כנס צייס Economics of information Goods: An interdisciplinary Subject for Israeli LIS and MBA Curricula Dr. Noa Aharony Library and Information Studies, Beit Berl College Dr. Daphne Raban Graduate School of Management, U. of Haifa

כנס צייס Changes in the Information Landscape and in LIS Education  In the past:  Information-related subjects were taught mostly in LIS programs  The traditional focus of LIS was on containers rather than on content  Librarians were traditionally concerned with describing, storing and disseminating information products

כנס צייס Trends in LIS Education: The Kaliper Report (Durrance, et al., 2000)  Change from a library-focus model to an information-focus paradigm  Increased user-centeredness and increased interdisciplinarity  LIS programs are increasing the investment in and infusion of Information Technology into their curricula

כנס צייס Additonal Trends:  Information is taught in various disciplines:  The role of information in creating power and wealth is attracting the attention of numerous programs such as:  computer science  business schools  communications  schools of library and information science (Rehman, 2000).

כנס צייס What is: “Economics of Information Goods”?  Learn how information is similar to and different from other goods in markets  Learn what influences the value and price of information  Examples of Subjects Covered –Trading for $$$ versus free sharing – Anderson’s Switch –Bundling –Versioning –Lock-in –Network rules –Ownership rights –Value creation and enhancement –Subjective versus objective value

כנס צייס Our Assumptions  We believe that learning the economic aspect of information should be an integral part of information-related programs  We propose that gaining a good understanding of the rules of information economics is important for the survival of librarians and information professionals : –"Technology changes, Economic laws do not" (Shapiro and Varian, 1999)

כנס צייס Learning Strategies: Deep and Surface  Biggs' teaching- learning model (1993)  A student's approach towards the learning process is a combination of the motivation and the strategy that he or she adopts during the learning process  The deep learning strategy  The surface learning strategy

כנס צייס Our Research Hypotheses  H1: There is a significant difference in the attitudes towards information-related subject areas between students, lecturers, and information professionals.  H2: There is a significant difference in the attitudes towards information economics in two different curricula: a business school and an information studies curriculum.  H3: There is a significant difference in the attitudes towards information economics between two practitioner sub-groups, academic librarians and information professionals from the business/industry sector.

כנס צייס Our Research Hypotheses – cont.  H4: A deep learning strategy is associated with higher attitude scores towards information-related subject areas among students than a surface learning strategy  H5: A deep learning strategy is associated with higher attitudes scores towards information economics among students than a surface learning strategy.

כנס צייס Method Sample:  Practitioners: 31 academic librarians, 28 information professionals  Students: 43 information studies, 44 business school  Lecturers: 22 information studies, 12 business school

כנס צייס Research Tools  A personal details questionnaire  A subject-area attitude questionnaire: 5 Factors –InfoEcon, CI, InfoMgmt, Search, MBA  An information economics attitude questionnaire  A learning strategies questionnaire: 2 Factors –Deep and Surface

כנס צייס Results  H1: Rejected for the combined factors (no significant diff. between groups, overall mean score=3.89); Accepted for Search and MBA  H2: Rejected for staff, staff+students; Accepted for students (business>InfoStud.)  H3: Accepted, (InfoPros>AcadLibr.)  H4: Students were found to be deep learners (mean score=3.37) rather than surface learners (mean score=2.11) …cont.

כנס צייס Results – cont. H4: correlations between learning strategies and subject areas 6.4% 13.4% 7.8%7.5%8.7%

כנס צייס Results – cont. The mean score on the Information Economics Attitude Questionnaire was 2.91 (N=88, S.D.=0.73). Four statements(1,2,4,9) received the highest scores ranging from 3.20 to H5: Accepted. The deep learning strategy is correlated with the Information Economics attitude questionnaire (R=0.31, p<0.01; 12.4% of the variance explained by the regression model).

כנס צייס Discussion  H1: –No diff. overall is surprising and encouraging, shows interest and openness –Diff. for Search (InfoPros>IS Students) and MBA (Students, Staff>InfoPros)  H2: –Business Students>IS Students, however both scores were high suggesting awareness  H3: –Business IPs>Acad. Libr., as expected. If we are to train students for the wider job market, the need for InfoEcon is clear.

כנס צייס Discussion – cont.  H4: –Master’s students tend to be deep learners –Trend: Positive correlations with deep learning, and negative correlations with surface learning  H5: –Deep learners, such as Masters’ students in both programs, had more positive views on InfoEcon, indicating a thirst for fundamental understanding of the driving force of the information economy

כנס צייס Thank You! Dr. Noa Aharony Library and Information Studies, Beit Berl College Dr. Daphne Raban Graduate School of Management, U. of Haifa