Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Investigator: Bc. Iveta Pfeilerová Supervisor: prof. PhDr. Beáta Krahulcová CSc Modern technology in the lives of seniors The thesis titled "Modern technology in the lives of seniors" is focused on a target group of seniors living in a retirement home and their abilities and potential utilization of modern technologies such as cell phone, computer and credit card. The main objective of this thesis was to investigate the relationship that the seniors have to the modern technologies, such as cell phones, computers and credit cards. The thesis and the research was approached with the aspect that these are the seniors who live in a retirement home. In recent years the issue of quality of life of seniors is becoming increasingly hot topic and work with a cell phone, a computer and the Internet can very significantly affect the lives of seniors. The goal was to determine if these visions are reflected in the lives of seniors in housing facilities and if it is possible that the respondents are interested in these technologies. The research was conducted in both theoretical and practical framework. The theoretical part deals with the demographic changes in society, with the aging population and with the old age itself. Further described is the general information lireracy, information needs of seniors and...

Aujourd’hui, les bibliothèques universitaires (BU) en Syrie sont confrontées à une évolution de leur environnement liée en grande partie à la mutation de l’enseignement supérieur et l’arrivée de nouvelles technologies. Ainsi, les BU se trouvent dans l’obligation de s’interroger sur la pertinence de leurs offres de services. En effet, les besoins et les attentes des universitaires ne sont plus les mêmes qu’auparavant. Ces bibliothèques doivent, par conséquent, suivre cette évolution et répondre à leurs nouveaux besoins pour pouvoir survivre dans un contexte où elles ne sont plus la seule source d’information. L’objectif de cette thèse est de contribuer à la réflexion sur l’adéquation entre l’offre et les besoins. Pour y parvenir, des enquêtes quantitative et qualitative ont été menées auprès d’étudiants, d’enseignants, de dirigeants et de bibliothécaires dans cinq universités syriennes. Cette enquête a été réalisée dans le but de connaître la situation actuelle des BU et des besoins informationnels de leurs publics. Nous avons, ensuite, élargi et diversifié la gamme de services proposés aux universitaires tout en partant de leurs besoins tant exprimés qu’implicites. / Today, in Syria, university libraries are facing an actual change in their environment. This change is largely due to the evolution of higher education and the advent of new technologies. In this context, university libraries have to question the relevance of their services. Indeed, information needs have evolved and are no longer the same as before hence libraries need to adapt to evolution by meeting new needs in a context where they are no longer the only source of information. This thesis aims at contributing to reflection on adequacy between supply and service needs. To achieve this goal, a quantitative and a qualitative survey was conducted among students, professors, managers and librarians in Syria to have a clear understanding of the current situation of university libraries and information needs of their publics. We then expanded and diversified the group of services and provided the academics with the basis of their stated and implied needs.

