Showing papers presented at "Aslib Journal of Information Management in 2019"

Knowledge management processes, knowledge worker satisfaction, and organizational performance: Symmetric and asymmetrical analysis

Abstract: Drawing on the knowledge-based view, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the interrelationship between Knowledge Management (KM) processes, Knowledge Worker Satisfaction (KWS) and Organizational Performance (OP). Additionally, the study further seeks to identify the combinations of KM processes and KWS dimensions that can lead to enhanced OP.,Data were collected from 248 academics and administration employees of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The relationships were tested using SmartPLS 3.2.7. The study also employed fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) for examining configurational paths.,The results of the study revealed that KM processes significantly affect KWS and KWS enhances OP in HEIs. Based on fsQCA, the results revealed multiple configurational paths to improved OP.,There is significant lack of research that ascertains the inter-relationship between KM processes, KWS, and OP. This is one of the initial studies that examines the relationship of KM processes, KWS, and OP in HEI’s. From a methodological perspective, the study contributes by combining symmetric and asymmetric statistical tools in KM literature. fsQCA helps to understand the interactions that might not be immediately obvious through traditional symmetric methods.

Sense making in complex health situations

Abstract: Using a sense making approach, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role that virtual health communities play as a source of informational and social support for pregnant diabetic women. The paper helps to understand how women suffering from a critical medical condition (i.e. diabetes during pregnancy and birth) manage a complex health situation.,The data sample consisted of 507 posts collected from a virtual health community for diabetic pregnant women. Data were analysed deductively looking for different expressions of normality and different types of health information about diabetes.,Content analysis revealed four themes that reflect the process that diabetic women go through from their attempts to conceive through pregnancy and birth. The findings show that for women dealing with a chronic illness such as diabetes, the breakdown of normal was the beginning of the pregnancy that prompted a new range of informational and emotional needs. The members of the community negotiated a socially constructed sense of normality and tried to empower other members with a new sense of normal by sharing information about their births. The findings also showed that members of the community disclosed personal health information to elicit medical information, advice and social support from other members.,The study highlighted the significance of sense-making processes in managing complex health situations and the value of virtual communities as sources of information and social support as to resolve discontinuities in the management of their illnesses.

What drives users’ participation in online social Q&A communities? An empirical study based on social cognitive theory

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine some drivers of users’ participation in online social question-and-answer (Q&A) communities based on social cognitive theory and then identify the underlying mechanism of this process.,This study developed a research model to test the proposed hypotheses, and an online survey was employed to collected data. Totally, 313 valid responses were collected, and partial least squares structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze these data.,This study empirically finds that the outcome expectations (personal outcome expectations and knowledge self-management outcome expectations) are positively related to participation in online social Q&A communities. At the same time, users’ self-efficacy positively influences their participation behaviors. It can not only directly motivate users’ participation, but also indirectly promote participation behaviors through the two dimensions of outcome expectations. Besides, perceived expertise and perceived similarity are two positive and significant environmental elements affecting users’ participation.,This study extends the understanding about how participation behaviors will be motivated in the context of online social Q&A communities. Drawing on the social cognitive theory, constructs were established based on the features of these communities. Meanwhile, some mediating effects in the motivating process were also discussed.

Readability and word complexity of SERPs snippets and web pages on children’s search queries: Google vs Bing

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the readability and level of word complexity of search engine results pages (SERPs) snippets and associated web pages between Google and Bing. Design/methodology/approach The authors employed the Readability Test Tool to analyze the readability and word complexity of 3,000 SERPs snippets and 3,000 associated pages in Google and Bing retrieved on 150 search queries issued by middle school children. Findings A significant difference was found in the readability of SERPs snippets and associated web pages between Google and Bing. A significant difference was also observed in the number of complex words in snippets between the two engines but not in associated web pages. At the engine level, the readability of Google and Bing snippets was significantly higher than associated web pages. The readability of Google SERPs snippets was at a much higher level than those of Bing. The readability of snippets in both engines mismatched with the reading comprehension of children in grades 6–8. Research limitations/implications The data corpus may be small. Analysis relied on quantitative measures. Practical implications Practitioners and other mediators should mitigate the readability issue in SERPs snippets. Researchers should consider text readability and word complexity simultaneously with other factors to obtain the nuanced understanding of young users’ web information behaviors. Additional theoretical and methodological implications are discussed. Originality/value This study measured the readability and the level of word complexity embedded in SERPs snippets and compared them to respective web pages in Google and Bing. Findings provide further evidence of the readability issue of SERPs snippets and the need to solve this issue through system design improvements.

