Upload
elom
View
24
Download
1
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Information literacy: A driving engine for economic success. An East-West /North-South comparison. Barbie E. Keiser [email protected]. Internet Librarian International London, October 2007. Impetus for this study Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Criteria for Market Attractiveness - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
Information literacy: A driving engine for economic success
An East-West/North-South comparison
Internet Librarian InternationalLondon, October 2007
Barbie E. [email protected]
Introduction to this work-in-progress
Impetus for this study Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Criteria for
Market Attractiveness Choosing nations
Central European Initiative (CEI) International Center for Promotion of Enterprises
(ICPE)
Why should we care? Inter-relationship of information literacy &
knowledge management
Research agenda
Research-in-progress focusing on three levels: nation/society, organization, individual
Characteristics of information literate societies, labor forces, and individual entities
Evidence of information literate societies, labor forces, and individual entities
Necessary elements and contributory factors
What constitutes economic success?
Comparing Central/Eastern Europe and older members of the EU
Specific opportunities with regard to information literacy
Socio-economic and political development are best advanced by...
People who recognize their need for information and can identify, locate, access, evaluate, and apply the needed information
Entities that organize and manage information so that their employees, suppliers, customers, and joint-venture partners can easily access and use it
An information literate society
Benefits Citizenry that can
actively participate in government decision-making
Ability to make use of e-government opportunities
Value analysis
Media-literate, informed voters
Productivity Citizens
Government workers
An information literate industry
Benefits
Easy access to industry from those abroad
Informed potential pool of investors
Value Analysis
Increased foreign trade & foreign direct investment
An information literate entity
Benefits
More efficient workforce, experiencing less frustration
Individual companies able to take advantage of opportunities in an expeditious manner
Value analysis
Productivity of workers Options for
teleworking/ telecommuting dependent on broadband or other high-speed Internet access Carbon footprints
Measuring the impact of information literacy
Quantitative Factors
Economics & finance Business, labor & employment Population demographics Education & literacy Libraries & library staff education Infrastructure Information & technology
Qualitative Factors
Tax incentives & small business development programs
Information literacy policies Continuing education and
training opportunities for lifelong learning (upgrading skills)
Countries in question
CEE
Albania Belarus Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Moldova Poland Romania Serbia/Montenegro ex. Kosovo Slovak Republic Slovenia Ukraine
ICPE Albania Algeria Bangladesh Bosnia-Herzegovina Congo Congo D.R. Guinea Guyana India Iraq Macedonia Nepal Slovenia Somalia Sri Lanka Syria Tanzania Venezuela Zambia
Central and Eastern European countries displaying evidence of information literacy
Lesser Greater
Greater
Size & strength of country economies
Inve
stm
ent i
n in
form
atio
n lit
erac
y
Where ICPE member countries stand
Lesser Greater
Greater
Size & strength of country economies
Inve
stm
ent i
n in
form
atio
n lit
erac
y
Economic & financial indicators
Quantitative
Total Gross Domestic Product
Per capita GDP Services as a percent
of GDP Foreign direct
investment
Qualitative
Active stock exchange
VAT/taxation policies
Business, labor & employmentQuantitative Total employment
Percent of population employed/unemployed
Percent in agriculture, industry, services
Size of business by number of workers employed
Knowledge workers (white collar vs. blue collar employment)
Education levels of employees (primary, secondary, tertiary)
Productivity of workers New business start-ups
Qualitative Rationale Active Chambers of
Commerce, industry associations, and (international) trade show events
Efforts to re-skill the labor force
Population demographics, current & projected
Quantitative
Population, total Population, 0-14 Population, 15-64 Population, 65+ Demographic projections Immigration/emigration
rates
Qualitative Rationale
Current “market” for information literacy programs School age
Labor force
Older adults
Education & literacyQuantitative
Literacy rates Expenditures per student (primary, secondary,
tertiary levels) Graduation/completion rates Availability of high-speed Internet access in
schools Number of book publishers Serials (ISSNs) Number of scientific (peer-reviewed) journal
titles Database producers/vendors Number of bookstores Average cost of a book
Qualitative Rationale
Determines national progress Enables people to be better
citizens Permits greater economic
mobility throughout the society Fosters competencies
Information creation/development is related to education
Depends upon the quality of education and styles of teaching employed (critical thinking)
Libraries & library staff educationQuantitative
Number of libraries (public, academic, special, and school) per 1000 users
Volumes in collections High-speed Internet access in
libraries
Employment in libraries Number of library school programs
(undergraduate & graduate level) Average number of students in each
program Graduation rates
Qualitative Rationale
Trained information professionals that can serve as a resource for information literacy training in future
Potential locations for information literacy programs in various types of libraries
Infrastructure
Quantitative
Availability (& reliability) of electricity
Telephone mainlines/employee
Telephone mainlines/1000 people
Investment in high-speed digital access or WiFi
Qualitative Rationale
Telecommunications is a key component of access to e-information
Information & technology
Quantitative
Computer penetration/employee
Computer penetration/1000 people
Cell phone & PDA usage Employment in computing
sector (programming) # Internet Service Providers Cost per CPU Patents held/patents pending
Qualitative Rationale
Knowledge construction
Qualitative criteria Small business
development programs
Assistance provided Financial
Direct loans Tax incentive plans
Guidance
Clusters
Information literacy policies
Continuing training opportunities General business/management
skills Information technology skills Teaching & library staff Government-sponsored Association/organization-
sponsored Industry-specific
Commercial/entrepreneurial ventures
Vendor-sponsored
What contributes an information literate population
Access to quality education
Ability to read and write English
Multi-lingual ability Cross-border search &
retrieval
Demographics Use of a Roman-
based alphabet
Existing obstacles (and efforts by countries to address them)
What an information literate society will mean to the countries of Central/Eastern Europe
Increased competitiveness Make additional capital available Improve general business practices and
company operations Increase knowledge creation within each
country
Interesting models
Nordic countries India Singapore
Remaining challenges
Education and training
Awareness at the ministry-level
What nations can do
Support and encourage lifelong learning Develop an information literacy policy for
the nation Invest!
Alter taxation and other regulatory policies
What industries can do
Build industry-specific portals with an information literacy component
Customize generic education/training programs for your specific industry
Understand that policies can influence practice
What individual entities can do
Organize and maintain organizational caches of information/knowledge that are easily accessible to all (employees, suppliers, customers) with built-in guidance functions for novice/occasional users
Arrange both formal and informal education and training opportunities
What you can do as…
Database producers and vendors Website designers Information professionals Entrepreneurs