Redes eletrônicas e necessidades informacionais, integradas para evidenciar comportamento de busca e uso da informação e compreender o papel dessa tecnologia no ambiente universitário, são os objetivos desta tese. Dividida em três partes, enfoca primeiro o plano metodológico. A seguir, dois estudos de revisão fundamentam o trabalho: (1) rastreando a evolução de redes eletrônicas internacional e nacionalmente para sistematizar a matéria; (2) evidenciando pontos tradicionais de estudos de necessidades de informação para alcançar aqueles centrados no usuário. Na terceira parte apresenta pesquisa peculiar, em ambiente da USP cujo Instituto de Física constitui o universo de observação. Por meio do correio eletrônico é perscrutada a conduta de busca e uso da informação de 87 usuários da rede local do IFUSP, no período outubro / novembro de 1994. A abordagem metodológica utilizada é adaptada do Sense-Making de Brenda Dervin, uma abordagem alternativa ou da percepção, que tem o usuário como objeto de pesquisa. Submetidos a três tipos de análise, os resultados obtidos assim se configuram: (a) utilização das redes: tempo de experiência, freqüência, propósitos, barreiras e dificuldades, treinamentos; (b) busca e uso de informação: contexto de uso, natureza e foco das necessidades de informação, estratégias empregadas para solucionar problemas, esforço dependido para localizar respostas as necessidades, expectativa de uso da informação, recursos informacionais utilizados, completeza e satisfação com as respostas obtidas e fontes efetivas de auxílio e (c) necessidades de informação não solucionadas: contexto de uso, natureza e foco das necessidades, expectativa de uso e estratégias para solução. Ponto significativo da pesquisa foi à categorização de usuários em 4 grupos, conforme as etapas gradativas do seu desempenho no uso das redes: fase 1 descobrindo a existência das redes eletrônicas e seus benefícios; fase 2 - já utilizando as três funções básicas da rede (correio eletrônico, ftp e telnet), porém de modo restrito, apenas usufruindo mais agilmente os recursos computacionais locais; fase 3 - buscas de solução a questões imediatistas, pontuais e de caráter variado; fase 4 - uso denotando experiência, segurança nas várias funções das RE. Dessa categorização e pelas VÍ solução a questões imediatistas, pontuais e de caráter variado; fase 4 - uso denotando experiência, segurança nas várias funções das RE. \"Dessa categorização e pelas freqüências observadas em cada fase, infere-se que as redes eletrônicas têm sido utilizadas mais como um instrumento de comunicação do que real fonte de informação. Similaridades nos procedimentos de busca e uso da informação entre os grupos estudados contribuíram também para delinear o perfil de necessidades informacionais de comunidade acadêmica que utiliza redes eletrônicas. Para otimizar o uso das RE, sugere-se o desenvolvimento de estudos específicos das necessidades dos usuários; serviços pertinentes a essas necessidades; programas de capacitação de profissionais intermediários entre serviços e usuários finais, de formação em serviços e treinamento de usuários. / Electronic Networks and Information Needs are integrated in order to search information seeking behavior of the academic community and to understand the impact of this technology in the university activities. Those are the issues of this dissertation, which is presented in 3 parts. First - the methodology. Second - review studies which contain the fundamentation of this work: (1) electronic networking evolution; and (b) traditional versus oriented approach to study the user needs. Third - information seeking behavior research of the electronic networking users at the Physics Institute of the University of São Paulo based in Brenda Dervin\'s Sense-Making Approach. The electronic mail was used in order to get information from 87 users of IFUSP local network. The results were submitted to three types of analysis: (a) use of the electronic network: amount of experience, frequency and purpose of use, barriers and difficulties, amount of training and context of use; (b) search and use of information: nature and entity focus, strategy used, amount of effort, resource used, user expectation and actual uses, completeness of the answers obtained, usefulness of the answers, sources that effectível y helped to find the information; (c) unsolved information needs: failure, analysis of user\'s problems when their information needs remained unsolved was performed. Users were classified in 4 groups, according their performance in networking: (1) those in discovering electronic networks benefits stage; (2) those using basic functions (email, ftp and telnet) but only locally; (3) those seeking for solutions or immediate issues; (4) expert users. From this characterization and due to the user\'s frequencies in each of these stages, an inference of IFUSP net is done: most users are just at the communication stage, not using networks as an information source. Similarities in the information seeking behavior of those IFUSPnet users contribute to outline the community user needs characterization. As suggestions in order to improve the electronic networks use, it should develop specific studies of user needs, offer users competence program and professional in service training.

Orientador: Mariângela Spotti Lopes Fujita / Banca: Helen de Castro Silva Casarim / Banca: Daisy Pires Noronha / Resumo: A representação das necessidades de informação visando à recuperação de informação relevante tem exigido das áreas de Organização e Recuperação da Informação, o desenvolvimento de modelos teóricos e instrumentais que auxiliem nos procedimentos de análise, síntese, representação e recuperação do conteúdo documentário, contribuindo tanto para a sedimentação teórica da área quanto para a formação profissional. Nesse contexto, a percepção da demanda das necessidades de informação de uma comunidade usuária torna-se um aspecto importante a ser considerado pelo indexador, no processo de tratamento de conteúdos documentários de um sistema de informação. Desse modo, propõe-se uma investigação sobre a representação das necessidades de informação na perspectiva do usuário, a fim de identificar elementos conceituais e modelos que possam fornecer ao profissional indexador, subsídios para o tratamento de conteúdos documentários, voltados à demanda da comunidade usuária, de um sistema de informação. Por meio de uma abordagem exploratória de natureza teóricoinvestigativa e metodologia de análise dos modelos teóricos de busca de Tom Wilson e David Ellis, esta pesquisa visa contribuir para que o indexador possa melhorar a representação de conteúdos documentários e ampliar a visão sobre a demanda da comunidade usuária. Os resultados obtidos sinalizam que para o tratamento de conteúdos documentários voltados para a demanda a opção da abordagem sócio-cognitiva demonstra atender de modo mais satisfatório as complexidades que envolvem o usuário na sua dimensão social e por conseqüência as suas necessidades de informação. / Abstract: The representation of the information needs aiming the retrieval of relevant information has demanded from the areas of Information Organization and Retrieval the development of theoretical and instrumental models which may help in the procedures of analysis, synthesis, representation and retrieval of the documentary contents, contributing both to the theoretical sedimentation of the area and to the professional training. In this context, the perception of the demand of the information needs of a users' community becomes an important aspect to be considered by the indexer in the process of treatment of documentary contents of an information system. This way, one proposes an investigation about the representation of the information needs in the user's perspective, in order to identify conceptual elements and models that may provide the indexing professional with subsidies for the treatment of information of documentary contents, turned to the demand of the users' community of an information system. By means of an exploratory approach of theoretical investigative nature and a methodology of analysis of the theoretical search models of Tom Wilson and David Ellis, this research aims at contributing so the indexer may be able to improve the representation of the documentary contents and enlarge the vision about the demand of the users' community. The results obtained signal that, for the treatment of documentary contents turned to the demand, the option of the socio-cognitive approach demonstrates to meet in a more satisfactory manner the complexities that involve the user in his/her social dimension and, consequently, his/her information needs. / Mestre

