Conceptualizing information need in context

Journal has a creative commons license: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Personal health information management in chronic illnesses

Understanding patients' personal health information management (PHIM) can help us design better information technologies for health care. This study examines type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients’ PHIM, including motivators, activities, information items, and affective processes. A mixed methods approach including interviews and photo-documentation was carried out with 60 diabetes patients in the US and in China. Data analysis for 36 participants revealed 19 major categories of PHIM processes and 81 subcategories. Many of these categories are not examined in detail by existing studies. Further analysis explores the relationships between these categories and proposes design principles for health information technologies aimed to help people living with chronic illnesses

Elaborating the motivational attributes of information need and uncertainty

Journal has a creative commons license: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

The influence of Elfreda Chatman's theories: a citation context analysis

The range of theoretical frameworks currently being used by researchers into information behaviour is abundant and diverse. We need to examine thoroughly the contribution of theories and models to further research, as this would help to improve future investigations in the field. This paper adopts this approach, by thoroughly examining the influence that Elfreda Chatman's three middle-range theories have had on subsequent research. A citation context analysis was carried out on the basis of those received by Information poverty theory, life in the round theory and normative behaviour theory. Analysis covered the year of publication, the type of work and the subject-matter of the citing documents. The cites in context or theoretical incidents were analysed for frequency of citation in citing documents, the content of Chatman's work being cited, the context co-citation analysis, the citation style and the citation location. The analysis of citation in context has allowed us to draw a distinction between the author and her work, while verifying that not all cites are the same. These differences reflect the unequal relevance of these theories to subsequent research

A context-based study of serendipity in information research among Chinese scholars

Purpose: The current understanding of serendipity is based primarily on studies employing Westerners as participants, and it remains uncertain whether or not this understanding would be pervasive under different cultures, such as in China. In addition, there is not a sufficient systematic investigation of context during the occurrence of serendipity in current studies. This paper examines the above issues by conducting a follow-up empirical study with a group of Chinese scholars. Design/methodology/approach: The social media application “Wechat” was employed as a research tool. A diary-based study was conducted and 16 participants were required to send to the researchers any cases of serendipity they encountered during a period of two weeks, and this was followed by a post-interview. Findings: Chinese scholars experienced serendipity in line with the three main processes of encountering unexpectedness, connection-making and recognising the value. An updated context-based serendipity model was constructed, where the role of context during each episode of experiencing serendipity was identified, including the external context (e.g. time, location and status), the social context, and the internal context (e.g. precipitating conditions, sagacity/perceptiveness and emotion). Originality/value: The updated context model provides a further understanding of the role played by context during the different processes of serendipity. The framework for experiencing serendipity has been expanded, and this may be used to classify the categories of serendipity

The Information Behavior of Public Health Educators Working in Appalachia

Public health educators serve as a vital interface between medical and public health authorities and community members for the dissemination of important information related to disease prevention and health promotion. Public health educators deliver packaged educational programs, develop their own original programs, field impromptu health questions, and conduct community health assessments. This dissertation research employed a survey in January 2011 to illuminate the information-related attitudes and activities of health educators working in public health departments in Appalachia. The research questions explored how these health educators find and use information, how they perceive their information needs and their abilities to find and evaluate information related to their work, their satisfaction with the information resources available to them, and the impact of the economic and health status of their county or region on their information behavior. Key findings include that respondents are frequent information seekers with high-speed Internet access, but they need better access to information and data related to their work. Respondents use the web heavily but have concerns about evaluating online information. Information literacy training must accommodate their workflows and budgets. Library resource use is currently low but has the greatest potential for meeting their complex needs. Suggestions include multi-dimensional collaborations between health educators and information professionals and a new, more information-centric role for health educators

Review of research on information behaviour in contexts of palliative care with an indication of some research gaps

An increase in the number of people diagnosed with life-threatening diseases and affected by palliative care, as well as an increase in studies on information behaviour including information seeking, can be noted. With this in mind, the paper briefiy reviews reports on research on information behaviour in palliative care in terms of: target groups and participants, settings, research methods and methods of data collection, components of information behaviour, and the factors influencing information behaviour. For each, some research gaps are noted. A few key findings on information behaviour in palliative care are highlighted. The intention is not to offer a comprehensive review; it is merely an overview to stimulate research in information behaviour in palliative care and to offer a point of reference. There are numerous research opportunities preferred.http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajlaisam201

Of Counsel, Volume 3 | Fall 1998

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The Politics of Diplomacy: The Palatinate and Anglo-Imperial Relations in the Thirty Years' War

This dissertation examines the diplomatic relations between the King of England and the Holy Roman Emperor in the 1630s. Negotiations between the two rulers revolved around the settlement of the Palatinate question, one of the most vexing issues of the Thirty Years' War. This study focuses specifically on the missions of the three diplomats most intimately involved in Anglo-Imperial negotiations of the later 1630s: the English diplomats John Taylor and Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel, and the Imperial envoy Clement Radolt. Through a detailed analysis of their negotiations, this dissertation shows that English foreign policy in these years, though it produced no tangible results, had the potential to succeed. Although historians have traditionally downplayed England's influence on Continental powers, the evidence shows that Charles I's favor was highly valued at the Habsburg courts and that he had more foreign policy options in the later 1630s than has been commonly assumed. Unlike previous work, this study investigates the European as well as the British context of early Stuart foreign policy. It therefore draws not only upon sources from British archives, such as the Public Record Office, British Library, Bodleian Library, and Arundel Castle Archives, but also upon the abundant material concerning Britain in Continental repositories, including the Haus-, Hof- and Staatsarchiv, Finanz- and Hofkammerarchiv, Allgemeines Verwaltungsarchiv, and Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv in Austria