Archives des mots-clés : scientific practices

The role of motivators in improving knowledge sharing…

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The role of motivators in improving knowledge-sharing among academics :

“Introduction. This research addresses a primary issue that involves motivating academics to share knowledge. Adapting the theory of reasoned action, this study examines the role of motivation that consists of intrinsic motivators (commitment; enjoyment in helping others) and extrinsic motivators (reputation; organizational rewards) to determine and explain the behaviour of Malaysian academics in sharing knowledge.

Method. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed using a non-probability sampling technique. A total of 373 completed responses were collected with a total response rate of 38.2%.

Analysis. The partial least squares analysis was used to analyse the data.

Results. The results indicated that all five of the hypotheses were supported. Analysis of data from the five higher learning institutions in Malaysia found that commitment and enjoyment in helping others (i.e., intrinsic motivators) and reputation and organizational rewards (i.e., extrinsic motivators) have a positive and significant relationship with attitude towards knowledge-sharing. In addition, the findings revealed that intrinsic motivators are more influential than extrinsic motivators. This suggests that academics are influenced more by intrinsic motivators than by extrinsic motivators.

Conclusions. The findings provided an indication of the determinants in enhancing knowledge-sharing intention among academics in higher education institutions through extrinsic and intrinsic motivators.”

URL : http://www.informationr.net/ir/19-1/paper606.html

MedOANet The Copyright and OA Landscape in Mediterranean…

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MedOANet: The Copyright and OA Landscape in Mediterranean Europe :

“The aim of this paper is to analyse the current copyright framework conditioning the progress of OA in Mediterranean countries and to examine whether this copyright framework needs to be improved and by which measures. In order to do so, this paper firstly introduces MedOANet, which is an EU-funded project the aim of which is to enhance existing national policies, strategies and structures for OA and to contribute towards the implementation of new ones in Mediterranean countries, namely France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Secondly, this paper gives an overview of the results of a survey which has been conducted in 2012 amongst research publishers by MedOANet. Thirdly, an interpretation of the most striking results of the survey is given: research publishers based in Mediterranean countries have, on average, very OA-friendly copyright and self-archiving policies in place. Some improvements could be achieved by developing an OA-conductive campaign of awareness rising; however, OA as the default way of scholarly communication would best be supported by an OA-friendly legal environment. In the end the author of the paper therefore asks the national and European legislators to introduce an exception or limitation for a green road OA publication of any publicly funded research paper into European and national copyright law.”

URL : http://liber.library.uu.nl/index.php/lq/article/view/9126

On the Dual Uses of Science and Ethics…

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On the Dual Uses of Science and Ethics: Principles, Practices, and Prospects :

“Claims about the transformations enabled by modern science and medicine have been accompanied by an unsettling question in recent years: might the knowledge being produced undermine – rather than further – human and animal well being? On the Dual Uses of Science and Ethics examines the potential for the skills, know-how, information, and techniques associated with modern biology to serve contrasting ends. In recognition of the moral ambiguity of science and technology, each chapter considers steps that might be undertaken to prevent the deliberate spread of disease. Central to achieving this aim is the consideration of what role ethics might serve. To date, the ethical analysis of the themes of this volume has been limited. This book remedies this situation by bringing together contributors from a broad range of backgrounds to address a highly important ethical issue confronting humanity during the 21st century.”

URL : http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=462759

Opening Science : The Evolving Guide on How the Internet is Changing Research, Collaboration and Scholarly Publishing

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“Modern information and communication technologies, together with a cultural upheaval within the research community, have profoundly changed research in nearly every aspect. Ranging from sharing and discussing ideas in social networks for scientists to new collaborative environments and novel publication formats, knowledge creation and dissemination as we know it is experiencing a vigorous shift towards increased transparency, collaboration and accessibility. Many assume that research workflows will change more in the next 20 years than they have in the last 200. This book provides researchers, decision makers, and other scientific stakeholders with a snapshot of the basics, the tools, and the underlying visions that drive the current scientific (r)evolution, often called ‘Open Science.’”

