Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality

Building upon a process-and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and under search for information online, how they evaluate information, and how their related practices of content creation, levels of new literacies, general digital media usage, and social patterns affect these activities. A review of selected literature at the intersection of digital media, youth, and information quality -- primarily works from library and information science, sociology, education, and selected ethnographic studies -- reveals patterns in youth's information-seeking behavior, but also highlights the importance of contextual and demographic factors both for search and evaluation. Looking at the phenomenon from an information-learning and educational perspective, the literature shows that youth develop competencies for personal goals that sometimes do not transfer to school, and are sometimes not appropriate for school. Thus far, educational initiatives to educate youth about search, evaluation, or creation have depended greatly on the local circumstances for their success or failure

Information Behaviors and Cognitive Modes Used for Cyber Situation Assessment

The purpose of this dissertation research was to examine the information behaviors and cognitive modes used by expert cyber defenders when completing cyber situation assessment tasks (SA-tasks) of different complexities. Theoretical propositions from Library and Information Science (LIS) task-complexity research and the Cognitive Continuum Theory (CCT) informed the theoretical framework. LIS task-complexity research predicts that increased task complexity results in numerous changes in information-source and information-type use. The CCT predicts that increased task complexity results in a shift from analytical to intuitive cognition. A multiple-case studies design was selected as the research approach. The Critical Decision Method served as the basis for semi-structured, retrospective interviews conducted with 21 expert cyber defenders from small defense companies. The data analysis techniques included directed content analysis, pattern matching, and statistical analysis (the Freeman-Halton extension of Fisher's Exact test). The main findings of this study are as cyber SA-task complexity increased, the expert cyber defenders sought more technical information, used more external sources, including external experts, and based their information behaviors on intuitive cognition. These findings support several of the theoretical predictions from LIS task-complexity research and the CCT. The findings are important because they show that the expert cyber defenders base their information behaviors on years of experience in the cyber defense domain and on years of experience in designing their own companies' security postures. Each company has its own security posture as well as its own level of acceptance of risk. Therefore, cyber situation assessment tools need a design that can be tailored for each company. Additionally, methods are needed to elicit the intuitive processes used by expert cyber defenders in order to train novice cyber defenders as well as other expert cyber professionals taking over the experts' localized cyber defense roles.Ph.D., Computer Science -- Drexel University, 201

Guidelines for e-reference library services for distance learners and other remote users.

Until recently the provision of distance education was undertaken mainly by various professional associations and commercial agencies offering vocational training. Library provision to meet the needs of registered students was limited. Over the past 30 years, however, the delivery of higher and further education to students studying at a distance has become a core part of the activity of many academic institutions: a few specialist higher education institutions such as the Open Universities established in Britain and India, and some conventional universities that established teaching centres away from their main campuses

Information management applied to bioinformatics

Bioinformatics, the discipline concerned with biological information management is essential in the post-genome era, where the complexity of data processing allows for contemporaneous multi level research including that at the genome level, transcriptome level, proteome level, the metabolome level, and the integration of these -omic studies towards gaining an understanding of biology at the systems level. This research is also having a major impact on disease research and drug discovery, particularly through pharmacogenomics studies. In this study innovative resources have been generated via the use of two case studies. One was of the Research & Development Genetics (RDG) department at AstraZeneca, Alderley Park and the other was of the Pharmacogenomics Group at the Sanger Institute in Cambridge UK. In the AstraZeneca case study senior scientists were interviewed using semi-structured interviews to determine information behaviour through the study scientific workflows. Document analysis was used to generate an understanding of the underpinning concepts and fonned one of the sources of context-dependent information on which the interview questions were based. The objectives of the Sanger Institute case study were slightly different as interviews were carried out with eight scientists together with the use of participation observation, to collect data to develop a database standard for one process of their Pharmacogenomics workflow. The results indicated that AstraZeneca would benefit through upgrading their data management solutions in the laboratory and by development of resources for the storage of data from larger scale projects such as whole genome scans. These studies will also generate very large amounts of data and the analysis of these will require more sophisticated statistical methods. At the Sanger Institute a minimum information standard was reported for the manual design of primers and included in a decision making tree developed for Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCRs). This tree also illustrates problems that can be encountered when designing primers along with procedures that can be taken to address such issues.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Worker and Public Health and Safety

This book on "Worker and Public Health and Safety: Current Views" brings together current scholarly work and opinions in the form of original papers and reviews related to this field of study. It provides important and recent scientific reading as well as topical medical and occupational information and research in areas of immediate relevance, such as chronic and occupational diseases, worker safety and performance, job strain, workload, injuries, accident and errors, risks and management, fitness, burnout, psychological and mental disorders including stress, therapy, job satisfaction, musculoskeletal symptoms and pain, socio-economic factors, dust pollution, pesticides, noise, pathogens, and related areas

