The main purpose of this essay is to investigate professional artists experience of the need and use of information in their creative work. I have collected the material through qualitative interviews with four professional artist working with different materials and techniques. One of the results of the study is that the artists first of all used information as a source of inspiration in their creative work. They gathered their information from various scources, for example; pictures, exhibitions, visual arts, books and novells, depending on what project they are working with. Other important information scources were colleges, especially for the technical information need. The artists also searched for information in a wide range of subjects and showed interest in areas that are not considerable art-related.

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With the technological development of the last decades, an increasing number of genealogists are carrying out their research online. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to examine how and why genealogists' information behavior has been influenced by the use of online services for genealogy. Using a conceptual model of genealogists' information behavior as theoretical basis for the study, I examine how the use of online services affect genealogists’ search process, what information they are looking for and what information resources they use. Data is collected by seven qualitative interviews with experienced genealogists.The interviews indicate that online services have not completely taken over the genealogists’ search for information. Genealogists still went to physical repositories for a number of reasons. However, all participants in the study agreed that their visits to physical repositories and their use of physical records had declined since they began to use online services. The search for information was perceived to have become easier and more convenient with online services, although participants also acknowledged the risks of misleading information. Online services for genealogy also seem to have an influence on the contact between genealogists, especially on international contacts. This, together with the increasing research on foreign material, indicates that genealogy has been internationalized as a result of the use of online services. To the extent that the use of online services affects genealogists' information behavior, it seems in large part to be a result of online services removing geographical barriers that previously influenced genealogists’ information behavior. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.

This thesis reports results of a research study into the information behaviour of Kuwaiti legal professionals. The main aims of the research were to investigate the information behaviour and the information needs of Kuwaiti legal professionals, and examine whether the existing legal information sources and services meet their needs. The theoretical framework for this research was derived from the investigation of information behaviour in general, and studies of legal professionals in particular. Wilson's (1996) model of information behaviour was also used to develop the conceptual framework of this research. This model takes into account four types of information seeking behaviour: active search, passive search, passive attention and ongoing search. This model helped in formulating research questions and hypotheses and the design of data collections methods. It was used also as a tool for organising the interpretation and discussion of the research findings. The research methods were designed from a user-centred perspective, including using data collection methods that are supportive of user-centred research. Triangulation was used in data collection by the use of questionnaires, interviews and critical incidents technique. The participants of the research included legal academics, legal practitioners such as state lawyers, prosecutors and private lawyers, law librarians, legal publishers and legal database producers in Kuwait. The results showed that a personal collection is the source used most by Kuwaiti legal professionals. The majority did not use electronic sources such as databases and the Internet. A large percentage also did not use law libraries. The majority of academics sought information themselves, whereas the majority of practitioners relied on the assistance of others. The majority of respondents had no training on the use of information sources. The majority also relied on internal communication as a channel for information exchange more than external communication. The majority of respondents scanned between one or two journals, although journals should be among the major information sources for legal professionals. On the other hand, newspapers ranked first for serendipity for both academics and practitioners. New books were ranked as a first source by practitioners for updating information, whereas journals were ranked first for academics. These results showed the information seeking problems of the legal professionals. This led to the development of the interface requirement for the design of a prototype Kuwaiti Legal Information System (KLIS) interface. The aim of the system was to provide relevant and up-to-date information, and links to other information sources and services in order to improve communication channels at both national and international level. The system also sought to be cost-effective. Finally, a heuristic usability evaluation was undertaken by consulting a number of experts on the system's usability and contents. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations for further research and to stakeholders are made.

Using social positioning theory and the concept of the liminoid, the objectives of this qualitative research project were three-fold: 1) investigate how social positioning affects the information behaviour of volunteer tourists; 2) determine what effects cultural confusion (aka culture shock), physical location, gender, technical skill, and previous intercultural education and/or experiences have on the information behaviour of volunteer tourists; and finally, 3) suggest how non-governmental organizations can use the research findings to assist volunteer tourists to successfully undertake their placements. These questions were explored through observation and semi-structured interviews with fifteen volunteer tourists in Thailand. Previous travel experience proved to be a significant predictor of participants information behaviour. Volunteer tourists reported more consciousness of the embodiment of information and the concept of face than they did at home. The results emphasize the importance of developing a theory of liminoidal information behaviour, in order to explore how people in the liminoid a place between cultures where identities are often suspended interact with information.