An empirical analysis of search engines’ response to web search queries associated with the classroom setting

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine strengths and limitations that search engines (SEs) exhibit when responding to web search queries associated with the grade school curriculum,The authors employed a simulation-based experimental approach to conduct an in-depth empirical examination of SEs and used web search queries that capture information needs in different search scenarios.,Outcomes from this study highlight that child-oriented SEs are more effective than traditional ones when filtering inappropriate resources, but often fail to retrieve educational materials. All SEs examined offered resources at reading levels higher than that of the target audience and often prioritized resources with popular top-level domain (e.g. “.com”).,Findings have implications for human intervention, search literacy in schools, and the enhancement of existing SEs. Results shed light on the impact on children’s education that result from introducing misconception about SEs when these tools either retrieve no results or offer irrelevant resources, in response to web search queries pertinent to the grade school curriculum.,The authors examined child-oriented and popular SEs retrieval of resources aligning with task objectives and user capabilities–resources that match user reading skills, do not contain hate-speech and sexually-explicit content, are non-opinionated, and are curriculum-relevant. Findings identified limitations of existing SEs (both directly or indirectly supporting young users) and demonstrate the need to improve SE filtering and ranking algorithms.

Exploratory analysis of Publons metrics and their relationship with bibliometric and altmetric impact

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the metrics provided by Publons about the scoring of publications and their relationship with impact measurements (bibliometric and altmetric indicators).,In January 2018, 45,819 research articles were extracted from Publons, including all their metrics (scores, number of pre and post reviews, reviewers, etc.). Using the DOI identifier, other metrics from altmetric providers were gathered to compare the scores of those publications in Publons with their bibliometric and altmetric impact in PlumX, Altmetric.com and Crossref Event Data.,The results show that: there are important biases in the coverage of Publons according to disciplines and publishers; metrics from Publons present several problems as research evaluation indicators; and correlations between bibliometric and altmetric counts and the Publons metrics are very weak (r<0.2) and not significant.,This is the first study about the Publons metrics at article level and their relationship with other quantitative measures such as bibliometric and altmetric indicators.

Understanding credibility judgements for web search snippets

Abstract: It is well known that information behaviour can be biased in countless ways and that users of web search engines have difficulty in assessing the credibility of results. Yet, little is known about how search engine result page (SERP) listings are used to judge credibility and in which if any way such judgements are biased. The paper aims to discuss these issues.,Two studies are presented. The first collects data by means of a controlled, web-based user study (N=105). Studying judgements for three controversial topics, the paper examines the extent to which users agree on credibility, the extent to which judgements relate to those applied by objective assessors and to what extent judgements can be predicted by the users’ position on and prior knowledge of the topic. A second, qualitative study (N=9) utilises the same setup; however, transcribed think-aloud protocols provide an understanding of the cues participants use to estimate credibility.,The first study reveals that users are very uncertain when assessing credibility and their impressions often diverge from objective judges who have fact checked the sources. Little evidence is found indicating that judgements are biased by prior beliefs or knowledge, but differences are observed in the accuracy of judgements across topics. Qualitatively analysing think-aloud transcripts from participants think-aloud reveals ten categories of cues, which participants used to determine the credibility of results. Despite short listings, participants utilised diverse cues for the same listings. Even when the same cues were identified and utilised, different participants often interpreted these differently. Example transcripts show how participants reach varying conclusions, illustrate common mistakes made and highlight problems with existing SERP listings.,This study offers a novel perspective on how the credibility of SERP listings is interpreted when assessing search results. Especially striking is how the same short snippets provide diverse informational cues and how these cues can be interpreted differently depending on the user and his or her background. This finding is significant in terms of how search engine results should be presented and opens up the new challenge of discovering technological solutions, which allow users to better judge the credibility of information sources on the web.

