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1 – 10 of over 8000Amara Malik, Talat Islam, Khalid Mahmood and Alia Arshad
Social media have been playing a critical role in seeking and sharing health related information and consequently shaping individuals’ health behaviors. This study investigates…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media have been playing a critical role in seeking and sharing health related information and consequently shaping individuals’ health behaviors. This study investigates how information seeking about Covid-19 vaccine on social media is related to vaccine receiving intentions. The study furthers explores the association of trust in social media and uncertainty about Covid-19 with information seeking and the moderating role of prior social media experience on this association.
Design/methodology/approach
We developed a questionnaire and collected data from 525 educated social media users through “Google Forms.” Further, we applied ordinary least squares (OLS) regress to test the study hypothesis.
Findings
We noted that trust in social media and uncertainty about Covid-19 vaccine positively influenced information seeking which further positively affected vaccine receiving intentions. However, the moderating effect of prior social media experience was not only noted as weak but also found negatively affecting the associations of trust in social media and uncertainty about Covid-19 vaccine with information seeking.
Research limitations/implications
The findings provide insights into understanding of public perceptions regarding Covid-19 vaccine in the cultural contexts of a developing country. Further, it informs about the public patterns of seeking information related to health issues on social media, an understanding which may likely benefit policymakers, health care providers and researchers to understand the antecedents and behavioral outcomes of seeking information through social media during health crisis. The study also elucidates the leveraging power of social media to motivate the public to accept the Covid-19 vaccines.
Originality/value
The study uniquely combines the antecedents and behavioral outcomes of information seeking through social media in the particular context of Covid-19. It further extends the literature by introducing the conditional role of prior social media experience.
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Zhichuan Tang, Xuan Xu, Feifei Wang, Lekai Zhang and Min Zhu
Targeting the common functions of the Zhejiang Library website, elderly individuals were invited to complete six experimental tasks on the improved website interfaces, and…
Abstract
Purpose
Targeting the common functions of the Zhejiang Library website, elderly individuals were invited to complete six experimental tasks on the improved website interfaces, and subjective data (PAD emotion scale and usability evaluation) and objective data (eye movement data) were recorded to verify the effects of graphic layout and navigation position on the information-seeking experience of elderly individuals.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzes the effect of the graphic layout and navigation position of the Zhejiang Library’s website interface on the emotional state, perceived usability and information-seeking time of elderly individuals, with the aim of providing guidance and suggestions for the elderly-oriented reform of the public library website.
Findings
The experimental results show that the graphic layout has a significant effect on the emotional state and perceived usability of elderly individuals, and the navigation position has a significant effect on the information-seeking time; the interaction between graphic layout and navigation position exerts a significant effect on the information-seeking time of elderly individuals. The eye movement data show that elderly individuals have a better information-seeking experience when the top navigation bar and image-text matched arrangement are used for the interface layout.
Originality/value
This study adopts a new approach combining subjective data and eye movement data to evaluate the effect of the public library website’s interface layout on the information-seeking experience for older people. The findings can provide a theoretical basis and methodological support for the elderly-oriented reform of public library websites. They can also provide scientific design suggestions for age-friendly interface layouts of other Internet products and service applications.
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Gloria J. Leckie and Lisa M. Given
The history of the public library is long and rich, and continues to reflect this institution's initial mission: to respond to the needs of an evolving democratic society. From…
Abstract
The history of the public library is long and rich, and continues to reflect this institution's initial mission: to respond to the needs of an evolving democratic society. From its early days as a subscription service for the middle-class, through its evolution to become an educational site for the lower-classes and new immigrants, the public library has served as a touch-stone for urban industrial society in North America (Lerner, 1998, p. 138; Shera, 1974). Over the past century, public libraries have evolved to respond to the growing needs of the communities they serve and continue to do so with recent advances in technologies (such as DVDs, electronic books, the Internet, etc.), and with a more global outlook on the ways that people seek and share information. Indeed, the public library's constituents today are exceedingly diverse, including children and adults from a broad range of socio-economic, cultural, and educational backgrounds, all of whom seek information for a variety of personal and work-related purposes. The fact that public libraries have been fulfilling patrons' information needs for well over a century is a testament to their enduring success and versatility as information providers, and also points to the overall effectiveness of public librarians as intermediaries in the provision process.
Laura I. Spears and Marcia A. Mardis
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which academic researchers consider the relationship between broadband access and children’s information seeking in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which academic researchers consider the relationship between broadband access and children’s information seeking in the United States. Because broadband has been cited as an essential element of contemporary learning, this study sought to identify gaps in the attention given to the role of broadband in the information seeking environment of youth.
Approach
The researchers conducted a mixed method synthesis of academic research published in peer-reviewed journals between 1991 and 2011 that reported the information seeking of children aged 5–18 years. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from leading databases, analyzed separately, and conclusions drawn from integrated results.
Results
The results of this study indicated that broadband is rarely considered in the design of children’s information seeking published in peer-reviewed research journals. Only 15 studies showed any presence of broadband in study design or conclusions. Due to the small number of qualifying studies, the researchers could not conduct the synthesis; instead, the researchers conducted a quantitative relationship analysis and qualitative content analysis.
Practical implications
Given the focus of policymaking and public discussion on broadband, its absence as a study consideration suggests a crucial gap for scholarly researchers to address.
Research limitations
The data set included only studies of children in the United States, therefore, findings may not be universally applicable.
Originality/value
Despite national imperatives for ubiquitous broadband and a tradition of information seeking research in library and information science (LIS) and other disciplines, a lack of academic research about how broadband affects children’s information seeking persists.
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This study aims to define a set of assumptions for testing the four factors tested statistically to determine information-seeking anxiety based on quantitative data.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to define a set of assumptions for testing the four factors tested statistically to determine information-seeking anxiety based on quantitative data.
Design/methodology/approach
The developed questionnaire was distributed among graduate university students in Zhenjiang City to find and confirm the factor affecting information-seeking anxiety. The exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis technique has been applied to the sample data set of 329 sample size. Jamovi and SPSS, statistical analysis software, were used to determine the study validity indices.
Findings
This study shows that thematic anxiety, quality of resources anxiety, information communication technology anxiety and library anxiety have a significant effect on information-seeking anxiety.
Research limitations/implications
This study highlights the four factors, i.e. library anxiety, information and communication technology (ICT) anxiety, thematic anxiety and the quality of resources cause information-seeking anxiety among graduate students.
Originality/value
In this age of the digital world, information-seeking anxiety plays a vital role in the vicious circle of seeking behavior. Therefore, to break through the vicious loop of seeking behavior with only information-seeking anxiety as a cure, concentrate on information-seeking anxiety. This study found that thematic anxiety, ICT anxiety, library anxiety and quality of resources anxiety significantly affect information-seeking anxiety.
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