Information technology gradually started to play a major role in the service rendering of academic libraries since 1994. Large amounts of money became necessary to enable libraries to provide the latest formats of information sources, as well as access to quality electronic databases. Prices of printed information sources also increased dramatically over recent years, along with a high South African inflation rate. Government subsidies for academic institutions also started to decline annually (De Kock, 1997). User needs, and information seeking patterns of library users also changed over recent years because of major information technology developments. Many authors performed studies on changing user needs in recent years, of which five were chosen to form the basis of this study. It became of utmost importance for libraries to monitor user needs regularly, to be able to identify changing needs and expectations. This will enable academic libraries with tight budgets to render more relevant and appropriate information services to specific user groups. Research procedures and methodology: A literature study was done in order to determine which information rendering models currently exist, as well as to find prior research on the information needs of engineers. This was followed by a qualitative study by means of semi-structured interviews. Personal interviews is a flexible method. which enables the researcher to ask follow-up questions, as well as to ask respondents to explain certain issues in detail (Huysamen, 1993 :15 1). The interview schedule contained thirty-three questions, based on eleven theoretical hypotheses constructed throughout the study. The following engineering departments were included in this study: Electronics, Applied Electronics & Electronic communication, Process instrumentation and Control, Power, Mechanical, Civil & Building, Metallurgy, Industrial & Production, and Computer Systems engineering. The aim of the study: This study is aimed at determining the information needs of engineering lecturers in particular, and also to determine if the Gold Fields library currently satisfies their information needs. All engineering lecturers have access to electronic databases as well as internet from their offices, and in many cases don't need to make use the physical library building any more. This study aims at finding out what their current information needs are, and which avenues they are currently being used to acquire relevant subject related information. Lecturers will also be probed about the role of the Gold Fields Library in their information needs. Conclusion: This study reveals that the information needs of engineering lecturers revolve primarily around their personal research interests, as well as changing lecturing methods. Printed and electronic information sources are currently complementing each other, and in no way is one replacing the other. This study also showed that the Gold Fields Library is currently not satisfying engineering lecturer's information needs, with specific reference to the intranet; some printed and electronic resources; training on electronic databases; packaging of information; personalized information services, and the subject knowledge of information librarians. Engineering lecturers were satisfied with the following: information interviews conducted by information librarians; personal attributes of information librarians; information technology competency of information librarians, and ethics. It became evident that the Gold Fields Library should consider certain changes and expansions to the information services currently rendered to engineering lecturers. / Thesis (M.Bibl.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Information technology gradually started to play a major role in the service rendering of academic libraries since 1994. Large amounts of money became necessary to enable libraries to provide the latest formats of information sources, as well as access to quality electronic databases. Prices of printed information sources also increased dramatically over recent years, along with a high South African inflation rate. Government subsidies for academic institutions also started to decline annually (De Kock, 1997). User needs, and information seeking patterns of library users also changed over recent years because of major information technology developments. Many authors performed studies on changing user needs in recent years, of which five were chosen to form the basis of this study. It became of utmost importance for libraries to monitor user needs regularly, to be able to identify changing needs and expectations. This will enable academic libraries with tight budgets to render more relevant and appropriate information services to specific user groups. Research procedures and methodology: A literature study was done in order to determine which information rendering models currently exist, as well as to find prior research on the information needs of engineers. This was followed by a qualitative study by means of semi-structured interviews. Personal interviews is a flexible method. which enables the researcher to ask follow-up questions, as well as to ask respondents to explain certain issues in detail (Huysamen, 1993 :15 1). The interview schedule contained thirty-three questions, based on eleven theoretical hypotheses constructed throughout the study. The following engineering departments were included in this study: Electronics, Applied Electronics & Electronic communication, Process instrumentation and Control, Power, Mechanical, Civil & Building, Metallurgy, Industrial & Production, and Computer Systems engineering. The aim of the study: This study is aimed at determining the information needs of engineering lecturers in particular, and also to determine if the Gold Fields library currently satisfies their information needs. All engineering lecturers have access to electronic databases as well as internet from their offices, and in many cases don't need to make use the physical library building any more. This study aims at finding out what their current information needs are, and which avenues they are currently being used to acquire relevant subject related information. Lecturers will also be probed about the role of the Gold Fields Library in their information needs. Conclusion: This study reveals that the information needs of engineering lecturers revolve primarily around their personal research interests, as well as changing lecturing methods. Printed and electronic information sources are currently complementing each other, and in no way is one replacing the other. This study also showed that the Gold Fields Library is currently not satisfying engineering lecturer's information needs, with specific reference to the intranet; some printed and electronic resources; training on electronic databases; packaging of information; personalized information services, and the subject knowledge of information librarians. Engineering lecturers were satisfied with the following: information interviews conducted by information librarians; personal attributes of information librarians; information technology competency of information librarians, and ethics. It became evident that the Gold Fields Library should consider certain changes and expansions to the information services currently rendered to engineering lecturers. / Thesis (M.Bibl.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

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.

