News Release

SIM papers selected for 8th annual Student Research Symposium

January 25, 2010

SIM is pleased to announce that two student papers have been chosen for presentation at the Dalhousie University Student Research Symposium on Friday, February 5, 2010.  Angela Manyangara is contributing for the second year with her paper, "Multitasking Information Behavior in Today's Knowledge Economy”.  Folushade Oduntan has contributed a paper titled, "Beyond Technology: Information Management and Efficiency in Banking".

Angela Manyangara is a student in the Masters of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) program at Dalhousie. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Economic History and a Post Graduate Diploma in Media and Communication Studies, both from the University of Zimbabwe. Angela worked as a high school teacher and in the banking sector after completing her undergraduate degree and diploma. Her research interests revolve around business and information management and digital photography, business and ethics. Angela’s goals include working in an academic library setting and furthering her education.

Angela's paper explores the concept of multitasking with particular focus on how human behaviour influences task switching in today’s globalized economies. Multitasking is a concept that has been variously researched by different scholars. This paper analyses how this phenomenon has developed over the years in line with technological advancement and changing work environments. It seeks to provide an understanding of, inter alia, what multitasking is, what factors have shaped it over time in different work environments, and how it may be perfected to meet today’s challenges and demands of ever-changing knowledge economy and information society.

Folushade is a first year student in the MLIS program at Dalhousie's School of Information Management. She has worked as the Regional Manager of one of Nigeria's leading banks.

Folushade's paper discusses Information Management in the banking world. Traditionally, most banks do not keep compact libraries of information except on those narrowly defined as core banking data, (deposit and withdrawal records, cash flows etc.). Being so customer oriented and externally targeted implies that banks lose sight of the value of information that generates in the banking process. This paper points attention to the value of information management in the generation, organization and use of internally generated data for banking efficiency.

The Centre for International Trade and Transportation holds a Student Research Symposium each year. Open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in an Atlantic Canadian post-secondary institution, the symposium allows students to present papers, display posters and meet and exchange ideas with students from around the region in a fun and collegial atmosphere. The symposium also features a panel of distinguished speakers from business, government and academia discussing various aspects of international business in Atlantic Canada.