scholarly journals Information search and media usage amongst adolescent Sowetons

Author(s):  
D. Rousseau ◽  
S. Saunders

This study investigates the buying behaviour of black adolescents in Soweto, with the aim of uncovering underlying trends which may be characteristic of other urban black teenagers. Specific objectives included investigating information search and media usage for confectionery products amongst black adolescents in Soweto. Data were gathered from a sample of 641 school children by means of administered questionnaires. Results indicate that urban black adolescents are relatively sophisticated consumers giving preference to consumer-dominated information sources (friends) though market-dominated sources (T.V. advertising) were also regarded as important. The findings also highlight the potential power of the influence of opinion leaders on adolescent buying behaviour as well as the importance of reaching them in advertising campaigns.Opsomming Hierdie studie ondersoek die koopgedrag van Swart adolessente in Soweto ten einde onderliggende tendense wat verteenwoordigend van ander Swart stedelike tieners mag wees, te identifiseer. Spesifieke doelstellings sluit in die ondersoek van inligtinginwinningsaktiwiteite en mediagebruik by lekkergoedaankope onder Swart adolessente in Soweto. Data is ingewin van 'n steekproef van 641 skoliere met behulp van vraelyste. Bevindinge toon dat stedelike Swart adolessente relatief gesofistikeerde verbruikers is wat voorkeur verleen aan verbruikersdominante inligtingsbronne (vriende) hoewel markdominante bronne (T.V. advertensies) ook ‘n belangrike rol speel. Die bevindinge beklemtoon ook die potensiële invloedsmag van opinieleiers in adolessente koopgedrag en die noodsaaklikheid om hulle in reklameveldtogte te bereik.

Author(s):  
Lydia Andoh-Quainoo

This chapter examines the usage of social media in predicting consumer buying process. A mixed method approach has been applied, a cross sectional survey and in-depth interviews were conducted in three universities in Ghana. The responses were collected from individuals in the age group of 18 -30. Data was analysed using Logistics Regression and Thematic analyses. The findings revealed that the social media behaviour of young consumers could significantly influence their behaviour at the pre-purchase information search and evaluation levels. The findings suggest young consumers are more likely to use social media for marketing activities such as purchasing, hence industries should redirect more activities towards this digital channel. This implies that social media is driving young consumers into e-commerce and that presents a huge opportunity for business and marketers.


Author(s):  
Thomas Mößle ◽  
Florian Rehbein

Aim: The aim of this article is to work out the differential significance of risk factors of media usage, personality and social environment in order to explain problematic video game usage in childhood and adolescence. Method: Data are drawn from the Berlin Longitudinal Study Media, a four-year longitudinal control group study with 1 207 school children. Data from 739 school children who participated at 5th and 6th grade were available for analysis. Result: To explain the development of problematic video game usage, all three areas, i. e. specific media usage patterns, certain aspects of personality and certain factors pertaining to social environment, must be taken into consideration. Video game genre, video gaming in reaction to failure in the real world (media usage), the children’s/adolescents’ academic self-concept (personality), peer problems and parental care (social environment) are of particular significance. Conclusion: The results of the study emphasize that in future – and above all also longitudinal – studies different factors regarding social environment must also be taken into account with the recorded variables of media usage and personality in order to be able to explain the construct of problematic video game usage. Furthermore, this will open up possibilities for prevention.


2020 ◽  
pp. 159-172
Author(s):  
Patrick Yeyie

In Ghana, about 20% of school children are involved in some form of child labor. In the Oti Region of Ghana, the Kete-Krachi district has the highest prevalence rate of about 39% compared to 33.2% for the whole region. This paper investigates the major causes of child labor among School children in the Kete-Krachi district of the Oti Region. The study examined 145 respondents through questionnaire and interviews. The research design for the study was both quantitative and qualitative. The respondents comprised 60 JHS social studies teachers, 60 Victims of child labor, 15 parents or guardians of the victims of child labor and 10 stakeholders of education. Data analysis showed that 67% of the victims were from large families of five or more. It was found out that some of the victims worked to contribute to their own welfare. Others worked due to poverty. Some victims also work to promote their education. It was also observed that teachers, opinion leaders, NGOs and the Government should help in the eradication of the menace in Kete-Krachi area.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 992-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina A Clarke ◽  
Joi L Moore ◽  
Linsey M Steege ◽  
Richelle J Koopman ◽  
Jeffery L Belden ◽  
...  

To synthesize findings from previous studies assessing information needs of primary care patients on the Internet and other information sources in a primary care setting. A systematic review of studies was conducted with a comprehensive search in multiple databases including OVID MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus. The most common information needs among patients were information about an illness or medical condition and treatment methods, while the most common information sources were the Internet and patients’ physicians. Overall, patients tend to prefer the Internet for the ease of access to information, while they trust their physicians more for their clinical expertise and experience. Barriers to information access via the Internet include the following: socio-demographic variables such as age, ethnicity, income, education, and occupation; information search skills; and reliability of health information. Conclusion: Further research is warranted to assess how to create accurate and reliable health information sources for both Internet and non-Internet users.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-17
Author(s):  
Vincentas Lamanauskas ◽  
Violeta Šlekienė ◽  
Loreta Ragulienė