The influence of snippet length on user behavior in mobile web search: An experimental eye-tracking study

Abstract: Purpose Web search is more and more moving into mobile contexts. However, screen size of mobile devices is limited and search engine result pages face a trade-off between offering informative snippets and optimal use of space. One factor clearly influencing this trade-off is snippet length. The purpose of this paper is to find out what snippet size to use in mobile web search. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, an eye-tracking experiment was conducted showing participants search interfaces with snippets of one, three or five lines on a mobile device to analyze 17 dependent variables. In total, 31 participants took part in the study. Each of the participants solved informational and navigational tasks. Findings Results indicate a strong influence of page fold on scrolling behavior and attention distribution across search results. Regardless of query type, short snippets seem to provide too little information about the result, so that search performance and subjective measures are negatively affected. Long snippets of five lines lead to better performance than medium snippets for navigational queries, but to worse performance for informational queries. Originality/value Although space in mobile search is limited, this study shows that longer snippets improve usability and user experience. It further emphasizes that page fold plays a stronger role in mobile than in desktop search for attention distribution.

Website removal from search engines due to copyright violation

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to clarify how many removal requests are made, how often, and who makes these requests, as well as which websites are reported to search engines so they can be removed from the search results. Design/methodology/approach Undertakes a deep analysis of more than 3.2bn removed pages from Google’s search results requested by reporting organizations from 2011 to 2018 and over 460m removed pages from Bing’s search results requested by reporting organizations from 2015 to 2017. The paper focuses on pages that belong to the .pl country coded top-level domain (ccTLD). Findings Although the number of requests to remove data from search results has been growing year on year, fewer URLs have been reported in recent years. Some of the requests are, however, unjustified and are rejected by teams representing the search engines. In terms of reporting copyright violations, one company in particular stands out (AudioLock.Net), accounting for 28.1 percent of all reports sent to Google (the top ten companies combined were responsible for 61.3 percent of the total number of reports). Research limitations/implications As not every request can be published, the study is based only what is publicly available. Also, the data assigned to Poland is only based on the ccTLD domain name (.pl); other domain extensions for Polish internet users were not considered. Originality/value This is first global analysis of data from transparency reports published by search engine companies as prior research has been based on specific notices.

Is it possible to rank universities using fewer indicators? A study on five international university rankings

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the similarity of intra-indicators used in research-focused international university rankings (Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), NTU, University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP), Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Round University Ranking (RUR)) over years, and show the effect of similar indicators on overall rankings for 2015. The research questions addressed in this study in accordance with these purposes are as follows: At what level are the intra-indicators used in international university rankings similar? Is it possible to group intra-indicators according to their similarities? What is the effect of similar intra-indicators on overall rankings?,Indicator-based scores of all universities in five research-focused international university rankings for all years they ranked form the data set of this study for the first and second research questions. The authors used a multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cosine similarity measure to analyze similarity of indicators and to answer these two research questions. Indicator-based scores and overall ranking scores for 2015 are used as data and Spearman correlation test is applied to answer the third research question.,Results of the analyses show that the intra-indicators used in ARWU, NTU and URAP are highly similar and that they can be grouped according to their similarities. The authors also examined the effect of similar indicators on 2015 overall ranking lists for these three rankings. NTU and URAP are affected least from the omitted similar indicators, which means it is possible for these two rankings to create very similar overall ranking lists to the existing overall ranking using fewer indicators.,CWTS, Mapping Scientific Excellence, Nature Index, and SCImago Institutions Rankings (until 2015) are not included in the scope of this paper, since they do not create overall ranking lists. Likewise, Times Higher Education, CWUR and US are not included because of not presenting indicator-based scores. Required data were not accessible for QS for 2010 and 2011. Moreover, although QS ranks more than 700 universities, only first 400 universities in 2012–2015 rankings were able to be analyzed. Although QS’s and RUR’s data were analyzed in this study, it was statistically not possible to reach any conclusion for these two rankings.,The results of this study may be considered mainly by ranking bodies, policy- and decision-makers. The ranking bodies may use the results to review the indicators they use, to decide on which indicators to use in their rankings, and to question if it is necessary to continue overall rankings. Policy- and decision-makers may also benefit from the results of this study by thinking of giving up using overall ranking results as an important input in their decisions and policies.,This study is the first to use a MDS and cosine similarity measure for revealing the similarity of indicators. Ranking data is skewed that require conducting nonparametric statistical analysis; therefore, MDS is used. The study covers all ranking years and all universities in the ranking lists, and is different from the similar studies in the literature that analyze data for shorter time intervals and top-ranked universities in the ranking lists. It can be said that the similarity of intra-indicators for URAP, NTU and RUR is analyzed for the first time in this study, based on the literature review.

