Reporting the findings from a phenomenographic study of students' experiences of web-based information searching, this thesis describes how the identified four conceptions, and their structures of awareness, might influence future information literacy curriculum design and web based resources for academics, librarians, and students. Alongside the reported study in this thesis, the first electronic outcome space is also outlined and presented. This electronic outcome space is an enhancement to ways of presenting phenomenographic study findings. Using a phenomenographic approach, the project aimed to uncover variation in students' experiences of web-based information searching. Data gathering during 2000 - 2003 involved investigations of student diary work, video-filmed searching using a think-aloud protocol, and a series of interviews conducted over several semesters. Incorporating first year, third year, and postgraduate student perspectives, the participants, who were from the Queensland University of Technology, came from six of the eight university faculties. Different cultures, ages and genders were represented. During the interviews the students were asked to describe a recent search experience, and to describe how they learn to search for information using various web-based tools. Careful attention was paid during interviews to asking students to explain their interpretation of key concepts in the subject area. Analysis involved an iterative process of seeking meaning and structure. Amongst the group of students interviewed, four categories of explicit variation were discovered and these have been described drawing largely from the words of the participants. Two categories of implicit variation are also proposed. Each explicit category is presented in terms of referential and structural components constituted in terms of the critical dimensions of variation including focal elements, approaches to learning, and reflective practice. The possibility of implicit categories is proposed based on the findings and on the levels of IT skill amongst participants. The study also sought to explore how this type of research into student learning can influence both the design of learning experiences and academic development resources, particularly in relation to teaching and learning information searching as part of the information literacy agenda. Using the categories of description, which showed the variations in student's web-based information searching experiences, it is hoped that the further research outlined will enlighten attempts to design existing assessment to work more effectively, to bring about desired changes in students' experiences of information searching behaviour. The structure of awareness section of each category has revealed the elements that need to be attended to in re-designing assessment. It is hoped that in modifying assignments it will enable the simultaneous attention of students to the already identified relevant dimensions of the information searching experience.

The Internet has become a very important tool in the modern life and a useful channel for people to find information. Although there is a lot of information in the internet, it does not mean that Internet users can always find what they really need and want. The difficulty for Internet users is not that they can¡¦t find out the information but that too much information exists. Therefore, good search tools that can help them find useful information become critical to productivity improvement. The purpose of this research is to investigate how people use different tools on the Internet to find information they are looking for. Three factors were examined: task characteristics, search tools, and user characteristics. Experiments were conducted on tasks designed to show different characteristics. Four task types featured by different uncertainty and equivocality levels and two Internet search tools were used in the experiment. Users were asked to use different tools for solving the assigned tasks to see whether their satisfaction differs under different settings. The results indicate that the effect of task types is not significant. That is, user satisfaction of using search engines is similar under different circumstances. Using the search tool itself is the key factor that affects the level of satisfaction. Therefore, the most important thing for internet user to find useful information is to adopt a proper search tool.

Yes / Archaeology and environment students may be reluctant to spend time in the library when they could be digging holes and wading through streams – but what happens when the librarian goes out into the field with them?

知覺風險最早由Bauer(1960) 提出，認為消費者購買行為可視為一種風險 承擔，其後經多位學者不斷的研究及驗証。本文基於台灣汽車銷售量每年 均有穩定的成長，汽車消費者行為成為汽車業者必須正視的問題，特針對 汽車購買者的知覺風險進行研究。本文知覺風險值分由績效、財務、社會 、及身體風險四個構面加總，每個風險構面分數則就購買後產生不利結果 ，其主觀上所知覺的可能性及損失嚴重性兩項分數相乘而得。並依知覺風 險值分為低、中、高三個知覺風險群。結果發現：(1) 汽車購買者知覺風 險程度在性別、年齡、教育程度及全家月所得上有顯著差異；(2) 各知覺 風險群在產品涉入上有顯著差異；(3) 各知覺風險群的資訊搜集策略有顯 著差異。