Bakgrund: Hjärt- och kärlsjukdom är den vanligaste folksjukdomen i Sverige och många av de drabbade får även problem med sexuallivet. En persons sexualliv är kopplat till upplevelser av hälsa och en av sjuksköterskans uppgift är att främja hälsa och lindra lidande. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att utifrån ett patientperspektiv undersöka aspekter av informationsgivning gällande sexuallivet hos patienter med hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar. Metod: Studien är en allmän litteraturstudie där tio artiklar med både kvalitativ och kvantitativ ansats har inkluderats. Resultatet sammanställdes med hjälp av manifest innehållsanalys. Resultat: Patienters behov och erfarenheter samt önskemål gällande information beträffande sexualliv varierar. En del patienter upplever att erhållen information rörande sexualliv är tillräcklig medan andra upplever att informationen är både otillräcklig och inadekvat. Patienterna önskade en kombination av både skriftlig och muntlig information. Det framkom också att patienter kan uppleva skam och blygsel i samband med att information beträffande sexualliv ges. Slutsats: Information gällande sexualliv till patienter med hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar bör utformas individuellt utifrån den enskilda patientens behov. / Background: Cardiovascular disease is the most common endemic disease in Sweden and many patients may experience problems with their sex life. A person's sex life is linked to perceptions of health, and one of the nurse's roles is to promote health and relieve suffering. The aim of this study is to examine, from a patient’s perspective, aspects of disclosed information regarding the sex life of patients with cardiovascular disease. Method: A literature review of ten articles which includes both qualitative and quantitative approach is studied and the results are compiled using the manifest content analysis. Results: The needs and experiences of patients as well as their preferred choice of information concerning sex vary. Some patients feel that the available information about sex life is sufficient, while others feel that the information is both insufficient and inadequate. Patients prefer a combination of both written and verbal information. The study also revealed that patients may experience embarrassment and shame when asked about their sex life. Conclusion: Information about the sexual life of patients with cardiovascular disease should be designed according to the individual needs of the patient.

INTRODUCTION: Electronic health resources are becoming prevalent. However, consumer health information is still predominantly text based. Relying on text alone to deliver health information may not be the most effective way to promote learning or sufficient to meet consumer needs. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed a) whether adding images to text and/or replacing text with narration influenced memory for Consumer Medication Information (CMI), b) if participants perceived CMI formats differently in terms of comprehensibility, utility, or design quality, and if they preferred one format overall c) what participants’ information needs were with respect to CMI. METHODS: Participants’ (N = 36) remembered CMI presented in three formats: 1) Text, 2) Text + Images, and 3) Narration + Images. Additionally, participants rated the three CMI formats in terms of comprehensibility, utility, design quality and overall preference. Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate participants’ opinions and preferences regarding the CMI formats, as well as their experiences with CMI and information needs. RESULTS: No significant differences in memory were observed, F(2, 70) = 0.1, p = 0.901. Thus, this study did not find evidence that Mayer’s (2001) multimedia or modality principles apply to CMI. Despite the absence of effects on memory, CMI format impacted perceptions of the material. Participants rated the Text + Images format highest in terms of comprehensibility, X2(2) = 26.5, p < .001 and design quality, X2(2) = 35.69, p < .001. However, after correcting for multiple comparisons, no significant differences in utility ratings between the three formats were observed, X2(2) = 8.21, p < .016. Further, overall preferences revealed that the most participants’ chose the Text + Images format as their favourite (n = 27, 75%) and Text as their least favourite (n = 23, 63.8%). Directed and conventional content analysis were used to explore participants’ CMI preferences and information needs. Various aspects related to provision, comprehensibility, utility, and design quality all appeared to affect perceptions of CMI and whether or not participants used or would use it. Results of this analysis, paired with evidence from other studies, were used to develop a model proposing factors that influence CMI use. CONCLUSION: This study investigated the potential impact of design and distribution changes on perceptions of CMI. Despite the lack of differences in memory, participants’ perceptions of the formats differed. Findings from this study could be used to inform future research on how CMI could be designed to better suit the needs of consumers and potentially increase the likelihood it is used. / Graduate

