Relationships between work task types, complexity and dwell time of information resources

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miamaria Saastamoinen ◽  
Kalervo Järvelin

Information seeking research often reports about types of information resources, ways of acquiring them and opinions on their importance in various professions. Based on self-reporting, these findings are affected by human memory and rationalisation. This article proposes a new way of studying information resource use – based on dwell time in the context provided by concrete work tasks. We use log data of 21 information workers from six organisations to analyse how work task complexity is connected to the time used in various information resources; how task complexity is connected to information resource use in different task types. Unlike traditionally, our findings consist of objective data on which resource types are used, and for how long, in work tasks of varying complexity and type. For example, the findings suggest that growing work task complexity increases the dwell time in local personal computer (PC) resources; these resources are especially popular in intellectual tasks. Such findings help understand factors affecting information resource use. Likewise, they help focus attention on most time-consuming aspects of task-based information interaction when developing support for work.

Author(s):  
John D. D’Ambra ◽  
Nina Mistillis

This chapter considers the change in information seeking behaviour of tourists as a result of the increased use of the World Wide Web as an information resource in the context of information services provided by visitor information centres (VICs). The theoretical approach adopts the model of expectation-disconfirmation effects on Web customer satisfaction. The chapter proposes that visitor information centres are analogous to an information system and that the user experience of visiting the centre can partially be explained by users perception of the information quality of information resources used at the centre and a prior use of the Web. The research proposition explored in the reported research is that a priori usage of the Web may influence tourists’ perceptions of the information services provided by visitor information centres. In order to investigate this proposition a survey was conducted at the Sydney visitor information centre resulting in 519 responses. The analysis of the data collected, using structural equation modeling, found that perceived information quality of staff and brochures used at the centre explained 63% of the variance of the user experience at the centre, a prior use of the Web did not explain any of the variance. The implications for VICs’ strategic information resource management to meet visitor needs are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Lykke ◽  
Ann Bygholm ◽  
Louise Bak Søndergaard ◽  
Katriina Byström

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to examine enterprise searching practices across different work areas and work tasks in an enterprise search system in an international biotechnology company.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method approach studying employees' authentic search activities during a 4-month period by log data, questionnaire survey and interviews. The log data analysed the entire active searcher group, whereas the questionnaire and interviews focused on frequent searchers.FindingsThe three studies provided insight into the searching activities and an understanding of the way searchers used the enterprise search system to search for information as part of their work tasks. The data identified three searcher groups, each with specific search characteristics. Four work task types were identified, and for all four types the searchers applied a tracing searching technique with use of contextual and historical relationships as paths.Practical implicationsThe findings point to the importance of knowledge on historical and contextual relations in enterprise search.Originality/valueThe work sheds new light on enterprise searchers' information search practices. A significant contribution is the identification of a tracing search method used in relation to four essential work task types. Another contribution is the importance of historical and contextual knowledge to support the tracing search and decide what paths to follow.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-23
Author(s):  
Yuelin Li ◽  
Ying Li ◽  
Ying Pan ◽  
Hongliang Han

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine information-seeking behavior (ISB) of strategic planners in enterprise across different work-task types and stages.Design/methodology/approachA case study was conducted in a pharmaceutical company in China, labeled as T Company. One of the authors worked in the department of strategic planning of this company as an intern. The data were collected via participant observation and unstructured in-depth interviews. Open coding was performed to analyze the data.FindingsFour work-task stages were identified: project preparation, gathering, discovery and presentation, and strategy formulation. The results indicate that work-task types, work-task stages, and strategic planners’ work role or position affect their information needs, source selection, and seeking process. Task complexity, task familiarity, and task goal are of the most important task attributes that directly shape strategic planners’ ISB. Work role determines the extent to which strategic planners can access the information of the company. Internal information has priority, but external information is also important when internal information is not sufficient; both are equally important for strategic planning projects. Social media has been a very important channel to access, disseminate and share information. Workshops are an important approach to producing final project reports. Face-to-face discussion and information exchange play a critical role in the formulation of new strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a case study with data collected from only one company in China. Some of the results may not be generalizable. However, it adds new knowledge to ISB research in enterprise, informs people how to provide better information services for strategic planners, and informs MBA education for students’ better information-seeking skills.Originality/valueThough myriad studies on ISB, little research has been done to examine strategic planners’ ISB from a business context, especially taking into account the effect of work-task types and stages.


