International Journal of Information Science and Management
Volume:19 Issue: 2, Jul-Dec 2021

Nowadays, scientific collaboration has dramatically increased due to web-based technologies, advanced communication systems, and information and scientific databases. The present study aims to provide a predictive model for author collaborations in bioinformatics research output using graph mining techniques and big data applications. The study is applied-developmental research adopting a mixed-method approach, i.e., a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures. The research population consisted of all bioinformatics research documents indexed in PubMed (n=699160). The correlations of bioinformatics articles were examined in terms of weight and strength based on article sections including title, abstract, keywords, journal title, and author affiliation using graph mining techniques and big data applications. Eventually, the prediction model of author collaboration in bioinformatics research was developed using the abovementioned tools and expertassigned weights. The calculations and data analysis were carried out using Expert Choice, Excel, Spark, and Scala, and Python programming languages in a big data server. Accordingly, the research was conducted in three phases: 1) identifying and weighting the factors contributing to authors’ similarity measurement; 2) implementing co-authorship prediction model; and 3) integrating the first and second phases (i.e., integrating the weights obtained in the previous phases). The results showed that journal title, citation, article title, author affiliation, keywords, and abstract scored 0.374, 0.374, 0.091, 0.075, 0.055, and 0.031. Moreover, the journal title achieved the highest score in the model for the co-author recommender system. As the data in bibliometric information networks is static, it was proved remarkably effective to use content-based features for similarity measures. So that the recommender system can offer the most suitable collaboration suggestions. It is expected that the model works efficiently in other databases and provides suitable recommendations for author collaborations in other subject areas. By integrating expert opinion and systemic weights, the model can help alleviate the current information overload and facilitate collaborator lookup by authors.

Despite the drawbacks already pointed out and the wide set of variants suggested to overcome some of them, the ℎ-index is the most used measure to conduct the authorlevel scientific evaluation. Simplicity is probably its main advantage and the reason for its popularity. The main goal of the current study is to propose an index that is directly linked and almost perfectly correlated with the ℎ-index but is even simpler to obtain. Our index does not require any form of calculation. It disregards the distribution of citations among the papers of the author. Instead, only the total number of papers and the total number of citations of the author is used to obtain the final score. The score of each author can be seen in the table we present in this study. Although much simpler than the ℎ-index (and other measures that account for citation distribution), our index produces the same general conclusions. We illustrate the application of this index with a sample of economists.

Researchers at medical universities are highly active in scientific collaborations at the national, regional, and international levels. Iranian Medical researchers pay diligent attention to scientific collaborations at all levels. The present study aimed to investigate various dimensions of scientific collaborations of the researchers at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). The dimensions include the patterns and levels of national and international collaborations, interdisciplinary interactions, the relationship between geographical distance and scientific collaboration, and the interdisciplinarity pattern of international collaborations. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical method. The data were collected using scientometric measures. The research population consisted of 4499 journal articles in Web of Science (WoS) authored by SUMS researchers during 2014-2018. The VOSviewer was applied to analyze the data and visualize the networks. The results revealed that national collaboration was the dominant pattern. The results showed a desirable ratio of scientific collaborations to all publications (52%). The authors mostly tended to collaborate with American researchers. The majority of interdisciplinary collaborations were observed in the microbiology field. The results suggested that geographical distance did not affect scientific collaborations at the national and international levels (P>0.05). At the international level, SUMS researchers had the highest collaboration with the University of Manitoba and Tehran University at the national level. The results suggested that research policymakers at SUMS should prioritize research policies toward scientific collaborations at all levels and fields to share and synergize knowledge.

A study was conducted to analyze the usage of 12 public libraries in Long Beach city, California, USA. The paper analyzed the awareness of public library services during the covid-19 Pandemic in main and its neighborhood libraries. The methodology adopted for the study was the survey method in which questionnaires and interviews were used as Data collection Techniques. A total of 36 respondents participated in the study. It was concluded that all the patrons are aware of the public libraries' alternative services; they utilize them effectively. Show that the maximum users of long beach public library are highly satisfied with the various services offered to them 29(80.56%) during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Public library are considered to be the most essential since they improve the literacy rate. It was evaluated through user perspective result-based because they are the ultimate users of the public library services.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of gender on the amount and type of reading. This study was descriptive. The research population consisted of people over 15 years of age in Ahvaz city. A multistage random sampling technique was used, and the data were collected using a questionnaire. The independent t-test and contingency table were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that gender could affect reading, and women had more reading time than men. Also, there were differences in reading interests based on gender. Women were more likely than men to read popular books. Still, men were more elitist and were more likely to read nonfiction books than popular works. Men were more likely to read intellectual and cultural magazines, while women tended to read more popular ones. Besides, women and men had different reading interests in different sections of the newspapers. The deep familiarity of readers with discovering the level and type of reading and defining a developmental plan for reading can provide a valuable guide to policymaking for promoting reading by trusted institutions