The effect of using a computer-based exploration tool on children's career development learning

Historically the process of career development was thought of as occurring in adolescence and adulthood; however, the renewed emphasis on lifelong career development has led to a greater focus on the career developmental stage of childhood. The present research focused on the development and trialling of a research-based computerised career exploration tool, Growing-up: Children Building Careers™ (GCBC™) that can be used for early intervention in children‘s career development. The integration of developmental considerations within a career developmental context is of paramount importance, considering that child and career developmental theories share certain basic foundational principles such as the dual recognition of identifiable life stages and the resolution or accomplishment of associated tasks. The focus of the research is to provide access to a research-based tool that can assist learners with developing age appropriate career developmental skills. As the overview of education policy and existing programs will show, there are challenges in providing access to and improving the nature, level, and quality of career development services. Gaps in access to career development learning are particularly evident at the elementary education level. Furthermore it is clear that learners need to be at the centre of a radical rethink of careers services within a lifelong learning framework in order to ensure access to navigational tools throughout a lifetime of work and study transitions. Digital environments, such as the GCBC™, are tools that broaden and extend learning possibilities for children and appropriately designed digital environments can provide a vehicle that can take children further than they might travel unassisted. The research is divided into five phases and includes eight to ten year old children as participants. Phase one focused on the program design and pilot study (ensuring content validity and age-appropriate language use), while phases two to five focused on the fieldwork (i.e., pre –test, program exposure, post-test, and focus group discussions). The researcher made use of a mixed research design that combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The total sample consisted of 146 children between the ages of eight to ten years old. The control group had 72 children and the experimental group 74 children with a mean age of 8.74 years (SD = 0.63) for the total sample. The quantitative data collection entailed a pre-and post-test design with learners‘ career development measured with the Childhood Career Development Scale (CCDS) and their career awareness with the Revised Career Awareness Survey (RCAS). Qualitative data was collected in the form of two focus group discussions, which included a small sample of children from the experimental group, as well as insights gained from educators following the GCBC™ fieldwork. The quantitative statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics which allowed the researcher to not only describe the research findings, but to confirm the effectiveness of the GCBC™ as an intentional career development learning program. Furthermore, the responses of the children and educators who participated in or witnessed the facilitation of the GCBC™ provided support for the GCBC™ as a meaningful career learning experience which can be successfully implemented in educational settings

The effect of using a computer-based exploration tool on children's career development learning

Historically the process of career development was thought of as occurring in adolescence and adulthood; however, the renewed emphasis on lifelong career development has led to a greater focus on the career developmental stage of childhood. The present research focused on the development and trialling of a research-based computerised career exploration tool, Growing-up: Children Building Careers™ (GCBC™) that can be used for early intervention in children‘s career development. The integration of developmental considerations within a career developmental context is of paramount importance, considering that child and career developmental theories share certain basic foundational principles such as the dual recognition of identifiable life stages and the resolution or accomplishment of associated tasks. The focus of the research is to provide access to a research-based tool that can assist learners with developing age appropriate career developmental skills. As the overview of education policy and existing programs will show, there are challenges in providing access to and improving the nature, level, and quality of career development services. Gaps in access to career development learning are particularly evident at the elementary education level. Furthermore it is clear that learners need to be at the centre of a radical rethink of careers services within a lifelong learning framework in order to ensure access to navigational tools throughout a lifetime of work and study transitions. Digital environments, such as the GCBC™, are tools that broaden and extend learning possibilities for children and appropriately designed digital environments can provide a vehicle that can take children further than they might travel unassisted. The research is divided into five phases and includes eight to ten year old children as participants. Phase one focused on the program design and pilot study (ensuring content validity and age-appropriate language use), while phases two to five focused on the fieldwork (i.e., pre –test, program exposure, post-test, and focus group discussions). The researcher made use of a mixed research design that combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The total sample consisted of 146 children between the ages of eight to ten years old. The control group had 72 children and the experimental group 74 children with a mean age of 8.74 years (SD = 0.63) for the total sample. The quantitative data collection entailed a pre-and post-test design with learners‘ career development measured with the Childhood Career Development Scale (CCDS) and their career awareness with the Revised Career Awareness Survey (RCAS). Qualitative data was collected in the form of two focus group discussions, which included a small sample of children from the experimental group, as well as insights gained from educators following the GCBC™ fieldwork. The quantitative statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics which allowed the researcher to not only describe the research findings, but to confirm the effectiveness of the GCBC™ as an intentional career development learning program. Furthermore, the responses of the children and educators who participated in or witnessed the facilitation of the GCBC™ provided support for the GCBC™ as a meaningful career learning experience which can be successfully implemented in educational settings