Characterization of Small-Scale Farmers and Assessment of Their Access to Crop Production Information in Selected Counties of Kenya

Small-scale farming accounts for 78% of total agricultural production in Kenya and contributes to 23.5% of the country’s GDP. Their crop production activities are mostly rainfed subsistence with any surplus being sold to bring in some income. Timely decisions on farm practices such as farm preparation and planting are critical determinants of the seasonal outcomes. In Kenya, most small-scale farmers have no reliable source of information that would help them make timely and accurate decisions. County governments have extension officers who are mandated with giving farmers advisory services to farmers but they are not able to reach most farmers due to facilitation constraints. The mode and format of sharing information is also critical since it’s important to ensure that it’s timely, well-understood and usable. This study sought to assess access to geospatial derived and other crop production information by farmers in four selected counties of Kenya. Specific objectives were to determine the profile of small-scale farmers in terms of age, education and farm size;to determine the type of information that is made available to them by County and Sub-County extension officers including the format and mode of provision;and to determine if the information provided was useful in terms of accuracy, timeliness and adequacy. The results indicated that over 80% of the farmers were over 35 years of age and over 56% were male. Majority had attained primary education (34%) or secondary education (29%) and most farmers in all the counties grew maize (71%). Notably, fellow farmers were a source of information (71%) with the frequency of sharing information being mostly seasonal (37%) and when information was available (43%). Over 66% of interviewed farmers indicating that they faced challenges while using provided information. The results from the study are insightful and helpful in determining effective ways of providing farmers with useful information to ensure maximum benefits.

An investigative report on information literacy training of individual farmers in central China and on issues related to remedial measures:A case study of farmers information literacy in a few districts of Hubei province

This paper introduced first a conceptual framework of 'information literacy training of farmers' based on the widely recognized understanding of the term 'information literacy(IL).' It then followed with a discussion based on these three authors' field investigation regarding to Hubei peasants' current information literacy training in such perspectives as information consciousness,information ability and ways and means of information access.It concluded by pointing out some of the more apparent factors that had adverse impacts on the farmers' information literacy training in central China and suggested a few possible remedial measures to guide the course for those who are involved in such undertakings.

Exploring International Media and Information Literacy Initiatives: Insights From DW Akademie’s MIL Model

Media and Information Literacy(MIL)is one of the most important topics in today’s mediatized world.Under the leadership of United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO),many international organizations in the world,as foreign donors,annually announce many projects and grants for the promotion and development of the field of MIL in the countries of the world.One of the main actors of this movement is DW Akademie with different media and MIL projects several countries of the world.This research paper delves into the role of DW Akademie’s MIL model in shaping a media-savvy generation.The study explores the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of Deutsche Welle(DW)Akademie’s MIL model,analysing its effectiveness in fostering media literacy skills.The research employs a multi-faceted approach,incorporating case studies to assess the model’s impact across diverse demographics.The paper also considers the model’s alignment with global educational policies and proposes recommendations for its integration into broader frameworks.By investigating DW Akademie’s MIL model,this research contributes to the ongoing discourse on media literacy education,providing valuable insights for educators,policymakers,and researchers.The findings offer a nuanced understanding of the model’s position in cultivating a media-savvy generation poised to navigate the complexities of the information age.

Necessary prerequisites for evidence-based practice:results of investigating nurses'informatics competency and information literacy skills

This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between nursing informatics(NI)competency and information literacy skills for evidencebased practice(EBP)among intensive care nurses.This cross-sectional study was conducted on 184 nurses working in intensive care units(ICUs).The study data were collected through demographic information,Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment Tool(NICAT),and information literacy skills for EBP questionnaires.The intensive care nurses received competent and low-moderate levels for the total scores of NI competency and information literacy skills,respectively.They received a moderate score for the use of different information resources but a low score for information searching skills,different search features,and knowledge about search operators,and only 31.5%of the nurses selected the most appropriate statement.NI competency and related subscales had a significant direct bidirectional correlation with information literacy skills for EBP and its subscales(P<0.05).Nurses require a high level of NI competency and information literacy for EBP to obtain up-to-date information and provide better care and decision-making.Health planners and policymakers should develop interventions to enhance NI competency and information literacy skills among nurses and motivate them to use EBP in clinical settings.

