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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a domain independent, cost-effective, time-saving and semi-automated ontology generation framework that could extract taxonomic concepts from unstructured text corpus. In the human disease domain, ontologies are found to be extremely useful for managing the diversity of technical expressions in favour of information retrieval objectives. The boundaries of these domains are expanding so fast that it is essential to continuously develop new ontologies or upgrade available ones. Design/methodology/approach: This paper proposes a semi-automated approach that extracts entities/relations via text mining of scientific publications. Text mining-based ontology (TmbOnt)-named code is generated to assist a user in capturing, processing and establishing ontology elements. This code takes a pile of unstructured text files as input and projects them into high-valued entities or relations as output. As a semi-automated approach, a user supervises the process, filters meaningful predecessor/successor phrases and finalizes the demanded ontology-taxonomy. To verify the practical capabilities of the scheme, a case study was performed to drive glaucoma ontology-taxonomy. For this purpose, text files containing 10,000 records were collected from PubMed. Findings: The proposed approach processed over 3.8 million tokenized terms of those records and yielded the resultant glaucoma ontology-taxonomy. Compared with two famous disease ontologies, TmbOnt-driven taxonomy demonstrated a 60%–100% coverage ratio against famous medical thesauruses and ontology taxonomies, such as Human Disease Ontology, Medical Subject Headings and National Cancer Institute Thesaurus, with an average of 70% additional terms recommended for ontology development. Originality/value: According to the literature, the proposed scheme demonstrated novel capability in expanding the ontology-taxonomy structure with a semi-automated text mining approach, aiming for future fully-automated approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study is to design a conceptual model for the application of semantic-social technology in digital libraries in Iran. Methodology: This applied research was conducted using Delphi and analytical survey methods. The tool used was a researcher-made questionnaire, which included three parts: the structure of semantic-social technology architecture, semantic-social technology tools, and the function of semantic-social technology. Descriptive statistics, structural equation modeling and partial least squares modeling (PLS-SEM) were used to analyze the statistical data. Findings: In the final research model, most items had a high factor loading and in the main components of the research, including the architecture structure of semantic-social technology, tools of semantic-social technology and the function of semantic-social technology, important items from the perspective of the research community were identified. Accordingly, in the architectural structure of semantic-social technology, the use of RDF schema to describe and describe RDF-based resources, the use of SIOC technology to link blogs, forums and mailing lists had the highest factor loading. Also, in the part of semantic-social technology tools, in the final conceptual model research, video mashups and map mashups had a higher factor loading than others. In the functional part of semantic-social technology, using the URL standard to identify and locate a resource in digital libraries and retrieval function, using RDF tools and using Sub and Super techniques between concepts to retrieve information faster has the highest factor loading. Moreover, in the parts of data and resources and content, the use of RDF tools to exploit multimedia and non-textual resources due to the diversity of available information and in the function of organization and storage, the use of ontology to manage digital resources had higher factor loading. In addition, in the interaction function, the items of communication between the chain of information producers, collectors and users through social semantic web tools had the highest amount of factor loading. Concusion: Considering the results obtained in the proposed model of this research and the items that have gained a high factor loading in the proposed conceptual model, shows that in semanticsocial technology in digital library software, what makes this technology progress and success is the correct creation of digital library software. The basis of digital library standards, attention to the XML markup language, Dublin Core, etc. and its integration with semantic tools such as Web 2.0, hashtags and folksonomy, metadata, etc. in line with social technologies such as social networks, mashups, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Despite the strong reasons for using knowledge management to improve organizational performance, there are various obstacles to implementing knowledge management in organizations. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of implementing the knowledge management process in the Nomads Affairs Organization of Iran. Methodology: This descriptive-survey study is based on the combined method of TOPSIS and structural equations, and its statistical population includes all employees of the Nomads Affairs Organization of Iran in 1398 (2018). The sample size was 302 people according to Cochran's formula; stratified random sampling method was used in the analysis. To collect data, a 60-item questionnaire was used, which after applying the TOPSIS method, 24 indicators that did not receive the required average to enter the model were removed from the model. The 36-item questionnaire was approved by experts and the validity of the structure was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis and their reliability was calculated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. To analyze the data, SmartPLS software was used to model the structural equations. Findings: The research findings showed that organizational culture, organizational structure, motivation, and technical factor have a positive and significant effect on knowledge management. Conclusion: To implement the knowledge management process in the Nomads Affairs Organization of Iran, the factors "organizational culture", "organizational structure", "motivation", and "technical" are effective and in the meantime, the "social factor" should be used as a mediating variable. By increasing the organizational culture among employees, knowledge management can more easily go through the implementation and execution stages. Considering the effect of the variable of organizational structure on knowledge management and also in order to achieve the goals and mission of the organization, it is necessary for senior managers to organize and select the appropriate structure of knowledge management. According to the research results, the motivation variable has a higher score and this means that managers try to create