ResourceShelf » ‘Google Generation’ is a myth, says new research

 

‘Google Generation’ is a myth, says new research

A new report, commissioned by JISC and the British Library, counters the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation’ – young people born or brought up in the Internet age – is the most adept at using the web. The report by the CIBER research team at University College London claims that, although young people demonstrate an ease and familiarity with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to asses the information that they find on the web.

The report ‘Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future’ 35 pages; PDF) also shows that research-behavior. “These findings add to our growing understanding of subjects that should concern all who work in further and higher education – the changing needs of our students and researchers and how libraries can meet their needs.”ur traits that are commonly associated with younger users – impatience in search and navigation, and zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs – are now the norm for all age-groups, from younger pupils and undergraduates through to professors.

This report shows the many roles the info professional can and needs to play in an age when many think all answers are only one-click away. Btw, Google is a name grabber but this paper is more about online and web info in general.

Source: JISC and The British Library

ResourceShelf » ‘Google Generation’ is a myth, says new research

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Tools for Open-Access Government: Wikis, Search Engines, Databases

Tools for Open-Access Government: Wikis, Search Engines, Databases 

Tools for Open-Access Government: Wikis, Search Engines, Databases

This week saw good news and new thinking on the power of technology to foster open and accountable governance.

“New technology may be changing the relationship between democracy and expertise, affording an opportunity to improve competence by making good information available for better governance, ” wrote Beth Simine Noveck in presenting possibilities for “Wiki-Government” in the latest edition of Democracy (via cairns).

In a related post, Noveck points to a recent report from the Center for Democracy and Technology and OMB Watch on the difficulty (or often, impossibility) of using major Internet search engines to find government information, despite the requirements of the E-Government Act of 2002.

But at least one government agency is moving forward to make useful data available to the public through the Internet. USASpending.gov provides detailed information on where Federal budget dollars go, and allows queries for contractors and the recipients of agency grants. The site also includes an API for developers and tech-savvy citizens to retrieve data dynamically and manipulate it in ways  unanticipated by the authors of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, the legislation that initiated the project. The site is a collaboration between OMB Watch, and the Office of Management and Budget, with support from the Sunlight Foundation (via the Sunlight Foundation blog).

Tools for Open-Access Government: Wikis, Search Engines, Databases