<p>The aim of this Master’s thesis is to investigate Umeå University Library’s provision for its visiting international students. Questions addressed include: whether this library considers its international students to have specific needs which are different from those of domestic students; what kind of provision is offered to international students; and whether and what kind of affective barriers international students experience in this academic library.</p><p>For this case study two semi-structured interview questionnaires were designed, one for librarians and the other for international students. Three contact librarians and five international students were interviewed. The students differ as to nationality, gender, and level of education. They are non-native English speakers and have stayed in Sweden longer than six months.</p><p>The theoretical framework for this study is partially based on Budd’s library instruction model and partially on Bostick‘s five dimensions of library anxiety: barriers with staff, affective barriers, comfort with the library, knowledge of the library, and mechanical barriers.</p><p>The empirical findings are that apart from a library introduction and a library tour the library does not provide any special services for international students. The library appears to work on a one-size-fits-all assumption, sprinkled with a feel-free-to-ask-me attitude, rather than offering course-integrated library instruction sessions. At best, international students might get one timely library instruction opportunity. At worst, they use the library only for studying in it rather than for information searching. The study confirms the findings from the literature that the international students experience library anxiety. In order to overcome this anxiety, this thesis proposes that library instruction sessions are introduced into all international programmes and courses; that a liaison librarian should be appointed; and that a library website tailored to the needs of international students should be designed.</p>

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to investigate Umeå University Library’s provision for its visiting international students. Questions addressed include: whether this library considers its international students to have specific needs which are different from those of domestic students; what kind of provision is offered to international students; and whether and what kind of affective barriers international students experience in this academic library. For this case study two semi-structured interview questionnaires were designed, one for librarians and the other for international students. Three contact librarians and five international students were interviewed. The students differ as to nationality, gender, and level of education. They are non-native English speakers and have stayed in Sweden longer than six months. The theoretical framework for this study is partially based on Budd’s library instruction model and partially on Bostick‘s five dimensions of library anxiety: barriers with staff, affective barriers, comfort with the library, knowledge of the library, and mechanical barriers. The empirical findings are that apart from a library introduction and a library tour the library does not provide any special services for international students. The library appears to work on a one-size-fits-all assumption, sprinkled with a feel-free-to-ask-me attitude, rather than offering course-integrated library instruction sessions. At best, international students might get one timely library instruction opportunity. At worst, they use the library only for studying in it rather than for information searching. The study confirms the findings from the literature that the international students experience library anxiety. In order to overcome this anxiety, this thesis proposes that library instruction sessions are introduced into all international programmes and courses; that a liaison librarian should be appointed; and that a library website tailored to the needs of international students should be designed.

Tidigare studier visar på att när en resa planeras används oftast sökmotorer som verktyg för att tillfredsställa de informationsbehov som existerar hos en användare. Det är också bevisat att det upplevs vara problematiskt för användarna att särskilja på vad som är relevant information. Den här studien undersöker användarens upplevelser samt attityder till informationssökning online. Är dagens användare nöjda med hur sökresultaten presenteras i dagsläget i dess semesterplanering? I studien genomförs en enkätundersökning på Arlanda flygplats med 121 respondenter samt intervjuer. Vidare deltog även fem informanter som beskriver sina upplevelser och sökbeteenden. Resultatet visar på att majoriteten av respondenterna är nöjda med sökresultatet från sin informationssökning där deras upplevelser av användningen av sökmotorer riktar sig mot det positivare hållet. / Research has shown that when a travel is being planned, users tend to use search engines in order to satisfy their need for information. It has also been proven that problems occur when users must distinguish which information that is relevant. This study examines users’ attitudes to searching of information with the use of search engines prior to an outbound trip. In this study, a survey is conducted at Arlanda Airport with 121 respondents participating. Furthermore, five informants partook in an interview where they would elaborate their experiences as well as search behaviors. The results indicate that the majority of our participants are satisfied with the search results presented today. The participants also showed a positive attitude towards the user experience.