Submitted by Valdinei Souza (neisouza@hotmail.com) on 2016-05-11T21:08:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Neusa Maria Pires.pdf: 1960645 bytes, checksum: d219aba51a4548496957daf01f34b01d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Urania Araujo (urania@ufba.br) on 2016-05-16T18:28:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Neusa Maria Pires.pdf: 1960645 bytes, checksum: d219aba51a4548496957daf01f34b01d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-16T18:28:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Neusa Maria Pires.pdf: 1960645 bytes, checksum: d219aba51a4548496957daf01f34b01d (MD5) / O aumento expressivo da população idosa no Brasil nas últimas décadas, segundo dados do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE, 2012) suscitou de diferentes segmentos sociais (governos, profissionais, familiares e a sociedade em geral), ações direcionadas ao atendimento dos direitos da pessoa idosa. No presente estudo se constituiu como principal abordagem, as necessidades informacionais da pessoa idosa relacionadas à saúde, educação, direitos e interação social, cujo objetivo geral da investigação foi identificar e analisar as necessidades informacionais da pessoa idosa relacionadas à saúde, educação, direitos e interação social na Universidade aberta à terceira Idade da UNEB. A pesquisa se caracteriza quanto ao nível de descritiva, utilizando o método do estudo de caso, tendo como objetivos específicos: caracterizar o perfil do idoso da UATI; identificar as necessidades informacionais desses sujeitos; conhecer as práticas informacionais do referido grupo; apontar as dificuldades apresentadas pelos idosos para o acesso e uso da informação. A investigação foi realizada a partir de uma amostra representada por 35 idosos alunos da UATI, no campus da UNEB de Salvador. Para a coleta de dados adotou-se as técnicas da observação direta e da entrevista semi-estruturada entre os idosos da UATI. A análise realizou-se a partir da abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa. Utilizou-se a técnica da análise de conteúdo de Bardin, adotando-se a categorização. Os dados demonstraram que os sujeitos de pesquisa reconhecem as suas necessidades informacionais, porém, alguns idosos apresentam dificuldades no acesso e uso das fontes e canais de informação e dos recursos tecnológicos, sobretudo, no uso do computador e do ambiente digital; utilizam as redes sociais; alguns não tem a concepção dos direitos, das políticas públicas e de ações direcionadas à essa população. Conclui-se que o idoso investigado é um usuário real de informação e que precisa ter suas demandas informacionais atendidas, bem como se apropriar das tecnologias na perspectiva da autonomia e da produção de sentido, o que implica para a sua socialização na sociedade contemporânea. / ABSTRACT The significant increase in the elderly population in Brazil in recent decades, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2012), raised from different social sectors (governments, professional, family and society in general), actions aimed at meeting the rights of the elderly. In the present study was established as the main approach, the informational needs of the elderly related to health, education, rights and social interaction, whose general aim of research was to identify the information needs of the elderly related to health, education, rights and social interaction the University opened the third age UNEB. The research is characterized as the level of descriptive, using the case study method, with the specific objectives: to characterize the old UATI profile; analyze the information needs of these individuals; identify the informational practices of the group; identify the difficulties presented by the elderly to access and use of information. The research was conducted from a sample represented by 35 seniors students of UATI on the campus of Salvador UNEB. To collect data we adopted the techniques of direct observation and semi-structured interviews among the elderly of UATI. The analysis was carried out from the qualitative and quantitative approach. We used the technique of Bardin content analysis, adopting the categorization. The data demonstrated that the research subjects recognize their information needs, however, some elderly people have difficulties in accessing and using the sources and channels of information and technological resources, especially in the use of computers and the digital environment; use social networks; many do not have the notion of rights, government policies and actions aimed at this population. It was concluded that the elderly while information of potential users need to have their demands met informational and appropriate technologies, for self-reliance and the production of meaning, implying to their socialization in contemporary society.

