ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) policy formulation and implementation by analyzing the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations' FOIA policies. The problem this study addresses is why the Clinton and Bush administrations pursued different FOIA policies even though it appears that "an informed citizenry" was a basic FOIA principle shared by federal FOIA employees through both administrations. This study assumes that the President's comments and statements greatly affect the actions and decisions of the Executive Branch. This study used the principal agent theory, which identifies "hierarchical control," "goal conflict" and "difficulty in monitoring" as significant concepts. To answer the research questions, this study employed multi-qualitative methods, which are mainly non-reactive or unobtrusive research methods including content analysis, secondary analysis and document analysis. The author collected quantitative data from the OIP newsletter, the FOIA Update (1993 to 2000) and the FOIA Post (2001 to 2006), distributed quarterly in paper format until 2000. The FOIA was not a main agenda item of the Clinton and Bush administrations, although both Presidents Clinton and Bush showed some interest in the FOIA. The president's role in FOIA policy formulation is more than symbolic; Presidents Clinton and Bush had different political philosophies regarding the FOIA. Clinton considered the FOIA an essential facet of democracy, whereas Bush considered that the FOIA could be limited for national security, effectiveness of government performance, and personal privacy; The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks seemed to have added impetus to extend the Bush administration's restrictive FOIA policy, accelerating the administration's drive to regain presidential power. The Ashcroft memorandum and the Card memorandum seemed to change the climate of FOIA implementation from encouraging information release to protecting national security information. The similarities in FOIA policy between the two administrations are issuing FOIA directives, user-friendly ways, and acknowledgement of the importance of national security, effective government performance, and privacy. The differences in FOIA policy between the two administrations are opposite FOIA initiatives, different political environments, and structural changes for FOIA organization. Finally, the main implications of this study are that the president's philosophy on the FOIA had effects on federal FOIA policies; high level officers and political appointees were also able to affect FOIA policy formulation and implementation; middle-level FOIA officers had a critical role in FOIA implementation, a dual role in which they served both as principal and as agent; FOIA culture seemed to affect federal departments' FOIA implementation; insufficient and poor guidance have been a major hindrance to FOIA implementation; and Congress is one of the most important principals in FOIA policy formulation. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Library and Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2011. / October 17, 2011. / Bill Clinton, FOIA, George W. Bush, information policy, principal agent theory / Includes bibliographical references. / Charles McClure, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gary Burnett, Committee Member; Chris Hinnant, Committee Member.

While access to images in general has improved in the last 20 years, due to both advances in electronic storage and dissemination and to improvements in the intellectual provisions of them, access to editorial cartoons lags behind access to other types of images. While there have been piecemeal or ad hoc efforts to organize large cartoon collections, these efforts have been based on the wants and needs of the organizers, publishers, or collectors. The purpose of this research was to gather information about user's descriptions of editorial cartoons. Specifically, it gathered terms and phrases provided by users to describe a set of editorial cartoons, both in an image tagging environment and in a simulated query environment. The population for this research was a blended sample; one population consisted of academics in fields that were assumed to have an interest in the research itself, and who were seen as likely to give a full, rich description of each image. The second population consisted of non-degree holding participants, against which the first results could be compared. The images used in this study were political cartoons from the five most recent Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonists. Content analysis of the cartoons' descriptions placed each description into one of Jörgensen's 12 Classes of image description, and the frequencies of each Class in this study were compared to similar studies. The results of this research show that while editorial cartoons can be described using Jörgensen's 12 Classes, they are described in very different ways than are other images. It was found that the Class ABSTRACT CONCEPTS was far more dominant when describing and searching for editorial cartoons than was so for other types of images; the Class LITERAL OBJECT was dominated by the attribute Text in both scenarios; VIEWER REACTIONS play a far larger role for these images than for others; and four Classes that are at least somewhat useful in searching for other types of images were almost unused when searching for editorial cartoons. Demographic variables show major differences in behavior among those of different education levels in tagging, and among different political views and genders when querying. Confirmatory interviews with image professionals and editorial cartoonists showed that the results would be of some use when implemented in the field. The results of this research would help inform efforts to index any image where the meaning of it was more important than the image content, and may help to describe all types of non-textual records of history and commentary. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Library and Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2013. / January 16, 2013. / Communication and the arts, Editorial cartoons, Hstorical documents, Image description, Images, Metadata, Political cartoons / Includes bibliographical references. / Corinne Jörgensen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lois Hawkes, University Representative; Michelle Kazmer, Committee Member; Paul Marty, Committee Member; Besiki Stvilia, Committee Member.

