Nine out of ten larger companies have an intranet today which is supposed to improve the communication withinthe company and save money. A great part of these intranets were established in the beginning of the 1990’swithout giving any thought to the users and their needs. How does the communication inside the corporationslook like when the intranets that are supposed to be the source for every information request, aren’t usable? Whatother sources do the users use and how much?The aim of this master thesis is to examine information source selection at a specific company. In addition,the aim is to study the companies intranet usability from the users’ perspective. Interviews with five employeesat Viking Line were carried out to analyze these questions. The empiric material also consists of a survey carriedout among 78 employees of the company. The principle of least effort and the cost/benefit model is introduced astwo possible theories that can explain the information source selection at the chosen company.The results show that the information source selection at the company cannot be explained by only onetheory or one model, in contrast to a great part of prior research. The selection of information source do dependon factors like perceived accessibility and perceived quality of the information but other factors are shown toaffect information seeking decisions as well. Therefore, the empiric material shows that time pressure affectsusers’ choice of source selection to more accessible information sources. Another factor that can have an effecton the user is how one employee treats another. When the employee has been negatively treated at the momenthe is seeking information, the employee is more likely to use impersonal sources.Furthermore, the intranet at Viking Line is the most used as well as the most reliable source according tothe users, even though the intranet does not satisfy all needs of the employees. The users are also highly accustomedwith the intranet which increases its perceived accessibility.The conclusion of this study is that the principle of least effort and the cost/benefit model do indeed explainthe users’ choice of information source, but only partly. The study was conducted at a specific company but theconclusions drawn could be applied to other similar companies where intranets are a great part of the employeesinformation seeking. Finally, I believe, that the effectiveness of the employee is directly connected to the effectivenessof the information sources available at the company. Moreover, if companies improved their intranetsthe companies would become more effective.This paper is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

This study uses focus groups and a questionnaire to examine the information-seeking behaviours of Swedish upper secondary school students. Focus group interviews were conducted among students aged 17-20 at four Swedish upper secondary schools in two different cities. The interviews focused on how the informants themselves experienced their information seeking. In addition, a survey focused on the opinions of upper secondary school teachers regarding the source use of their students. The research questions considered were: What kind of information-seeking behaviour characterizes Swedish upper secondary school students? What kind of information do Swedish upper secondary school students seek when it comes to issues where corporations can be of assistance? How do Swedish upper secondary school students prefer to have information presented? The results of the study provided some valuable insights concerning these questions. The students turned out to use the Internet, and most often Google, in much of their information seeking. However, human contact in the form of face-to-face conversations or presentations was also considered highly important. Furthermore, the information-seeking skills, or information literacy, of secondary school students are not emphasized in their education. The study was performed in cooperation with AstraZeneca in the hope of the results providing the company with valuable information regarding one of their intended target groups.