Köpprocessen vid köp av finansiella produkter skiljer sig mot andra typer av köp då det är mer komplext och kan kräva ett större engagemang från konsumenten. Tidigare studier visar att finansiell kunskap har en påverkan på involveringen vid finansiell informationssökning då konsumenter med låg kunskap tenderar att lämna över ansvaret till någon annan. Det gör att produktägare måste anpassa sin marknadsföring för att nå ut till de som inte aktivt söker information själva. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka hur subjektiv finansiellkunskap påverkar involveringen vid finansiell informationssökning för att bidra till en ökad förståelse för finansiellt köp beteende. Studien baseras på en kvantitativ undersökning med 145 deltagare. Resultatet visar att en ökad subjektiv kunskap har en signifikant betydelse för en ökad involvering vid finansiellinformationssökning. Resultatet visar även att män och personer med högre inkomst har en högre involvering. Denna forskning utökar tidigare studier inom ämnet och kan användas av finansiella produktägare för att forma deras marknadsföring. / The consumer purchasing process for financial products differs from other types of purchases as it is more complex and may require greater consumer involvement. Previous studies show that financial knowledge has an impact on involvement in financial information seeking, as consumers with low knowledge tend to pass on the responsibility to someone else. This means that product owners must adapt their marketing to reach those who are not actively seeking information themselves. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine how subjective knowledge affects the involvement in financial information search in order to contribute to an increased understanding of financial purchasing behaviour. The study is based on a quantitative approach including 145 participants. The result shows that increased subjective knowledge has a significant impact on the increased involvement in financial information search. It also shows that men and people with higher income have a higher degree of involvement. This research is extending previous studies on the subject and can be used by financial product owners to shape their marketing strategy. The following study will be presented in Swedish.

Although anatomical terminology is in use for more than 2000 years, its first official publication achieved in 1895. The need for development of cogent nomenclature arose due to the high level of synonyms labeling individual anatomical structures. Thus towards the end of the 19th century existed more then 50 000 terms describing approximately 5 000 known structures at that time. Such synonymity caused and still causes chaos, especially in the research activities field. The reason for this is fact that most of the research performed not directly by medical field specialists but also information field specialists does not respect the historical evolution of terms. More, it mixes them according to different issues of the official terminologies. Also, further making the research activity complicated is wrong use of anatomical terms, lack of knowledge and misuse of latine grammary and last but not least americanization of the latine terms. Another hot topic is non existence of the official Czech anatomical terminology. This leads to increased tendency of neologisms formation which in turn causes increase of synonymities. Our study demonstrates above mentioned problems on examples from selected human body structures like locomotory and circulatory systems: bursas, 33 selected skeletal muscles, VIIIth cranial...

This study aims to find out the impact of the credibility and content quality of social media influencers on the various stages of the customer's journey and the intention to choose a destination for the Saudi tourist. The target segment was Saudis in general, who are 18 years or above. To conduct this study, 618 usable questionnaires were collected. This study tested twenty-two hypotheses. The result of this study showed that the relationship between content quality, expertise, and similarity was significantly positive with the tourist's desire and information searching. As well, the relationship between the tourist's desire and information searching was significantly positive with the intention of choosing a destination. Conservatism, engagement, and gender were tested as moderators. Conservatism was not significant while the engagement was significant. Gender was only significant in the relationship between content quality and the tourist's desire. This study contributes to information and knowledge in the fields of tourism, hospitality, travel, marketing, tourist behavior, information science, and social media. Researchers and those interested in tourist and customer behavior can benefit from the results of this study. In the industrial field, this study will be very useful to the Saudi government, which has recently begun to rely on tourism and hospitality as a main source of income. As well, the study can be beneficial for tourism, hospitality and travel companies, hotels, restaurants, marketers of tourist destinations, and workers in the field of tourism and hospitality in general to know the best ways to attract tourists through social media influencers.