China’s Perspectives on the Modern Educational Value of Critical Information Literacy

Critical information literacy is a new and important direction of information literacy education for university students in the new media era.By comparing critical information literacy between China and the West,combining with the research on information literacy education in China in the past 20 years,and based on the three major relationships that Chinese philosophy is concerned about that people need to face in the world of life,i.e.,the individual and the self,the individual and nature,and the individual and the society,this paper defines critical information literacy as that individuals,as information subjects,discover,select,confirm,and evaluate the information they are exposed to by obtaining and discriminating the content elements of the information world(information sources,information,and information assets)and using critical thinking skills and methods,creatively interpret or solve the relevant problems arising from the interaction between individuals and self,individuals and nature,individuals and society,and form the literacy that represents the knowledge,ability,attitude,habit,and level of the information subject through continuous reflection and practice.In order for human beings to better understand the world and construct it responsibly,critical information literacy can play a greater role and educational value.It not only helps contemporary college students build knowledge of“good questioning”and enhance their“reasoning”skills,but also encourages them to maintain a“firm standpoint,”cultivate a habit of“healthy skepticism,”and enhance their“decision-making”skills.

Evaluation and Empirical Research on Teachers’ Information Literacy in the Context of Smart Education

The development of smart education has led to the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence with education.It is a prerequisite for teachers to have high information literacy for conducting education and teaching work.This study conducted a questionnaire survey on 412 teachers in a certain area.The results showed that teachers’information literacy is above the middle level,and there are significant differences in information literacy between teaching experience and educational background.The evaluation showed that information ethics,information awareness,and information application have a significant positive impact on professional development,and information knowledge and information awareness have a positive predictive effect on information ethics.

Current Situation of Information Demand of Farmers in Taihang Mountain Area: A Case Study of Pingshan County in Hebei Province

Since the reform and opening-up,economy of mountain areas in China has realized considerable development.However,due to such factors as terrain,traffic,and individual differences,compared with plain and coastal areas,mountain areas still lag far behind.In recent years,informationization construction of China develops rapidly,but it nearly stagnates in mountain rural areas.Information has become an essential factor restricting economic development of rural areas.Based on the survey of current information demand of farmers carried out in Pingshan County in Hebei Province in 2010,this study came up with relevant recommendations,in order to speed up development of rural economic in mountain areas,narrow the regional gap,improve living condition of farmers in mountain areas,and increase income level of farmers in mountain areas.

Analysis of Farmers' Needs for Forestry Information and Technology in Yunnan's Hot Zone: Based on Empirical Survey in Menglian County

Lack of public forestry information and techniques has restricted the development of forestry management and the income increase of rural farmers in hot region of Yunnan province. Therefore it is necessary to provide forestry information and techniques to rural areas so as to compensate for the information gap between urban and rural areas. Based on the survey about farmer demand for information and technique in Menglian County,the paper analyzed the supply methods and demand characteristics of forestry information and techniques. The results showed that the farmers had very strong demands for forestry information and techniques with diversified trend. But the farmers got the information with backward method and single service supply approach,and it lacked effective expression mechanism for their demands.

Farmers’ Access to Agricultural Information Sources: Evidences from Rural Pakistan

The current study was conducted to probe farmers’ accessible agricultural information sources in rural areas of Pakistan. For this purpose a random sample of 160 households from four districts of the Punjab province of Pakistan was selected. Data were collected using validated and expert reviewed questionnaire with the help of interview method. The results revealed that majority of farmers (47.5%) ranked neighbor-friends-relatives as first source of information while 31.9% of farmers ranked this source as second and 33.7% farmers’ ranked it as third major source. With contrast to this very less farmers (10%) ranked agricultural extension staff as first information source. Keeping in view the study results, the performance of extension staff is not encouraging;therefore government should plan and launch a policy to foster performance of public agricultural extension system to fulfill the advanced technological needs of farmers to flourish sustainable agriculture and rural development.

基于知识创新的媒体与信息素养(Media Information Literacy)的高等教育模式研究

根据国际教育界的最新共识——全球媒体与信息素养(MIL)的评估标准,结合目前国内外的研究现状,进行比较分析,确定大学生的MIL的评估标准与方法,以我校的一校实践数据为例,说明MIL的用户教育对于改善学生的专业学习能力和知识创新的能力具有积极的作用,大量的实践数据的研究分析还有待进一步的教育实践验证。

A Scientometric Study of Digital Literacy,ICT Literacy,Information Literacy,and Media Literacy

Purpose:Digital literacy and related fields have received interests from scholars and practitioners for more than 20 years;nonetheless,academic communities need to systematically review how the fields have developed.This study aims to investigate the research trends of digital literacy and related concepts since the year of 2000,especially in education.Design/methodology/approach:The current study analyzes keywords,co-authorship,and cited publications in digital literacy through the scientometric method.The journal articles have been retrieved from the WoS(Web of Science)using four keywords:"Digital literacy,""ICT literacy,""information literacy,"and"media literacy."Further,keywords,publications,and co-authorship are examined and further classified into clusters for more in-depth investigation.Findings:Digital literacy is a multidisciplinary field that widely embraces literacy,ICT,the Internet,computer skill proficiency,science,nursing,health,and language education.The participants,or study subjects,in digital literacy research range from primary students to professionals,and the co-authorship clusters are distinctive by countries in America and Europe.Research limitations:This paper analyzes one fixed chunk of a dataset obtained by searching for all four keywords at once.Further studies will retrieve the data from diverse disciplines and will trace the change of the leading research themes by time spans.Practical implications:To shed light on the findings,using customized digital literacy curriculums and technology is critical for learners at different ages to nurture digital literacy according to their learning aims.They need to cultivate their understanding of the social impact of exploiting technology and computational thinking.To increase the originality of digital literacy-related studies,researchers from different countries and cultures may collaborate to investigate a broader range of digital literacy environments.Originality/value:The present study reviews research trends in digital literacy and related areas by performing a scientometric study to analyze multidimensional aspects in the fields,including keywords,journal titles,co-authorship,and cited publications.