Exploring information security education on social media use: Perspective of uses and gratifications theory

Abstract: Based on the literature on information security (InfoSec) education and uses and gratifications theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a research model to examine the impact of InfoSec education on social media usage.,The authors employed structural equation modeling to test the research model, with a survey data set of 293 valid subjects from a WeChat subscription about InfoSec education named secrecy view.,The results reveal the significant impacts of perceived content quality, perceived social influence and perceived entertainment on user satisfaction in the context of security education and social media. User satisfaction is significantly associated with user stickiness and security knowledge improvement. Additionally, the authors found that user’s security awareness moderated the effect of perceived entertainment on user satisfaction.,Using a single sample might constrain the contributions of this study.,The authors suggest practical guidelines for InfoSec education on social media by enhancing perceived content quality. Moreover, due to diverse user attributes, the social media operators should recommend targeted content to different users.,This study contributes to studies on InfoSec education of social media usage and identifies factors that affect user satisfaction with social media. Furthermore, the study enriches the security education practices by uncovering differences in security awareness with regard to user satisfaction.

Using the eye-tracking method to study consumer online health information search behaviour

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to introduce eye tracking as a method for capturing direct and indirect measures of online human information search behaviour. The unique contribution of eye-tracking data in studying information behaviour is examined in the context of health information research.,The need for multiple methods of data collection when examining human online health information behaviour is described and summarised. The nature of human eye movements in information use and reading is outlined and the emergence and application of contemporary eye-tracking technology are explained.,The paper summarises key contributions and insights that eye tracking has provided across multiple studies, with examples of both direct data on fixations and gaze durations as well as theoretical assessments of relevance and knowledge gain.,The paper provides a basic introduction to the application of a unique method for information research in general and online health information search in particular and provides readers with an awareness of how such data are captured and interpreted.

Modeling the interplay of information seeking and information sharing: A conceptual analysis

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the creation of a holistic picture of information behavior by examining the connections between information seeking and sharing. Design/methodology/approach Conceptual analysis is used to focus on the ways in which the researchers have modeled the interplay of information seeking and sharing. The study draws on conceptual analysis of 27 key studies examining the above issue, with a focus on the scrutiny of six major models for information behavior. Findings Researchers have employed three main approaches to model the relationships between information seeking and sharing. The indirect approach conceptualizes information seeking and sharing as discrete activities connected by an intermediating factor, for example, information need. The sequential approach assumes that information seeking precedes information sharing. From the viewpoint of the interactive approach, information seeking and sharing appear as mutually related activities shaping each other iteratively or in a cyclical manner. The interactive approach provides the most sophisticated research perspective on the relationships of information seeking and sharing and contributes to holistic understanding of human information behavior. Research limitations/implications As the study focuses on information seeking and sharing, no attention is devoted to other activities constitutive of information behavior, for example, information use. Originality/value The study pioneers by providing an in-depth analysis of the connections of information seeking and information sharing.

Understanding social impact of data on local communities

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to understand the social impact of data on communities from cases of community data utilization,This study took an interpretive qualitative approach and conducted a semi-structured phone interview with 45 participants from data intermediaries and local community organizations,The results demonstrate both direct and indirect impacts of data on local levels, including resolving local problems from data-driven decisions, realizing unknown problems or correcting misrepresented problems, changing community data practices, strengthening community identity and enhancing the community’s data skills,The research shows that communities’ data utilization supported community-led actions and initiatives from the bottom-up perspective, which demonstrates the need for supporting communities’ data work,Minimizing inequality in data utilization should be resolved so that all communities can benefit from the power of data,By demonstrating evidence of data being critical to encouraging communities’ data utilization, this study fills the gap in existing research, which lacks a clear explanation for how the potential of data can be realized at the local level

Semantic preserving bijective mappings for expressions involving special functions between computer algebra systems and document preparation systems.