URL : https://microblogging.infodocs.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/opening_science.pdf

Related URL : http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-00026-8

Knowledge sharing behaviour influences : A study of Information Science and Library Management faculties in Bangladesh

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The prime focus of this study is to measure knowledge sharing behaviour of Information Science and Library Management (ISLM) faculties in Bangladesh. Determining factors that may influence knowledge sharing behaviour constitutes an important area of research.

A survey questionnaire was developed and used to collect data on faculties’ demographic and academic information, perception, attitude, intention and intrinsic motivation to share knowledge. In order to analyze the influence of faculties’ demographic and individual characteristics on their attitude, intention and intrinsic motivation, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out.

Results showed that no significant difference was found between knowledge sharing behaviour of LIS educators with different Major Research Questions (MRQs). The researchers found a significant relationship 0.000 (p-value<0.05) between attitude of educators toward knowledge sharing and their intention to share knowledge.

It is believed that the findings will assist knowledge managers charged with the design of flexible knowledge sharing system.

This is the first time an effort has been made to assess faculties’ perception, attitude, intention and intrinsic motivation to share knowledge of ISLM faculties in Bangladesh.

The authors feel that this study may encourage more such research on knowledge sharing behaviour in Bangladesh and further.”

URL : http://ifl.sagepub.com/content/39/3/221.abstract

Scholarship 2.0: Analyzing scholars’ use of Web 2.0 tools in research and teaching activity

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Over the past 15 years the Web has transformed the ways in which we search for information and use it. In more recent years, we have seen the emergence of a new array of innovative tools that collectively go under the name of ‘Web 2.0’, in which the information user is also increasingly an information producer (i.e., prosumer), by sharing or creating content.

The success of Web 2.0 tools for personal use is only partially replicated in the professional sphere and, particularly, in the academic environment in relation with research and teaching.

To date, very few studies have explored the level of adoption of Web 2.0 among academic researchers in their research and teaching activity. It is not known in what way how and how much Web 2.0 is currently used within research communities, and we are not aware of the drivers and the drawbacks of the use of Web 2.0 tools in academia, where the majority of people is focused either on research or on teaching activities.

To analyse these issues, i.e. the combined adoption of Web 2.0 tools in teaching and research, the authors carried out a survey among teaching and researching staff of the University of Breda in The Netherlands. This country was chosen mainly because it is on the cutting edge as far as innovation is concerned. An important driver in choosing the Breda University’s academic community was the fact that one of the two authors of this survey works as senior researcher at this university.

The purpose of our survey was to explore the level of adoption of Web 2.0 tools among the academic communities. We were interested in investigating how they were using these tools in the creation of scientific knowledge both in their research and teaching activity. We were also interested in analysing differences in the level of adoption of Web 2.0 tools with regard to researchers’ position, age, gender, and research field.

Finally, in our study we explored the issue of peer reviewing in the Web 2.0 setting. In particular, we investigated whether social peer review is regarded by researchers as a viable alternative to the current closed peer review system (single-blind or double blind).

We approached about 60 staff members, but only 12 faculty members completed the survey fully. This means that our results can only be regarded as exploratory, but we still believe that they represent a complementary perspective with respect to previous studies.”

URL : http://liber.library.uu.nl/index.php/lq/article/view/8108

If We Share Data, Will Anyone Use Them? Data Sharing and Reuse in the Long Tail of Science and Technology

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Research on practices to share and reuse data will inform the design of infrastructure to support data collection, management, and discovery in the long tail of science and technology. These are research domains in which data tend to be local in character, minimally structured, and minimally documented. We report on a ten-year study of the Center for Embedded Network Sensing (CENS), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center.

We found that CENS researchers are willing to share their data, but few are asked to do so, and in only a few domain areas do their funders or journals require them to deposit data. Few repositories exist to accept data in CENS research areas.. Data sharing tends to occur only through interpersonal exchanges. CENS researchers obtain data from repositories, and occasionally from registries and individuals, to provide context, calibration, or other forms of background for their studies. Neither CENS researchers nor those who request access to CENS data appear to use external data for primary research questions or for replication of studies.

CENS researchers are willing to share data if they receive credit and retain first rights to publish their results. Practices of releasing, sharing, and reusing of data in CENS reaffirm the gift culture of scholarship, in which goods are bartered between trusted colleagues rather than treated as commodities.

URL : If We Share Data, Will Anyone Use Them?

DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0067332