Baby Boomers and Technology: Factors and Challenges in Utilizing Mobile Devices

This exploratory dissertation study reports an investigation of Baby Boomers utilizing mobile technology to determine how Baby Boomers were utilizing mobile devices and if there were any types of challenges and affecting factors some Baby Boomers could face when searching for information in an online mobile environment. Fifty Baby Boomer participants were recruited by a purposive snowball sampling method and were divided into two groups, twenty-five Younger Boomers and twenty-five Older Boomers to look for comparisons and differences among the Baby Boomers in regards to mobile technology usage, search activities, environmental context, frequency and duration of search activities, as well as the factors and challenges they could encounter while using a mobile device since the age range spans nineteen years. The study was designed to answer two research questions: How are Baby Boomers utilizing a mobile device to search for information in terms of the mobile device types, the environmental contexts and the types of information searched?; and What are the challenges concerning Baby Boomers utilizing a mobile device in searching for information and their affecting factors? This exploratory dissertation study used a qualitative methods approach based in grounded theory to analyze the data. Participants were given a choice of using print or electronic instruments to participate in the study. Multiple collection methods were used to gather the data, consisting of a questionnaire and solicited diaries that were kept for a period of seven days with follow-up interviews given to all participants. The grounded theory approach created a coding schema of ten types of challenges representing five major categories and twenty-three affecting factors. The comparison and interpretation of the search activities, the types of challenges and the affecting factors led to the development of the Baby Boomer Mobile Device Information Searching Model. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications that include system design and library services have been discussed providing suggestions to system designers, researchers and information professionals within and outside the Library and Information Science field

Academic stress and coping strategies for information seeking among undergraduate students in faculty libraries of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

This paper discussed academic stress and coping strategies for information seeking among undergraduate students in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The research questions used sought to find out the causes of academic stress of the students that come to the libraries, information seeking styles the students exhibit during stressful situation in the libraries and the coping strategies the undergraduate students use during information seeking in the libraries. Cross-sectional survey method was used. Questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The data collected for the study were presented and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage. The study found out that excessive workload is the cause of academic stress, the information seeking style used by the undergraduate students during stressful situation was by reading the textbook in the faculty’s libraries and relaxation was the coping strategy used by the undergraduate students during stressful condition in the faculties libraries. It was concluded that academic stress has influence on information seeking among undergraduate students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria that come to the faculties libraries. The study recommended that the work load for undergraduate students of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, should be reduced in order to enable them perform well in their study, Apart from reading textbooks by undergraduate students in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria that come to the faculties libraries with academic stress, other information resources such as websites, databases among others should be used because, through these resources information that can help the students in understanding their field of studies are sought and the undergraduate students in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria should use other stress coping strategies such as seeking professional support, among others in order to reduce the stress face during the use of the library

INNOVATION IN DESIGNING HEALTH INFORMATION WEBSITES: RESULTS FROM A QUANTITATIVE STUDY

A wealth of health information exists on the Internet, but successfully finding that information is not easy. One of the issues causing this is the lack of tools for exploring information and assisting in navigation within health websites. As a result, relevant information cannot be easily discovered. We hope to rectify this issue from the design perspective. Based on previous work, we have created a prototype website called Better Health Explorer to better support such information seeking behaviours. This paper reports on a quantitative study evaluating this prototype. The results demonstrate several improvements in health information seeking supported by the tool. Furthermore, we have identified three general design characteristics that should to be considered when designing consumer health websites. These findings have design implications for health information seeking applications, as well as identifying directions for further research

Information behavior of cum laude graduates at Universitas Riau in 2020

Every student has different information behavior, especially cum laude students at Riau University in 2020. Based on graduation percentage, students who hold cum laude predicate amounted to 6,22% of the total graduates in 2020. This research aimed to describe the information behavior of cum laude students at Riau University in 2020 through analysis initiation stage, selection stage, exploration stage, formulation stage, collection stage, and presentation stage. This research was qualitative through the selection of informants was based on the criteria of cum laude students with the highest scores from each faculty. The results showed that the initiation stage was based on motivation, interest, learning strategies, syllabus study, and discussion. In the selection stage, general topics were identified through mind mapping and preliminary information search. The exploration stage was carried out by searching for information in the libraries and others. In the formulation stage, the focus was on finding information with specific content, and there was a sense of optimism about collecting and using that information. The collection stage was carried out by gathering information, paying attention to information retrieval, and evaluating information. The presentation stage showed a sense of satisfaction and the process of sharing information. Every cum laude student experiences unique stages in the information-seeking process. The students at each stage the information behavior have taken advantage of all available sources of information and supported by the motivation within them

