Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-19T11:50:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao - Marcia Feijao de Figueiredo.pdf: 670092 bytes, checksum: 9e74d9a792d645a7db5a5318f4206f86 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-29 / Presents a literature review on the criteria those scientists to make judgments and validate imagetic information found during process web seeking. Describes the processes that occurred since the beginning of modern society which took place in research communities with rules and standards developed internally, the result of sub-cultures , and the images that are of interest of these users, the epistemic function. Uses inputs from the postphenomenology to explain the use of technology as a mediator for the production and access to knowledge of man. Identifies the components of seek and selection of imagetic information: the web, information seeking, the judgment criteria chosen for analysis, namely, quality of information, cognitive authority and credibility and the categories that are related literature. Analyzes the main features observed in the use of criteria for image and as Habermas understands the validation of objects symbolic of a community. Demonstrates a true story through the use of images supposedly plagiarized research in communities with different themes and how their validation differs from textual information. / Apresenta uma revisão de literatura sobre os critérios que pesquisadores utilizam para julgar e validar informações imagéticas encontradas durante um processo de busca na web. Descreve os processos que ocorreram, desde o inicio da sociedade moderna, em comunidades de pesquisa, com regras e normas desenvolvidas internamente, fruto de sub-culturas e a inserção das imagens que são de interesse desse tipo de usuários, com suas funções epistêmicas. Utiliza aportes da Pós-Fenomenologia para explicar o uso de tecnologias como elemento mediador para a produção e o acesso do homem ao conhecimento. Identifica os componentes da busca e seleção da informação imagética: a web, a information seeking, os critérios de julgamento escolhidos para análise, a saber, Qualidade da informação, Autoridade cognitiva e Credibilidade e as categorias que se relacionam na literatura. Analisa os principais aspectos observados no uso de critérios para validação da imagem e como Habermas compreende a validação de objetos simbólicos por uma comunidade. Demonstra, através de um caso verídico o uso de imagens supostamente plagiadas em comunidades de pesquisa com temas diferentes, como sua validação se difere da informação textual.

This dissertation presents the social virtual interface (SVI) model, which was born out of a need to develop a viable model of the complex interactions, information flow and information seeking behaviors among undercover officers. The SVI model was created from a combination of various philosophies and models in the literature of information seeking, communication and philosophy. The questions this research paper answers are as follows: 1. Can we make use of models and concepts familiar to or drawn from Information Science to construct a model of undercover police work that effectively represents the large number of entities and relationships? and 2. Will undercover police officers recognize this model as realistic? This study used a descriptive qualitative research method to examine the research questions. An online survey and hard copy survey were distributed to police officers who had worked in an undercover capacity. In addition groups of officers were interviewed about their opinion of the SVI model. The data gathered was analyzed and the model was validated by the results of the survey and interviews.

This study investigated the information seeking process of the networked generation youth. Specifically, I examined the cognitive, affective, and physical information seeking behaviors and problem solving techniques adolescent student users of the networked environment utilize to solve information needs. Grounded in the theoretical context of the information seeking process in the networked environment, the research extended the user-centered approach to modeling the information seeking process of networked generation youth. A mixed model research design was used to address the research questions. Phase 1 used an online questionnaire to solicit information from 125 students in Grades 7-12 regarding their understanding and use of networked environments, information seeking skills, and problem solving techniques. Phase 2 observed 12 students, two from each grade level, to gain an understanding into the information seeking process of networked generation youth. Participants completed information seeking scenarios of varying levels of complexity. As the participants completed the scenario, they engaged in talk-aloud verbal protocol to describe and explain their behaviors and techniques as they advanced through their information seeking process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted which provided an opportunity for the participants to clarify their information seeking experience. A profile of students' networked environment knowledge and use in relationship to their information seeking process was created. Findings suggested that knowledge and experience influence networked generation youth's information seeking process in the networked environment. A subset of students were found to be experienced information seekers who applied various cognitive, affective, and physical information seeking behaviors and behavioral actions that guide them through their information seeking process. The study presented a preliminary model of the networked generation youth's information seeking process. The model provides a detailed map to networked generation youth's information seeking and problem solving. I bring to light experienced users successful behaviors, as well as areas where all students need assistance in understanding networked environments and their own information seeking. The study suggests ways in which educators can evaluate students and integrate the successful behaviors as well as assist students with the behaviors that hinder their process.

