Reading Habits in Different Communities

Reading is foundational to learning and the information acquisition upon which people make decisions. For centuries, the capacity to read has been a benchmark of literacy and involvement in community life. In the 21st Century, across all types of U.S. communities, reading is a common activity that is pursued in myriad ways. As technology and the digital world expand and offer new types of reading opportunities, residents of urban, suburban, and rural communities at times experience reading and e-reading differently. In the most meaningful ways, these differences are associated with the demographic composition of differentkinds of communities -- the age of the population, their overall level of educational attainment, and the general level of household income.Several surveys by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project reveal interesting variations among communities in the way their residents read and use reading-related technology and institutions

Measuring internet activity: a (selective) review of methods and metrics

Two Decades after the birth of the World Wide Web, more than two billion people around the world are Internet users. The digital landscape is littered with hints that the affordances of digital communications are being leveraged to transform life in profound and important ways. The reach and influence of digitally mediated activity grow by the day and touch upon all aspects of life, from health, education, and commerce to religion and governance. This trend demands that we seek answers to the biggest questions about how digitally mediated communication changes society and the role of different policies in helping or hindering the beneficial aspects of these changes. Yet despite the profusion of data the digital age has brought upon us—we now have access to a flood of information about the movements, relationships, purchasing decisions, interests, and intimate thoughts of people around the world—the distance between the great questions of the digital age and our understanding of the impact of digital communications on society remains large. A number of ongoing policy questions have emerged that beg for better empirical data and analyses upon which to base wider and more insightful perspectives on the mechanics of social, economic, and political life online. This paper seeks to describe the conceptual and practical impediments to measuring and understanding digital activity and highlights a sample of the many efforts to fill the gap between our incomplete understanding of digital life and the formidable policy questions related to developing a vibrant and healthy Internet that serves the public interest and contributes to human wellbeing. Our primary focus is on efforts to measure Internet activity, as we believe obtaining robust, accurate data is a necessary and valuable first step that will lead us closer to answering the vitally important questions of the digital realm. Even this step is challenging: the Internet is difficult to measure and monitor, and there is no simple aggregate measure of Internet activity—no GDP, no HDI. In the following section we present a framework for assessing efforts to document digital activity. The next three sections offer a summary and description of many of the ongoing projects that document digital activity, with two final sections devoted to discussion and conclusions

The impact of celebrity endorsements on the buying behavior of Rowan University students age 18-24

The purpose of this study was to determine the persuasiveness of celebrity endorsements on the purchase decisions of Rowan University students age 18-24, with specific regard to digital media players. The hypothesis of the study is that majority of Rowan students age 18-24 are persuaded to buy digital media players that are endorsed by celebrities they view favorably. The information gathered in the secondary research was used to develop questions for focus groups. The author of the study conducted two pre-test focus groups, after which the questions were modified. Once the questions were refined and finalized, the author conducted eight eight-person focus groups. Upon reviewing the results from the focus groups, the author found that most Rowan University students are not persuaded to purchase digital media players that are endorsed by celebrities they view favorably. The hypothesis was rejected

Making a Name

Ever since Lucy Stone decided to retain her surname at marriage in 1855, women in America have tried to do the same. But their numbers were extremely low until the 1970s. The increased age at first marriage, rising numbers with professional degrees and Ph.D.'s, the diffusion of 'the Pill,' state legal decisions, and the acceptance of the appellation 'Ms.,' among other factors, spurred surname retention among married women in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This paper tracks the fraction of college graduate women who kept their surnames upon marriage and after childbirth and explores some of the correlates of surname retention. We use two decades of data from The New York Times and twenty years of information on the Harvard class of 1980. A time series on surname retention at marriage for college graduate women, gleaned from wedding announcements in The New York Times, shows a large increase from 1980 to 1984, a leveling off to 1998, and a possible subsequent increase. About 35 percent kept their surname at marriage in 2001, but fewer than 10 percent did in 1980. Among the women in the Harvard class of 1980, about 52 percent kept their surname at some time after marriage and only a small fraction of this group changed their surname after having children. The observable characteristics of importance in surname retention are those revealing that the bride had already 'made a name' for herself.