more trust and motivation in employees. The results showed that the IT variable has a direct effect on the implementation of knowledge management. Given the impact of staff on the implementation of knowledge management is necessary; Recruit employees with high knowledge and expertise to add new knowledge to the knowledge within the organization. Considering the effect of social factor as a mediating variable on knowledge management and also in order to achieve the goals and mission of the organization, it is necessary to strengthen social capital and mutual trust among their employees. Organizational investment in the development of social capital, through effective communication training, improving the communication process and interactions between employees and managers inside and outside the organization, creating a culture of cooperation, mutual trust and teamwork, all contribute to the development of social organization. And it will accelerate the movement of the organization towards an innovative and learning organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to present a model for open-data management for developing innovative information flow in Iranian knowledge-based companies (businesses). Design/methodology/approach: The method was mixed (qualitative-quantitative) and data collection tools were interview and questionnaire. The qualitative part was done to identify the influential components in open data management (ecosystem) using the grounded theory method. A questionnaire was developed based on the results of the qualitative section and the theoretical foundations, and the quantitative section was conducted by analytical survey method and the model was extracted using factor analysis and the integration of the qualitative section. Findings: Seven categories of entrepreneurial incentives, sustainable value, innovative features, challenges and barriers, actors, business model and requirements are the main categories that should be considered in open data management (ecosystem) with all categories of research have a significant relationship with open data management. Originality/value: The study focused on open data management from an innovation paradigm perspective and its role in developing innovative information flow. The study aimed to identify the key components of the open data ecosystem, open-data value creation, and the need to use the "open data" approach to develop data-driven and knowledge-based businesses in Iran–an emerging approach largely ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and design the axial coding pattern of the factors affecting the unplanned use behavior of users of the academic libraries and information centers. Design/methodology/approach: The study as an applied research with a qualitative approach employed the grounded theory. The data collection tool was a deep and semi-structured interview. The interviews data were analyzed and coded during three stages of open, axial and selective coding using the MAXQDA 10 qualitative analysis software. The research population consisted of faculty members and experts in three areas of library and information science, management and psychology. Using the combined targeted sampling method (targeted and then the snowball), 12 subjects were selected as the sample size. Findings: According to the research findings, the factors affecting the unplanned behavior of users in the use of academic libraries resources and services were identified as factors related to technology, environmental factors, information resources, information services, human resources, individual features, time position factor, cultural factors and social factors. Accordingly, the axial coding pattern of this type of behaviors was designed. Research limitations/implications: The research limitations include the lack of theoretical basis related to the unplanned behavior issue in the field of library and information science and the lack of full familiarity of most of the experts in the field of library and information science with this topic. These factors lead to the necessity of explaining the subject under discussion. Originality/value: The unplanned behavior of clients can be utilized to persuade users to use the information resources and library services so that the costs spent on their preparation and collection will be justifiable. The current research addressed this aspect of the unplanned information-seeking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge is the real and necessary requirement of today's societies, and we benefit from information and knowledge in our lives and promote our health through it. Health is a category that is important in life and several factors can affect its formation, sustainability and promotion. Libraries, and librarians as facilitators of knowledge dissemination, can promote social health through managing and transforming knowledge into wisdom, providing intellectuality, and internalizing knowledge in human and throughout the community. The purpose of this study was to explain the rational use of libraries as the main causes of social health by using a qualitative method and resorting to grounded theory approach. Participants in this study were 22 educated people at least with PhD degree, which were considered to be rich in information on the research subject. The participants were selected by purposeful sampling method. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews while the interviews were ended in saturation phase or in the theoretical adequacy. Data analysis was performed using the Strauss and Corbin method or three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. After analyzing data, 300 initial open codes, about 100 merged codes, 20 sub-sub categories, 9 sub-categories, and 3 main categories were appeared. The main category was “The wisely services of libraries as the predisposing factors of social health." The findings showed that libraries can play an effective role in the formation and promotion of social health using their resources and librarians' capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to apply some concepts of actuarial statistics to the authorship of Iranian ISI papers in the field of chemistry based on Price’s model. The study determines scientific birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate, natural increase rate and life expectancy.Design/methodology/approach Price maintained that authors in each given period in any field fall into four categories including newcomers, transients, continuants and terminators. He suggested that actuarial statistics could be applied to authorship to calculate death rate and birth rate in scientific fields. A total 25,573 papers written by 59,661 Iranian chemistry authors between 1973 and 2012 were downloaded from Web of Science (WoS) and were subjected to statistical analysis.Findings The average birth rate was 66.7 per cent, the average death rate was 19.4 per cent, infant mortality rate was 51.2 per cent, average natural increase was 47.3 per cent, the average life