The Effect of the Internet on the Out-of-print Book Market: Implications for Libraries

This study presents the results of an analysis of the offers by out-of-print dealers to buy and to sell items in AB Bookman’s Weekly during two periods (1982 and 1992) compared with availability and prices in 2004 in Used.addall.com, a metasearch site for out-of-print materials. After searching 786 items with 690 valid cases, the authors discovered a high availability of items in all four samples (95%) and a significant decline in prices in inflation-adjusted dollars (-48.7% for 1982 sell ads and -46.62% for 1992 sell adds). The items in the sample were most heavily concentrated in history, arts, and literature; but would be of interest to many libraries. The more important implications for libraries include: 1. the distinction between in-print and out-of-print in regards to availability has disappeared; 2. materials in the out-of-print market are often less expensive than when published; 3. retrospective buying projects are feasible; and 4. for monographs, purchase may be a reasonable substitute for interlibrary loan. The authors attribute these changes to the increased efficiency of the Internet and sophisticated databases in allowing out-of-print dealers to market their stock to potential customers

Information-seeking behavior of women in their path to an innovative alternate treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to discover how women found out about uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids. Methods: The study retrospectively tracked women from the beginning of their illnesses and analyzed their information-seeking behaviors. Twenty-eight women who had the procedure at the Detroit Medical Center were interviewed using a standard script. Median values and frequencies were calculated to represent information needs, information sources, and perceived helpfulness. Spearman correlations were calculated to find relationships between demographics and information needs. Results: Although the women expressed a great need for almost all types of information (median = 5), those with higher levels of education indicated a greater need to know the reasons that their doctors had for suggesting treatments (r = 0.55). The gathered frequencies indicated that friends, magazines, television, and the Internet were important information sources. A preliminary model of information seeking showed that while friends, magazines, and television made several of the women aware of the new procedure, the Internet was heavily utilized for learning about treatment options. Conclusions: Health sciences librarians may inform women about their health and treatment options by guiding women to easily readable, authoritative, and reliable information sources, including Web information sites

Types of information needs among cancer patients : a systematic review

A systematic review of literature on the types of information important to cancer patients was conducted. The review included 18 studies. A synthesis of the ranking of the importance attached to various types of information by patients in individual studies showed that information about the disease itself and information about the treatment that follows are the most important types. A review of factors affecting the need for a particular type of information found that younger patients attribute more importance to information about sexual concerns and physical attractiveness than older patients. This type of information, however, was ranked least important by cancer patients overall. Also, the review indicates that highly educated patients may be similar to less educated patients in the types of information they need. As for the impact of patient situations on the need for a specific type of information, patients who prefer to be active in decision-making during illness want more information about their illness. Although some evidence existed to indicate that patients who are closer in time to their diagnosis need to understand the disease by wanting more information about their illness, the stage of cancer does not affect the type of information needed.Published versio

Use of information sources by cancer patients: results of a systematic review of the research literature

Objectives. Existing findings on cancer patients' use of information sources were synthesized to 1) rank the most and least used information sources and the most helpful information sources and to 2) find the impact of patient demographics and situations on use of information sources. <br><b>Method.</b> . To synthesize results found across studies, a systematic review was conducted. Medline and CINAHL were searched to retrieve literature on cancer patients' information source use. The retrieved articles were carefully selected according to predetermined criteria, and several articles were eliminated in a systematic approach. <br><b>Analysis.</b> The twelve articles that met the criteria were systematically analysed by extracting data from articles and summarizing data for the purpose of synthesis to determine the meaning of findings on most used information sources, least used information sources, most helpful information sources, effect of patient characteristics on preference for an information source, and effect of patient situations on preference for an information source. <br><b>Results.</b> In descending order of use, health care professionals, medical pamphlets, and family and friends were most used information sources. Internet and support groups were least used. In descending order of helpfulness, books, health care professionals and medical pamphlets were found to be most helpful information sources. Younger patients used health care professionals and certain forms of written information sources more than older patients. <br><b>Conclusion.</b> . The systematic review shows that many areas of cancer patients' information source use have been either neglected or barely analysed. An in-depth understanding of cancer patients' use of information sources and the characteristics in information sources they consider to be helpful is important for developing successful interventions to better inform patients

Does Siri have a personality?

This research-in-progress paper is theoretical, and it proposes and develops the idea of information technology (IT) artifact personality. In the field of Information Systems, it is generally accepted that IT artifacts are at the center of socioeconomic life. However, the idea of the IT artifact is unclear and illusive. Researchers have been called to theorize the IT artifact. In extant literature, a few researchers have conceptualized the IT artifact. These conceptualizations are limited in how they consider the materiality of the artifact. This research expands on the existing conceptualizations by proposing an alternate view of the artifact’s materiality. For an alternate view of the artifact, this research explores the artifacts as discrete and independent entities with a sociomaterial manifestation. Siri, an intelligent personal assistant, is proposed to have a sociomaterial manifestation of personality. The benefit of this research is the development of the IT artifact personality as a value-adding component for businesses

Electronic Health Record System Implementation in a Health Informatics Program: A Case Study

Students in a health informatics program benefit from hands-on experience with an electronic health record (EHR). This case study reviews and explains a process of bringing the EHR and relevant patient records to students in a classroom or instructional setting at a university. We analyze and evaluate multiple options for EHR systems in an instructional setting. Following the unsuccessful implementation of one EHR system that required substantial use of programming languages to interface with the database to migrate data, we decided to take a different approach and implement a different EHR system. This article primarily describes the selection and implementation process after the restart from an educational perspective. A rubric was employed to assess EHR systems for educational purposes. Following the selection of one EHR system, elaborate mock patient scenarios were developed by a physician after which the simulated EHR data was manually entered

Anatomy of Twitter followership

Digital platforms such as Twitter enable people to interact with and influence one another, producing emergent phenomena. This study addresses the Twitter followership phenomenon. Focus groups and qualitative analyses were employed to generate insights into the Twitter followership phenomenon. Likely the first study in this domain, this research is the basis for future followership research on digital platforms and indicates the need for continued attention to this domain