What is a needs assessment? A needs assessment is the process of gathering and examining information to get a clearer and more accurate picture of an issue, challenge, or environment. In this case, the needs assessment will help you better understand the diverse community in which you want to conduct SNAP outreach. This information is gathered through a series of carefully crafted questions tha...

This article describes a pilot project of enhanced virtual reference services through a multifaceted model of services that includes the addition of Skype reference. The project was created as a response to a growing need for advanced liaison services to the College of Nursing at The University of Texas at Arlington, which predominantly consists of online students. The number of online nursing ...

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to investigate the benefits and limitations of using radio to communicate agricultural information to peasant farmers, and how radio can be successfully incorporated into agricultural extension service programmes. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative and qualitative research techniques were used and applied to gather, analyse and interpret data. Twen...

The paper describes an ongoing project that pursues the idea of query-driven data integration. Instead of first creating a common global schema and fetching, transforming, and loading the data to be integrated, we start with the queries. They are taken as a specification of information need and thus as the overall purpose of integration. Two repositories are being developed, one for all informa...

The article was, perforce, a brief one in which the main aim was to correct some common misunderstandings about preparation of LFA matrices. I tried to emphasize that the creation of a LogFrame should be ‘preceded by a small group of secondary stakeholders who should base their discussions on a thorough needs assessment (or problem tree)’ and I also emphasized the need for wider stakeholder ana...

The concept of using critical decisions as a basis for defining Information needs has been suggested by several authors. This article reports on results of a decision.oriented approach to planning for MIS. A structured group process Is used to generate both critical decisions and Information needs for a manufacturing firm. Results indicate that the decision approach is effective, particularly f...

Services are developed separately and without knowledge of all possible use contexts. They often mismatch or do not correspond exactly to the end-user needs, making direct composition without mediation impossible. In such a case, software adaptation can support composition by producing semi-automatically new software pieces called adaptors. Adaptation proposals have addressed the signature and ...

If we consider most current applications we can notice a lack of support able to adapt to the different information needs that different users may have regarding a certain topic. In this paper, we present a solution that integrates a virtual assistant, able to implement adaptive support, in an adaptable application and discuss the logical dimensions of the information that can be provided by th...