Every human being applies their acquired knowledge during the interpretation and application of information, but all the humanly acquired knowledge are shaped by the social information processing model as determined by the traditions and values embedded in their culture. Therefore, the transition from information seeking to the application within a person is not completely dependent on cognition but in the current socio-cultural interpretation of that information. The cultural background of every individual often determines the interpretation and the understanding derivable from any information. Human socio-cultural values are the intervening variables during information seeking, and they can be grouped into three, namely psychological, physiological and environmental, but none acts alone during information seeking and application. Hence, culture as a factor must be considered both psychologically and environmentally to understand its impact on IB because culture comprises of both the tangible and the intangible aspects of human life. The aim of this study is to investigate the main reason for the contrasting results of the polio campaign across the north and south of Nigeria. The study adopted a mixed method approach comprising of a semi-structured interview and focus groups for the collection of data that adequately describe cultural variables to determine the aspects of culture directly impacting on IB, such as language, customs, traditions, and religious values which cannot be quantified or counted. The research approach considered IB in its totality and viewed information not only as tools designed by human to enhance communication and conceptualization of realities but also as the means which enabled the achievement of the desired goal for both the providers and the users of information. Therefore, IB was not only viewed from the context or content of the information but from the way people search, receive and utilise information to meet their respective needs. The study considered the how ; the what ; the where and the whom people consult when in need of information or for the explanation about the information received but not understood, to determine the chosen culture group s IB By considering culture from a multi-disciplinary perspective and IB evolutionarily, the study investigates the impact of cultural orientation on IB through the way the people of Nigeria relates with the polio eradication campaign. The study links all the factors of culture, such as language, tradition, and religion to the ways people relate to information, and the findings revealed that culture plays a significant role in the IB of individuals right from the point of the perceived knowledge gap to the point of information application. The language associated with the people s religious belief was also found to be of significant influence on language preference during communication of information, as well as in the process of encoding and decoding of information. Thus, culture did not only impact on IB during information seeking and application but also the language for the communication of information. Cultural orientation significantly impacted on the way people relates to the polio campaign as a consequence of their IB, and this informed their interpretations of the polio campaign and the eventual outcome of the campaign within the north and south of Nigeria.

This study sets out to determine whether or not a primary school library, managed by a school librarian, makes a contribution to the information literacy development of year 6 students (ages 10-11 years old). The methodological approach to this research was interpretivist, ethnographic case studies. This is a shift from other studies on school library impact because it employs direct observation of students, and studies each school as a whole, where prior studies have relied on assessment data. This study relied on data collected in the natural environment where children were working to develop rich descriptions of the schools chosen, to be written into detailed case studies. In order to determine the contribution of the school library to information literacy development, the researcher spent time in three different schools, which had differing levels of library provision. The researcher spent time with a Year 6 (age 10-11 years) class in each school, and observed their information behaviour during a research task assigned by their classroom teacher. In order to streamline the observations, an observation framework was developed. This also ensured that each class in the three schools was observed in the same way. The researcher was immersed in each class for the duration of the class assignment, and walked around during the research lessons and spoke to the children about their research process. Semi structured interviews were conducted with members of teaching staff and head teachers to gain information about the school, and to determine their attitudes about school library provision, employing a librarian and the instruction of information literacy. Each school was then written into a case study to provide a rich picture of the school, and of the specific events during the observation sessions with the students. From the case studies, themes about the ways that the students experienced information emerged, and the findings from each school was the basis for the creation of an information literacy framework and recommendations of best practice found in each of the three schools. The investigation highlighted the important contribution that a well-managed school library made to the development of students information literacy.

Background. In England and the UK there has been a move to provide the consumer with more choice in over the counter medicine. In recognition of the number of drugs now available without prescription, new models and frameworks are being utilised with the aim to educate the public about self-treatment. How health information is sought has also undergone transformation with the advent of the internet, the adoption and utilisation of this resource has had a significant impact on how the healthcare consumer seeks information. Aims and Methods. The aim of this study was to investigate the provision of and access to consumer health information in England, specifically with reference to over the counter medicines to promote understanding of the consumers attitudes and opinions to this type of medicine and their health information seeking behaviours. The findings of the study were used to provide recommendations to the stakeholders involved; healthcare organisations, healthcare professionals and the healthcare consumer. The research consisted of a survey (n=324) and was analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Results. The majority of respondents utilised over the counter medicine responsibly and with few adverse events. The General Practitioner is the main source of information and online sources the next most utilised resource. Effectiveness and following advice/recommendations were amongst the themes identified that made a treatment episode with over the counter medicines successful. Unsuccessful treatment episodes included those with escalation of symptoms. Factors governing successful health information seeking were problem solving through self diagnosis and expanding knowledge on an existing health issue. Conclusions. Over the counter medicines are a widely used commodity but respondents continue to have a heavy reliance on the general practitioner for prescription medicines, especially for minor ailments. Evidence exists that individuals utilise information seeking behaviour for self treatment and the use of over the counter medicines. However, adoption of self care models need to be increased through educating health care consumers to maximise the potential benefits of these frameworks for the stakeholders.

