In a study printed in Malaysia Management Review A STUDY OF THE READING HABITS AND INTERESTS OF URBAN WORKING PROFESSIONALS, EXECUTIVES

AND MANAGERS by Irene Ong Pooi Fong - Department of Management, The University of Sheffield Programme , Taylor's Business School was undertaken in Klang Valley (area comprising Kula Lumpur & its suburbs). This study examined 299 working professionals & had following findings:

Average time spent on reading in a week:

51% of professionals spent more than 4 hrs on reading per week 31% professionals spent 3-4 hours reading

Purpose of Reading:

30% said they read to increase their job-related knowledge Another 30% read for general awareness

Interest areas of professionals:

46% read management topics 30% read science/technology 26% read leadership related topics

Readership by levels of Management:

It was found that 63% middle level management professionals spent more than 4 hours reading 3-4hours/week was most spent by junior level professionals (43%)

General attitude towards reading:

87.3 % - could be competent with new knowledge acquired 97.3 % - could enhance their job-related knowledge & skill 64.9% - made sure they read

CASES FROM INDIA

Case

study

from

Rourkela,

Orissa:

A reaserch INFORMATION USE & READING HABITS OF WORKING WOMEN IN ROURKELA by Mr. Chittiranjan Panigarhi published inMALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCES, VOL.3,NO. 1, JULY 1998.

Demographic structure of the research

The repondents of research are 20years & above It excludes class 3 employees Total respondents were 100

20-30yrs 22%

PG- 46%

Married-76% Unmarried23% Widow-1%

30-40yrs 37%

Graduate- 39%

40-50yrs 30%

Matric- 12% Ph.D- 2% M.Phil- 1%

50-60yrs 5%

Not revelved 5%
Information needs

The working women have the most significant information need for child care, home management & government policies/plans for women

Weekly time spent in reading

44 women said they read about areas of their non-interest for 1-2 hours per week 28 women said they read about aras of their interest for 1-2 hours per week

Sources for information

91 women said popular magazines have top & high priority for them as information source Other 91 women said newspapers have top & high priority for them as information source

Case

Study

from

Gujarat:

A campaign VAANCHE GUJRAT was initiated by Gujrat state chief minister Mr. Narendra Modi on 1st, April 2010 to promote reading among its citizens. This program aims to teach out millions of kids through mobile reading vans, through neighbourhood libraries, through reading interventions in local schools, through street plays on the importance of reading and through donation drives for books.

In this era when information is taking place of knowledge, Mr. Modi said reading just not provide knowledge , it inspires the intellectuallity to evoke and ultimately leads to growth. A Gujrat city basd NGO has also taken small but determined steps to promote reading habits among citizens. Jan-Jagruti Abhiyan, run by a senior citizen, is doing its bit by distributing books free of cost in the schools in city. The idea behind distributing books is to encourage youngsters to read them & get inspired from the writings. "We believe that promoting reading habits will help youngsters in developing themselves. So we are spreading awareness regarding advantages of reading good books by distributing books in schools and to citizens. We have been doing this activity since last several months," said Manhar Shah, who runs the NGO.

IRS

2010

Q1

states:

Indians

spend

more

time

on

reading

The way media is covering events may be a reason for disquiet for several Indians but the reach of the media is certainly increasing. Indians are now spending more time reading, listening, viewing and browsing different forms of media. The 2010 Q1 survey released by the Media Research Users Council states that the time spent by Indians in 2010 on different forms of media stood at 125 minutes. This is seven minutes more than the 118 minutes that the Indians spent on the media in 2006.

CASES FROM USA

Case

1:

Teens,

Magazines

&

Media

A report on TEEN MARKET PROFILE prepared by Mediamark Research Incorporation was published by Magazines Publishers of America.

Teen Magazine readers:

Magazines appeal to teens with eight out of ten teens reading magazines 19.3 million readers who strongly influence fashion & purchasing trends for the rest of society

Teens trust Magazines the most

Magazines outperform TV

Teen base : 12-17 years It was found that top 25 magazines lead against top 25 prime time TV shows in reaching teens

Case

2:

What

reading

does

to

the

mind

A research WHAT READING DOES FOR MIND was published in American Educator/Amercan Fedration of Teachers (2008) done by Anne E.Cunningham & supported by Keith E. Stanovich

Expanding a child vocabulary derive from differences in the statistical distribution of words that have been found between print and oral language It is the print that provides word- learning opportunities Children books have 50 times more word learning opportunities than prime-time adult shows & conversation of adult graduates Popular Magazines have roughly three times as many new word learning opportunities as prime time TV & adult conversation For vocablury Growth to occur after sixth grades, children must be exposed to words that are rare

Examining the consequences of differential volume reading

This graph shows that Percentage marks scored is relative to volume reading When performance is statistically equated for reading comprehension and general ability, reading volume is still a powerful predictor of vocabulary and knowledge differences