The study presents the findings of a sample survey carried out using two sub-sample populations (Rural Communities and Information providers). The main objective of the study is to explore the Community Information Needs of rural communities in Sri Lanka and their information behaviour. Fifteen categories of basic information needs of two types (â survivalâ and â strategicâ ) were identified. The nature of community information is recognized as non-bibliographic and service-oriented. The information supply position was identified as stagnated at service points, and the dynamism of the information has deteriorated within the delivery mechanisms limited to system structure. It was possible to calculate a Channel Dependency Rate (CDR) which showed that channels appropriate to provide certain categories of information were not strong and or operating as they should be. Rural citizens were also found to encounter a range of difficulties in accessing information, and it was found that these were related to geographical, structural (socio-economic and cultural) factors and personal reasons. The study proposes Community Information Centres using e-governance strategy with One Stop Shop (OSS) model, to be established at the village level using prevailing infrastructure to bridge the information gap existing in the rural areas of Sri Lanka.

Artificial Intelligence Lab, Department of MIS, University of Arizona / This article presents a knowledge-based approach to the design of document-based retrieval systems. We conducted two empirical studies investigating the users' behavior using an online catalog. The studies revcaled a range of knowledge elements which are necessary for performing a successful search. We proposed a semantic network based representation to capture these knowledge elements. The findings we derived from our empirical studies were used to construct a knowledge-based retrieval system. We performed a laboratory experiment to calculate the search performance of our system. The experiment showed that our system out-performed a conventional retrieval system in recall and user satisfaction. The implications of our study to the design of document-based retrieval systems are also discussed in this article.

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Belle Liang / Previous research on mentoring has primarily focused on outcomes associated with these relationships. This body of literature has shown that youths can reap academic, psychological, social, and vocational benefits from the support and guidance provided by these relationships. In addition to outcomes, there has been a slow, but steady, shift to understand the process, or experience, of mentoring from the perspectives of both the mentor and youth. Yet both of these lines of inquiry tend to presuppose that youths are ready, willing, and able to engage in a relationship with a mentor, as long as one is available. Indeed, other research shows that not all youths are ready to be mentored. Therefore, in an attempt to address the conceptual gap regarding the understanding of how youths come to participate in mentoring relationships, the current study used developmental frameworks to investigate precursors to youths' readiness to be mentored. Specifically, this study considered the role of demographic characteristics and parental attachment with eighth grade youths' readiness to be mentored. Readiness to be mentored was conceptualized as consisting of attitudinal and probable-action elements, based on help-seeking theory, and was assessed using adapted scales that were piloted in the current study. Youths in eighth grade from four K-8 elementary schools in the Northeast (N=104) completed self-report questionnaires assessing parental attachment, attitude towards seeking a mentor, likelihood to engage a mentor, demographic characteristics, and mentor characteristics. The gender differences that were hypothesized were not supported; rather, mentor presence was linked to positive attitudes towards seeking a mentor and increased likelihood to engage a mentor. Among the youths with mentors, aspects of parental attachment differentially predicted attitude towards seeking a mentor and likelihood to engage a mentor. Of particular interest was that those without mentors most frequently reported not needing a mentor. This finding draws attention to the understandings youths have of the role and potential utility of mentoring in their lives, and the factors that shape these understandings. Theoretical considerations, implications for future research, and practice implications are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

A West Coast university has had an increase of students who have experienced anxiety or depression over the last few years and have not sought professional assistance. Students have stated that multiple factors contributed to their anxiety or depression, including difficulty adjusting to their new college environment. This challenge has disrupted students' academic performances and often left them without professional help to deal with their anxiety or depression. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to increase understanding of factors that lead undergraduate students to experience anxiety and depression and factors that led to their decision to seek or not seek assistance on campus during their 1st year of college. The conceptual framework that was used encompasses how Ajzen's theory of planned behavior relates to help-seeking behaviors of students. Research questions addressed factors that contribute to an undergraduate's anxiety or depression and what led them to seek or not seek professional assistance during their first year. Eleven undergraduates with a history of anxiety or depression were asked to participate in face-to-face interviews to address the research questions. Narrative analysis was used to analyze the data. The most common themes that were found to have contributed to mental health challenges were pressure, transition and adjustment, and roommate and familial challenges. In addition, the factors that led participants to seek or not seek professional help included influence by peers, affordability, and perceived stigma. Based on findings from the study, a white paper was developed to attempt to improve the institution's culture of mental health by encouraging students to seek assistance for their anxiety and depression without any internal and external barriers.

