Health Information Services Available for People Living With HIV/AIDS: Perspectives of Library and Information Professionals

There is an urgent need for availability of life-saving health information services as well as adequate marketing, advertising, and dissemination strategies to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs), and to the broader public at large, especially in the context of a recent UNAIDS estimation that the number of people living with HIV in the United States, at the end of 2003, exceeded one million for the first time. This study explores the HIV/AIDS health information services that are available within the local community of Knoxville, Tennessee, and presents focus group perspectives of nine library and information professionals about awareness and use of these services by PLWHAs. The study forms part of a larger plan to apply a community informatics (CI) approach to examine the provision of health information services for PLWHAs in terms of how PLWHAs and other stakeholders including health care service providers, academic community at the University of Tennessee, community leaders and activists, and faith-based organizations, use and apply information and communication technologies (ICTs) to empower and enable PLWHAs to meet their information needs, goals, and aspirations. Here we report findings from the project’s first phase of documenting perspectives of library and information professionals about existing HIV/AIDS information services, users of these services, barriers and challenges to effective use, and the role of health information professionals in the context of developing ideal information support services for PLWHAs

A world-systems perspective on the role of telecommunications in global development

Until recently, an economic perspective has dominated studies of the effect of telecommunications on social and economic development. There are reasons to believe, however, that this perspective unnecessarily limits our understanding of the problems of development. Theories of development and world structure converge in world-systems theory. This world-systems perspective combined with information society theory provides a theoretical basis for understanding the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in globalization, not only for developing countries, but for the worldsystem as a whole. This research is premised on the view that the world operates as an interconnected network with increasingly interdependent economies. Since ICTs have not yet reached a substantial level of measurability in many countries, measures of telecommunications serve as a proxy for ICT growth and measurement of the effects of information content. The world-systems approach offers an alternative perspective that can provide a richer examination of the complex relationship between telecommunications and development. The role of telecommunications in development, broadly defined as economic, political, social, and cultural change, is explored. A structural equation model is developed to examine that perspective within the context of information society theory. Results of this model suggest telecommunications plays a broader role in development than that which has typically been limited to an economic perspective. Results also suggest that policies of multilateral development organizations do not reflect this broad perspective of development and do not, therefore, collect the data that are necessary to fully understand the role of telecommunications in development

AIDS and Culture: The Case for an African Information Identity

The library and information profession in Africa is not well recognized. It does not carry an identifiable set of core activities that share a common understanding across societies in Africa. The number of libraries in Africa is limited for a variety of reasons including lack of resources, populations that are not based in print literacy, and having its roots in the British model of librarianship. HIV/AIDS continues to pose severe problems for Sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries in the region have successfully reduced the number of HIV/AIDS cases, citing information as the main source of prevention, presenting library and information professionals a unique opportunity to collectively organize and establish their role in the fight against the disease. This paper will discuss the opportunity for how LIS professionals engaged in HIV/AIDS information activities can develop and strengthen a positive status for the library and information discipline in Sub-Saharan Africa

Global Measures of Development and the Information Society?

Purpose – To examine the effects of telecommunications on national development, broadly measured in the areas of economic, social, and political change, and cultural development. Design/methodology/approach – The results of a structural equation model are reported, designed to examine the bi-directional relationship between telecommunications infrastructure and national development for countries worldwide. The economic, social, and political development, and cultural changes that result from telecommunications infrastructure are investigated. Findings – Telecommunications infrastructure effects extend beyond economic impacts to include social, political, and cultural change. Research limitations/implications – Criteria used to measure development and change, particularly those that examine the effects of telecommunications on culture, are inadequate and do not adequately measure the effects of telecommunications on national development. Practical implications – Alternative methods of assessment or measure are needed to examine more critically the effects of telecommunications within the context of national development. Originality/value – This paper argues for the necessity of deeper investigation into the influence of technology on society, particularly in the area of cultural change

Psychodynamic Perspectives in Information Behaviour

Introduction. There are a number of theories regarding information behaviour, most of which reflect a cognitive perspective, focusing on the role of conscious thought and feeling. Despite the recent interest in emotional aspects of users in their information behaviour, the role of cognition in information behaviour is constrained and does not consider the underlying motivations and emotions that lie outside the realm of conscious awareness and thought. Argument. There has been a shift in psychological theory, incorporating stronger psychodynamic perspectives that consider the role of the unconscious in affect daily life. It has been estimated that 85-95% of thought takes place in the unconscious outside of our awareness, including most of our decision making. This suggests a fertile theoretical ground for investigating information behaviour. Conclusion. Psychodynamic theories offer fertile ground for investigating the interaction between information and human behaviour. If library and information science is to advance its understanding of information behaviour, it needs to include other theories and methodological tools available to us, particularly from psychology, whose aim it is to investigate human behaviour and behaviour change. Projective tests are one method that can be used in conjunction with sources and services to evaluate their usefulness