Shaheen Majid

Nanyang Technological University | ntu · Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information

In light of global calls for emphasizing innovative thinking and creative problem solving in elementary and secondary schools and a more collaborative role for school media resource libraries to support the new focus, a taskforce of four faculty members from the Division of Information Studies of Nanyang Technological University undertook to assess...

Although it is widely believed that information literacy (IL) competencies are useful in helping students perform better in their schoolwork and beyond, limited empirical evidence is available showing the relationship between IL competencies and IL education. While a lot of research has been done worldwide and most of the findings have proven that...

Purpose To investigate information literacy (IL) skills of secondary students in Singapore after integration of these skills into school curriculum. The study also explored cyber wellness skills of the students. Design/methodology/approach A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 14 secondary schools, located in different geographical...

Patients in Singapore with chronic conditions such as diabetes are encouraged to participate in patient-professional partnership activities because of rising health care costs and a shortage of infrastructure and human resources. This study explores the self-care and health information seeking behaviors of diabetic patients in Singapore, as well as...

In research as well as in clinical settings, health literacy is often measured using self-rated psychometric instruments. Research has, however, shown that although patients perform poorly on health literacy measures, over time, they tend to develop skills and strategies to empower themselves to manage their chronic disease conditions. In this stud...

Purpose Keywords search is intuitive, simple to use and convenient. It is also the de facto input interface for textual and multimedia retrieval. However, individuals often perform poorly when faced with exploratory search tasks that are common during learning, resulting in poor quality searches. The purpose of this paper is to examine how adolesc...

The purpose of this study was to investigate research data management RDM) activities undertaken by academics, researchers, and research students at Nanyang Technological University Singapore. An online questionnaire was used and 241 respondents participated in this study. It was found that most of research data produced were in MS Office (text, sp...

The proliferation of Internet has made information more accessible to many people, including self-directed learners to support their learning needs. With technology and the Internet’s omnipresent, students today have grown up and immersed themselves in technologies for leisure and learning. These younger information seekers appear to be comfortable...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess knowledge of Singapore Grade 5 (11 years old) students’ understanding and proficiency in basic information literacy (IL) skills of defining information tasks, selecting information sources, seeking information from sources and synthesising and using information. Design/methodology/approach A 38-item m...

The aim of this study was to assess the information literacy (IL) and cyber-wellness skills of secondary 3 (grade 9) students, who are aged 14-15, in Singapore. The Ministry of Education in Singapore has introduced aspects of IL in schools through incorporating components into the syllabi of various subjects. A pilot-tested online survey, validated...

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between five domain-specific skills of health literacy: Find Health Information (FHI), Appraise Health Information (AHI), Understand Health Information to act (UHI), Actively Manage One's Health (AMH), and E-health literacy (e-Heals), and health information seeking behaviors and t...

Librarians are expected to be expert searchers, and developing information literacy skills to navigate the vast world of information is a focus of most library and information science (LIS) programs. It is important to understand the information literacy and behaviors of LIS students to see if they are employing the skills they will need to assist...

The main objective of this study was to explore students' perceptions of knowledge sharing, their preference for participation in face-to-face and online discussion boards, motivating factors, and barriers to knowledge sharing. A questionnaire was used for data collection and 154 graduate students from two public universities in Singapore participa...

Librarians are expected to be expert searchers, and developing information literacy skills to navigate the vast world of information is a focus of most library and information science (LIS) programs. It is important to understand the information literacy and behaviors of LIS students to see if they are employing the skills they will need to assist...

The main objective of this study was to explore scholarly communication trends in the field of information literacy. A total of 1989 records from Scopus bibliographic database, published from 2003 to 2012, were analyzed. The Scopus database was preferred over the Web of Science as it provided considerably more hits for the phrase 'information liter...

Information Literacy (IL), as a key component of education for decades, has been underemphasized at the workplace. This chapter reports on a study aimed to explore workplace experiences of IL through the environmental scanning process adopted by the travel industry in Singapore. Some 42 travel agent companies responded to the survey, and 13 employe...

The main objective of this study was to explore students' perceptions of knowledge sharing, their preference for participation in face-to-face and online discussions, motivating factors, and barriers to knowledge sharing. A questionnaire was used for data collection and 154 graduate students from two public universities in Singapore participated in...

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ preference for participation in face-to-face and online discussions, and the factors that can either motivate or pose barriers to knowledge sharing. A questionnaire was used for data collection and 149 post-graduate students from two public universities in Singapore participated in this study....