This dissertation presents the results of an exploratory study which examined the use of synchronous text-based communication technologies (SMS texting and instant messaging) by undergraduate university students generally 18 to 24 years old. Preliminary focus groups were conducted in order to gain additional understanding of their usage of these communication technologies and to help refine the final questions used in the online survey. About a third of the over 200 students contacted, participated in the online survey investigating their usage of these technologies. The study revealed that among this group, SMS texting is the most frequently used synchronous text-based technology but many are also using other types such as Facebook Chat and instant messaging. This group used multiple devices to conduct their communications with text-enabled cell phones and laptop computers being the most widely used. While mobility is claimed to be an important advantage of these devices and technologies, over 82% of their communications take place from their home, dorm room, or workplace. The students also find these synchronous text-based technologies to be overwhelmingly effective for communicating with friends, siblings, and acquaintances but much less so for communicating with parents, teachers, and employers. One unanticipated finding from the study was that 37% of the undergraduate students were actually over 24 years old. This finding opened up another avenue of investigation, a comparison of the responses of the students from the two age groups. Numerous measurable differences were discovered between the two age groups when their responses we analyzed. Finally, the study explored some relevant theories which may explain in part or in whole the texting behaviors of undergraduate students as observed in the study. Three theories that fall into this category were examined: Media Richness Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model, and the Uses and Gratifications Theory. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Library and Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2012. / October 25, 2012. / College Students, Information Behavior, Instant Messaging, SMS, Technology, Texting / Includes bibliographical references. / Gary Burnett, Professor Directing Dissertation; Laura Arpan, University Representative; Michelle Kazmer, Committee Member; Mia Lustria, Committee Member.

Previous studies indicated inadequate health literacy of American adults as one of the biggest challenges for consumer health information services provided in public libraries. Little attention, however, has been paid to public users' health literacy and health information behaviors. In order to bridge the research gap, the study aims to investigate users' self-perceived health information behavior according to their health literacy abilities. The proficiency levels of health literacy were determined by the scores of the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy Ability (S-TOFHLA). The study applied Sense-Making theory and self-perception theory for understanding users' self-perceived ability to find, evaluate, and use health information. The study employed self-administered surveys as a principal quantitative method and semi-structured in-depth interviews as the follow-up qualitative method. The study used non-parametric tests and descriptive statistics to analyze the data from surveys, and content analysis using open-coding, axial-coding, and theory notes to analyze the data from interviews. According to the findings of surveys, 98.5 percent of study participants had proficient levels of health literacy, and most of them perceived their abilities to find, evaluate, and use health information as high. There were some significant associations between health literacy and user demographic characteristics such as gender and the level of education. In comparison with a majority of the study participants' proficient health literacy and perception of their abilities, most of the interviewees encountered considerable barriers to using health information services in public libraries. Since users do not have sufficient knowledge about assessing the quality of health information, and have difficulty in making a treatment decision based on the health information they found, public libraries need to promote user education or health literacy workshops, particularly by collaboration with health-related organizations in a community. The study suggests that public libraries can contribute to public health of their communities by enhancing the health literacy of users and overcoming challenges of health information services by better understanding their health information behavior. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Library & Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2012. / February 17, 2012. / consumer health information, health information behavior, information behavior, mixed methods, public library / Includes bibliographical references. / Don Latham, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert Glueckauf, University Representative; Besiki Stvilia, Committee Member; Lorri Mon, Committee Member.