Decisions to delete: subjectivity in information deletion and retention

This research examines the decision-making process of computer users with reference to deletion and preservation of digital objects. Of specific interest to this research is whether people provide different reasons for deleting or preserving various types of digital object dependant upon whether they are making such decisions at home or at work, whether such decisions are to any extent culturally determined, and whether they consider others in the course of making such decisions. This study considers the sociological implications of such decisions within organisations, and various psychological errors to be expected when such decisions are made. It analyses the reasons given for these decisions, within the contexts of home and work computing. It quantifies the frequency with which these activities are undertaken, the locations in which such objects are stored, and what aids the user in making such decisions. This research concludes that, while computer users generally desire their digital objects to be organised, they are not provided with adequate support from their computer systems in the decision to delete or preserve digital objects. It also concludes that such decisions are made without taking advantage of metadata, and these decisions are made for the same reasons both at home and at work: there is no discernible difference between the two contexts in terms of reasons given for such decisions. This study finds no correlation between subjects' culture and reasons given for deletion / preservation decisions, nor does it find any correlation between age and such reasons. This study further finds that users are generally averse to conforming to records management policies within the organisation. For archivists and records managers, this research will be of particular interest in its consideration of the usage of and attitudes towards records management systems. Specifically, in organisations possessing formal records management systems, this research investigates the frequency with which individuals violate records management procedures and why they consider such violations to be necessary or desirable. This research also argues towards a more proceduralised decision-making process on the part of the ordinary user and a deeper integration between records management systems and computer operating systems. Designers of formal information systems should consider this research for its implications regarding the way in which decisions are affected by the context in which those decisions are made. Information systems design may be best suited to understanding---and ameliorating---certain types of cognitive error such that users are enabled to make better deletion and preservation decisions. User interface designers are uniquely positioned to address certain cognitive errors simply by changing how information is presented; this research provides insight into just what those errors are and offers suggestions towards addressing them. For sociologists concerned with institutional memory, this research should be of interest because the deletion and preservation decisions of members of an organisation are those which shape the collection of digital artefacts available for study. Understanding the reasons for these decisions is likely to inform what interpretations can be drawn from the study of such collections. Also of interest to sociologists will be the variety of reasons given for deletion or preservation, as those reasons and decisions are what shape, to some extent, institutional memory

On order policies with pre-specified order schedules for a perishable product in retail.

This paper studies a retail inventory system for a perishable product, based on a practical setting in Dutch retail. The product has a fixed shelf life of three days upon delivery at the store and product demand has a weekly pattern, which is stationary over the weeks, but varies over the days of the week. Items of varying age occur in stock. However, in retail practice, the age-distribution is often unknown, which complicates order decisions. Depending on the type of product or the size of the supermarket, replenishment cycle lengths may vary. We study a situation where a store is replenished either three or four times a week on pre-specified days. The research aim is to find practical and efficient order policies that can deal with the lack of information about the age distribution of items in stock, considering mixed LIFO and FIFO withdrawal. Reducing potential waste goes along with cost minimization, while the retailer aims at meeting a cycle service level requirement. We present four new heuristics that do not require knowledge of the inventory age-distribution. A heuristic, based on a constant order quantity for each order moment, often generates least waste and lowest costs. However, this requires a few minutes of computation time. A new base stock policy appears second best

Speaking Truth to Power and Power Speaking Truth: Accurate and Reliable Information in a Pandemic

In this Article, I offer some preliminary ideas for how we might engage in a collective project to enable our government to improve its capacity to help us understand and respond to a future existential health threat. I first deconstruct the government informing process to analyze the points of information contestation based upon the realities we are experiencing. I then outline a project to create a space in which respected experts mediate knowledge claims and moderate contested opinions regarding the human risk of, and government response to, a public health threat. This idea embraces the ambitious goal of educating and engaging citizens as active consumers of probably correct information. Our challenge is to design a government-sponsored space that is also maximally insulated from political influence. Through this project, the government can secure, share, and exchange accurate information to earn the public’s trust. For their part, citizens can engage as active participants in a dynamic information exchange process. This “communicative action” should promote informed decision-making that prioritizes protection of the public’s health. At the outset, I concede that a public information space open to all voices, which is mediated and moderated by experts, is predicated upon the assumption that a sufficient proportion of Americans are willing to talk to each other without regard to their differences, be they race, age, gender, occupation, education, or income. Admittedly, given our current politics and social media environment, informed conversations may prove elusive. Nevertheless, I believe we can build public trust in a shared knowledge base that will improve the government’s capability to respond effectively when there is a serious threat to the public’s health. Citizens who learn to navigate the information space can make better decisions for their own health and that of our democracy. If the ambitious goal proves unattainable, we can settle for identifying the untruths and undermining their salience

Enhancing Knowledge and Immunization Status for Hmong Children

The purpose of this descriptive study was to obtain Hmong parents perspectives on childhood immunizations. Hmong is a group of people who makes healthcare decisions based on their root belief system and trusted information. This study was conducted by a doctor of nursing student at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota at a privately owned primary care clinic, serving a patient population of more than 95% Hmong. It was noted that immunization rates were very poor in this clinic population among pediatric patients from birth to two years of age. This descriptive study used a one to one phone interview design study. The interview questions were derived from the Health Belief Model (HBM) to obtain the perspective of Hmong parents about childhood immunization under age two. Results show that Hmong parents believe in the knowledge, training, and skills of the clinic staff to guide them in deciding whether vaccination is the right choice for their child. Research has shown that parents rely upon and trust their healthcare practitioners. This study affirms the necessity of providing education about childhood immunization for parents in primary care clinics