This study was designed to investigate the mediating effect of transformational leadership on the relationship between organizational silence and knowledge transfer among librarians in federal universities in southern Nigeria. The questionnaire was used to collect data from a population of 250 librarians, out of which 240 responded, yielding a response rate of 96 percent. The study found a significant positive correlation between transformational leadership and knowledge transfer of the respondents. Organizational silence has a significant negative correlation with the respondents, and organizational silence has a significant negative correlation with transformational leadership. Nevertheless, the study revealed that transformational leadership has a significant positive effect on knowledge transfer. Also, organizational silence has a significant negative effect on the knowledge transfer of the respondents. More importantly, transformational leadership has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between the respondents' organizational silence and knowledge transfer. It was recommended that the university librarians should adopt a transformational leadership style to facilitate knowledge transfer. The administrators and library managers in the federal university in southern Nigeria should reduce or eliminate organizational silence to promote knowledge transfer among the respondents.

Technology companies in a continuous transformation process within the scope of Industry 4.0 practices have followed rapidly changing and developing technological advances closely and have made permanent and successful digital transformation efforts. However, there might be met with resistance of employees sometimes during the digital transformation process. This study examines the user resistance of the employees working at technology companies in Istanbul towards digital transformation and determining user resistance factors. A survey questionnaire was prepared to gather the data. In this regard, The Scale of User Resistance towards Information Systems Implementation developed by Kim & Kankanhalli (2009) with 24 statements was used. The scale has seven dimensions: user resistance, perceived value, switching benefits, switching costs, colleague opinion, self-efficacy for change, and organizational support. The target population of the study consists of the employees working at the technology companies in Istanbul. One of the pioneer companies of the information technology sector was selected as the sample group, and 220 employees attended the research based on voluntariness. SPSS 22.0 program was used for the analysis of the data. According to the results, it was found that the participants have low-level user resistance and adapt to the digital transformation at high-level generally. Furthermore, as the result of hypothesis tests, the findings indicate an effect of perceived value and switching benefits, self-efficacy on user resistance, self-efficacy and organizational support on switching costs, and colleague opinion on perceived value and switching benefits, were reached. At the end of the research, the findings were interpreted via previous research findings. Some recommendations were made for both future studies and the sector on adaptation to the digital transformation.

This research aimed to propose a model of knowledge utilization in social sciences based on the analysis of the views of Iranian academics. This research was conducted based on a qualitative approach using grounded theory. The structured interview method was used to obtain the opinions of the experts. The research population consisted of academic members of Social Sciences in Iranian universities. Due to the extensive statistical population, sequential theoretical sampling was employed. We selected 25 academics with the highest number of both publications and citations (hindex) as the interviewees to determine the reliability and validity of this research. The evaluative criteria proposed by Lincoln and Guba were adopted. Moreover, to analyze the collected data and reach a theory, Theoretical Coding was applied. After coding, classifying, and analyzing data, the research findings led to a model derived from the ideas of Social Sciences experts in four areas as Knowledge Production, Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Sharing, and Knowledge Utilization. According to the results achieved from analyzing the ideas of Social Sciences experts, knowledge utilization was determined as the central core of the model.

The importance of knowledge management as a competitive advantage is evident to everyone, and it is considered one of the critical factors of successful organizations. The capitalist view of knowledge management has led to the measurement of the return on investment resulting from it, and the return on investment has been recognized as a financial indicator for measuring knowledge management. What are the main components of knowledge management? Have components the same coefficients? The impact of the components is different and has different values. In order to achieve this importance, the present study was conducted to develop a return on investment model in knowledge management. This Practical research is mixed method, and in the form of exploratory schema in three stages, qualitative (using grounded theory and the use of interview tools), quantitative (using a descriptive method, a survey using questionnaire tool), quantitative (using a descriptive method, a survey using questionnaire tool) has been done. Each method is analyzed using, respectively, MAX QDA and SPSS software. The findings of the first stage of the study include identifying the benefit and costs of knowledge management. Then, the components validity is obtained, and then in the third stage, a coefficient is assigned to each of them. Identifying costs and benefit Components is a first stage achievement. Experts measured the validity of each component to identify components accurately. Furthermore, finally, in the third stage, each of these components was assigned a coefficient. The development of a new formula, taking into account each of these coefficients, is considered research innovation.

The study aims to determine if academicians from professional colleges use SNS to determine an association between demographic variables and factors. Variables and factors such as the purpose of SNS use, benefits of using SNS, improvement in factors of academic performance, challenges faced by academicians, and benefits of SNS in research work. The research method has used a survey with a questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed to the academicians in selected professional colleges in and around Pune city, and responses were collected. The study observed that most faculties from professional colleges have accounts and are familiar with different SNS. It gives the ranking of SNS by Garrett’s Ranking Technique as per the personal and academic use of SNS by academicians. Academicians get various benefits from using SNS, whereas they also face some challenges while using SNS. It is discussed with percentage analysis. Using ANOVA and PAIRED SAMPLE “t” TEST found a significant association between the Demographic variables and the factors under usage of Social Networking Sites. The factors especially considered towards satisfaction using Social Networking Sites by the academicians were analyzed using multiple regression analysis.