This thesis is an exploratory study of the information seeking behavior of junior enlisted United States Army veterans of Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. During this study, twenty-five qualitative interviews were conducted with veterans residing in the vicinity of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Veterans in this study discussed their experiences with the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP), the Veterans Affairs Office, non-profit agencies, and extended families as primary sources of information during and after transition using their reported "out date" as a frame of reference. The types of information that the veterans sought prior to transition and currently seek were discussed and compared to analyze their information seeking behavior and how it changes as veterans seek to contextualize and make sense of their place in the civilian world. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Library and Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2013. / May 3, 2013. / army, junior enlisted, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, veterans, veterans affairs / Includes bibliographical references. / Melissa Gross, Professor Directing Thesis; Mia Lustria, Committee Member; Sanghee Oh, Committee Member.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how isolated immigrant adolescents seek and use necessary information when they are not able to use significant information sources--their peer groups--in the period of transition before new peer groups are established. Method: To achieve the study's purpose, sixteen recently arrived (three years or less) Korean immigrant adolescents (12 and 18 years old) were recruited through snowballing and convenience samplings. For data collection, a mixed method including survey and in-depth interview was employed through three research phases. First, participants' demographic profiles and their information use environments [IUEs] were described through survey and interview (Phase I: Survey/In-depth Interview). Second, participants' isolated status was measured with three measurement scales and the motivation and contextual backgrounds of the survey results were analyzed via interview (Phase II: Surveys/In-depth Interview). Third, isolated Korean immigrant adolescents' migration journey and their information needs and seeking behaviors were described in interviews (Phase III: In-depth Interview). Finding: In analyzing the study participants' everyday life information seeking and their contextual features, such as their isolated condition and motivation for migration, a preliminary understanding of isolated adolescents' information world was gained: how they interpret their current situations and daily hassles, seek (or do not seek), and utilize information to cope with their daily life problems, and evaluate their use of information, including library systems and interpersonal sources. In particular, three main information needs were found: ELIS Need 1--English language skills to facilitate learning activities in school in the United States; ELIS Need 2--Social skills to facilitate making friends and to become accustomed to American culture and normative behaviors; ELIS Need 3--Study skills to facilitate academic success in highly competitive educational environments in Korea. To fulfill their cognitive needs--ELIS Need 1 and ELIS 3--the participants usually sought parents, teachers, Internet sources, and DIY. For their socio-affective needs--ELIS Need 2, they used guidance or counseling from their parents or selected passive coping strategies, such as the ignorance of their reality or information-avoiding. Their main information needs were usually satisfied through the information sources provided by their family members--parents. Conclusion: Five main emergent themes were analyzed from the findings (six categories of findings) and pertinent theories/models to interpret these unique features were suggested and discussed: Parents attachment in information seeking and uses (Theme 1); Dependence on interpersonal information sources (Theme 2); Information Ground (Theme 3); Two-step flow (Theme 4); Passive information-seeking, information-avoiding and ignorance (Theme 5). Also, this study suggested some empirical alternatives and implications to improve isolated immigrants' information world: (1) Peer-mentoring program; (2) Immigrant parents' school involvement/parents' education; (3) Teachers' education of cultural competence skills; (4) Library PR; (5) Library outreach to whole immigrant family members as a unit. Finally, the contributions of the study in several key areas, the limitation of this study and future studies--to supplement the limitation of this study and to interpret the emergent unique social and information phenomena--were suggested and discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Communication and Information in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 7, 2013. / Adolescent, Everyday Life Information Seeking, Information Behavior, Information-Seeking, Isolation, New Immigrant / Includes bibliographical references. / Melissa Gross, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jeannine Turner, University Representative; Mia Liza A. Lustria, Committee Member; Paul Marty, Committee Member.