This exploratory research is the first one among occupational information seeking behavior studies that focuses on information seeking behaviors of the crime scene investigators. The data used in this dissertation were gathered via a self-administrated survey instrument from 29 cities in Turkey. Findings obtained from the data analyses show that there is a strongly positive relationship between the experience of the crime scene investigators and the use of personal knowledge and experience as a primary information source (experience is operationalized with age, service years in policing, and service years in crime scene investigation units). The findings also suggest that increasing of the level of education is negatively related to relying on immediate colleagues as an information source among the crime scene investigators. These findings are consistent with related literature and theory. The data analysis shows that crime scene investigators work in cities with higher population rates have more complaint scores than those who work in cities with lower population rates across Turkey. The findings from the data analysis may suggest valuable implications to defeat the barriers between crime scene investigators and information sources. The researcher drew a proposed theoretical framework of an information behavior concept in the context of crime scene investigation that may help those who are interested in the phenomenon and its applications to other contexts.

Although dominant effects of tasks on individuals' information-seeking behavior is accepted by many scholars, a limited number of studies has been conducted to reveal the nature of the relationship between tasks and information-seeking behavior. In their studies, some earlier researchers categorized tasks according to their complexity while others did the same according to the specifications of tasks. Two of the groundbreaking researchers in this area are Katriina Byström and Kalervo Järvelin who contributed to the understanding of the relationship between task complexity and information-seeking behavior. However, their findings also need empirical support for theory growth. In response to this need, this study attempts to test Byström and Järvelin's findings through a research using different research methods and applied in a police work environment. Other than providing empirical support for theory growth, this research is also expected to contribute to the understudied area of police information-seeking behavior. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the participants who came from traffic, homicide, and anti-terrorism divisions of Ankara, Eskisehir, and Kirikkale Police Departments in Turkey. The participants identified terrorism cases as the most complex cases to solve, followed by homicide and traffic accident cases. Differences in the information-seeking behavior of three groups of police officers were examined through qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Oneway ANOVA technique and post hoc comparisons were used to analyze the quantitative data. In addition to shedding light on information-seeking behavior of police officers investigating related cases in Turkey, the results provided support for Byström and Järvelin's findings. For instance, the officers investigating more complex tasks used significantly more information sources than the others, while the use of external information sources was significantly higher in more complex cases.

This is the first known study to explore the image retrieval preferences of news photographers and news photo editors in work contexts. Survey participants (n=102) provided opinions regarding 11 photograph searching methods. The quantitative survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while content analysis was used to evaluate the qualitative survey data. In addition, news photographers and news photo editors (n=11) participated in interviews. Data from the interviews were analyzed with phenomenography. The survey data demonstrated that most participants prefer searching by events taking place in the photograph, objects that exist in the photograph, photographer-provided keywords, and relevant metadata, such as the date the picture was taken. They also prefer browsing. Respondents had mixed opinions about searching by emotions elicited in a photograph, as well as the environmental conditions represented in a photograph. Participants' lowest-rated methods included color and light, lines and shapes, and depth, shadow, or perspective. They also expressed little interest in technical information about a photograph, such as shutter speed and aperture. Interview participants' opinions about the search methods reflected the survey respondents' views. They discussed other aspects of news photography as well, including the stories told by the pictures, technical concerns about digital photography, and digital archiving and preservation issues. These stated preferences for keyword searching, browsing, and photographer-provided keywords illustrate a desire for a strong internal locus of control in digital photograph archives. Such methods allow users more control over access to their photographs, while the methods deemed less favorable by survey participants offer less control. Participants believe they can best find their photographs if they can control how they index and search for them. Therefore, it would be useful to design online photograph archives that allow users to control representation and access. Future research possibilities include determining the preferences of other image retrieval system users, performing user studies with moving image information retrieval systems, and uniting content-based and concept-based image retrieval research.

The somewhat controversial Swedish online discussion forum Flashback Forum (Flashback) is used by a large part of the Swedish population and contains large amounts of information with a wide diversity regarding subjects. Flashback is unique, not least with its focus on freedom of speech, and is often considered unreliable and questionable. However, the large amount of information stored enable the use of the forum as a source of everyday information, given the fact that the user remain critical in their approach to the information retrieved. It seems reasonable to assume that students also use Flashback for this reason; and they can be assumed to have certain experiences regarding searching for information and judging the trustworthiness of found information. The purpose of this essay is therefore to study how Swedish students use Flashback to search for and access information, and how they relate to this information. To study this some concepts from Reijo Savolainen’s theory of everyday information practices has been used, in which he takes a social phenomenological perspective to everyday life information seeking (ELIS). These concepts are information source horizons, information fields and pathways, and stock of knowledge. For the method a survey was used, which was distributed online during March 2020 mainly in different student groups on Facebook. The results showed that a majority of the respondents use Flashback to search for and access everyday information, which was mainly related to current crimes and suspects. The majority of the respondents retained a critical approach to the information and used it mainly to still their curiosity about cases mentioned on news sites or papers. This study shows that Flashback can – and is – used by students to retrieve everyday information, mainly because the sought for information is not available, or not openly available, elsewhere. This study also shows that despite Flashback’s questionable reliability, the nature of the forum, and the fact that most respondents had a relatively bad attitude towards the forum, Flashback has a great potential as a source for everyday information of minor importance, and for taking part of others’ experiences.