Abstract: Purpose – Modern mathematicians and scientists of math-related disciplines often use Document Preparation Systems (DPS) to write and Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) to calculate mathematical expressions. Usually, they translate the expressions manually between DPS and CAS. This process is time-consuming and error-prone. The purpose of this paper is to automate this translation. This paper uses Maple and Mathematica as the CAS, and LaTeX as the DPS. Design/methodology/approach – Bruce Miller at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a collection of special LaTeX macros that create links from mathematical symbols to their definitions in the NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions (DLMF). The authors are using these macros to perform rule-based translations between the formulae in the DLMF and CAS. Moreover, the authors develop software to ease the creation of new rules and to discover inconsistencies. Findings – The authors created 396 mappings and translated 58.8 percent of DLMF formulae (2,405 expressions) successfully between Maple and DLMF. For a significant percentage, the special function definitions in Maple and the DLMF were different. An atomic symbol in one system maps to a composite expression in the other system. The translator was also successfully used for automatic verification of mathematical online compendia and CAS. The evaluation techniques discovered two errors in the DLMF and one defect in Maple. Originality/value – This paper introduces the first translation tool for special functions between LaTeX and CAS. The approach improves error-prone manual translations and can be used to verify mathematical online compendia and CAS.

User adoption of a hybrid social tagging approach in an online knowledge community

Abstract: Online knowledge communities make great contributions to global knowledge sharing and innovation. Resource tagging approaches have been widely adopted in such communities to describe, annotate and organize knowledge resources mainly through users’ participation. However, it is unclear what causes the adoption of a particular resource tagging approach. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that drive users to use a hybrid social tagging approach.,Technology acceptance model and social cognitive theory are adopted to support an integrated model proposed in this paper. Zhihu, one of the most popular online knowledge communities in China, is taken as the survey context. A survey was conducted with a questionnaire and collected data were analyzed through structural equation model.,A new hybrid social resource tagging approach was refined and described. The empirical results revealed that self-efficacy, perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use exert positive effect on users’ attitude. Moreover, social influence, PU and attitude impact significantly on users’ intention to use a hybrid social resource tagging approach.,Theoretically, this study enriches the type of resource tagging approaches and recognizes factors influencing user adoption to use it. Regarding the practical parts, the results provide online information system providers and designers with referential strategies to improve the performance of the current tagging approaches and promote them.

From health to performance

Abstract: Building on theoretical foundation of personal information management (PIM) in information science, this paper seeks to understand how activity tracker users manage their personal health information generated by their devices and to elucidate future activity tracking technology in support of personal health information management (PHIM). This paper aims to discuss this issue.,The authors conducted a web survey study with a specific group of activity tracker users – amateur runners. This survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data on participants’ engagement with activity tracking technology, their PHIM practices with the information generated by the technology and how their needs were being met by their activity tracking technology use and PHIM practices.,Amateur runners surveyed in this study exhibit long-term engagement and frequent interaction with activity tracking technology. They also engage in PHIM practices by using a range of PHIM tools and performing various PHIM activities. Furthermore, they use activity tracking technology and engage in PHIM practices to meet various health/fitness-related needs and information needs, while some of these needs such as performance needs and overarching needs are only partially met or unmet.,This research discusses amateur runners as power users of activity tracking technology, provides timely updates to PIM and PHIM research in light of a new type of personal health information, and generates design considerations for future activity tracking technology in support of PHIM. It also brings together previously disparate research regarding everyday life PHIM in information science, human–computer interaction and health informatics.

Factors hindering shared files retrieval

Abstract: Personal information management (PIM) is an activity in which people store information items in order to retrieve them later. The purpose of this paper is to test and quantify the effect of factors related to collection size, file properties and workload on file retrieval success and efficiency.,In the study, 289 participants retrieved 1,557 of their shared files in a naturalistic setting. The study used specially developed software designed to collect shared files’ names and present them as targets for the retrieval task. The dependent variables were retrieval success, retrieval time and misstep/s.,Various factors compromise shared files retrieval including: collection size (large number of files), file properties (multiple versions, size of team sharing the file, time since most recent retrieval and folder depth) and workload (daily e-mails sent and received). The authors discuss theoretical reasons for these negative effects and suggest possible ways to overcome them.,Retrieval is the main reason people manage personal information. It is essential for retrieval to be successful and efficient, as information cannot be used unless it can be re-accessed. Prior PIM research has assumed that factors related to collection size, file properties and workload affect file retrieval. However, this is the first study to systematically quantify the negative effects of these factors. As each of these factors is expected to be exacerbated in the future, this study is a necessary first step toward addressing these problems.

