Barriers, control and identity in health information seeking among African American women

Qualitative research methods were used to examine the role of racial, cultural, and socio-economic group (i.e., communal) identities on perceptions of barriers and control related to traditional and internet resources for seeking health information. Eighteen lower income, African American women participated in training workshops on using the internet for health, followed by two focus groups. Transcripts were analyzed using standardized coding methods. Results demonstrated that participants perceived the internet as a tool for seeking health information, which they believed would empower them within formal healthcare settings. Participants invoked racial, cultural, and socio-economic identities when discussing barriers to seeking health information within healthcare systems and the internet. The findings indicate that the internet may be a valuable tool for accessing health information among lower income African American women if barriers are reduced. Recommendations are made that may assist health providers in improving health information seeking outcomes of African American women

African American Ethnic and Class-Based Identities on the World Wide Web: Moderating the Effects of Self-Perceived Information Seeking/Finding and Web Self-Efficacy

The web is a potentially powerful tool for communicating information to diverse audiences. Unfortunately, all groups are not equally represented on the web, and this may have implications for online information seeking. This study investigated the role of class- and ethnic-based identity in self-perceived web-based information seeking/finding and self-efficacy. A questionnaire is administered, asking African Americans about their class and ethnic identities and web use to test a conceptual model predicting that these identities are positively related to web-based information seeking and web self-efficacy, which are then positively related to web-based information finding. Gender and previous web experience are expected to moderate the relationships. Structural equations modeling of these data support most of the predictions and indicate that these identities influence perceptions of online information seeking

The bumpy road to universal access : an actor-network analysis of a U.S. municipal broadband internet initiative

Accepted ManuscriptPublishe

Policing the community together: the impact of technology on citizen engagement

Despite broad and often varied underlying definitions, a common theme throughout community and neighbourhood policing strategies establishes the need to target improvements in the relationship and level of engagement between the police and the communities they serve. Community policing approaches have long underpinned a desire to move away from reactive policing models towards those which establish a more proactive philosophy, responsive to the wants and needs of the community. The near ubiquitous proliferation of smartphones and other ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) means they are often seen as a vector through which initiatives of all kinds can instil a culture of proactive engagement with their respective stakeholder communities. This paper builds upon existing research which suggests that technologies for crime prevention should be designed to support communications and problem-solving rather than used simply as a means to disseminate information, unpacking a number of the core concepts that are considered central to participation and effective engagement; social capital, public participation and social and digital inclusion. Moreover, examples of wider initiatives are comparatively discussed, not just those associated with community policing, which target the engagement of communities through the use of technology, and more specifically mobile applications, before reflecting on the empirical evidence and experiences gleaned through the EU H2020 funded ‘UNITY’ project, a project that sought to establish effective strategies for engagement between police and citizen communities

URBAN CONTEXTS Abstract

This paper presents a strategic framework for conducting action research in partnership with community-based organizations. The framework was developed through projects conducted in three urban communities in Pennsylvania – Harrisburg, Steelton and West Philadelphia. Using empirical data from these case studies, we present the research model as well as methodological considerations for conducting research in an urban context

Giving Voice to Feminist Projects in MIS Research

In this paper, we explore the methodological and epistemological implications of conducting feminist projects in management information systems (MIS) research. These implications revolve around four core themes: that feminist research is situated in the margins, that current gender and MIS research is not adequately problematized, that feminist research questions the legitimacy and appropriateness of positivist research, and that reflection on the personal characteristics of the researcher such as race, gender, sexuality, and class can inform feminist research. We propose three criteria for giving voice to feminist projects in MIS research: (a) challenging the hegemonic dominance, legitimacy, and appropriateness of positivist epistemologies, (b) theorizing from the margins, and (c) problematizing gender.</p