The objective of this paper is to analyze the available literature on health information literacy of senior citizens from around the world and outline the major findings from this literature. A systematic review of literature from 2004 to 2014 was conducted using nine relevant databases, which yielded 42 quantitative studies, which were analyzed. T...

The study was conducted at the end of 2013 with collaborative efforts from a group of information literacy researchers, members of Singapore National Library Board, and child development experts in the Ministry of Education. Some 3435 students from 15 schools, spread across different geographical regions of Singapore, were sampled. Results of data...

Purpose – This study aimed to acquire knowledge about Singapore secondary school (ages 13 to 16 years old) students' skills in searching, evaluating and using information. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive instrument encompassing the basic information literacy (IL) skills, as well as a new dimension of ethical usage of information and...

Information Literacy (IL), as a key component of education for decades, has been underemphasized at the workplace. This chapter reports on a study aimed to explore workplace experiences of IL through the environmental scanning process adopted by the travel industry in Singapore. Some 42 travel agent companies responded to the survey, and 13 employe...

Information Literacy (IL) and Personal Information Management (PIM) are two closely related and overlapping concepts. However, most of the existing IL models and standards do not put adequate emphasis on relevant PIM skills. This paper provides an overview of different PIM techniques and discusses their relationship with IL competencies. Proper int...

The National Library Board (NLB) and Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore have collaborated to carry out a National Information Literacy (IL) Program for primary and secondary school students. The program involves developing a curriculum framework that can be introduced in specific school subjects where IL competencies can be nurtured. Surveys...

Measuring and assessing information literacy (IL) competencies is essential to understand its educational impact as well as to explore pedagogies to improve it. This study is the first to acquire knowledge about Singapore tertiary students' skills in searching, evaluating, and using information. A total of 534 students from the College of Humanitie...

Timely access to quality healthcare information during an outbreak plays an important role in curtailing its spread. The aim of this study was to investigate the information needs and seeking behavior of the general public in Singapore during the H1N1 pandemic. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. The convenience snowball sampli...

Knowledge sharing among peers plays an important role in students' learning process. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' attitude towards knowledge sharing with their class fellows, frequency and type of knowledge shared, preferred communication channels, and the factors likely to motivate or inhibit knowledge sharing. A pre-test...

Medical and healthcare literature is growing exponentially, and medical professionals, including nurses, need to possess basic literature searching skills to retrieve information for clinical decision making. This study aims to investigate the use of different medical information sources by nurses and their literature searching skills. Questionnair...

Appropriate soft skills play an important role in a successful career as well as during social interactions in the society. These skills are also highly sought after by employers recruiting fresh graduates. The main purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of the importance of soft skills for their education and employment. A...

Appropriately measuring information literacy (IL) skills is essential to understand their educational impact as well as exploring pedagogies to improve teaching of these skills. This paper reports findings of a baseline study to understand the IL level of secondary school students in Singapore. A comprehensive instrument encompassing a new dimensio...

Introduction. Environmental scanning is serving as an effective way for organizations to detect environmental signals and hence formulate adaptive strategies for survival and success. Prior studies have put much emphasis on the frequency of scanning, as it was found to be positively correlated with environmental uncertainty. However, the role of re...

Introduction. Environmental scanning is serving as an effective way for organizations to detect environmental signals and hence formulate adaptive strategies for survival and success. Prior studies have put much emphasis on the frequency of scanning, as it was found to be positively correlated with environmental uncertainty. However, the role of re...

Increased demand for medical or healthcare services has meant that nurses are to take on a more proactive and independent role intending to patients, providing basic treatment and deciding relevant clinical practice. This, in turn, translates into the need for nurses to be able to translate research and evidence into their practice more efficiently...

The external environment is becoming more uncertain and volatile. To be successful and retain competitiveness, organisations have to regularly detect external signals, systematically process and use such information. Environmental scanning is an effective way for organisations to adapt to their external environment by overcoming threats and graspin...

The success of tourism firms relies heavily on their ability to adapt to the changing external environments. Environmental scanning, as the acquisition and use of information about external events and trends, has received greater attention in the tourism management literature. This study investigated the environmental scanning initiatives of travel...

Traditionally librarians and educators have been using a variety of methods such as lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and hand-on sessions for imparting information literacy skills. An exciting addition to such initiatives is the availability of Web 2.0 applications. Among the Web 2.0 tools, YouTube is quickly becoming a new way of teaching in...

