A Generation of Information Anxiety: Refinements and Recommendations

Richard Saul Wurman’s groundbreaking Information Anxiety (1989) was published exactly one generation ago. The passage of time has allowed information specialists to reflect further upon the notion of information anxiety and such related concepts as “info-glut,” “techno-stress,” and “infoaddiction.” The interval has also allowed librarians to develop best practices to inoculate against information anxiety and to alleviate the symptoms of information overload. This essay will address definitional concerns regarding information anxiety and related phenomena; investigate the causes and effects of information anxiety; discuss specific difficulties in relationship to the reception, processing, and application of information; and consider the role of librarians in reducing information anxiety

Information Overload: An Overview

For almost as long as there has been recorded information, there has been a perception that humanity has been overloaded by it. Concerns about 'too much to read' have been expressed for many centuries, and made more urgent since the arrival of ubiquitous digital information in the late twentieth century. The historical perspective is a necessary corrective to the often, and wrongly, held view that it is associated solely with the modern digital information environment, and with social media in particular. However, as society fully experiences Floridi's Fourth Revolution, and moves into hyper-history (with society dependent on, and defined by, information and communication technologies) and the infosphere (a information environment distinguished by a seamless blend of online and offline information actvity), individuals and societies are dependent on, and formed by, information in an unprecedented way, information overload needs to be taken more seriously than ever. Overload has been claimed to be both the major issue of our time, and a complete non-issue. It has been cited as an important factor in, inter alia, science, medicine, education, politics, governance, business and marketing, planning for smart cities, access to news, personal data tracking, home life, use of social media, and online shopping, and has even influenced literature The information overload phenomenon has been known by many different names, including: information overabundance, infobesity, infoglut, data smog, information pollution, information fatigue, social media fatigue, social media overload, information anxiety, library anxiety, infostress, infoxication, reading overload, communication overload, cognitive overload, information violence, and information assault. There is no single generally accepted definition, but it can best be understood as that situation which arises when there is so much relevant and potentially useful information available that it becomes a hindrance rather than a help. Its essential nature has not changed with changing technology, though its causes and proposed solutions have changed much. The best ways of avoiding overload, individually and socially, appear to lie in a variety of coping strategies, such as filtering, withdrawing, queuing, and 'satisficing'. Better design of information systems, effective personal information management, and the promotion of digital and media literacies, also have a part to play. Overload may perhaps best be overcome by seeking a mindful balance in consuming information, and in finding understanding

Co-operative and Competitive Enforced Self Regulation: The Role of Governments, Private Actors and Banks in Corporate Responsibility.

In considering why practices which stimulate incentives for private agents to exert corporate control should be encouraged, this paper highlights criticisms attributed to government control of banks. However the theory relating to the “helping hand” view of government is advanced as having a fundamental role in the regulation and supervision of banks. Furthermore, governments have a vital role to play in corporate responsibility and regulation given the fact that banks are costly and difficult to monitor – this being principally attributed to the possibility that private agents will lack required incentives or the ability to supervise banks. Through its supervision of banks, governments also assume an important role where matters related to the fostering of accountability are concerned – not only because banks may have the power to affect firm performance, but also because some private agents are not able to afford internal monitoring mechanisms. Through the Enforced Self Regulation model, the paper attempts to highlight the role played by government in the direct monitoring of firms. In proposing the Co-operative and Competitive Enforced Self Regulation model, it attempts to draw attention to the fact that although such a model is based on a combination of already existing models and theories, the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms will restrict the maximisation potential of such a model. The primary theme of the paper relates to how corporate responsibility and accountability could be fostered through monitoring and the involvement of governments in the regulation of firms. It illustrates how structures which operate in various systems, namely, stock market economies and universal banking systems, function (and attempt) to address gaps which may arise as a result of lack of adequate mechanisms of accountability. Furthermore it draws attention to the impact of asymmetric information (generally and in these systems), on levels of monitoring procedures and how conflicts of interests which could arise between banks and their shareholders, or between governments and those firms being regulated by the regulator, could be addressed

New perspectives in human movement variability

Movement variability is defined as the normal variations that occur in motor performance across multiple repetitions of a task.2 Bernstein1 described movement variability quite eloquently as ‘‘repetition without repetition.’’ Traditionally, movement variability has been linked to noise and error, being considered to be random and independent. This theoretical approach blends well with traditional statistical and assessment methods of movement variability that assume randomness and independence of observations. However, numerous studies have indicated that when movement is observed over time variations are closely related with each other neither being random nor independent. Practically, traditional methods can mask the temporal structure of movement variability and contain little information about how movement changes over time