expectancy was 1.98 years and the longest scientific age was 22 years. The results show that although a large number of people start their scientific activity, the number of those who terminate their activity in the same year as they start (infant mortality rate) is also large and little continuity exists in the publishing activities of Iranian chemists.Research limitations/implications The findings have implications for the planning of human resources in science. They could help maintain a stable scientific labor force and decide for instance whether a larger number of scientists should be trained and hired, or the barriers should be removed so the existing scientists can work for more years. The limitation is that the study is restricted to ISI articles, although they are not the only kind of scientific output.Originality/value This is the first study of its kind on Iranian scientific output. It shows that the overall labor force in the field of chemistry in Iran was not satisfactory, as the majority of authors in each period are transients. There is a need for better planning for the labor force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human social life and social health is significant. Wisdom and intellectuality can affect individual and social life of the human and help to form his social life. The aim of this study was to investigate effect of wisdom and intellectuality on a healthy social life. This is a qualitative study with Grounded theory approach. The participants were 59 individuals online on the web who were selected through theoretical sampling in purposeful method. The data were collected by a semi-structured interview through an online interview using Q & A Yahoo! Answers software (yahoo answers). The interviews were analyzed and necessary concepts were extracted from the literature by Straus and Corbin Model. Most of the participants in the study mentioned the sub-categories of social life dimensions such as having knowledge, experience, understanding, and insight (37.73%). Some other concepts were also emphasized such as the use of knowledge with 6.6% and making a right decision at the right time as effective on life with 5.66%. From 88 concepts, 7 sub-categories and 6 main categories were formed. The wise man is humble, teachable, and willing to learn. He is not conceited and arrogant but, he is sage. The wise man brings the knowledge into practice and uses it in the context of his life and society to experience a life with deep understanding through wisdom and intellectuality; this can, in turn, create a life with the sense of satisfaction and form a social healthy life, as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the implementation of sustainable management, libraries move towards sustainability and are converted into green libraries. The present study aimed to propose a model for sustainable management in Iranian libraries. This research was a qualitative and applied study. In order to obtain the required data and information, deep and semi-structured interviews with twelve experts in the fields of information and knowledge science and sustainable development were used. The interviewees were selected by a purposeful sampling method. For data analysis using grounded theory methodology, the topics raised by interviewees were coded and categorized in three steps. Fifty-five concepts from the coding stage were classified into six subcategories. In the final paradigm of sustainable management, these subcategories were classified into context, intervening and causal conditions, strategies, and consequences, which act in relation to the main category of sustainable management in order to establish a green library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays people are seeking health information to raise their awareness. They use many ways to get this information. This study examines the health information channels used by users of public libraries. The population of the present survey consisted of 461 users of public libraries throughout the country, randomly selected in a two-stage cluster sampling method. The questionnaire data were analyzed using SPSS. Cronbach's alpha value was obtained as 0.89. Friedman test showed that there is a significant difference between the preferred channels of women and men for getting health information. Most health information was obtained through TV and the Internet channels. Most of the health knowledge was gained by users through parents, family members and self-study. Libraries played a second role after parents, schools, experiences of visiting doctors and self-study. Users preferred printed materials in the libraries to get health information. Television and the Internet were the most-used information channels. The public library as one of the channels of getting health information can provide reliable updated information to the users. Strengthening the print resources in the health field and introducing and evaluating scientific updated databases must be performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to identify the impressive factors on choosing the type of the libraries and information centers and determining their significance and prioritizing them and finally determining the priority of each type according to the identified factors to implement geographic information system (GIS) in the library researches. Design/methodology/approach -- A combination of documentary, Delphi and analytic methods was used in the current study. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the topic in mind, different dimensions of the issue were firstly identified through reviewing the research literature. Then, the Delphi panel was formed and the factors and indices for choosing and prioritizing the libraries were extracted and finally the analytic-hierarchy and Topsis method was used for analyzing and ranking the data which were collected through a questionnaire. In this way, the instrument was devised by the researcher and the population under the study consisted of the professors in two fields of LIS and the GIS. The criteria include the "access to the library", "being active", "the number of sources", "the size and space of the place", "the library equipment", "compatibility" each one include eight, seven, five, five, two and five factors, respectively. Findings -- In the Delphi study, six factors including 32 indices were determined for prioritizing the libraries to implement the GIS in the library researches. The analytic-hierarchy method was applied to compare the factors correspondingly in terms of the degree of their significance. In this way, "access to the library sources", "being active", "the number of sources", "the size and space of the place", "the library equipment" and "compatibility" were identified as the factors on choosing the library type with the values of 0.39, 0.24, 0.16,0.08,0.07 and 0.06, respectively. Then, several types of the libraries were ranked and the findings show that academic libraries are prioritized as the first one for conducting the GIS