Evidence-based practice (EBP) provides nurses with a method to use critically appraised and scientifically proven evidence for delivering quality health care to a specific population. The objective of this study was to explore nurses' awareness of, knowledge of, and attitude toward EBP and factors likely to encourage or create barriers to adoption....

A study was conducted at Singapore's National University Hospital to elicit registered nurses' attitudes, knowledge, barriers, facilitating factors, education, and training regarding evidence-based practice. A 13-question survey that was administered to all registered nurses yielded 1,114 (75.4%) usable returns for analysis. Findings showed that Si...

Knowledge sharing is a key to effective learning. Students with positive attitude towards knowledge sharing are likely to take this behaviour to their workplace which could help achieve organizational knowledge management goals. The main objective of this study was to explore students' perceptions of class participation and its benefits, barriers t...

Active knowledge sharing is considered an important activity in the learning process. However until now, the focus of many studies has been on understanding the impact of information and knowledge sharing on the performance of corporate and public organizations. On the other hand, its implications in the educational arena have been relatively unexp...

The business environment is increasingly becoming uncertain and complex. Environmental scanning is a systematic way for organizations to detect changes, and hence formulate adaptive strategies for coping with uncertainties. Information literacy skills are required to conduct effective and efficient environmental scanning activities as it is an info...

The popularity and improvement in features provided by various Internet services are leading us to a situation where personal information items can be stored and managed online. Personal Information Management (PIM) refers to a set of activities a person performs in order to acquire or create, store, organize, maintain, retrieve, use and distribute...

The development of information technology and telecommunication has created both opportunities and challenges for business organizations. On the one hand, it provides various channels and applications for accessing, processing and distributing information; on the other hand, it imposes higher requirements of information literacy (IL) skills of empl...

Content analysis of job advertisements is considered a reliable method for determining the demands of job market. The aim of this study was to identify competencies required by knowledge management (KM) employers through analyzing job advertisements appeared in selected job portals. The study used 110 English language job advertisements from China,...

Due to rapid changes and more intense competition happening in today's marketplace, the business environment is increasingly becoming uncertain and volatile. As a result, the ability to conduct effective environmental scanning is becoming critical for organizations to survive and succeed. This study investigates environmental scanning and informati...

The concept of knowledge sharing is gaining popularity due to increased awareness and new initiatives in knowledge management. However, its implications in the educational arena have been relatively unexplored. The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions, nature and extent of knowledge sharing among graduate students in Singapore. A qu...

Several comprehensive information literacy (IL) standards have been developed worldwide for use in the education sector, specifically for students and teachers. Apart from the more generic International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) IL standards, such standards are more appropriate for their countries of origins. If these standards are...

Introduction. Peer learning is considered one of the effective techniques for imparting knowledge, particularly at higher education levels. The purpose of this study was to investigate students" perceptions of group projects, effectiveness of peer learning, factors considered while picking team members, and their satisfaction with contribution made...

Research has shown that mastering information literacy (IL) competencies helps students perform better academically or otherwise. However, there is limited evidence that indicates a relationship between IL teaching methods and IL competencies. This study investigates the impact of IL teaching that incorporates appropriate pedagogical approaches on...

The key for students of today to become independent learners and knowledge workers of tomorrow lies in being information literate. However, existing information literacy (IL) teaching approaches have not always been successful in equipping students with these crucial skills to ensure deep erudition and long-lasting retention. Hence, sound pedagogic...

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to investigate perceptions and stereotypes associated with the library and information profession and to determine whether the public image of library professionals has improved with the extensive use of ICT. Design/methodology/approach – The areas covered in this study include: perceptions of the nature of...

The current age of digitised information and networks has created a new demand for proficiencies and capabilities in information and communication technologies (ICT). However, it is often perceived that ICT proficiency equates to information literacy (IL), which actually encompasses a more holistic set of competencies where ICT literacy is only one...

Leisure reading contributes significantly to improving language competenciesof children. This study investigates the reading habits and preferences ofchildren, motivations behind reading, and their attitudes towards reading. Apre-tested questionnaire was used for collecting data and 440 upper primarystudents participated in the study. The findings...

Many studies have revealed that appropriate information literacy (IL) skills can improve the learning process, performance, and achievements of students and ultimately guide them in the desired direction of becoming knowledge workers. However, traditional methods of teaching IL have not always been successful due to several limitations, including s...

Purpose This paper aims to present the findings of a study that investigated the impact of information literacy (IL) teaching approaches, which are grounded in pedagogy, on students' level and applicability of IL competencies. Design/methodology/approach A quasi‐experimental control group study was carried out with 476 students, aged from 13 to 15...