This study investigated personal information behavior and information needs that 21 adults managing life with Type 2 diabetes identify explicitly and implicitly during discussions of item acquisition and use of health information items that are kept in their homes. Research drew upon a naturalistic lens, in that semi-structured interviews were conducted in participants' homes. The rich narratives provide insights into situational relevance associated with kept health information items, the uses thereof, and stated information needs. The descriptions of situational relevance were analyzed for themes of information keeping and use in context, as well as expressions of information need that were implicit to participants' situations. The study and its pre-test were conducted in a mid-sized city in the Southeast from April to September 2011. All pre-test (n = 3) and study participants were recruited from diabetes education classes, conducted at a diabetes center associated with a teaching hospital. The study participants were 38-79 years old (mean = 60 years, SD = 9.5) and the majority of participants were female (n = 15, 71%), white/Caucasian (n = 17, 81%), employed (n = 13, 62%), married (n = 11, 52%), insured (n = 18, 86%), and new to diabetes (diagnosis < 3 months n = 15, 71%). Participants kept 706 items in the home, but only a subset (n = 300) were used to manage life with Type 2 diabetes. The interviews focused on these kept and used items to guide the study, similar to the notion of critical incident, to address questions of personal context, information needs, and item uses. Results showed that participants primarily kept and used paper-based items, but digital items, e.g., bookmarked websites, were also used. Results also show that the categories found in literature for `Item Type' and for `Item Use' required expansion. Findings also revealed that individuals with Type 2 diabetes may keep and use health information items to manage life with diabetes within four primary contexts: activity, adjustment, challenge of living with diabetes, and emotion. Analysis of information keeping and use in context showed that kept information items, when examined within a lens of situational relevance, can provide insight into information needs that individuals with Type 2 diabetes may not readily identify. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Library and Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / April 25, 2013. / health information technology, information behavior, information needs, Type 2 diabetes / Includes bibliographical references. / Melissa Gross, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ron Goldsmith, University Representative; Gary Burnett, Committee Member; Mia Liza Lustria, Committee Member.

This study was conducted as a way to begin to fill a gap in the literature regarding young people and hobby pursuit. Through intensive exploratory research, the study sought to explicate the information behaviors of gifted young people related to their hobby pursuit. Focus groups and home visits were conducted and participants were given the opportunity to review the results for accuracy. Thirty two young people participated in focus groups, twelve in home visits, and three in review of data analysis. It was found that three different themes are commonly at play in the hobby pursuit of gifted young people: "Always Activated," or the idea that even when participants are not actively engaged in hobby pursuit, hobbies still play an important role in their everyday behavior; "Adult Facilitated Access," referring to the ways that adults facilitate hobby pursuit in young people's lives - this theme speaks to the mediating role that adults must play in order to introduce young people to potential hobby interests and to support hobby pursuit once it has germinated; and "Autonomy," or the ways that gifted youth make choices about what to do at any given time, how to solve problems, and who to consult when outside help is deemed necessary. It was also found that the participants are very independent, preferring to address challenges on their own. They use a variety of information sources and they make complex decisions about how to share information about their hobbies based on the recipient's level of expertise. In addition, they make decisions about the extent to which feedback should be heeded, based on the level of expertise of the person providing the feedback. As a result of the study, it was determined that Everyday Life Information Seeking, Serious Leisure, and theories of intrinsic motivation can be used effectively with younger subjects, although the idea of adult facilitation needs to be addressed. It was also determined that a large number of young people are introduced to their hobbies through school programs, either special classes held once or twice a week (such as chorus or art) or after-school activities like debate clubs. This provides an argument for retaining funding for these programs. Further research will replicate the current study with a wider range of ages and will examine such factors as race and family make-up to determine their potential impact on phenomena related to hobbies and information behavior. In addition, more attention will be paid to hobby genesis and hobby development over time. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Library and Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2013. / September 23, 2013. / Gifted, Hobby, Information Behavior, Intrinsic Motivation, Serious Leisure, Youth / Includes bibliographical references. / Don Latham, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana Rice, University Representative; Marcia Mardis, Committee Member; Mia Lustria, Committee Member.

