Abstract
In the first paper in this issue, ‘Exploring the role of social media in the G2C relationship: A South African perspective’, Tendani Mawela of the University of Pretoria reports on a qualitative study which assessed how government agencies based in South Africa used social media applications in the government to citizen (G2C) relationship for electronic participation. The study found a discrepancy between metropolitan municipalities and provincial government departments with regard to the adoption of social media, whereas social media were shown to have become essential components of the daily lives of citizens. Citizens were willing to use social media to engage with government departments but were not receiving satisfactory responses.
From Africa we move to Europe, In ‘Information about the European Union in an acceding country: A survey of needs and information seeking behavior of public library users in Croatia’, Sanjica Faletar Tanacković, Dino Radmilović and Boris Badurina; of the University of Osijek report on an exploratory study of information needs and information seeking behavior related to the European Union (EU) by public library users in Croatia. The findings revealed that respondents wanted to better understand the European Union and its effects on their everyday lives. They preferred sources such as the Internet and TV/radio to access EU information; libraries and official EU publications were rarely used.
We move to Asia with the next paper, ‘A study of active usage of mobile instant messaging application: An attachment theory perspective’, by Tailai Wu and Yaobin Lu of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Xiuyuan Gong of the University of Science and Technology of China, and Sumeet Gupta; of the Indian Institute of Management, Raipur. Their paper studies the antecedents of active usage of mobile instant messaging (MIM) applications based on an attachment theory perspective. Responses from Chinese active smartphone users indicated that MIM identification, self-congruence and design aesthetics influence emotional attachment, while mobility and design aesthetics influence functional dependence. Interactivity and feedback did not have any significant impact on functional dependence.
We return to South Africa with the next paper, ‘Trust and online consumer health service success: A longitudinal study’, by Jian Mou of DHgate.com and and Jason F Cohen of the University of the Witwatersrand. The researchers examined consumers’ early stage trust beliefs for effects on perceptions of information and system quality, later stage trust, satisfaction and usage intentions in the context of online health services. The results from a sample of undergraduates show that trust in an online health service website influences trust in the e-service provider at both early and later stages. Perceptions of system and information quality depend on trust, while trust and satisfaction are important to continued usage intentions.
The next paper takes us from South Africa to West Africa. In ‘Freedom of information laws and information access: the case of Sierra Leone’, Proscovia Svärd of the University of South Africa reports on a desk study of Sierra Leone’s Right to Access Information (RAI) Act of 2013. While the Act guarantees access to government information and imposes a penalty on failure to make information available, the country’s state institutions are still weak and suffer a lack of transparency and accountability. The paper aims to show that it is not enough to enact freedom of information laws if there is no political will to make government information accessible, an information management infrastructure to facilitate the creation, capture, management, dissemination, preservation and re-use of government information and investments in education to promote an information culture.
We remain in West Africa with the final paper in this issue. In ‘Awareness and sources of contraception information among female university students in Nigeria’, Olubanke M Bankole of the Federal University Oye Ekiti Library and A.O. Onasote of Olabisi Onabanjo University Library report on an investigation of the level of awareness and information behaviour on contraception among Nigerian female university students. The level of awareness of contraception among respondents was very high; most respondents first learnt of contraception at secondary school, but their most preferred sources of information were physicians/health workers, parents and university lectures/lecturers. The major barriers faced in seeking information on contraception were inability to get reliable and accurate information, lack of time and fear of embarrassment.
We welcome in this issue a Commentary by Ian M Johnson of The Robert Gordon University on ‘The intelligent university library: Developing a more comprehensive option for the researcher’. The contribution aims to highlight the importance of seeking alternative technological approaches to the optimization of university libraries’ resources and services, and discusses briefly the changes that are taking place in universities and the importance for libraries of being seen to contribute to facilitating those changes.
In the Developing Latin America column in this issue, Juan D. Machin-Mastromatteo and Basilio A. Martinez-Villa consider ‘Subordinated complacency, ferocious rivalry, or equitable work: On the independence and separation of State powers’ in the region.
Finally, in his column in this issue, Msafiri asks ‘Do Egyptian children have imaginary friends?”
In the next issue
Articles due to appear in the next issue (Vol. 33, no. 3) include: “The mediating effect of flow experience on social shopping behavior’, by Chia-Lin Hsu, Kuo-Chien Chang, Nien-Te Kuo, and Yi-Sung Cheng; ‘Identifying and prioritizing critical factors for promoting the implementation and usage of big data in healthcare’, by Moon-Koo Kim and Jong-Hyun Park; ‘Academic domains as political battlegrounds: A global enquiry by 99 academics in the fields of education and technology’ by Abdulrahman E. Al Lily and other authors; ‘Mobile phones in the diffusion of knowledge and persistence in inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa’, by Simplice Asongu and Jacinta C. Nwachukwu; ‘Cloud computing adoption model for e-government implementation’, by Fathey Mohammed, Othman Ibrahim, Mehrbakhsh Nilashi, and Ensaf Alzurqa; ‘Investigating personal information management motivation in a mandatory adoption of content management systems’, by Yujong Hwang; and ‘Information literacy of women on family planning in rural communities of Oyo State Nigeria’, by Janet O. Adekannbi and Olumide Morakinyo Adeniran. Complementing the Developing Latin America column in the next issue, Msafiri will look at ‘Cuba from two perspectives’.