A medical center specializing in ear, nose, and throat (ENT) services noted an increase in the number of postoperative ENT complications compared to the national average. The purpose of this mixed-methods project study was to examine ENT patients' preoperative patient education (PPE) needs regarding postoperative care. Grounded in Knowles's model of learning, core adult learning principles were applied as guidelines in facilitating patients' PPE learning. Data were collected from 58 ENT patients who were selected using a convenience sampling method and who responded to a PPE survey using a 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis for emergent themes. The quantitative findings included patients' perceived needs for preoperative and postoperative information regarding ENT care and surgery complications. The qualitative findings included patients' perceptions of PPE in ENT and recommendations for how to use PPE before and after surgery. Implications for positive social change include an awareness of patients' perceptions of PPE needs in ENT by hospital administrators, doctors, and nurses. A better understanding of PPE by patients could result in lower levels of postoperative complications in ENT.

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the library needs and library usage of external students in remote areas. The study emphasised external students' perception of their own library needs. Four distinct areas of research evolved from the purpose of the study: to identify the library service needs of external students; to identify library use by external students; to identify external students' perceptions of library needs; and to identify student status in relation to library use. Information was collected by an interview with former external students, a questionnaire to the libraries involved in the study and by Nominal Group Technique (NGT) sessions with external students. The primary instrument was a questionnaire to the external students in the population under investigation requesting information of their library usage and needs. The population under investigation were external students enrolledin the South Australian College of Advanced Education (SACAE) and resident in Whyalla, South Australia. It was decided to survey the total population rather than a sample because of the small numbers involved. Thirty-five responses were received out of a population of 52, representing a response rate of 69 percent. The results of the survey were analysed using a Statview SE statistical package and a spreadsheet and graphics package, Excel. Frequency distributions were computed to determine the number of respondents who selected each option. The study found that the external students who used libraries tended to use a variety of libraries. Students used not only their own institution's library, but the a range of libraries accessible to them in Whyalla. The study concludes by identifying issues, recommending possible solutions, and identifying areas for further research.