Postpartum depression is recognized as an important maternal and child health issue. Postpartum depression is the most common perinatal psychiatric disorder and one of the most common complications of childbirth. Studies show prevalence rates in women ranging from 10% to 25%. Postpartum depression affects the emotional wellbeing of mothers, infant behavior, mother-infant bonding, and marital relationships. However, the majority of women who experience postpartum depression do not seek care. The purpose of this analysis is to examine the demographic differences between women in Georgia who report symptoms of postpartum depression but do not seek care, versus women who report postpartum depression symptoms and seek care. Approximately 15% of respondents in this study reported postpartum depression. Of these women, approximately 80% did not seek care for their symptoms. This analysis found that women with the following characteristics were more likely to not seek care for depression: non-White and Hispanic women; women that were uninsured before their pregnancy; women that had their prenatal care paid for by Medicaid or the Military; and women who did not seek care for depression during their pregnancy. The results of this study may help to guide the implementation of public health interventions among postpartum women in Georgia.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004.

The gallery has always sparked an expectant feeling of forgetfulness in me, whether I am an unsuspecting viewer or conceiving of an installation for a particular space. More specifically, entering an art gallery evokes a feeling of being in between the safe, assured and comforting feeling of knowing, and the completely lost and vague feeling of having my mind turn blank. The moment of entry -- if I could slow it down and clearly perceive my heightened expectation -- is like going into a room to get something but forgetting what Im looking for. I liken the experience to that of going into the basement for something -- not quite remembering what -- and opening a box. It might be the height of summer or above ground there might be three feet of snow. The basement is cool, like always; it is dark, a little damp, in a state of disarray or rigid organization. Within the stacks of boxes there are the possibilities of finding Christmas lights and water wings alike. Until a box is opened or its label read, the basement is neutral, quiet and waiting.<p>Scrappy the Bandit and the Outlaw Wolf has come to encompass this type of experience: the ambiguity of being both the moment before something happens, and the tucked-away-until-next-year Long Goodbye of an events neatened and tissue-wrapped aftermath. And the heart of this exhibition offers a number of parallel narratives; these are illustrated by coils of pennants seemingly stored away, a perch in which to sit and wait, a shelter from which to make forays, and an oversize toy wolf that watches over the space.

The gallery has always sparked an expectant feeling of forgetfulness in me, whether I am an unsuspecting viewer or conceiving of an installation for a particular space. More specifically, entering an art gallery evokes a feeling of being in between the safe, assured and comforting feeling of knowing, and the completely lost and vague feeling of having my mind turn blank. The moment of entry -- if I could slow it down and clearly perceive my heightened expectation -- is like going into a room to get something but forgetting what Im looking for. I liken the experience to that of going into the basement for something -- not quite remembering what -- and opening a box. It might be the height of summer or above ground there might be three feet of snow. The basement is cool, like always; it is dark, a little damp, in a state of disarray or rigid organization. Within the stacks of boxes there are the possibilities of finding Christmas lights and water wings alike. Until a box is opened or its label read, the basement is neutral, quiet and waiting.<p>Scrappy the Bandit and the Outlaw Wolf has come to encompass this type of experience: the ambiguity of being both the moment before something happens, and the tucked-away-until-next-year Long Goodbye of an events neatened and tissue-wrapped aftermath. And the heart of this exhibition offers a number of parallel narratives; these are illustrated by coils of pennants seemingly stored away, a perch in which to sit and wait, a shelter from which to make forays, and an oversize toy wolf that watches over the space.