Determinants and academic achievement effect of Facebook use in educational communication among university students

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that drive students to use Facebook for educational communication and explore the impact of Facebook use for educational communication on perceived academic achievement.,A survey was conducted through a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from student Facebook users at a large technology and engineering university in Malaysia. Partial least squares path modeling was used to test the hypotheses in the research model.,This empirical study showed that Facebook use in educational communication is determined by subjective norms and purposive value. Facebook use in educational communication positively affected perceived academic achievement.,The findings provide useful insight for higher institutions and educators regarding the potential academic effects of integrating Facebook into higher education learning. Moreover, this study provides insight into the factors that drive Facebook use in educational communication.,Prior studies have largely investigated the determinants and the effects of Facebook use among university students. However, little research has focused on educational communication phenomena. This study investigated determinants and academic achievement effect of Facebook use in educational communication among university students.

What prompts users to click on news headlines? Evidence from unobtrusive data analysis

Abstract: The headlines of online news are created carefully to influence audience news selection today. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between news headline presentation and users’ clicking behavior.,Two types of unobtrusive data were collected and analyzed jointly for this purpose. A two-month server log file containing 39,990,200 clickstream records was obtained from an institutional news site. A clickstream data analysis was conducted at the footprint and movement levels, which extracted 98,016 clicks received by 7,120 headlines ever displayed on the homepage. Meanwhile, the presentation of these headlines was characterized from seven dimensions, i.e. position, format, text length, use of numbers, use of punctuation marks, recency and popularity, based on the layout and content crawled from the homepage.,This study identified a series of presentation characteristics that prompted users to click on the headlines, including placing them in the central T-shaped zones, using images, increasing text length properly for greater clarity, using visually distinctive punctuation marks, and providing recency and popularity indicators.,The findings have valuable implications for news providers in attracting clicks to their headlines. Also, the successful application of nonreactive methods has significant implications for future user studies in both information science and journalism.

Exploring the impact of game framing and task framing on user participation in citizen science projects

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine how game framing and task framing influence experienced meaningfulness (eudaimonia) and perceived enjoyment (hedonia), which, in turn, can account for user participation behavior in citizen science projects.,The authors designed and implemented a citizen science system, Citizen Sort, and used a survey method to investigate to what extent game framing and task framing influence participation behavior. PLS–SEM was used to test research hypotheses with 76 Citizen Sort participants.,Analysis confirmed that game framing and task framing have a significant impact on perceived enjoyment, but showed that only task framing has a direct effect on experienced meaningfulness. The effects of experienced meaningfulness on participation were fully mediated by perceived enjoyment. Content analysis of qualitative data revealed additional insights.,This research is limited due to its sample size and considered as an exploratory study, in which PLS–SEM was used to identify the impact of game framing and task framing as well as support the theory development regarding the dual nature of citizen science games.,This research provided suggestions for scientists, designers and project initiators that game framing and task framing should be effectively integrated to provide enjoyable and meaningful experiences so as to promote user contribution.,This research is one of initial studies which explored the impact of dual nature of citizen science games. The findings of this study provide the groundwork for guidelines and strategies to facilitate user contribution in citizen science projects.

“Hard to find”: information barriers among LGBT college students

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine collegiate information barriers and perceptions of academic library climate among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) college students in the USA.,The primary method used for this investigation was an online crowdsourced survey of 105 participants who attended two and four-year colleges in the USA. The questionnaire used free word association where participants shared information barriers encountered on colleges’ campuses. Responses from each questionnaire were interpreted using open coding.,Information barriers around sexuality continue to be a challenge for non- heteronormative information seekers on college campuses. One-third of students had distinctive information needs around their sexuality and experienced information barriers from both the institution and social stigma. The study reveals an evolution in sexual minority students’ sense of self, which has moved beyond the binary identity of gay/lesbian explored in previous studies; students identified bisexuality as a salient information need, and described a campus environment that often erased bisexuality. The academic library was described as an information barrier due to inadequate sexual minority-related resources.,Academic librarians as well as higher education professionals, such as recruitment/admissions officers, student counseling services, student health and student affairs, can leverage the results of this study to help establish a more inclusive and welcoming information environment that empowers students for academic and personal success.,A limited number of studies in information science have focused on sexual minority college students’ information behaviors and even fewer on information barriers. This study presents new insight and deeper understanding of the collegiate information environment of LGBT identified students in the USA.

