Open Password – Wednesday September 29, 2021
#979
Future of library and information science – Information literacy – Information literacy – Library and information science – Disinformation – ISI 2021 – B. Jörs – “New Responsibility” Foundation – Fake news – A. Meßmer – A. Saenlaub – L. Schulz – Measurability – Areas of competence – Information literacy according to men and women – Age groups – Information literacy and formal education – Online and offline-savvy subjects – Deficits – Advertorial – Misinformation – Conflicts of interest in sources – Media and search engine market – Journalistic independence – Quality assessments – Likes – Trustworthiness – Hate messages – Qualifications of Teachers – Digital Divide between teachers and students – Contagion patterns – Social Media Network Analysis – Recommendation algorithms – YouTube – TikTok – A. Echtermann – Facebook – Martina Merkle – Migros Industrie – The art of decision – Steep templates 2021 – Sabine Graumann – Ralf Hennemann – GBI- Genios – Information Communication Working Group – Sports Documentation – Zoom Conference – vfm – Hiltrud Lehmkuehler – Artificial Intelligence Conference on Search, Data and Text Mining, Analytics and Visualization
Future of library
and information science:
information competence or information literacy
The Great Misunderstanding and Omission
of Library and Information Science
in the age of disinformation
Part 4: Making “information literacy” measurable
Additional comments on the “16th International Symposium of Information Science” (“ISI 2021”, Regensburg March 8th – March 10th, 2021)
By Prof. Dr. Bernd Jörs, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences
In the final part 4 of this series on the criticism of the “information literacy” approach in library and information science and its suitability for detecting and “fighting” disinformation or fake news (Open Password – to be added), selected research results are presented. These come from the study “Source: Internet? – Digital news and information skills of the German population being tested”. The study is sponsored by the Berlin Foundation “New Responsibility”, a research “think tank for society in technological change” ( https://www.stiftung-nv.de/de/publikation/quelle-internet-digitale-nachrichten- and information skills of the Germans ).
All results of the study are available for download on the “New Responsibility” Foundation website: https://www.stiftung-nv.de/de/publikation/quelle-internet-digitale-nachrichten-und-informationscompetenten-der-deutschen . The test can also be carried out by anyone to check their own “information competence”: https://der-newstest.de/ ).
When reviewing and analyzing the results of this “world’s first test on information and news skills” (according to the authors Anna-Katharina Meßmer, Alexander Saenlaub and Leonie Schulz, page 4), a variety of valuable findings and insights into “information skills” and especially their measurability with regard to the field of application of disinformation. These results are application-oriented and a good basis for developing practical guidelines.
The study broke new methodological ground and achieved a high level of representativeness of the survey (n = 4,194). In the online tests (see Part 2, Open Password – to be added), all five competence areas were given a maximum of six points each (0 points: “very low competence” – 30 points: “very high competence”).
The main research results are:
1. On average, the test subjects scored 13.3 points out of the maximum achievable 30 points in the online tests for information literacy. That doesn’t seem like much if you assume that many people believe that they have a high level of information literacy.
2. The bell shape of the overall results for news and information literacy is shown by the fact that…
… 11% have only “very low information literacy” (0 – 6 points)
… only 3% have “very high information skills” (24.1-30
points)
… a good half of those surveyed have “medium to high information literacy”
(52%).
3. The male subjects scored an average of 14.2 points out of 30 maximum possible points for information literacy, the female subjects scored 12.5 points.
4. The group of 18-29 year old test subjects achieved an average of 15.2 points, while age groups over 60 and over 70 achieved an average of 11.9 – 12.9 points. Information literacy tends to increase as we move towards younger age groups.
5. As expected, there is a high correlation between information literacy and formal education (low school education: 11.2 points – middle school education: 12.7 points – high school education: 16.2 points). The study thus confirms the corresponding results of the IEA/ICILS study from 2018 (#Germany “International Computer and Information Literacy Study” – ICILS). The study by the “New Responsibility” foundation reads: “The lowest score was achieved by poorly educated people under 40 with 10.7 points, while younger people with a high level of schooling achieved 16.5 points” (page 23). Education, not necessarily age, makes the big difference.