本研究旨在探討澎湖縣國小教師教學資訊需求與資訊尋求行為，透過問卷對全澎湖縣40所國小之教師進行普查，以瞭解澎湖縣國小教師之教學資訊需求及資訊尋求行為概況，接著對10位同意接受訪談，且年資在5年以上之國小教師進行深度訪談，透過問卷調查及訪談分析，本研究發現如下： 在教學資訊需求方面，澎湖縣國小教師教學資訊之需求以能『補充教材內容，擴展學生見聞，引發學生學習興趣，提升學習專注力』之教學資訊為主；社會、國語及自然三科較需要額外補充教學資訊；這些額外的教學資訊多運用在課堂之發展活動；數位影音類型教學資訊受大多數教師喜愛，特別是YouTube上的影片。 在資訊尋求行為方面，澎湖縣國小教師教學資訊尋求管道以網路搜尋為主(Google最多)，選擇管道考量方便且能快速取得資訊，選用資訊時則會考量資訊的正確性、方便性、與教學內容相關性、易懂性。找尋教學資訊之干擾因素較多教師表示為：行政工作太多、交通不便、澎湖書店太少、研習很少符合需要、教學設備不夠完善。尋求資訊時的困難主要為『資料量過多，難以篩選』，而解決方式以『請教同儕教師』為主。 研究結果提出對教育主管單位之建議為：(一)減少行政工作與無益於提升學生基本能力之活動，或增加學校員額編制減少上課時數，讓教師有更多心思專注於教學上；(二)提高設備維護經費，使教學設備更完善；(三)加強與穩定網路品質；(四)精緻化研習活動，使研習活動符合需求；(五)整合教育資源，訓練教師運用；至於對圖書館之建議為：(一)希望延長開放時間；(二)希望增加館藏及數位化資源；(三)專業圖書館人員進駐小學協助管理學校圖書館；(四)加強圖書館推廣服務。 / This study was to analyze the teaching information needs and information seeking behaviors of elementary school teachers in Penghu County. The questionnaires mailed to 40 elementary school teachers. . This study also had in-depth interviews conducted with school teachers who have more than five years teaching experience to realize their opinions of information needs and behaviors. The results are summarized two parts. On teaching information needs, the information needs of elementary school teachers in Penghu County were to “supply teaching materials, broaden students’ horizons, arouse students' curiosity interests in learning, and improve learning concentrated attentionion”. Especially in Social Studies, Mandarin and Natural Sscience need more additional supplements of teaching information. This additional teaching information usually used in the development of classroom activities. Most teachers were used to rely on digital audio and video types of teaching information, especially videos on YouTube. On information seeking behaviors, the teachers were mostly using search engines on internet as their teaching information seeking channels (Google is the most popular one). The main considerations of seeking route selecting were convenient and easy to get information. On information selecting, the teachers would consider the information validity, convenience, teaching contents relevance, and understandability. The interference factors to seek teaching information were too much administrative works, traffic inconvenience, lack of bookstores in Penghu, teachers’ learning courses rarely met their real needs, and teaching equipment not good enough. The main difficulties when seeking information were "too much amount of data, and difficult to select". Most teachers’ solution was "to ask their colleagues for advice ". Five suggestions for educational administration: 1. Reduce administrative works and profitless activities or recruit more school staffs to reduce teachers’ workload, so that teachers could have more energy to focus on teaching. 2. Increase the maintenance budget to keep teaching equipment always in a good condition. 3. Strengthen and stabilize Internet network quality. 4. Refine teachers’ learning courses to meet the real needs of teachers. 5. Integrate educational resources and train teachers how to use. Four suggestions for the library: 1. Extend the opening hours. 2. Increase the amount of library collections and digital resources. 3. Recruit professional library personnel into primary schools to assist. 4. Strengthen the promotion of library services.

The rapid growth of Science and Technology has made the use of scientific information a problem of international concern. To keep abreast of current research the scientist and engineer can use a multitude of information sources. In this study the problem of information use is analysed and a theoretical framework is developed and applied in several case-studies of formal and informal communication. The case-studies include surveys among scientists, engineers and social scientists in different R&D-settings. Information about research is looked upon as a fundamental resource for R&D activities. It is demonstrated that information use and communication behavior are related to research productivity. However the use of both written and oral information sources is limited by barriers related to the individual user, his position in the social structure of the research community and organisation as well as the availability of information resources. In order to improve the use of knowledge it is necessary to integrate the information and documentation functions with the planning and conduct of research. In this context user education and marketing of information resources are important prerequisites. Information search and library use in higher education are analysed and discussed in relation to pedagogical methods and the maintainance of professional competence. Special attention is also given to computerized reference retrieval services and their evaluation. / digitalisering@umu

Los estudios de necesidades de información aportan una metodología con lo cual investigar, de manera sistemática, las características de los usuarios con relación a la información que necesitan para el desarrollo de su trabajo. Igualmente proporcionan criterios objetivos para tomar decisiones a la hora de planificar nuevos sistemas de información o adecuar los ya existentes. Esta tesis ha profundizado en los estudios de necesidades de información en el entorno hospitalario desde dos puntos de vista. Por una parte, se ha establecido un marco teórico de referencia que guíe las investigaciones en este campo. Para ello se ha buscado exhaustivamente la información publicada sobre la materia aportando el procedimiento que se ha empleado. De los trabajos recuperados, se ha realizado el análisis tanto del modo de producción y consumo como de su contenido. En segundo lugar, se ha realizado el estudio de las necesidades de información de los médicos del Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia utilizando como método de recogida de información la Técnica del Incidente Crítico. / Information needs studies provide a methodology to investigate, systematically, the characteristics of users in relation to the information they need to develop their work. Also it provides criteria for making decisions when planning new information systems or adapting the existing ones. This thesis focuses on information needs studies in hospital setting and has developed two complementary strategies. First, it has established a theoretical framework to guide research in this field. This has been an exhaustively searched of published information on the matter by providing the procedure to be used. Of retrieved papers, it has conducted the analysis of both production and contents. Secondly, a study has been made of the doctorâ s information needs in the Hospital Clinico Universitario in Valencia and the critical incident methodology has been used for data collection.