Purpose – The objective of this study is to investigate the knowledge-sharing behavior of undergraduate students in Singapore and to cover areas such as the purpose of sharing knowledge, communication channels preferred for sharing, and factors that inhibit or motivate knowledge sharing among students. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire...

With rapid developments in information technology (IT) and the increasingly sophisticated abilities of IT users, schools have the inevitable task of integrating IT in their school curriculum. Owing to the prevalent use of educational technology in schools, it is often questioned whether information literacy (IL) is necessary in the school curriculu...

Purpose To investigate the type of information sources used by primary school students for project work, their preferred information formats and the importance and reasons for using certain information sources. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire survey. Findings It was found that the Internet was the most preferred information source for p...

With many countries facing restructuring of medical and healthcare institutions, increasing healthcare costs, and various infectious diseases and epidemics, such as avian influenza and dengue haemorrhagic fever, it is inevitable that healthcare information be a major tool in addressing these issues. Hospital professionals and healthcare providers m...

Ongoing initiatives that offer potential collaboration and cooperation among LIS educators, particularly in the Asia Pacific context, are identified and discussed. By no means being exhaustive, these areas include hosting and participating in workshops, symposiums and conferences; implementing a portal for education; developing a repository of lear...

Information literacy has been a popular slogan in the education sector since it was first used in the 1970s. Despite extensive recognition of the importance of information literacy in education and learning, its importance in the school curriculum has not yet been fully recognized. This paper discusses the importance of information literacy and the...

Research on the collaborative relationship between teachers and school librarians in the developed nations of the Western world, particularly in the United States, has shown that overall student achievement and performance improves significantly with increased collaboration. In Singapore, very little research has been conducted on the collaborative...

There has been a transformation in managers’ information seeking behaviour over the decades. Based on an extensive literature review, this article analyses the factors which have influenced managers’ choice of source preferences. The review reveals four key dimensions used to study source preferences, i.e. contextual, situational, personal/sociocul...

This paper reviews how the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), an intelligence unit within the US Army, has entrenched a unique knowledge reuse process into its modus operandi. It highlights several issues related to knowledge reuse, including the collection, distillation and dissemination of knowledge, the role of subject experts in the knowle...

Purpose – This paper presents the findings of a study that explores the use of school libraries and their resources by teachers, their level of collaboration with their school librarian, and the problems faced by them in using these libraries. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted and 76 teachers from seven schools in S...

In the past, the identification and selection of materials for children was a cumbersome task as adequate selection tools are expensive and difficult to obtain in developing countries. The Web has revolutionised the collection development process by providing access to up-to-date information about items, book reviews, and several other value-added...

The paper examines some of the issues involved in developing accreditation standards and procedures for Library and Information Studies (LIS) professional education programs in Southeast Asia. The accreditation standards of the American Library Association (ALA), Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), Chartered Institute of Library...

Due to brisk developments in information technology (IT), the shelf life of the library and information study degree is becoming shorter and shorter. New competencies are required by information professionals to maintain their competitive edge and work effectively in a rapidly changing environment. Library and information science (LIS) schools, due...

The aim of this study was to determine the type of information professionals sought by the employment market. Job advertisements provide an effective source for identifying core qualifications, competencies and experience required by employers. These also help to discover any gaps that may exist between education and training provision and employer...

Picture archival and communication systems (PACS) are being widely used in radiology departments for the storage and archiving of medical images of patients. On-site training for PACS users is often carried out shortly after the hardware installation. PACS users are considered proficient when the number of errors or “unspecified” examinations is mi...

This study investigates the information needs and information seeking behaviour of computer engineering undergraduate students at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. The purpose was to investigate the types of information sources used by the students, their preferred information formats, the importance of and reasons for using certai...

Little attention has been focused on the information needs and information-seeking behavior of health science professionals in developing countries, particularly in Malaysia. This study explores the information needs and seeking behavior of biomedical scientists at the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Malaysia, the oldest and leading medical r...

This study investigated those factors that contribute positively in shaping users’ perceptions of library effectiveness. A questionnaire-based survey of five major agricultural libraries in Malaysia was conducted. It was found that the adequacy of collections, services and facilities were closely linked to the perceptions of library effectiveness....

High hopes were attached to CD-ROM technology at its inception in bridging the gap between ‘information rich’ and ‘information poor’ countries. However, this is technology is entering the libraries of developing countries at a much slower pace than expected. This paper explores the use of CD-ROM in academic libraries of three South Asian countries,...