This study examines the effect of experiential place and local community on information access and behavior for two communities of parents of children with Down syndrome. It uncovers substantive issues associated with health information seeking, government and education-related information access, and information overload and avoidance within the two communities. It also explores the question of place of local community as a unit of study, and examines information behaviors on the community level. This multi-method study applies grounded theory analysis to a combination of interview and information horizons mapping data. A purposive sample of twenty-eight parent participants and seven service and information providers were selected from two communities in Florida - one in South Florida, and one in North Florida. Participants answered questions about information and service seeking, completed demographic surveys, and created community and social network maps. A grounded theory approach was taken toward interview data analysis. The study finds that local parent information networks served as the primary vehicle for information sharing among participants, and that place had a strong influence on information access and behavior. The Theory of Information Worlds is used to characterize differences in social norms, information values and actor roles between the two communities, and to explore how these differences affected information access and sharing among participants. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Library and Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2013. / October 14, 2013. / Community Health, Geography, Health Information Seeking, Information Access, Information Behavior, Information Worlds / Includes bibliographical references. / Michelle M. Kazmer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Frederick Davis, University Representative; Gary Burnett, Committee Member; Lorri Mon, Committee Member.

In our fast-paced, high-tech society, school librarians' leadership role in technology integration has been receiving particular attention. Because school libraries are usually the first place to introduce new educational technologies, school librarians are expected to have a positive attitude and perspective regarding the effectiveness and merits of new technologies. Meanwhile, simultaneous implementation of digital textbooks is planned in K-12 schools in the U.S. state of Florida and the country of South Korea, and school librarians are supposed to play a pivotal role in this adoption. However, there have been very few studies conducted to identify any patterns or consistencies in librarians' perceptions of innovation. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe the concerns of Floridian and South Korean librarians during the initial phases of the implementation of digital textbooks. For each setting, the study not only determines the stages of concern as per school librarians' practices and experiences, but also classifies those stages of concern by demographic backgrounds. This study used the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) as a theoretical framework. The comparative research design applying a survey method was used, incorporating the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) with other demographic questions. The SoCQ percentile scores were used to identify school librarians' Stages of Concern (SoC) in Florida and South Korea. T-tests explored the similarities and differences of SoC in two locations. The study revealed that school librarians in both places expressed the highest response in Stage 0, Unconcerned, implying they were more concerned about a multitude of other obligations, activities, or innovations. The CBAM theory anticipates that there will be potential resistance from school librarians towards digital textbook implementation in two locations, as the SoC from Florida school librarians presented a Negative One-Two Split user pattern and those from South Korea presented a typical non-user pattern. Also, this study found that, according to their characteristics, school librarians showed the biggest gaps of concerns in the Impact stages (Stages 4, 5, and 6) while having relatively high concerns in the Self stages (Stages 0, 1, and 2). In Florida's case, all profiles presented a relationship between SoC and participants' characteristics, with the biggest gaps occurring in Stage 5, Collaboration. South Korean school librarians' SoC profiles found the largest gaps in the Impact stages. Research Question 3 revealed that South Korean school librarians expressed more concern over the three stages: 0, Unconcerned; 1, Informational; and 2, Personal. Based on the CBAM theory, the findings underscore a need for various interventions. Since school librarians' were found to be apathetic even though digital textbook integration will be put into effect soon, an intervention to inform them of the characteristics and strong points of digital textbooks, as well as restrictions for using them, is urgent (Stage 0). Moreover, the study findings argue that it is urgent to introduce various interventions for specific groups of participants. For example, South Korean school librarians, who had the second-highest concern in Stage 1, Informational, need to receive general information including benefits and costs of digital textbooks. Florida school librarians, who had the second-highest concern in Stage 2, Personal, need guidance to prioritize digital textbooks, and they also need continuous encouragement. The results from the study stress the importance of professional development for school librarians. Data from the study provides administrators with information regarding interventions that were targeted and customized according to school librarians' characteristics. Moreover, for policy makers, the theory recommends gradual implementation of digital textbooks in Florida and pilot test opportunities in South Korea. Lastly, the study urges library and information science education to have short- and long-term strategies for embracing digital textbooks. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Information in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 14, 2015. / Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), digital textbook, Florida, school librarian, South Korea, Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) / Includes bibliographical references. / Nancy Everhart, Professor Directing Dissertation; Vanessa Dennen, University Representative; Kathleen Burnett, Committee Member; Don Latham, Committee Member.