Alternative sweetener from curculigo fruits

This study gives an overview on the advantages of Curculigo Latifolia as an alternative sweetener and a health product. The purpose of this research is to provide another option to the people who suffer from diabetes. In this research, Curculigo Latifolia was chosen, due to its unique properties and widely known species in Malaysia. In order to obtain the sweet protein from the fruit, it must go through a couple of procedures. First we harvested the fruits from the Curculigo trees that grow wildly in the garden. Next, the Curculigo fruits were dried in the oven at 50 0C for 3 days. Finally, the dried fruits were blended in order to get a fine powder. Curculin is a sweet protein with a taste-modifying activity of converting sourness to sweetness. The curculin content from the sample shown are directly proportional to the mass of the Curculigo fine powder. While the FTIR result shows that the sample spectrum at peak 1634 cm–1 contains secondary amines. At peak 3307 cm–1 contains alkynes

Leadership and creativity: Understanding leadership from a creative problem-solving perspective

Employees in many jobs encounter novel, ill-defined problems, and finding creative solutions to these problems may be the critical factor that allows their organization to maintain a competitive advantage. Solving problems creatively requires extensive and effortful cognitive processing. This requirement is magnified further by the complex, ambiguous situations in which most organizational problems occur. Employees must define and construct a problem, search and retrieve problem-relevant information, and generate and evaluate a diverse set of alternative solutions. Creativity necessitates that all these activities are completed effectively. It is unlikely, therefore, that creative outcomes will be realized without a large degree of support from organizations and organizational leaders. In order to provide this support, leaders must understand the cognitive requirements of creative problem solving. To this end, this paper reviews the cognitive processes underlying creative problem solving and suggests avenues through which organizational leaders can facilitate these processes in an effort to enhance the creative problem solving of their employees

Jak tworzona jest nowa informacja?

Artykuł stanowi próbę opisu warunków prowadzących do tworzenia nowej informacji (co zwykle uruchamia proces publikowania), jako części procesu badań naukowych. Uwzględniono najczęściej wymieniane w literaturze modele zachowań informacyjnych Wilsona, Dervin, Godbold, Belkina i in. Zaproponowano własny model oparty na założeniach teorii transakcyjnej Rosenblatt oraz koncepcji przepełnienia informacyjnego, stanowiącego nawiązanie do koncepcji anomalnych stanów wiedzy i luki informacyjnej.The article is an attempt to describe the conditions that lead to the creation of new information (which usually starts the process of publishing), as part of the process of scientific research. Models of information behaviour most frequently mentioned in the literature from sources like Wilson, Dervin, Godbold, Belkin et al. were taken under consideration. The author's own model is proposed, based on the assumptions of the Rosenblatt transactional theory and concepts of information load, which is a reference to the concepts of anomalous states of knowledge and information gap

Sunny Samaritans and Egomaniacs: Price-Fixing in the Gamete Market

Krawiec compares the egg market to sperm market to illustrate the extent to which public-interest rhetoric enables private wealth transfers in the egg market. She also illuminates why such rhetoric is so effective, playing on deeply held societal norms. In addition, she provides an overview of the oocyte business, highlighting issues relating to recruitment, compensation, controversy, retrieval, and risk. She does the same for the sperm business. Furthermore, she discusses the anticompetitive behavior in the egg market and argues that the horizontal price-fixing embodied in the American Society for Reproductive Medicine\u27s pricing guidelines violates the Sherman Act. Lastly, she concludes that market forces, rather than collusive industry agreement, must be allowed to determine the proper mix of altruism and monetary payment that ultimately constitutes total egg donor compensation

Reducing Library Anxiety in the Information Seeking Behavior Of First Year College Students

This study explored the use of interactive technology to reduce library anxiety in the information seeking behavior of first year students enrolled in a historically Black college or university. Based on the research focus, the following questions were formulated: What are the determinants for reducing library anxiety in first year college students’ information seeking behavior? Related questions were formatted to test the hypotheses and for data collection: (1) Can interactive applications included as part of the information retrieval process decrease library anxiety? (2) Can familiarity, as measured by a pre and post survey, decrease library anxiety? Interactive applications may include virtual and augmented reality, online chat, games and artificial intelligence technology. These are relatively new forms of technology used in education, and research indicates that these technologies promote immersive experiences that can contribute to learning. The research hypothesized that these technologies may also increase familiarity of the library and the related resources, which may reduce library anxiety. This research may provide vital information to higher education administrators and librarians to ensure that all students receive adequate resources to find information needed for their classes and that barriers that prevent progress in student’s education are removed. Keywords: information seeking behavior, library anxiety, virtual reality, augmented realit