How often do you wash your hair? design as disordering: everyday routines, human object theories, probes and sustainablity

New objects can create disorder in our lives particularly when we try to appropriate and make sense of newly developed products that do not fit our routines. Ultimately, through exploring objects' affordances, our relationship to them develops into a routinised practice we no longer reflect on them. Hair care is universal and (often) an ‘ordinary’ part of our daily routines. Our cleanliness routines consume resources and therefore are implicated in the issue of environmental sustainability. However, routines are complex and difficult to change when they are set in a culture of individual consumer choice. The disorder inherent in the process of appropriation raises the possibility that design might deliberately create a useful ‘disorder’ in routinised practices to facilitate sustainable strategies in everyday life. The paper proposes an approach of investigating routinised practices in relation to deliberately creating disorder in everyday routines and practice theory. Further, it outlines a pilot study that uses the designled method of 'probes' and considers its potentials in generating disorder. It identifies creative disorder in the process of designers developing the probes, participants interacting with them to finally designers receiving the results. Thinking about the process in terms of disorder is seen to be valuable in facilitating, applying and developing probes, not only to inspire the designer but also to sensitise the designer to private and intimate areas of everyday life such as hair care.</p

How often do you wash your hair? Design as disordering: everyday routines, human object theories, probes and sustainability

The  paper  proposes  an  approach  of investigating routinised  practices  in relation to  deliberately  creating disorder in everyday routines and practice theory. Further, it outlines a pilot study that uses the design­led method of 'probes' and considers its potentials  in generating disorder. It identifies creative disorder in the process of designers developing the probes, participants interacting with them to finally designers receiving the results. Thinking about the process in terms of disorder is seen to be valuable in facilitating, applying and developing probes, not only to inspire the designer but also to sensitise the designer to private and intimate areas of everyday life such as hair care

Математические модели развития и компенсации гипоксических состояний при ишемической болезни сердца у лиц летного состава

The increase of pilots’ labor intensity caused by rapid development of flight technologies and increasing of complexity of combat missions faced by flight crew members increases the loads on organisms of flight personnel in general and in particular on their cardiovascular system. Domestic and foreign sources contain statistics indicating an increase in the number of flight accidents caused by cardiovascular pathologies in pilots, an increase in the number of flight personnel unsuitable for flight work due to the same reasons, a decrease in the age of flight crew members with cardiovascular pathologies. Therefore, issues of early detection and optimization of treatment processes of cardiovascular diseases in flight crew members are really necessary.Збільшення інтенсивності праці льотчиків, викликане швидкими темпами розвитку льотної техніки і ускладненням бойових завдань, що стоять перед членами льотних екіпажів, збільшує навантаження на організм осіб льотного складу в цілому, і зокрема на серцево-судинну систему. Вітчизняні та зарубіжні джерела містять статистику, яка свідчить про збільшення кількості льотних пригод, викликаних серцево-судинними патологіями у льотчиків, зростанні кількості осіб льотного складу, визнаними непридатними до льотної роботи з тих же причин, зниженням віку членів льотних екіпажів, що мають патології серцево-судинної системи. Тому актуальними є питання своєчасного виявлення та оптимізації процесу лікування серцево-судинних захворюваньу членів льотних екіпажів.Увеличение интенсивности труда летчиков, вызванное быстрыми темпами развития летной техники и усложнением боевых задач, стоящих перед членами летных экипажей увеличивает нагрузку на организм лиц летного состава в целом и а частности на сердечно-сосудистую систему. Отечественные и зарубежные источники содержат статистику, свидетельствующую об увеличении числа летных происшествий, вызванных сердечно-сосудистыми патологиями у летчиков, росте числа лиц летного состава, признанными непригодными к летной работе по тем же причинам, снижением возраста членов летных экипажей, имеющих патологии сердечно-сосудистой системы. Поэтому актуальными являются вопросы своевременного выявления и оптимизации процесса лечения сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний у членов летных экипажей

Antoni Kępiński’s Philosophy of Medicine – an alternative reading

Antoni Kępiński remains an often read and quoted author even 40 years after his premature death. Usually he is read in the context of his times and his connections with contemporary philosophy. This paper aims to show other aspects of his reflections on psychiatry. His views on the position of psychiatry within medicine, its methods, psychophysical problems, and other issues are compared with current knowledge and current thought paradigms. The goal is to show that while Kępiński was obviously functioning within a different scientific and philosophical paradigm many of his ideas and reflections can still be found within current debates. The important conclusion is to not hold on to the views that Kępiński held himself because he did not know as much as we do, but to see the importance of the debates that he foresaw even then and possibly learn something from his extensive clinical experience