Modern society receives a relatively big part of information using information communication devices. Information search possibilities are rapidly growing. On the other hand, the amount of information itself is expanding. One of the quickest ways of finding information is using internet search engines, e.g., “Google”, “Yahoo”, “AltaVista” and others. Their usage undoubtedly makes big influence on education. Pupils’ ability to find the necessary information is highly relevant. Thus, information search literacy is an inseparable component of general education. It is not enough only to find information, it is necessary to use it in the most effective way. Seeking to improve pupils’ information skills, it is necessary to know current position of an analysed question. The object of this research is information search using ICT. The aim of the research is to analyse how comprehensive school upper class students use ICT for information search. It has been ascertained by a research what additional information sources pupils use, where and how they get necessary literature, what information search engines and what electronic information sources they use most frequently. At least a few times per week apart from textbooks respondents use other literature as well (books, dictionaries, handbooks) for learning purposes. They use encyclopaedias very seldom or don’t use them at all. Pupils usually read books and newspapers which they have at home. They also use internet and library service; however, it is not popular to borrow books from friends or buy them. Pupils use internet daily both for leisure and learning. Girls more often than boys use internet for learning and for leisure – they use it equally. Respondents usually search information through Google search engine, less frequently – through Delfi. The other search engines and catalogues mentioned in the questionnaire are used very seldom, especially HotBot, Penki, On.lt and others. Both girls and boys, town and region pupils equally use search engines and catalogues. From electronic information sources respondents most frequently use internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia. Internet books and e magazines are read once a month on average, virtual library is scarcely used. It is absolutely not popular to use such sources as Nerandu.lt, tingiu.lt, Speros.lt. Key words: comprehensive school, electronic information sources, ICT, information search.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 416-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick T. Byrd ◽  
Bonnie Canziani ◽  
James S. Boles ◽  
Nicholas Carlton Williamson ◽  
Sevil Sonmez

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine winery visitors’ use of information sources in making decisions regarding the choice of wineries to visit. Enrichment theory is used as a framework for determining how previous experience influences the decision on how much and what type of information individuals will use when planning a trip using wine tourism as the context for the research. Design/methodology/approach A visitor study was conducted at 23 wineries in the US Southeast. Data were collected from winery visitors using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Findings Results from 832 consumers indicate that an individual’s previous travel systematically influences the number and type of information sources that they will seek out when making future consumer decisions. Findings confirmed the hypothesized expectations about wine tourist information search behavior and help to partially explain the nature of bounded rationality in the case of tourists’ winery visit decisions. Research limitations/implications Because the study focused only on winery visitors in the US Southeast, the research results may lack generalizability. Practical implications These findings can assist winery owners and destinations with wineries in their promotional efforts. Of major importance is the finding that increases in experiential knowledge from prior travel are monotonically associated with increases in the number of information sources marked to be valuable in selecting a winery. The influence of experience is particularly dramatic in that the mean number of information sources marked to be valuable moves from a low of 2.5 to a high of 10.0 out of 16 as travel experience increases. Originality/value The study contributed significant and useful findings that advance the application of enrichment theory to wine tourism. Enrichment theory does not currently differentiate between types of knowledge that enrich a consumer’s ability to more easily encode and use new information. The current study confirms that experiential knowledge is an important knowledge construct in models of bounded rationality.


2019 ◽  
pp. 016555151989051
Author(s):  
Simone Rosenblum ◽  
Kimberley R Isett ◽  
Julia Melkers ◽  
Ellen Funkhouser ◽  
Diana Hicks ◽  
...  

The use of online information sources in most professions is widespread, and well researched. Less understood is how the use of these sources vary across the strata within a single profession, and how question context affects search behaviour. Using the dental profession as a case of a highly stratified discipline, we examine search preferences for sources by professional strata among dentists in a practice-based network. Results show that variation exists in information search behaviour across professional strata of dental clinicians. This study highlights the importance of addressing information literacy across different levels of a profession. Findings also underscore that search behaviour and source preference vary with perceived question relevance.


1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Westbrook ◽  
Claes Fornell

Durable goods buyers’ prepurchase information search activities were studied to determine whether distinctive patterns of information source usage could be identified. A method based on canonical analysis of retail, neutral, and personal source usage measures in conjunction with selected explanatory variables proved useful in distinguishing four different patterns. Tradeoffs were evident in the usage of and reliance on different information sources. The results emphasize the need for further study of consumer information need and information-gathering abilities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-508
Author(s):  
Jan F. Klein ◽  
Yuchi Zhang ◽  
Tomas Falk ◽  
Jaakko Aspara ◽  
Xueming Luo

PurposeIn the age of digital media, customers have access to vast digital information sources, within and outside a company's direct control. Yet managers lack a metric to capture customers' cross-media exposure and its ramifications for individual customer journeys. To solve this issue, this article introduces media entropy as a new metric for assessing cross-media exposure on the individual customer level and illustrates its effect on consumers' purchase decisions.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on information and signalling theory, this study proposes the entropy of company-controlled and peer-driven media sources as a measure of cross-media exposure. A probit model analyses individual-level customer journey data across more than 25,000 digital and traditional media touchpoints.FindingsCross-media exposure, measured as the entropy of information sources in a customer journey, drives purchase decisions. The positive effect is particularly pronounced for (1) digital (online) versus traditional (offline) media environments, (2) customers who currently do not own the brand and (3) brands that customers perceive as weak.Practical implicationsThe proposed metric of cross-media exposure can help managers understand customers' information structures in pre-purchase phases. Assessing the consequences of customers' cross-media exposure is especially relevant for service companies that seek to support customers' information search efforts. Marketing agencies, consultancies and platform providers also need actionable customer journey metrics, particularly in early stages of the journey.Originality/valueService managers and marketers can integrate the media entropy metric into their marketing dashboards and use it to steer their investments in different media types. Researchers can include the metric in empirical models to explore customers' omni-channel journeys.


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