Introdução: O ser humano na sua condição social, precisa necessariamente da intervenção de outro ser nas suas funções. Na área da saúde, o profissional, vivencia situações e diante do acúmulo de informações recuperadas na Internet, necessita de um mediador que torne possível transformar essa informação em conhecimento. Nos últimos 20 anos, temos verificado um aumento gradativo e descontrolado na quantidade de documentos bibliográficos em todas as áreas do conhecimento, mas especialmente na biomédica. Objetivo: Considerando que a internet e a tecnologia da informação são amplamente disponíveis atualmente, alguns estudos sugerem que as bibliotecas e os bibliotecários podem vir a se tornar instituições obsoletas no cenário acadêmico. O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar o perfil de usuários da biblioteca em nossa instituição, além de tentar verificar o papel da mediação informal desempenhada pelos bibliotecários neste contexto. Métodos: 570 usuários da Biblioteca da FMUSP, que visitaram nossa biblioteca no período de dezembro de 2012 a Abril de 2013, foram convidados a responder um breve questionário, sobre seus hábitos de busca de conhecimentos na literatura. O questionário foi mandado e respondido por e-mail. O perfil destes usuários foi analisado e a seguir, os participantes foram divididos em 2 grupos. Grupo 1 (n=190): receberam qualquer auxilio do bibliotecário durante suas buscas, grupo 2 (n= 52): acessaram a informação de maneira independente, sem a mediação do bibliotecário. Analisamos algumas características destes dois grupos. Resultados e conclusões: O presente estudo permitiu caracterizar que a maioria dos usuários que compareceu à biblioteca era do sexo feminino e que estão na faixa etária entre trinta e quarenta anos, sendo na maioria médicos jovens e estudantes de medicina, habituados a usar as bases de dados. A maioria recebeu algum tipo de mediação formal ou informal dos bibliotecários no acesso à informação. Sendo que este auxílio pode ter influenciado no uso de descritores em suas buscas. Com esta pesquisa, foi possível avaliar algumas das necessidades informacionais dos respondentes. Tais informações aliadas à extensa revisão da literatura podem ser úteis para balizar futuras intervenções dos profissionais da biblioteca para otimizar seu papel na mediação. Não foram observadas diferenças entre os grupos / Introduction: Human beings in their social condition necessarily need the intervention of another being in his duties. In healthcare, professional, experiences and situations before the accumulation of information retrieved on the Internet, you need a broker that makes it possible to transform this information into knowledge. Over the past 20 years, we have seen a gradual and uncontrolled increase in the amount of bibliographic documents in all areas of knowledge, but especially in biomedical. AIMS: Considering that the internet and the information technology are widely available nowadays, some studies suggest that libraries and librarians may become obsolete in the academic scenery. The purpose of the present study was to access the profile of library users in our institution, as well as to evaluate the need for mediation by the librarians in a Medical School. METHODS: 570 individuals that visited our library from December 2012 to April 2013 were invited to respond to a brief questionnaire addressing their habits when pursuing scientific information. The questionnaire was sent and responded by email. 419 participants were post graduate students and the others were physicians from our institution. The population was divided in two groups. Group 1 (n= 190): submitted to library training in searching information, group 2 (n= 52): accessed information by themselves without mediation. We analyzed the differences in behavior between those two groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The majority of individuals that used our library were, females, with a mean age of 39 years and most of them physicians or medical students. The great majority were frequent users and had personal experience in the library before. No differences in behavior were observed between groups in terms of frequency, data base, or use of key words. The present work has inumerous limitations, but may useful inhelping librarians improve their technique facing the new era of information

D.Litt. et Phil. / The study reports on an investigation of information needs and information-seeking patterns of Africans living in selected rural villages in the Northern Province. A total of 302 respondents from six rural villages were randomly chosen for the study. The extent to which rural villagers are aware of their information needs, and their ability to express these needs was assessed and evaluated. The study also identified the nature of information sources and information providers used by rural villagers in their pursuit for information, as well as their level of satisfaction with the information sources and information providers used. Barriers to information-seeking and information provision in rural areas such as language, are also identified. The structured interview was used to gather data from the respondents. This incorporated the critical incident technique, which requires respondents to think back to a time when they needed information or knowledge, in order to solve a problem or make a decision. This technique has been proven to elicit more useful responses as the respondents are not directly asked about their information needs in an abstract, theoretical situation which they may not be able to practically relate to or recall. The study revealed inter alia, the existence of a communication gap between the libraries and community information centres in the villages and the people they are intended to serve. The study also reports on the general lack of awareness of rural villagers' information needs and their inability to articulate these needs. Preference for informal, interpersonal and largely oral methods of information transfer have also been identified by the study, and implications for the respondents' informationseeking behaviour in relation to rural information service provision are also discussed. The nature of information needs identified amongst respondents and their information-seeking behaviour call for the adoption of an appropriate model to cater for the unique needs of rural villagers. It is against this backdrop that current models of rural information provision are critically reviewed. The study argues for the need to adapt library and information services to the rural environment and proposes an alternative model of information provision in rural areas. This model represents a departure from the traditional model of library and information services, which is based on print-media and therefore largely unsuitable to the rural African environment. The proposed model is intended to reorientate and re-focus government departments charged with the responsibility for rural information provision, not only in the Northern Province, but in rural South Africa in broader terms. The model is also intended to enable the government and Library and Information Service(LIS) stakeholders to rethink the entire process of information provision and access to information in rural villages. Finally, the study makes recommendations regarding the improvement of rural information provision and acceleration of the establishment of community information centres in rural villages. A call is made for a more integrated approach to rural information provision, using all stake-holders such as chiefs, headmen, Transitional Local Councils, private sector companies and local businesspeople, amongst others.