abstract: This study explored the Web resources used by four students enrolled in an introductory university-level Medical Translation course over a period of one semester. The research examined the students’ use of time, information needs and searches, and whether user attributes (translation experience and training, specialization and familiarity with the text, previous Web search training, and effort) or task-related factors (perceived task difficulty) had a relationship with the Web searching behavior of the participants. The study also investigates how this behavior might have been reflected in the quality of the product. The study focused on two translation tasks extracted from medical texts selected by the instructor that had to be translated from English into Spanish. Data was gathered by means of various instruments: translated texts, Think-Aloud Protocols, computer screen recordings, and questionnaires. The results of the data gathered from these instruments were triangulated in an effort to find relationships between the translation process and the translation product. Results were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings of the study revealed that the students spent a considerable amount of time looking for information on the Web during their translation assignments, and that the students exhibited an inclination toward bilingual Web sources. An analysis of user attributes suggested that translation experience might have had a relationship with the resources used, and the frequency of their use. Data showed that the more experienced students in the translation program received higher scores in their translations. It was also found that the higher the level of familiarity with the topic, the fewer the number of total searches. In addition, previous Web search training appeared to have a relationship with where and how information was sought. It was observed that in one of the two translation tasks, the more effort the students declared, the more Web searches they carried out. A look at perceived task difficulty indicated that in one of two tasks, this factor had an impact on the number of Web searches, which in turn, seemed to influence the time spent on the translation process, and the translation scores. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Spanish 2015

Investigating multitasking information behaviour, particularly while using the web, has become an increasingly important research area. People s reliance on the web to seek and find information has encouraged a number of researchers to investigate the characteristics of information seeking behaviour and the web seeking strategies used. The current research set out to explore multitasking information behaviour while using the web in relation to people s personal characteristics, working memory, and flow (a state where people feel in control and immersed in the task). Also investigated were the effects of pre-determined knowledge about search tasks and the artefact characteristics. In addition, the study also investigated cognitive states (interactions between the user and the system) and cognitive coordination shifts (the way people change their actions to search effectively) while multitasking on the web. The research was exploratory using a mixed method approach. Thirty University students participated; 10 psychologists, 10 accountants and 10 mechanical engineers. The data collection tools used were: pre and post questionnaires, pre-interviews, a working memory test, a flow state scale test, audio-visual data, web search logs, think aloud data, observation, and the critical decision method. Based on the working memory test, the participants were divided into two groups, those with high scores and those with lower scores. Similarly, participants were divided into two groups based on their flow state scale tests. All participants searched information on the web for four topics: two for which they had prior knowledge and two more without prior knowledge. The results revealed that working memory capacity affects multitasking information behaviour during web searching. For example, the participants in the high working memory group and high flow group had a significantly greater number of cognitive coordination and state shifts than the low working memory group and low flow group. Further, the perception of task complexity was related to working memory capacity; those with low memory capacity thought task complexity increased towards the end of tasks for which they had no prior knowledge compared to tasks for which they had prior knowledge. The results also showed that all participants, regardless of their working memory capacity and flow level, had the same the first frequent cognitive coordination and cognitive state sequences: from strategy to topic. In respect of disciplinary differences, accountants rated task complexity at the end of the web seeking procedure to be statistically less significant for information tasks with prior knowledge compared to the participants from the other disciplines. Moreover, multitasking information behaviour characteristics such as the number of queries, web search sessions and opened tabs/windows during searches has been affected by the disciplines. The findings of the research enabled an exploratory integrated model to be created, which illustrates the nature of multitasking information behaviour when using the web. One other contribution of this research was to develop new more specific and closely grounded definitions of task complexity and artefact characteristics). This new research may influence the creation of more effective web search systems by placing more emphasis on our understanding of the complex cognitive mechanisms of multitasking information behaviour when using the web.