Relationship between clinical belonging,professional identity,and nursing information ability among nursing interns:Model construction

BACKGROUND Clinical belonging refers to the feeling that clinical medical staff feel recognized and accepted by others or groups.The level of clinical belonging of nursing interns affects students’learning motivation and confidence,which in turn affects their clinical practice behavior.AIM To explore the effects of professional identity and nursing information ability on clinical belonging among nursing interns and establish a relationship model for these factors.METHODS The researchers used the convenience sampling method to select 682 nursing interns from China.The survey was conducted using a general information questionnaire,clinical sense of belonging scale,nursing information ability self-assessment scale,and a nursing student professional identity questionnaire.The mediating effect of nursing information ability between their professional identity and clinical sense of belonging was analyzed using SPSS 21.0 and the path analysis in structural equation modeling.RESULTS The total scores of clinical belonging,professional identity,and nursing information ability of nursing interns were(104.29±13.11)points,(57.89±7.16)points,and(70.29±6.20)points,respectively.Nursing information ability had a direct effect on the clinical sense of belonging(effect value=0.46,P<0.05).Occupational identity had a direct effect(effect value=0.52,P<0.05)and an indirect effect(effect value=0.21,P<0.05)on clinical belonging.CONCLUSION Nursing administrators in nursing colleges and hospitals should take effective measures to improve the professional identity and nursing information ability of nursing interns,as well as the clinical sense of belonging among nursing interns.

Nursing Students’ Experience with Information Literacy Skill

This study examined the searching skills and extent of usage of electronic databases by Nursing, Midwifery and Public Health Nursing students in the University of Health and Allied Science (UHAS). The focus was on forty (40) level 300 students drawn from a universe of two hundred and forty six (246) of the School of Public Health (SPH). The study used quantitative method approach and the survey instruments were questionnaire, interview and observation. The data collected were analyzed and classified into the following themes: usefulness, extent of use, determinants of use of e-databases, searching skills, and main drawbacks of learning information literacy skills (ILS). Although all the respondents strongly agreed that e-databases are indispensable for academic and professional practice, findings revealed that majority of them have low quality of searching skills and that accounts for the sparse use of the e-databases. This positive association is proven by Pearson’s chi square test (0.000). The study also established that students’ attitude, academic loads and methodology of teaching were the challenges hindering the acquisition of ILS of students. As a consequence, the study recommends that Academic librarians should intensify their education on e-databases, the development of research guides and encourages stronger collaboration with faculty members in the teaching of ILS so that student nurses would be more adept in searching for information to enhanced scholarship and professional practice.

Empirical research on impacted factor of farmer＇s willingness for purchasing information Based on the survey data of Hebei province

Farmer＇s willingness for purchasing information, an important factor of farmer＇s information demand, was analyzed by logit model, according to the survey data of 535 farmers from eleven cities in Hebei province. The result showed that 6 factors had a significant influence on it, that is, education of farmers, per capita income of farmers, the affordability of information risk, the proportion of agricultural labor households, the type of agricultural production and the rural information service stations. On the basis of these, the related policy recommendations were proposed.

A comparative analysis of information literacy curriculum standards in the educational programs of high schools in China and in the United States

Our study aims to take a closer look at China's current information literacy(IL) program standards at secondary schools and to analyze their level of success and/or failures in a comparative way with those of the United States in terms of fulfilling their each other's mission-oriented mandates. Our research findings show that China's current IL standards of high schools contain a disproportionate emphasis on information technology(IT). Moreover, the stipulations of these IL standards are narrowly construed and without being solidly grounded on a broad and comprehensive educational perspective. We also suggest that there are two underlying causes for this set of unsound IL standards in China.Firstly, there is a lack of collaboration between two major competing forces engaged in the curricular development and research of IL in China: Those professionals in educational IT discipline vis-à-vis those in Library and Information Science. Secondly, library professionals have a very limited influence on major socio-cultural policies, even at their own institutions. As a result, this paper recommends the following three possible measures,which may help remedy this situation strategically: 1) Establishing a set of new IL curriculum standards based on an IL-centered educational perspective; 2) establishing a teacher-librarian's training program to promote school librarians' role in IL education; and 3) strengthening the research and development of an online IL education program and an accompanied evaluation mechanism.