Context. Every day software practitioners need information for resolving a number of questions. This information need should be identified and addressed in order to successfully develop and deliver a software system. One of the ways to address these information needs is to make use of some information sources like blogs, websites, documentation etc. Identifying the needs and sources of software practitioners can improve and benefit the practitioners as well as the software development process. But the information needs and sources of software practitioners are partially studied and rather it is mostly focused on the knowledge management in software engineering. So, the current context of this study is to identify the information needs and information sources of software practitioners and also to investigate the practitioner’s perception on different information sources.            Objectives. In this study we primarily investigated some of the information needs of software practitioners and the information sources that they use to fulfill their needs. Secondly we investigated the practitioner’s perception on available information sources by identifying the aspects that they consider while using different information sources.  Methods. To achieve the research objectives this study conducted an empirical investigation by performing a survey, with two data collection techniques. A simple literature review was also performed initially to identify some of the information needs and sources of software practitioners. Then we started survey by conducting the semi-structured interviews, based on the data obtained from the literature. Moreover, an online questionnaire was designed, after conducting the preliminary analysis of the data obtained from both the interviews and literature review. Coding process of grounded theory was used for analyzing the data obtained from the interviews and descriptive statistics were used for analyzing the data obtained from the online questionnaire. The data obtained from both the qualitative and quantitative methods is triangulated by comparing the identified information needs and sources with those that are presented in the literature.  Results. From the preliminary literature review, we identified seven information needs and six information sources. Based on the results of the literature review, we then conducted interviews with software practitioners and identified nine information needs and thirteen information sources. From the interviews we also investigated the aspects that software practitioners look into, while using different information sources and thus we identified four major aspects. We then validated the results from the literature review and interviews with the help of an online questionnaire. From the online questionnaire, we finally identified the frequency of occurrence of the identified information needs and the frequency of use of different information sources.      Conclusions. We identified that the software practitioners are currently facing nine type of information needs, out of which, information on clarifying the requirements and information on produce design and architecture are the most frequently faced needs. To address these needs most of the practitioners are using the information sources like blogs and community forums, product documentation and discussion with colleagues. While the research articles are moderately used and the IT magazines and social networking sites are least used to address their needs. We also identified that most of the practitioners consider the reliability/accuracy of the information source as an extremely important factor. The identified information needs and sources along with the practitioner’s perception are clearly elucidated in the document. A future direction of this work could be, testing the applicability of the identified information needs by extending the sample population. Also, there is a scope for research on how the identified information needs can be minimized to make the information acquisition more easy for the practitioners.

Tripadvisor is a Travel site that enables its users for planning their travels around the world. It consists of user generated content and users can also add online reviews for each destination.The aim of our bachelor thesis is, understanding Tripadvisor user behaviour and the impact of online reviews on Tripadvisor. Issues which this paper intends to answer are: How Tripadvisors as a digital tool meets the information needs of users? The Impact of reviews on Tripadvisor users’ decisions? In order to answer these questions, we used quantitative survey and qualitative interviews for deeper knowledge from the users.Some of the key findings show that more than 50% of users prioritize TripAdvisor as the first source of information and they give high rating to TripAdvisor. The majority of our survey participants think that the reviews are important on TripAdvisor and it affects users’ decisions greatly. / Tripadvisor är en sajt som gör det möjligt att planera resor runt om i världen. Den består av användargenererat innehåll och användarna kan också lägga till online-recensioner för varje destination.Syftet med vårt examensarbete är att förstå användarnas beteende och påverkan av online-recensioner på Tripadvisor. Frågeställningarna som besvaras är: Hur möter Tripadvisor som ett digitalt verktyg användarnas informationsbehov? Hur påverkar omdömen på Tripadvisor användarnas beslut? För att besvara frågeställningarna har vi använt oss av kvantitativ enkätundersökning och vi gjorde också intervjuer med Tripadvisor användarna för att få djupare insikter om användningen.Några av de viktigaste resultaten visar att mer än 50% av användarna prioriterar Tripadvisor som första informationskälla och ger högt betyg på Tripadvisor. Majoriteten tycker att omdömen är viktig på Tripadvisor och påverkar användarnas beslut mycket.