2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 266-281
Author(s):  
Nafisat Toyin Adewale ◽  
Yushiana Mansor ◽  
Muhammad-Bashir Owolabi Yusuf ◽  
Ahmeed Onikosi

Purpose This study investigates the moderating effects of age, experience and educational qualification on the relationship between uncertainty and subjective task complexity among lawyers working in private law firms in Lagos State, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach A survey method was adopted and data were gathered using questionnaires. The analysis was carried out based on partial least squares structural equation modelling using SmartPLS 2.0 M3 software. Findings Results showed that the effect of uncertainty on subjective task complexity is significantly moderated by age, educational attainment, experience of the lawyers under study. Research limitations/implications Although data were collected in the most populated state and commercial hub of Nigeria, generalisation based on findings may still need to be made with caution. Practical implications Attainment of higher educational qualification is highly important for lawyers even though the minimum requirement to practice as a lawyer is a degree. Lawyers with higher degrees (LLM and PhD) had less uncertainty and perceived their tasks to be less complex compared to their counterparts who had the first degree (LLB). Originality/value The demographic profile of professionals (age, education and experience) has proven to have an impact on their perception about task complexity as determined by uncertainty as found in this study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-61
Author(s):  
M. Josephine Nirmala ◽  
K. Divyananda

The present study discusses the attitude of information seeking behavior among the scientists of Defence Avionics Research Establishment. The study describes about the scientists those who are involved in the research of Airborne Electronic Warfare, Airborne Processors and Testing & Evaluation of Electronic Warfare (EW) systems and their persuasiveness towards electronic information resources, level of satisfaction, and barriers in all aspects of using electronic resources. For the purpose of the study seventy two scientists listed category–wise were determined as the sample through purposive sampling technique. The primary data were collected through questionnaire survey and thus collected data were analyzed using statistical tools.


2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062110429
Author(s):  
Ola Pilerot

A substantial part of the work conducted by librarians at Swedish regional libraries concerns staying alert and informed in ways that allow for continuous development of the kind of knowledge and abilities that are required for doing a qualified job, but this part of the work is elusive and hard to identify. This paper presents an empirical study that elucidates this specific kind of work of keeping abreast and updated with professional information. Empirical data were produced through interviews and logbooks with 10 members of staff at 4 regional libraries in Sweden. The data were analysed by employing Marcia Bates’ model of different information-seeking modes. The results of the study show that the activity in focus is seamlessly intertwined with other work activities and enacted in a variety of ways that are adapted after other work tasks (than the information seeking in itself) and dependent on individual preferences and routines. Since there is a certain conception of this activity as something that should be carried out in a certain systematic way and since it is something that one as a librarian ought to be good at, it is furthermore often associated with a normative dimension that provokes a sense of guilt among the study participants.


2014 ◽  
Vol 513-517 ◽  
pp. 1425-1430
Author(s):  
Xiu Zhen Feng ◽  
Peng Hao

Cloud computing technology created a brand new approach for further information resources management and utilization. Based on exploring characteristics and applications of cloud computing technology, the study in this paper is focused on cloud service with information resources. The aim of this study is to construct a cloud service model, namely Information Resource as a Service (IRaaS). Our model depicts the components of IRaaS and relationships among those components, which builds up a prime foundation for further studying on both information resource management and service.


2014 ◽  
Vol 644-650 ◽  
pp. 3012-3015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Jing Yang ◽  
Yong Jian Luo ◽  
Hai Yan Zhao ◽  
Xiao Ting Li

Based on the principle and characteristics of cloud computing, we put forward the detailed introduction of the constitution and function of cloud information resource flow architecture. Therefore, the problems of network source information management, supervisory control, exploitation and utilization can be solved.


2021 ◽  
pp. 28-39
Author(s):  
Alina Eduardovna Kim

The subject of this research is self-attitude and self-regulation of laziness in young individuals, who combine work and study. The article provides a brief theoretical overview of the research that prove interrelation between self-attitude and self-regulation of behavior and laziness. Using the quartilization procedure of the values of individual indicators, the author determined the groups with different degree of self-regulation of behavior; established the leading types of self-attitude of young individuals with different level of self-regulation of behavior. The presence and specificity of true links between the types of self-attitude with external and internal evaluative grounds and the severity of self-regulation of laziness in different contexts that provoke manifestations of laziness in young people with different level of self-regulation of behavior. Young individuals with high self-regulation of behavior demonstrate interconnectedness between self-regulation of laziness and types of self-attitude with internal evaluative grounds in execution of learning task, with external and internal evaluative grounds in execution of work task. The author underlines the importance of positive self-attitude for maintaining self-regulation of laziness. Interrelation between the types of self-attitude with both, external and internal evaluative grounds in execution of learning or work tasks are detected among the respondents with pronounced self-regulation above and below the average. Among young people with low self-regulation of behavior, the types of self-attitude with external evaluative grounds in conducting learning activity, the types of self-attitude with external and internal evaluative grounds in execution of work task, are interconnected with self-regulation of laziness. The reveled peculiarities should be taken into account in planning the educational and work process.


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