Influence of selected factors in journals’ citations

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of selected factors in journal citations. Various factors can affect citations distribution of journals. Among them, skewness of citations distribution, author self-citation, journal self-citation and recitations (RCs) have been studied.,The present study based on 16 systematically selected journals indexed in Scopus under the subject category “Library and Information Science.” The study was confined to original research and review articles that were published in the selected journals in the year 2011. The temporal citation window from 2011 to 2014 was taken for analysis. Tools like, Scopus author ID, ORCID and author profiles from Google Scholar were used to minimize the error due to homonyms, spelling variances and misspelling in authors’ names.,It is found that citations distribution in majority of the journals under the study is highly skewed and more likely to follow log-normal distribution. The nature of authorship in papers was found to have positive effect on citation counts. Self-citing data show that higher ranked journals have rather less direct impact on total citation counts than their lower counterpart. RCs are also found to be more in top-tier journals. Though the influence of self-citations and RCs were relatively less at individual level on total citations of journals but combined, they can play a dominant role and can affect total citation counts of journals at significant level.,The present study is based on Scopus database only. Therefore, citation data can be affected by the inherent limitation of Scopus. Readers are encouraged to further the study by taking into account large sample and tracing citations from an array of citation indexes, such as Web of Science, Google citations, Indian Citation Index, etc.,This paper reinforces that the citations received by journals can be affected by the factors selected in this study. Therefore, the study provides better understanding of the role of these selected factors in journal citations.

Exploring adaptive information sharing from the perspective of cognitive switching: The moderating effect of task self-efficacy

Abstract: Purpose Microblogging as one kind of social media application provides an important information sharing platform. Adaptive information sharing is the combination of adaptive information technologies (IT) use behavior and information sharing behavior and subsequently refers to adaptive use of IT oriented to information sharing. The purpose of this paper is to understand adaptive information sharing in the context of microblogging from the perspective of cognitive switching. Design/methodology/approach A research model was developed and survey data were collected. The partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to verify the research model. Findings Adaptive information sharing is positively impacted by other people’s use, discrepancies and deliberate initiatives among which other people’s use is the key determinant. Meanwhile, task self-efficacy positively moderates the effect of other people’s use on adaptive information sharing. Practical implications Developers of microblogging should as far as possible create learning atmosphere and learning culture. With learning atmosphere and culture, more and more users could keep on learning from observing other people. Consequently, more and more users would be willing to try new features of microblogging to share information. Originality/value This study examines adaptive information sharing by extending adaptive IT use behavior from the levels of technology, system and feature to the information level, presenting a new lens for adaptive IT use and information sharing alike.

Information dissemination related to the Sustainable Development Goals on German local governmental websites

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate information dissemination related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on German local governmental websites in metropolitan areas. With the growing importance of urban areas for sustainable development, the Association of German Cities recommended an official commitment to the SDGs of all cities. In this paper, the author analyzes which cities report about their commitment to the SDGs on their governmental websites, what thematic information with regard to the SDGs is published on these websites and the role of partnerships and citizen participation in relation to the SDGs.,Content analysis of local governmental websites of the 15 largest German cities was conducted in July 2018.,The SDGs found their way into several German cities and their corresponding governmental websites. The most prevalent topics linked to the SDGs are education, climate protection, fair trade, energy and mobility. The cities have different strategies in informing about the goals. Most cities emphasize the role of citizen participation and partnerships on their websites.,The analysis of websites can only provide a snapshot of reality as the content changes permanently. Further, a limited number of cities were considered which should be expanded in future research.,This study shows examples of German cities raising awareness on the SDGs and demonstrates gaps in doing so. It can help other cities in identifying possibilities and opportunities to deal with the SDGs and raise awareness on them by publishing related information on governmental websites.