Language Teacher's Information Literacy in the ICT context

With the rapid development of Information and Communication Technology(ICT),the modern information and communica tion media have been changing the rationale of learning and teaching.Under such circumstances,a person's,especially an educator's in formation literacy plays an important role in their personal and professional development.This essay discusses the influence of the new challenge on EFL(English as a foreign language) teachers'professional development.EFL teachers should be fully empowered to be infor mation literate language educators in the curriculum innovation of TEFL(teaching English as a foreign language).It is suggested that EFL teachers'awareness,attitudes,and personal needs should be taken into account in the process of integrating ICT into their professional practice and self-development.

试对“Information Literacy”的几种中文译名辨析

本文通过对“InformationLiteracy(文中简称为IL)”几种中文译名(信息识知、信息文化、资讯素养、信息素养、信息素质)的辨析,最后得出了使用”信息素质“作为IL的中文译名是一个比较准确,符合中国国情并同国际接轨的中文对应词。

Influence of Information Literacy Skills on Postgraduate Students’ Use of Electronic Resources in Private University Libraries in South-West, Nigeria

The introduction of new technologies has had a significant influence on teaching, learning and research activities in universities. This has offered university libraries opportunities to provide information resources in a variety of formats. This study investigated the influence of information literacy skills on postgraduate students’ use of electronic resources in private university libraries in Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research design. The study population comprised 2805 postgraduate students in five private universities offering postgraduate programmes in South-West, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used in the selection process. A purposive selection of four faculties from each of the five universities was carried out. Proportionate sampling technique was used to select the sample size of 550 postgraduate students as the respondents for the study. Findings revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between information literacy skills and use of electronic resources (r = 0.28, p < 0.05). The study concluded that the utilization of electronic resources promoted access to current information among postgraduate students in the selected private universities in South-West, Nigeria. The study recommended that the management of private university libraries should ensure a continuous provision of electronic resources with adequate information communication technology tools to facilitate their use.

The Educational Role of Library: Information Literacy, Competence, and Standards

This paper deals with the educational role of library, especially university library, and in connection to this, information literacy, competence, and standards in information science. Microcomputers and their current application allow students to use them in laboratories, lecture halls, and libraries;software that are so developed that they allow to various types of computers (micros, picos, or hand-held computers) easy integration with larger systems. In this context libraries, as institutions become one of several available nodes in the information network, the new organization of teaching requires that teachers and students are computer literate requires libraries to provide methods and techniques for handling, through expert systems, their diverse searches, and similar (video disc, for example). Along with terms informatics and information science, there is also the term informatology which denotes theory and practice of emission, transmission, accumulation, selection, and absorption of information, the so-called ETAKSA complex. This paper, therefore, will be discussed communication and communication processes in university libraries that take place using new types of media, which we jointly referred to as information science and in the sea of definitions;we can say that we have added another.

Media and Information Literacy in Inclusive Education: A Team Teaching Concept at the Technische Universitat Dortmund

There is a desideratum in the research about the interdependencies of inclusive education and media education. Digital media can facilitate individualized and cooperative learning. Additionally, digital media can be used to promote inclusion. However, which factors influence the acquisition of media and information literacy in inclusive education? Comparative international studies, e.g., the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), show how social challenges, such as participation and handling heterogeneity at school, can be addressed through media. In numerous studies, it becomes apparent that German teachers do not sufficiently see the potential of digital media, especially for the improvement of learning opportunities for individuals with diverse learning requirements. German teachers are not well able to apply digital media appropriately in their lessons. Teachers need to be qualified and to design modern education with accessible media. In Germany, the ratio between available computers and pupils (1:4) is far better than the rate between teaching with and without computers. According to the teacher’s reports, only 9% of teachers are using digital media daily. Approximately 40% use digital media seldom or never. It seems that the cause is a skeptical attitude towards media among teachers, especially in humanities. That may result from missing didactical competences regarding digital media. The idea of Technical Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and extending that explanatory model for teachers’ competencies on the inclusive practices builds the theoretical background for the design of joint seminars by the Research Center Youth-Media-Education as part of the Faculty for Cultural Studies and the Research Cluster Technology for Inclusion and Participation at the University of Dortmund. Prospective teachers should become familiar with this way of collaboration. Already for four years now, a teaching team from these two departments designs collaborative lectures. Inclusive teaching and learning in different contexts are practiced in tutorials with practical approaches as well. In tandems, the students develop a learning situation at school or extracurricular institutions. Afterward, they present it. The presentation focuses on the concept, its teaching and learning conditions, and competence orientation as well as opportunities and limitations.