Trust for health care professionals (interpersonal trust) and the health care system (institutional trust) is imperative for the performance of health care systems. However, at the same time, contemporary societies today are characterised by decreasing levels of trust and citizens today are increasingly inclined to seek health information from sources beyond health care professionals. Sociologists have argued that societal institutions, such as the health care system, are subject to individuals’ increasing mistrust, which has created a “critical distance” between lay citizens and modern medicine. In this critical distance, the health care system and its representatives are continually questioned why citizens’ trust for the medical institution can not be taken for granted. Because individuals living in the modern society are more inclined to take control over their health by engaging in health information seeking behaviour, the present study aims to examine whether there exists an association between interpersonal and institutional trust and differences in health information seeking behaviour. This study focuses on the Swedish context, where decreasing levels of trust for societal institutions - including the health care system, have been reported. Multivariate logistic regression analysis using data from European Social Survey (2004) was utilised to answer the research questions “Is the degree of trust for the health care system in Sweden associated with individuals' health information seeking behaviours?” and “Is the degree of trust for health care professionals in Sweden associated with individuals' health information seeking behaviours?”. The majority of the results from this study were not statistically significant, why the null hypothesis can not be ruled out. More recently collected data and more representative operationalisations of variables might generate more valid results. The study topic provides a potentially fruitful and valuable route for future scientific research, why it is considered important to further investigate whether mistrust for the healthcare system and its experts motivates individuals to consult alternative sources rather than health care professionals when seeking health information.

This dissertation reports on a study that investigated the functions and services that are rendered at the library of ARC-Small Grain Institute in Bethlehem. The study was directed by the research questions that included the investigation in library services and sources globally; the information seeking behaviour of the patrons of the library as well as the skills and competencies needed by librarians to render an effective service in a constant changing environment. These components served as a foundation for the development of a proposed service model, which reflects the incorporation of the changing roles of librarians in a research library. The current services and sources of the ARC-SGI library were discussed and compared to other libraries. A systematic review of the literature included the information seeking behaviour and information needs of researchers as well as the skills and competencies of librarians. A mixed-method approach, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, has been applied in the study. Data was collected through questionnaires and fifteen semi-structured interviews were held with selected patrons of ARC-SGI. The findings showed that information needs depends mostly on the different stages of research and flows directly from the type of work that they do. Attention was given to preferred source choices and problems experienced during information seeking. Training needs were addressed as well as the needs for additional information needed from the library. Based on the results, the study proposed a service model for an agricultural library. The model displays the library within the setting of an organisation as it supports the mission and vision of the parent organisation. It illustrates all the interdependent components that are essential for a successful agricultural library. The model also outlines the strategies of on-going evaluation and monitoring of the library services; the information needs and information seeking behaviour of the patrons as well as the challenges facing the library. The study concluded by making certain recommendations that can benefit the library of ARC-SGI, which will be an improvement added to the current services. A few suggestions are made for future research, which have definite advantages for an agricultural library within an organisation. / Dissertation (MIS)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Information Science / unrestricted

To add to the understanding of the COVID-19 information landscape, the aim of this thesis was to investigate the information seeking behaviours of Swedish gymnasium students regarding the vaccination against COVID-19. The theoretical framework used to guide this study was based on  active and passive information seeking behaviour as defined by Bates (2002), and information avoidance as defined by Narayan et al. (2011). Within this context, relevant elements of the concepts of trust and decision were included as well, to see how they feature within the overall information seeking behaviour. This thesis implemented a mixed method approach to reach the aim, which was executed through an online survey for quantitative data, and semi-structured interviews for qualitative data. An analytical framework was also established to guide the study from the chosen variables to relevant research and finally for the analysis of results. The results showed that all three directions of seeking behaviour were present among the demographic but differed in execution and purpose. Passive seeking was the behaviour that occurred most often and had the strongest relation to trust and decision. A high trust in authorities, based on passive information received, combined with equally high trust in oneself proved crucial within the understanding of the information seeking behaviour regarding the topic. Information avoidance did hardly occur at all, while active information seeking existed, but not for the reason to make a well-informed decision. Rather, it was performed based on a curiosity to learn about conspiracies and experiences, not facts.