Presentation Title
Information literacy and the way of living in deep countryside in China: A case study in Guyuan, Ningxia
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)
Target Audience
Other
Location
Room 212
Abstract
Abstract: This case study reviews an increasing impact of information literacy on the life of farmers in Guyuan Municipality of Ningxia, China, an area that used to be poverty-driven and, until three decades ago, had been known for its low productivity of crops and high illiteracy rate of its residents. Farmers in the area still practice traditional ways of farming; but with the adaptation of modern device of communication tools and the local governments’ training programs, the farmers have been introduced into the front door of the information literate society. Fast and accurate information in such aspects as seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, product supply and demand as well as channels of transportation has radically improved their life and is changing their way of living; and yet it is still obvious to find that the majority of the farmers are badly handicapped with “a lock of need of the essential skills to enter the information literate society” (Ranaweera, 2008). Based on the researcher’s experience working as a volunteer director of a poverty alleviation center in Guyuan and his recent interviews on the farmers in the area, this study proposes methods that may effectively propagate the advantages and importance of information literacy in regions like Guyuan.
Keywords: information literacy; farmers; China; training programs
Presentation Description
This presentation discusses how information literacy is developed in Guyuan, Ningxia, China, a once-poverty-driven agricultural region, and proposes more ideal developing methods.
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Zuotang, "Information literacy and the way of living in deep countryside in China: A case study in Guyuan, Ningxia" (2015). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 46.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2015/2015/46
Information literacy and the way of living in deep countryside in China: A case study in Guyuan, Ningxia
Room 212
Abstract: This case study reviews an increasing impact of information literacy on the life of farmers in Guyuan Municipality of Ningxia, China, an area that used to be poverty-driven and, until three decades ago, had been known for its low productivity of crops and high illiteracy rate of its residents. Farmers in the area still practice traditional ways of farming; but with the adaptation of modern device of communication tools and the local governments’ training programs, the farmers have been introduced into the front door of the information literate society. Fast and accurate information in such aspects as seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, product supply and demand as well as channels of transportation has radically improved their life and is changing their way of living; and yet it is still obvious to find that the majority of the farmers are badly handicapped with “a lock of need of the essential skills to enter the information literate society” (Ranaweera, 2008). Based on the researcher’s experience working as a volunteer director of a poverty alleviation center in Guyuan and his recent interviews on the farmers in the area, this study proposes methods that may effectively propagate the advantages and importance of information literacy in regions like Guyuan.
Keywords: information literacy; farmers; China; training programs
