Information Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In any healthcare crisis, people typically seek out information and news about infections, expert analysis of the situation, government policies, sources of support, and so on. Research on other types of crisis situations have shown how individuals draw on information from official sources, the media, and their own contacts in order to make sense of what is going on, understand the risks, and decide how to respond to the situation at a personal level. This chapter examines what is known about individual information behaviors during a pandemic and the implications of these. The chapter includes consideration of levels, patterns, and changes in information consumption during a pandemic; the links between information consumption and pandemic-related behaviors; information content and messaging styles as tools for achieving pandemic management goals; the role of online information channels in supporting daily life during a pandemic; and technology and access to information in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to support various life activities.

Analysis on Health Information Acquisition of Social Network Users by Opinion Mining: Case Analysis Based on the Discussion on COVID-19 Vaccinations

This study aims to explore phenomena and laws that occur when different users on social network platforms obtain health information by constructing an opinion mining model, analyzing the user’s position on selected cases, and exploring the reflection of the phenomenon of truth decay on platforms. It selects group posts regarding the COVID-19 vaccination dispute on the Douban platform, analyzes the positions of different users, and explores phenomena related to users obtaining health information on domestic social platforms according to different topics and information behaviors. The results reveal a linear relationship between the negative and neutral attitudes of netizens on social networking platforms. Moreover, netizens tend to hold subjective language when expressing their views and attitudes, and their views on social platforms will not change easily. The study explores the health information acquisition behavior of netizens on social platforms based on the constructed user opinion mining model. The study is helpful for relevant units and platforms to make scientific decisions and provide guidance according to different positions of Internet users.

Evaluation of teachers’ information literacy based on information of behavioral data in online learning and teaching platforms: an empirical study of China

PurposeAdvances in information technology now permit the recording of massive and diverse process data, thereby making data-driven evaluations possible. This study discusses whether teachers’ information literacy can be evaluated based on their online information behaviors on online learning and teaching platforms (OLTPs).Design/methodology/approachFirst, to evaluate teachers’ information literacy, the process data were combined from teachers on OLTP to describe nine third-level indicators from the richness, diversity, usefulness and timeliness analysis dimensions. Second, propensity score matching (PSM) and difference tests were used to analyze the differences between the performance groups with reduced selection bias. Third, to effectively predict the information literacy score of each teacher, four sets of input variables were used for prediction using supervised learning models.FindingsThe results show that the high-performance group performs better than the low-performance group in 6 indicators. In addition, information-based teaching and behavioral research data can best reflect the level of information literacy. In the future, greater in-depth explorations are needed with richer online information behavioral data and a more effective evaluation model to increase evaluation accuracy.Originality/valueThe evaluation based on online information behaviors has concrete application scenarios, positively correlated results and prediction interpretability. Therefore, information literacy evaluations based on behaviors have great potential and favorable prospects.

Dynamics of millennial employees' communicative behaviors in the workplace: the role of inclusive leadership and symmetrical organizational communication

PurposeWith a focus on millennial employees, this study investigates how employees engage in two types of employees' communicative behaviors (ECBs), that is, their voluntary communicative efforts to acquire and circulate tasks and managerial information (i.e. scouting) and to share and discuss positive and negative aspects of their organization with internal members (i.e. internal megaphoning). Through the lens of social exchange theory (SET) and symmetrical communication model, this study examines the effects of inclusive leadership and internal communication on active information behaviors of employees within their companies.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted with fulltime millennial employees working across various industry sectors in the US.FindingsSymmetrical internal communication influenced by inclusive leadership enhances employees' scouting behavior as well as positive internal megaphoning behavior. Positive and negative internal megaphoning with supervisors increases the scouting behavior of employees, whereas negative internal megaphoning with peers does not have a significant effect.Originality/valueThis study is among the first attempts to examine the effectiveness of leadership and strategic internal communication on millennial employees' diverse types of communicative behaviors.

Casual Leisure in Rich-Prospect

As digital cultural collections become increasingly sophisticated in their scope and functionality, there is a need to build an in-depth understanding concerning the information behaviors of users in this new domain. Research has demonstrated that many digital museum visitors are engaged in casual leisure during exploration of a collection, suggesting that they do not have an inherent information goal but rather seek new experiences or learning opportunities based on personal curiosity and moments of discovery. Consequently, understanding how to translate casual leisure contexts into meaningful interaction design may play a critical role in designing engaging digital collections. Our study reports on the user experience of a largely unexplored user interface design framework called rich-prospect , which was originally developed to enhance browsing and discovery for complex visual collections. We performed a mixed-method, within-subjects study (N=30) that simulated a casual leisure approach to information browsing and retrieval across three different rich-prospect interfaces for digital cultural heritage. Our results show that rich-prospect scores well in the hedonic facets of its user experience, whereas pragmatic aspects have room for improvement. Additionally, through our qualitative analysis of participant feedback, we derived salient themes relating to the exploratory browsing experience. We conclude with a series of design implications to better connect interactive elements with casual leisure contexts for digital cultural collections.

Shipping managers’ information behavior during a pandemic crisis

Purpose A significant body of literature suggests that shipping companies operate in an extremely volatile and risky environment, relying on the effective use of information to remain competitive. However, decision-making in this market is demanding because of the high uncertainty, market competition and significant capital investments. Moreover, the rapid spread of COVID-19 renders information uncertainty a daunting challenge for companies engaged in global trade. Hence, this study aims to explore the information behavior of managers in a time of crisis seems compelling. Design/methodology/approach This study provides novel insights into the information behavior of senior managers by adopting a qualitative approach. Forty-nine semi-structured face-to-face interviews with individuals from Hellenic shipping companies were conducted. Moreover, this study explores the extant theory qualitatively, using the grounded theory methodology and shows that an unprecedented event (pandemic crisis) can redefine the information behavior of managers. Findings This study highlights the importance of information in decision-making. Moreover, the results show that, during a pandemic, managers resort to alternative information sources, adopt collaborative information behaviors and take advantage of digital technology. Originality/value There is limited research in exploring the information behavior of managers in times of pandemics. This research underscores the fact that during a crisis, managers seek information from digital information resources and decision-making assumes a more decentralized form. This study concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Information Inequality among Entrepreneurs in Rural China

As rural entrepreneurs in China are disadvantaged, compared to other entrepreneurs, the local and central governments provide a host of incentives to promote their success. Rural entrepreneurs are information poor and it is possible that their information behaviors differ from others, causing them to lag behind. The study aims to develop a framework of information inequality among rural entrepreneurs in China, based on the information capability approach. Grounded in thematic content analysis of 44 interviews with these entrepreneurs about their information behaviors, the study proposes a comprehensive framework for understanding information inequality among rural Chinese entrepreneurs. The framework includes two components: 1) eight major information functionings, where information inequality occurs; and 2) three factors that affect information functioning. By focusing on information functionings, and specifically effective information use, the framework allows for a more nuanced understanding of information inequality. Findings suggest that ICTs adoption is not the decisive factor in information functionings, and instead finds blurred boundaries between online and offline information functionings. As such, the study proposes to avoid technological determinism in understanding the impact of ICTs on information inequality, and instead uses social informatics lenses to account for both online and offline information functionings in this context.