6. Online-savvy test subjects achieved an average of 14.3 points, while offline-savvy test subjects achieved 12.5 points. However, a differentiation is necessary here: At 12.5 points, engaging in intensive discussions on social media channels does not necessarily result in higher information literacy, at least not in comparison to subjects who engage in active discourse both online and offline (14 points ).
7. A majority of test subjects had the following information skills: recognizing the reliability and (non-)neutrality of information from a trustworthy source – not forwarding unverified information/messages – recognizing “sponsored posts” on advertising-financed social media channels – the knowledge of market-relevant media brands – the social relevance of information (page 29).
8. From the authors’ perspective, which deficits in the areas of information literacy should be urgently remedied? They are these:
• … distinguish between advertising, information, disinformation as well as between opinion, fact-oriented and opinion-oriented communications. Only 23% of the test subjects recognized an advertorial on welt.de (page 51). 18% viewed a column as misinformation (page 53).
• … to evaluate the quality and completeness of information/news. Only 28% of the test subjects recognized that a report was incomplete” (page 56).
• … “identifying or naming specific conflicts of interest of sources”.
• … knowledge of the media and search engine market.
• … knowledge about the “independence of journalistic work” is poor.
• … to take note of labels on websites as support for quality assessment and interpretation of information (page 30).
When interpreting their results, the authors attribute existing deficiencies in the detection of disinformation to the following factors, among others: lack of caution – carelessness – lack of mental energy on the part of users to check information. The authors know that the “mechanisms of today’s media environments promote a dispersion of attention,” “which ultimately promotes the spread of disinformation” (page 29).
On the other hand, the authors do not explicitly address the effect of spreading false information, which has been well studied in behavioral science, as a tool for generating personal attention, increasing reach and generating likes. However, this connection is relevant because the number of “likes”/comments was viewed by a good quarter of the test subjects as an indicator of the trustworthiness of information (page 41). This is a weak point in the study.
The authors criticize the ongoing digitalization discussion for the fact that technical operating skills and the evaluation of information and its sources have so far hardly been brought together. Illegitimate communication intentions as well as the will to disinformation and the spread of hate messages hinder the development of information literacy. The authors also criticize the inadequate qualifications of teachers on questions of information and media literacy and diagnose a “digital divide” between teachers and students because students are significantly more active in visual media environments than their teachers (page 32) .
The authors recommend that measures to promote information literacy include personal behavior and the personal environment for both students and adults. In order to proceed here successfully, however, some (prior) knowledge is required, for example about the structure and interactions (“contagion patterns”) of social networks (social media network analysis) or about recommendation algorithms for e-commerce or YouTube/TikTok -Video productions (watch time problem). Ultimately, according to the results of a study by A. Echtermann, “Facebook and YouTube… are the most important platforms for misinformation” (Alice Echtermann: “Data analysis: Facebook and YouTube are the most important platforms for misinformation”; in: correctiv.org from January 21st 2021 – https://correctiv.org/faktencheck/background/2021/01/21/datenanalyse-von-correctiv-faktencheck-facebook-und-youtube-sind-die-mainen-plattformen-fuer-falschinformation ).
The results presented from the study by the “New Responsibility” Foundation are only a partial collection of the numerous profound results on “information literacy” in general and on “information literacy” as a tool for curbing disinformation. It is commendable how comprehensive, detailed and methodically clean the authors’ approach was. The exemplary function of this study applies particularly to library and information science, as long as it wants to be active in research and teaching in the area of “information competence”.
Letters (1)
Invitation to the “Art of Decision”
Dear Doctor. Bredemeier,
Migros Industrie is one of the largest private label producers in the world. Decisions are made here almost every day as to which products will be brought to market and which will not. But what does it take to make such a decision?