Introduction: Colon cancer incidence and mortality rates in Canada are among the highest worldwide. If detected early colon cancer is highly curable and regular screening can significantly decrease risk of colon cancer mortality. Despite this, screening rates in Canada are consistently low and immigrant and senior populations are particularly vulnerable due to low health literacy and language barriers. This research consists of three studies that were designed to explore the cancer prevention experiences of older English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) Chinese immigrant women in Canada. This includes an investigation of colon and breast cancer screening utilization, health literacy skills and comprehension of colon cancer prevention information, and experiences and preferences when seeking cancer information by these immigrant women. Methods: A convenience sample of 110 Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking ESL immigrant women were recruited from two Southern Ontario communities. For study inclusion participants were required to: (1) be 50 years of age or older, (2) have immigrated to Canada, (3) have Cantonese or Mandarin as their first language and English as their second language, and (4) be able to read in English. Participants were excluded if they or their spouse had been previously diagnosed with any type of cancer. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires assessing demographic characteristics, use of breast and colon cancer screening, acculturation, self-efficacy, health beliefs and health literacy. Health literacy was assessed using the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) and comprehension of a colon cancer prevention information sheet from Cancer Care Ontario was assessed using the cloze procedure. Participants participated in a semi-structured interview to explore cancer information seeking preferences and experiences, and their understanding of cancer prevention information. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of colon and breast cancer screening. To identify variables significantly associated with performance on the S-TOFHLA and cloze test regression analyses were performed. Directed content analysis was used to identify themes associated with barriers to cancer information seeking and understanding that emerged from the interviews. Results: Study #1: There was high self-reported screening for breast and colon cancer. Eighty-five percent of the women were current mammography screeners and 75% were current colon cancer screeners. Recommendation from a physician (OR=.140; 95% CI= .044, -.448), having a female physician (OR=.141; 95% CI= .033, .591), and high or moderate proficiency in English (OR=.283; 95% CI= .089, .902) significantly predicted mammography screening. Physician recommendation (OR=.103; 95% CI= .031, .349), first language (OR= 1.85; 95% CI= .055, .628) and higher self-efficacy (OR= 3.613; 95% CI= 1.179, 11.070) predicted use of colon cancer screening. Other important predictors included greater health literacy and longer residency in Canada. Study #2: Only 38.7% of the women had adequate health literacy on S-TOFHLA and 54.3% had adequate comprehension of the colon cancer information. Comprehension of the colon cancer information was significantly lower among women who received the information in English, compared to those who received the information in Chinese (p<0.01). Age, acculturation, self-reported proficiency reading English, and education were significant predictors of health literacy but varied depending on the measure (S-TOFHLA, cloze) and language of information (English, Chinese). Study #3: There were unique health information seeking preferences among the older Chinese immigrant women including a strong preference for interpersonal and interactive cancer information from their physician and trusted others, such as friends and family. Barriers to cancer information seeking included language difficulties and limited time with physicians. Differences in health literacy did not distinguish the women on any of the major themes. Conclusion: Language, culture, health literacy and the role of the physician emerged across all three studies examining the cancer prevention experiences of older Chinese immigrant women. While language concordant educational materials may improve understanding of cancer information, the results from this study suggest that it is important to consider factors other than language alone and to address important cultural issues that play a role in the access, use, and understanding of cancer information.

The purpose of this paper was to study the information behaviour of players in an online computer game, namely the MMORPG1 World of Warcraft. To this end a survey was constructed to gather empirical data about the habits of players. In the survey the respondent was presented with four different scenarios and asked to first rank these by complexity and then answering which path they usually take to satisfy the informational need. The complexity was introduced as a possible contributing factor influencing the path taken. A study of different principles relevant to information behaviour was completed and in addition to the main theory, theory regarding social capital and information gatekeepers was included. Some background to what kind of different online games there are and what an MMORPG is. A total of 58 responses was collected and although the data wasn't deemed descriptive of the population as a whole, it showed quite clearly that within the context of World of Warcraft the most common way to fulfil an information need is by visiting a third-party website to obtain the needed information. Out of 229 possible responses spread over the four different scenarios, a staggering 177 answered that they visit a third-party website. This however resonates well with the principle of least effort, where a seeker always aim to use the path that over time results in the least effort.

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between job satisfaction, birth order and sensation seeking. The sample consisted of 179 jobholders in four different organizations in southern Sweden, with an average age of 44 years (SD = 12,12). A questionnaire consisting of three parts was used to map out and measure the participants’ family background, birth order, job satisfaction and sensation seeking. The study showed no significant relationship between birth order and job satisfaction (p = 0,127). Furthermore, the study showed a significant relationship between sensation seeking and job satisfaction (p = 0,025). Finally the analyses showed that laterborns had a significantly higher score on the sensation seeking scale, used in the questionnaire, than firstborns (p = 0,015). The study concludes that sensation seeking is a significant factor when it comes to prediction of job satisfaction. / SAMMANFATTNING Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka huruvida det fanns ett samband mellan arbetstillfredsställelse och syskonplacering, med hänsyn taget till spänningssökande. Stickprovet bestod av 179 arbetstagare inom fyra organisationer i södra Sverige med en medelålder på 44 år (SD = 12,12). Instrumentet som användes för insamling av data bestod av en enkät med tre delar. Dessa delar kartlade och mätte deltagarnas familjebakgrund, syskonplacering, arbetstillfredsställelse och spänningssökande. Studien visade att det inte fanns något samband mellan syskonplacering och arbetstillfredsställelse (p = 0,127). Vidare visade studien att individer med ett högt mått av spänningssökande upplevde högre arbetstillfredsställelse än individer med ett lågt mått av spänningssökande (p = 0,025). Slutligen framkom det att yngrebarn hade ett högre mått av spänningssökande än individer med en annan placering i syskonskaran (p = 0,015). Spänningssökande är alltså av vikt när det kommer till tillfredsställelse på arbetet.