Relation between internet financial information disclosure and internal control in Spanish local governments

Abstract: The application of new public governance by many countries has led to the creation of new management systems in public administration and the development of an effective accounting structure with efficient internal control to guarantee a proper provision of services that meet citizens’ requirements. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Spanish local government with the intention of determining the impact of the internal control structure on the disclosure of financial information on the internet.,The empirical analysis used combines a descriptive aspect with an explanatory one and seeks to answer the question of whether the internal control system (ICS) influences the disclosure of financial information on the websites of Spanish LGs. The authors use a multivariate model that allows us to verify the predictive capability of the previously defined explanatory variable, internal control, in 1,806 local governments. To test the hypotheses, the authors use two different models.,The authors consider the existence and quality of the financial information disclosure in relation to ICSs, and a series of financial and non-financial variables. The authors conclude that the structure of the ICS influences financial information disclosure and its quality. Also, the socio-political variable gives a better explanation of financial information disclosure than the financial variable.,This research is novel to determine whether the development of ICSs in Spanish municipalities has favored and increased the disclosure of financial information financial through the municipalities’ website transparency portal. These findings will contribute to increase the importance of internal control in the management of public entities.

What does Google recommend when you want to compare insurance offerings

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to describe a new method to improve the analysis of search engine results by considering the provider level as well as the domain level. This approach is tested by conducting a study using queries on the topic of insurance comparisons.,The authors conducted an empirical study that analyses the results of search queries aimed at comparing insurance companies. The authors used a self-developed software system that automatically queries commercial search engines and automatically extracts the content of the returned result pages for further data analysis. The data analysis was carried out using the KNIME Analytics Platform.,Google’s top search results are served by only a few providers that frequently appear in these results. The authors show that some providers operate several domains on the same topic and that these domains appear for the same queries in the result lists.,The authors demonstrate the feasibility of this approach and draw conclusions for further investigations from the empirical study. However, the study is a limited use case based on a limited number of search queries.,The proposed method allows large-scale analysis of the composition of the top results from commercial search engines. It allows using valid empirical data to determine what users actually see on the search engine result pages.

The influences of social value orientation and domain knowledge on crowdsourcing manuscript transcription

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore how social value orientation and domain knowledge affect cooperation levels and transcription quality in crowdsourced manuscript transcription, and contribute to the recruitment of participants in such projects in practice.,The authors conducted a quasi-experiment using Transcribe-Sheng, which is a well-known crowdsourced manuscript transcription project in China, to investigate the influences of social value orientation and domain knowledge. The experiment lasted one month and involved 60 participants. ANOVA was used to test the research hypotheses. Moreover, inverviews and thematic analyses were conducted to analyze the qualitative data in order to provide additional insights.,The analysis confirmed that in crowdsourced manuscript transcription, social value orientation has a significant effect on participants’ cooperation level and transcription quality; domain knowledge has a significant effect on participants’ transcription quality, but not on their cooperation level. The results also reveal the interactive effect of social value orientation and domain knowledge on cooperation levels and quality of transcription. The analysis of the qualitative data illustrated the influences of social value orientation and domain knowledge on crowdsourced manuscript transcription in detail.,Researchers have paid little attention to the impacts of the psychological and cognitive factors on crowdsourced manuscript transcription. This study investigated the effect of social value orientation and the combined effect of social value orientation and domain knowledge in this context. The findings shed light on crowdsourcing transcription initiatives in the cultural heritage domain and can be used to facilitate participant selection in such projects.

Long story short: finding health advice with informative summaries on health social media

Abstract: Whether automatically generated summaries of health social media can aid users in managing their diseases appropriately is an important question. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel text summarization approach for acquiring the most informative summaries from online patient posts accurately and effectively.,The data set regarding diabetes and HIV posts was, respectively, collected from two online disease forums. The proposed summarizer is based on the graph-based method to generate summaries by considering social network features, text sentiment and sentence features. Representative health-related summaries were identified and summarization performance as well as user judgments were analyzed.,The findings show that awarding sentences without using all the incorporating features decreases summarization performance compared with the classic summarization method and comparison approaches. The proposed summarizer significantly outperformed the comparison baseline.,This study contributes to the literature on health knowledge management by analyzing patients’ experiences and opinions through the health summarization model. The research additionally develops a new mindset to design abstractive summarization weighting schemes from the health user-generated content.

Organizational changes, trust and information sharing : an empirical study

Abstract: PurposeWhile there is relatively plenty of evidence for the positive impact of communication on the perceptions of organizational change, how organizational changes affect information sharing is re ...