...utilization of library services. The study also examined library users' methods of finding information sources and their perceived importance of the academic library as a place. A validated, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 400 library users in eight different library locations. Of 400 questionnaires, 317 responses were submitted, for a response rate of 79 percent. The findings indicated that students frequently visit the library for an academic reading environment and a quiet zone for individual study. Overall, many factors influence library use, including both demographic and academic characteristics. Respondents perceive the value of the library as a place for learning, deep thinking, and information-seeking, and they regard the library's collection as important. The university library could apply these insights to strengthen library services and provide more places for learning and study. This article's findings will also prove useful to other Pakistani regional academic libraries considering use patterns and future areas for service development.
Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) is an effective technique to improve gait and reduce freezing episodes for Persons with Parkinson's Disease (PwPD). The BeatHealth system, which comprises a mobile ...application, gait sensors, and a website, exploits the potential of the RAS technique. This paper describes the tools used for co-designing and evaluating the system and discusses the results and conclusions.
Personas, interviews, use cases, and ethnographic observations were used to define the functional requirements of the system. Low fidelity prototypes were created for iterative and incremental evaluation with end-users. Field trials were also performed with the final system. The process followed a user centered design methodology defined for this project with the aim of building a useful, usable, and easy-to-use system.
Functional requirements of the system were produced as a result of the initial exploration phase. Building upon these, mock-ups for the BeatHealth system were created. The mobile application was iterated twice, with the second version of it achieving a rating of 75 when assessed by participants through the System Usability Scale (SUS). After another iteration field trials were performed and the mobile application was rated with an average 78.6 using SUS. Participants rated two website mock-ups, one for health professionals and another for end-users, as good except from minor issues related to visual design (e.g. font size), which were resolved in the final version.
The high ratings obtained in the evaluation of the BeatHealth system demonstrate the benefit of applying a user centered design methodology which involves stakeholders from the very beginning. Other important lessons were learned through the process of design and development of the system, such as the importance of motivational aspects, the techniques which work best, and the extra care that has to be taken when evaluating non-functional mock-ups with end users.
Purpose The behaviour of a library user is based on his ability to evaluate the consumption of library services based on alternative market services. The purpose of this paper is to study the usage ...behaviour in a public library building in the context of alternative costs instead of a narrow focus on book circulation data. Design/methodology/approach By library usage mining, using associative rules, the authors described the behaviour of library users and identified the typical behaviour during the visits. The authors analyse the results in the context of alternative costs assigned to the visits. Findings The results confirm that some underused services, such as digital services, deliver significantly greater benefit. The frequency of use, the duration of visit and the number of items used are associated with higher alternative costs. There were no significant differences in alternative cost within economic groups (excluding pensioners). This paper identified 41 frequent patterns with different alternative costs. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this study is the fact that data for library usage mining were collected using a questionnaire survey. Practical implications This may be particularly important for both policy makers and library management. The first beneficiaries are donors and patrons, who can learn about the benefit that libraries bring to society. The proposed system for library usage mining also enables managers to promote specific (effective) services, take steps to avoid readers leaving, and improve the adoption of library services. It can also be used to adapt the location of library services. Librarians, especially those who engage in acquisitions, may also use this information in their evidence-based decisions about the design of services. Originality/value So far, there has been no relevant research on the economic aspects of extracted behaviour patterns. Therefore, this study revealed users’ economic preferences using a questionnaire survey that supplemented transaction data. The ability to describe users’ behaviour can provide library management with enough information to realise evidence-based decision making.
Focusing on digital analytics principles and concepts, this book walks you through the many tools available, including step-by-step examples for typical library needs.
Patients with mental health diagnoses (MHD) are among the most frequent emergency department (ED) users, suggesting the importance of identifying additional factors associated with their ED use ...frequency. In this study we assessed various patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and service use associated with low ED users (1-3 visits/year), compared to high (4-7) and very high (8+) ED users with MHD.
Our study was conducted in four large Quebec (Canada) ED networks. A total of 299 patients with MHD were randomly recruited from these ED in 2021-2022. Structured interviews complemented data from network health records, providing extensive data on participant profiles and their quality of care. We used multivariable multinomial logistic regression to compare low ED use to high and very high ED use.
Over a 12-month period, 39% of patients were low ED users, 37% high, and 24% very high ED users. Compared with low ED users, those at greater probability for high or very high ED use exhibited more violent/disturbed behaviors or social problems, chronic physical illnesses, and barriers to unmet needs. Patients previously hospitalized 1-2 times had lower risk of high or very high ED use than those not previously hospitalized. Compared with low ED users, high and very high ED users showed higher prevalence of personality disorders and suicidal behaviors, respectively. Women had greater probability of high ED use than men. Patients living in rental housing had greater probability of being very high ED users than those living in private housing. Using at least 5+ primary care services and being recurrent ED users two years prior to the last year of ED use had increased probability of very high ED use.
Frequency of ED use was associated with complex issues and higher perceived barriers to unmet needs among patients. Very high ED users had more severe recurrent conditions, such as isolation and suicidal behaviors, despite using more primary care services. Results suggested substantial reduction of barriers to care and improvement on both access and continuity of care for these vulnerable patients, integrating crisis resolution and supported housing services. Limited hospitalizations may sometimes be indicated, protecting against ED use.
Coffea-casa: an analysis facility prototype Adamec, Matous; Attebury, Garhan; Bloom, Kenneth ...
EPJ Web of Conferences,
2021, Letnik:
251
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Data analysis in HEP has often relied on batch systems and event loops; users are given a non-interactive interface to computing resources and consider data event-by-event. The “Coffea-casa” ...prototype analysis facility is an effort to provide users with alternate mechanisms to access computing resources and enable new programming paradigms. Instead of the command-line interface and asynchronous batch access, a notebook-based web interface and interactive computing is provided. Instead of writing event loops, the columnbased Coffea library is used.
In this paper, we describe the architectural components of the facility, the services offered to end users, and how it integrates into a larger ecosystem for data access and authentication.
Purpose
Many citizens face situations where they have difficulty accessing and understanding information, particularly due to insufficient literacy skills. Although strategies have been proposed for ...improving comprehensibility of texts or web sites, there is no consensus on the standards to favor, nor is there any one single approach that addresses this issue. This article defines the expression “access to and understanding of information,” with the aim of guiding designers in their quest to develop inclusive information resources.
Method
A literature search was performed. The investigation led to the identification of elements that could serve as dimensions or indicators for the conceptualization of access to information. In a co-construction process, the co-authors compared these elements with the dimensions and indicators from Fougeyrollas et al.’s (2015, 2019) conceptualization of “access” in order to adjust and complement these so that they may apply in the context of access to information.
Results
First, the expression “access to and understanding of information” is clarified because it is not well defined in the scientific literature. Then, a theoretical conceptualization of access to information is proposed in order to clarify what this term encompasses; also elaborating on its dimensions and indicators and on ways to measure them.
Conclusion
This conceptualization stems from a literature search and a co-construction of the “access to information” concept. It is still evolving because we aim to enrich it in step with social, technological, and knowledge developments, with the objective of meeting users’ needs.
Speech-user interfaces offer truly hands-free, eyes-free interaction, have unmatched throughput rates, and are the only plausible interaction modality for illiterate users across the world, but they ...are not yet developed in abundance to support every type of user, language, or acoustic scenario. Two approaches present exciting opportunities for future research.
PDF
