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Thesis. 1977. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY. / Bibliography : leaves 111-112. / M.S.

The occurrence of identity theft has increased dramatically in recent times, becoming one of the fastest-growing crimes in the world. Major challenges associated with identity theft related offences include problems of consumers with credit, such as: aggravation by debt collectors; rejection of loans; disturbance in normal lives such as reputation damage; and the psychological disruption of providing personal data to organisations and banks during the investigation. For these reasons, and with the ready access of identity thieves to the retail industry, this problem is acute in the online retail industry, yet there has been insufficient research undertaken in this domain. This research investigated knowledge sharing processes for identity theft prevention within online retail organisations. An analysis of how individual staff and teams share their knowledge for identity theft prevention in organisations is presented, which includes the investigation of existing barriers in knowledge sharing for identity theft prevention in organisations. A qualitative case study research approach, using the guiding framework proposed by Salleh (2010), was adopted and extended to improve knowledge sharing processes for identity theft prevention in online retail organisations. Three case studies were conducted with leading online retailers in the UK. Data collection included one-to- one semi-structured interviews, internal documents from the researched companies and external documents from various secondary sources. The researcher used the thematic analysis approach using the NVivo software tool and a manual coding process. The total number of interviews was 34 across 3 case studies, with each interview lasting between 45 and 75 minutes. The participants were selected according to their experience, knowledge and involvement in solving identity theft issues and knowledge sharing. Investigation of internal documents included email conversations, policy documents and internal conversations such as emails and memos from the researched companies. This study found that knowledge of identity theft prevention is not being shared within online retail organisations. Individual staff members are learning from their experiences, which is time-consuming. Existing knowledge sharing barriers within the organisations were identified, and improvements in knowledge sharing processes in the online retail industry of the UK using the extended framework are proposed. This research contributes to existing research by providing new insights into knowledge sharing for identity theft prevention. It extends an existing framework proposed by Salleh (2010) in the new context of knowledge sharing processes for ID theft prevention in the retail industry by simplifying the model and combining elements into a more coherent framework. The present study also contributes by investigating the online retail sector for knowledge sharing for ID theft prevention. The empirical research identifies the barriers to knowledge sharing for ID theft prevention and the weaknesses of knowledge sharing in online retail organisations relevant to ID theft prevention. Finally, this study provides managers with useful guidelines for developing appropriate knowledge sharing processes for ID theft prevention in their organisation, and to educate staff in effective knowledge sharing.

This research project critically explores the manner in which online interaction between individuals affects their understanding of information and what this means for the meaning of information within this context. In order to examine these interactions and their effects the research question asked is: To what extent is digital discourse within the context of the online information explosion rendering all information effectively subjective? The aims of the research were to investigate the relationship between individuals and information and to develop a conceptual framework through which to understand this relationship. Coupled with this concept of interpretative methodology within this research is the idea of Verstehen as a way of developing an understanding of language and behaviour. As the research required public online discourse surrounding an information rich topic it was decided that the issue of climate change would meet these needs. It is an issue which is steeped in debate and that features a significant volume of publicly available information in the form of official statistics, reports and projections as well as widespread media coverage. The analysis of this data highlighted the prominence of certain key elements, such as notable individuals who can be seen taking on roles which direct the discourse shaping it either through the comments they make or the information which they share. This generative role-taking plays into the idea that social validation and the perceived credibility of an individual are vital to the impact which they can have on a discussion and in their ability to shape the opinions of others. The contribution to knowledge can be found in the relationships with the discourse with regard to the issue of who constructs meaning for a piece of information; reconceptualising who is regarded as owning a source and who is regarded as credible in an online social context.

This study was carried out in the field of information behaviour, which includes information sharing behaviour. The study set out to answer the research question: what are the factors that influence proactive information sharing behaviour in organisations? The aim of the study was to explore in depth, factors that influence proactive information sharing behaviour, and understand the degree to which these factors influence proactive information sharing behaviour. The study provides a unique contribution to research by developing an understanding of factors which influence proactive information sharing behaviour in organisations; the understanding of how these factors are related in context; and the development of tools to identify proactive information sharing behaviour. The research approach was based on a constructivist philosophical perspective, grounded in information behaviour theories and models. A case study methodology was used to collect rich data specific to each context; three cases, and two organisations were used overall, and data collection was done using mixed methods, to give a holistic understanding. Research techniques were tailored based on a theoretical framework, which included four theories; autopoesis, social network theory, sense making, and appreciative inquiry. Data collected was analysed using the coding method used in grounded theory, going through the stages of open coding, axial coding, and some selective coding. The key findings were: role responsibility and involvement; reciprocity and trust; open office design, open conversations, and information overload; proactivity and personality; knowledge, experience, and length of time in the organisation; use of technology and resistance to change; organisational objectives, organisational policy, organisational structure, size of group, and lack of resources; enthusiasm, satisfaction / dissatisfaction, low morale, feeling of power, and expectation; difference in objectives between colleagues, personal agenda, and lack of authority. These factors influence the proactive information behaviour of individuals in organisations, and the influence of each factor is deeply rooted in the specific organisational context. A model of proactive information sharing behaviour was developed in this study, which illustrates and explains how the factors, intervening variables, and context, all combine to influence proactive information sharing behaviour in organisations.

No description available.

The focus of this thesis is information use. Although a key concept in information behaviour, information use has received little attention from information science researchers. Studies of other key concepts such as information need and informationseeking are dominant in information behaviour research. Information use is an area of interest to information professionals who rely on research outcomes to shape their practice. There are few empirical studies of how people actually use information that might guide and refine the development of information systems, products and services. The thesis begins to address this imbalance in information behaviour research by exploring the concept of information use through an empirical study. Fifteen senior managers from two organisations in the cultural industries sector participated in the study. Analysis of interviews revealed that the managers understood and experienced information use in five different ways: as information packaging; as information flow; as developing new knowledge and insights; as shaping judgements and decisions; and as influencing others. These five different ways of experiencing information use are related in a hierarchy that reflects three different views of information: as an object; as a construct; and as a transformative force. Embedded in the hierarchy are different relations between people and information in their work environments, different processes of information use and different criteria for determining the quality of information that is used. The thesis demonstrates that the concept of information use can be explored empirically using phenomenography as the research approach. This approach, which originated in the field of education, has been used infrequently in information behaviour research. It offers potential for the further exploration of not only information use but also other concepts germane to information behaviour. The thesis highlights the richness of peoples' experiences of information use and points to some directions that might be taken by practitioners in developing information systems, products and services to support people as they 'go about their business'.

Thesis (MA Library and Information Studies)--University of South Australia, 1995

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Union Institute (Randolph County, N.C.), 1989. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Inspection and testing have become important elements in business and industry. Although there are about one hundred independent inspection and testing companies in Canada with a volume of business estimated a twenty-five million, it was discovered in a survey conducted in 1962 by the writer (Librarian of The Warnock Hersey Company Ltd., in Montreal) that most of these organizations have a small collection of books but few have well organized libraries. [...]