projects. Originality/value -- Employing the factors resulted from the conducted researches is recommended for choosing the libraries to implement the GIS, so that the researches in this interdisciplinary field become more organized. To extend the current study, the extracted factors and indices can be sent to the professors of the LIS from the other countries to elicit their insights and thereby, designing a standard international checklist for choosing the libraries and information centers in the GIS projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. This article examines characteristics of the external environment of library and information centres of Islamic Azad University in Iran, focusing on perceived environmental uncertainty and perceived source accessibility and quality, and their impacts on the amount of scanning and the frequency of information source use. Methods This research surveyed the library managers of ninety-four units of Islamic Azad University. Data were collected by a mail questionnaire with a response rate of 90.42%. Findings. Results show that there is a positive correlation between respondents’ perceived environmental uncertainty and the amount of scanning. Additionally, perceived source accessibility and quality are associated more with frequency of information source use in environmental scanning than with perceived environmental uncertainty; and managers mostly rely on personal and internal information sources. Conclusion. This research shows that: libraries as organizations are sensitive to their external environments, and variable, complex and important events occurred in it; managers of academic libraries feel uncertainty and complexity in their decision making and rely on information sources; and the use of library and electronic information services as information source in environmental scanning ranked in a high level compared to other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The present paper aims to compare the awareness and ability of medical students in using the electronic resources of the Integrated Digital Library (IDL) portal of Iran. Design/methodology/approach – The current research involves a comparative applied survey. The survey was conducted through a structured questionnaire circulated among 300 medical students sampled from three major Iranian universities. A stratified random sampling method was used. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, average and so on) have been used to analyze the data using the Microsoft Excel software. Findings – The awareness and utilization level of students in the three universities were lower than the average and those who are not aware of the existence of the IDL portal used general search engines to meet their information needs. The respondents admitted that their lack of awareness about the IDL was their most significant problem. Among the investigated universities, students of Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) used the End Note, Elsevier, Thomson, Scopus and Proquest databases most. All the students expressed the effect of the IDL on the academic activities as much as 64 percent in Iran University of Medical Science (IUMS), 72 percent in Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) and 66 percent in Shahid Beheshti Medical University (SBMU). The mean scores for utilization of searching strategies were 2.43, 2.89 and 2.87, respectively, for IUMS, TUMS and SBMU. Originality/value – A few attempts have been made to investigate the awareness, use and research ability of students in universities but this is the first of its kind to compare universities within the Integrated Digital Library. The paper will be useful for those in decision-making roles and provides insight for the people responsible for IT application. It is hoped that this paper will assist administrators of the university libraries in developing a more complete understanding of students' electronic information needs and barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses library and information science in Iran as of April 2012, with a focus on the external environments of academic libraries and environmental scanning performed by managers of central libraries from non-profit Islamic Azad Universities (IAU). Topics include determining the role of the library within its environment, incorporating rules of evolutionary biology into organization studies, and perceived strategic uncertainty (PSU). Additional information is presented on mail questionnaires and the rate of change in environmental sectors.

Copyright of Information World / Bilgi Dünyası is the property of University & Research Librarians Associations (UNAK) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents information about a study done at Iran's Islamic Azad University which looks at research papers done in the Library and Information Science department from 1997 to 2007 regarding critical thinking, gender, and education. It focuses on critical thinking skills which have a positive impact on improving the writing process, most notably in student compositions. Topics include a lack of correlation between learning methods and critical thinking, the presence of a correlation between critical thinking and age and gender, and a correlation between curriculum type and critical thinking.

Purpose - The present paper's purpose is to review the literature related to quality assessment and performance evaluation in academic libraries, whether empirical or theoretical, and to extract key issues. It aims to explore which criteria exert a significant relationship with the academic libraries' performance quality; identify a set of criteria that appears to be useful for assessing the quality of academic libraries ITBS; and use these criteria to develop an instrument or evaluation checklist for evaluating the quality of academic libraries ITBS. Design/methodology/approach - Related keywords such as "academic libraries research", "academic libraries evaluation", "academic libraries assessment" were searched on the web as well as some leading databases. In addition, available library resources as well as online book databases were consulted. Key issues were identified, categorized and discussed to develop the evaluation checklist suggested by the paper. Findings - A number of indicators have been developed and tested in quality assessment studies debated in the paper. The literature reveals that evaluating ITBS in academic libraries should be considered to a greater extent and thus, more evaluation studies on the basis of validated tools are needed. Research limitations/implications - The review does not claim to be comprehensive. Originality/value - The paper can serve as a research roadmap concerning quality assessment of ITBS in academic libraries for researchers, managers, academic authorities and users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of IFLA Journal is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A letter to the editor is presented regarding the impact of mass media on public health promotion.