The Fundamental Reform Document of Education, IRI was approved by the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution in 2011. Based on different reports and studies, however, it seems that a decade after approval, not only the majority of its operational strategies have not been implemented, but its setting and establishment is still in a state of ambiguity. As school's educational staff are the most crucial element of implementing such a document, this survey measures school readiness and staff familiarity. In this case, the survey method was used comprises the number of 129 educational staff working in public and private schools at different levels elementary, middle, and high schools including girls and boys) was studied in Tehran and Kerman provinces. Results showed that educational staff is familiar with the Fundamental Reform Document of Education, its theoretical foundation, and subsequently with its six subsystems, respectively. The readiness of schools to implement the Fundamental Reform Document of Education is also as follows: 81% for the relationship between schools and institutions, 77% for educational staffs readiness, 76% fostering affairs, 73% for the preparedness of classrooms, workshops, and laboratories, 72% for teachers with professional experiences, 71% for access to internet infrastructure, 66% for sports space, facilities, and equipment, 65% for schools' institutional autonomy for decision-making, and 56% for financial resources. At the final stage of this article, we submitted a model for utilizing the school’s capacity to implement the Fundamental Reform Document of Education.

A lower frequency of writing errors facilitates the process of knowledge transfer. In this study, we scrutinized the medical journals highlighting the most frequent and critical writing errors in published medical papers of Iranian English journals. As a sample, 25 published articles were randomly selected from recent issues of five Iranian medical English ISI journals (2019). The frequency of discourse, lexical, grammatical, and mechanical errors was identified. In all five journals, more than 50% of errors are related to grammatical errors. The highest frequency of grammatical errors was in articles (79%), and the singular/plural errors had the lowest frequency in this category. Of Mechanical errors, the highest and the lowest errors were assigned to comma usage (25%) and spacing (5%), respectively. The discourse errors had the third position of error frequency among the journals (7.8%). Also, the lexical portion was without error in these journals. Moreover, there is a statistically significant relationship between the impact factors of journals and Grammatical errors (P<0.001). Statistically, no significant relationship was observed between Mechanical errors and the impact factors of journals (P= 0.57). The highest error frequency among the main sections of articles (introduction, method, result, discussion) was in the discussion section (42.6%), and the lowest error frequency was in the result section (15%). These shortages arose from the difference between the grammars of two languages (native and target language) and the unfamiliarity of academic authors from these linguistic points. Adequate language proficiency and proper use of grammar could help the authors to transfer their knowledge efficiently. The findings of this study can help minimize some language-related difficulties in writing scientific papers in all fields of study

The study aimed to investigate the relationship among workplace motivation, job stress, and job satisfaction of library professionals working in public sector university libraries of Lahore. In this regard, a quantitative research design was opted to conduct the survey using a structured questionnaire. The data were collected by personally visiting selected university libraries. The study's target population was professional librarians in thirteen public sector universities of Lahore, with 80 participants. The majority of participants were male, having more than ten years of experience. Most of them were in their middle career, having master's degrees and above qualifications with mostly regular job status. It had been found that workplace motivation and job satisfaction were positively correlated as these variables were increasing in the same direction. Job stress was found inversely correlated with workplace motivation and job satisfaction among library professionals. The regression analysis result showed that workplace motivation is a strong predictor of job satisfaction. The results will provide guidelines for library hirers and the library community to address their staff's significant job satisfaction factors. The study will help provide guidelines for university top management, library administration, and human resource experts by appointing the right person at the right place.

Due to limited time, physicians often find it challenging to find the exact answers to their questions among search engine results; however, question and answer (Q&A) systems can facilitate more rapidly identify accurate solutions. This study aims to develop and evaluate a Q&A system for physicians at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Four clinical and informatics experts and the two health information managers agreed on 19 features and themes throughout two focus group meetings. Subsequently, a system was developed on a MySQL database using the PHP web development language and then uploaded to the web. Finally, the system was opened up to 40 users and, over three months, evaluated using a community evaluation questionnaire and the six-dimension Users’ Experience Questionnaire. The focus group results in determining the features of the Q&A system consisted of 19 requirements. The average attractiveness, perspicuity, efficiency, dependability, stimulation, and novelty were equal to 1.76, 1.625, 1.9, 1.425, 1.475, and 1.375, respectively. The Q&A system improved the tasks such as share of knowledge, transfer of information, social partnership, and cooperation among users. The physicians were able to obtain the information they required through contact with their co-practitioners over the system.