Dr. Martina Merkle, senior consultant in the internal consulting team at Migros Industrie, will present best practice examples and explain what is important if you want to implement the formula “Data – Insights – Growth” sustainably.
Join us on October 20, 2021, when everything revolves around “The Art of Decision” and the question of what influence information professionals have on decision-making in companies. Look forward to exciting insights, inspiring lectures and controversial discussions with us.
More information and tickets: https://steilvorlagen-2021.xcom.live/?ZG_PORTAL=NL_GENIOS
On behalf of GBI-Genios and the Information Transfer Working Group, greetings
Dr. Sabine Graumann
Graumann Consulting Services
Ralf Hennemann
Head of Marketing & Sales, GBI-Genios
Letters (2)
“Faster, higher, stronger” also
in sports documentaries
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to draw your attention to the following seminar:
vfm seminar sports documentation, 23.-25. November 2021 (Zoom).
“Citius, altius, fortius” is not only the motto of the Olympic Games, it also applies to sports documentaries. What is done here is different from the other documentation areas; sports documentaries are often pioneers: faster, higher, stronger not only affects the use of new technologies, but also the willingness to be active outside of office hours and to work closely with the editorial teams to work together.
That’s why we would like to finally dedicate a separate seminar to sports documentaries again after 2015. The focus is on exchange, insight into working methods, cooperation on major events, recycling and current technical possibilities. The seminar will take place via Zoom from November 23rd – 25th, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The cost of the seminar is €350. The detailed program will be published in mid-October. The number of participants is limited to 20! You can register directly here : buero@vfm-online.de
We look forward to seeing you!
Best regards, Hiltrud Lehmkuehler, office vfm
Letters (3)
Artificial Intelligence Conference on Search,
Data and Text Mining, Analytics and Visualization
Dear Colleagues
Don’t miss the online “Artificial Intelligence Conference on Search, Data and Text Mining, Analytics and Visualization” (October 4-5, 2021) only a few spots left. The program is looking good
–> www.ai-sdv.com
Companies that register 3 people from the same company will only pay two registrations. Bookings for multiple attendees must be received at the same time and be invoiced on the same invoice. Multiple bookings can be done online or ask for the booking by contacting.
Kind regards Christoph Haxel, Dr. Haxel Consult, 69117 Heidelberg
International News
Digitization of De Gruyter Book Archive Completed
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MSCI Launches Implied Temperature Rise to Help Investors Align Their Portfolios With Global Climate Goals
MSCI, a provider of decision support tools and services for the global investment community, has announced the launch of its Implied Temperature Rise (or “Temperature Rise”) solution, equipping investors globally with data to map how companies in their investment portfolios are aligning with global temperature targets. The company-level dataset will cover nearly 10,000 publicly listed companies based on the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index.
Voxy Partners with Coursera to Provide Career Development Opportunities
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Wolters Kluwer Launches Free Audit Data Analytics Library
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Springer Nature Joins Pistoia Alliance
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LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Ford Motor Company Enter Partnership
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Smarp Merges with COYO
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Twitter in $810 Million Settlement of Shareholder Suit on Growth
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Google’s R&D Division Experiments with Newsletters Powered by Google Drive
Following entries into the newsletter market from tech companies like Facebook and Twitter, Google is now experimenting with newsletters, too. The company’s internal R&D division has a new project called Museletter, which allows anyone to publish a Google Drive file as a blog or newsletter to their Museletter public profile or to an email list.
Follett School Solutions Exits the Book Fair Business
Follett School Solutions will be exiting the book fair business, a decision prompted by thousands of fair cancellations due to the pandemic. FSS is expected to continue delivering book fairs through mid-November of this year.
Piano Announces New Digital Analytics Solution, Challenging Google and Adobe
Piano announced the launch of Piano Analytics. Piano Analytics generates a single source of truth in reporting, for segments, or for targeting by unifying data, including marketing analytics, product analytics, content analytics, transaction data and first-party data.
ZoomInfo Launches ‘The Pipeline’ Publication
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Source: Outsell
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