Summary Taiwan¡¦s petroleum market has been deregulated in the wake of the passing of the Petroleum Administration Law. The market structure should have been shifted to monopolistic competition from the monopoly and the price backed to the so-called equilibrium one. Observing its historical data, we can find the effect of the price decrease is not obvious. In this article, we try to explore the reasons for that using the interest group theory in the public choice school. Every interest group demanding regulation decides how much political resource they would provide in light of their own cost benefit analysis. On the other hand, the administration department supplying regulation will be influenced by some variables such as ideology, institutional constraint, and political variance. Finally the political equilibrium price, i.e. output of regulation, will be reached through adjusting both sides each other.

The aim of the study is to investigate the relation between attachment style, early maladaptive schemas and attitude towards help seeking. Participants of this study were composed from 572 university students (264 female, 308 male). Participants were selected by convenient sampling method. The data was obtained by using the scale of Attitudes toward Seeking Psychological Help - Shortened (T&uuml / rk&uuml / m, 2001), Relationship Questionnaire (Bartholomew &amp / Horowitz, 1991), Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (Young &amp / Brown,2006) and a demographic information form. One-way analysis of variance used to analyze the data. The findings of the study indicated students with secure attachment style was found to have more positive attitude towards psychological help seeking than preoccupied, dismissive and fearful attachment styles. As for early maladaptive schemas, the students who have Social Isolation/Alienation schema, Emotional Inhibition schema, Entitlement / Grandiosity schema and Defectiveness / Shame schema show more positive help seeking attitude than students who don&rsquo / t have. In addition, female students were found to have more positive help seeking attitude than male students.

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The Relationship between Organizational Socialization, Information Seeking Behavior, and Organizational Commitment of New High-tech Professionals Abstract Due to the rapid growth of high-tech industry in Taiwan, there is an increasing need for high-tech professionals. Therefore, it is easy for high-tech professionals to switch jobs frequently. This phenomenon causes high-tech companies to spend a lot of money and time on the management of newcomers every year, so it is important to understand how newcomers adjust to the new environment and increase their commitment to the organization. Organizational socialization is generally defined as the process whereby newcomers learn the behaviors and attitudes for assuming roles in an organization. Research on socialization has focused on the socialization tactics used by organizations and tends to portray newcomers as passive in the socialization process. However, relatively is known about how newcomers obtain the information they need. Hence, this study was designed to examine the relationship between organizational socialization, information seeking behavior and organizational commitment of high-tech professionals. Besides, this research also examined the mediating effects of socialization content on the relationship between organization socialization and organizational commitment and the relationship between information seeking behavior and organizational commitment. Surveys were given to 99 new professionals six and twelve months into their jobs. The results of the research indicate that: 1. High-tech companies tend to use institutionalized socialization tactics; new professionals tend to use overt, third party and observing tactics to obtain the information . 2. Collect, sequential, fixed and serial socialization tactics are associated with high socialization content; overt and observing information seeking tactics are associated with high socialization content. 3. Sequential fixed and serial socialization tactics are associated with high organizational commitment; observing information seeking tactic and high socialization content are associated with high organizational commitment. 4. The mediating effects of socialization content on the relationship between organization socialization and organizational commitment and the relationship between information seeking behavior and organizational commitment are not obvious. Key words: organizational socialization, information seeking behavior, socialization commitment, high-tech company, newcomer

This paper presents the results of servo designs for optical disk drives which consist of a dual-input/single-output (DISO) actuator; both a sledge actuator and a voice coil motor contribute to a radial movement of the spot on the disk. DISO systems are subset of multi-input/multi-output (MIMO) systems and thus the servo engineer can apply the design methods developed for MIMO controller design to the DISO compensator problems. These techniques include H2 , H¡Û and £g-synthesis. However, in order to obtain insights into the controller elements, in this study we prefer the H¡Û loop-shaping approach. Here, the focus is on stability and disturbance rejection. The method is presented for a master-slave control scheme in tracking servo, a parallel scheme in seeking servo, and a unit-feedback scheme in focusing servo. The maximum stability margin can be obtained in H¡Û loop-shaping algorithm. Furthermore, a robust controller guarantees to stabilize it would be carried out. Finally, computer simulation results are provided to show that the shaking disturbance due to the run-out of disk can be significantly attenuated and a good tracking performance can be achieved by the developed controller.