Immigrating after 60: Information experiences of older Chinese migrants to Australia and Canada

While there is much research on migrant information behavior, the older population tends to be underrepresented in the literature. This article reports on a qualitative study with 16 Chinese older adults (aged 60 and over) who were recent immigrants to Australia and Canada. Migrating late in life presents some unique characteristics and challenges. In both countries, the discourse of “family reunification” frames the experiences of the participants, including their information activities as they learn to navigate the new environment. We used a parallel approach across the two countries to examine these older adults’ information practices as well as the transnational dimension of their settlement process. Findings point to a shared social imaginary as well as daily rituals and coping mechanisms of these late-life immigrants, along with associated information activities. We draw implications for our understanding of this under-studied migrant population, as well as for the design of information support for older migrants as part of their social inclusion in the host country.     

Civil Society and the Shaping of Communication–Information Policy: Four Decades of Advocacy

This article initiates exploratory empirical research on how civil society collective action has reacted to and affected communication–information policy (CIP), a policy domain that has been reshaped by technological and industrial change. It reviews the relevant theory on social movements, citizens groups, and interest groups from political science. Data are gathered on two dimensions of the research question: (1) We quantify the number of public interest advocacy groups focused on CIP in the United States from 1961 to the present, using organizational ecology methods. (2) We track the number of U.S. Congressional hearings held each year on CIP issues. The results show that CIP now exceeds other social movement issues (women, civil rights, the environment, human rights) as a major concern of Congressional activity, that the issues are becoming more interdependent, and that modes of citizens advocacy have undergone drastic changes in recent years.     

R&D strategy in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry

The adverse economic impacts of the 1962 Kefauver-Harris Amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act have transformed the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The key elements of this transformation include declining rates of innovation, huge increases in R&D costs and risks, lowered profitability, and an erosion of U.S. technological leadership. U.S. pharmaceutical firms must develop new, creative R&D strategies in order to cope with this complex and demanding environment. U.S. firms have responded to more stringent domestic regulation by sharply increasing both foreign R&D expenditures and initial clinical testing of new chemical entities at foreign locations.New patterns of project selection strategies have begun to emerge in the 1970s. As the total number of R&D projects has been cut back, pharmaceutical firms have focused resources on those disease areas with the highest epidemiological importance. To cope with the increasing riskiness of drug R&D firms have shifted dollars from research to development. Pharmaceutical firms are also likely to alter their strategies for discovering new drugs. As firms reduce explorative, basic research, more structured, engineering approaches will receive increased emphasis. Because individual drug companies are likely to have reduced capacity for originating drugs within their own laboratories, competition among firms for access to new compounds and research ideas is likely to in tensify.     

Transborder data flows: The transfer of medical and other scientific information by the united states

Abstract

The expression “transborder data flows'’ (TBDF) is shorthand for a complex set of issues that have come to the forefront as a result of the electronic transfer or exchange of information across national boundaries. It involves the flow of digital information across borders for the storage or processing in foreign computers and reflects the interests of governments in regulating or otherwise intervening in the free flow of such exchanges for a variety of reasons including economic, social, political, and cultural. This paper provides an overview of these TBDF issues and discusses the policies and experiences of the U.S. National Library of Medicine pertaining to the transfer of biomedical information worldwide. Trends in the international interchange of all types of scientific and technical information are noted and the future of U.S. information policy is addressed.     

The adoption and social impacts of information technology in U.S. agriculture

Abstract

By 1986 (a decade after their invention) microprocessors had diffused to about 18 percent of all U.S. households and 6 percent of U.S. farmers. In addition to general consumer uses, farm households in the United States utilize microcomputers for such small business applications as record keeping, word‐processing, payroll handling, etc. A special application of microprocessor technology occurred in 1980–1981 when 200 Kentucky farmers participated in a trial of the Green Thumb Box, a video‐text system providing market, weather, and technological information. The nature of the information needs of U.S. farm people seems to fit well with the new information technologies built around the microprocessor, although little of this potential has yet been realized. Since that experiment, videotex has shown itself to have doubtful value as a channel for the distribution of agricultural information, leaving open the question of what might be the best technological vehicle for this audience. Research is needed on two issues: (1) the adoption and use of the new communication technologies, and (2) their social impacts on rural society.     

The U.S. information sector and GNP: An input-output study

The paper presents the results of an Input-Output study of the U.S. information sector, constructed from 1972 tables compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The study updates the 1967 transaction table published in The Information Economy (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1977). The results show that between 1967 and 1972, the information sector grew at a slightly slower rate than did the entire economy. While the sector accounted for 25.1% GNP in 1967, its share of GNP had actually declined to 24.8% by 1972. Many of the elements of the sector lagged behind the national economy, including printing and publishing and radio and TV equipment; however, other elements of the sector out-paced the economy, including electronic instruments and telecommunications.     

美国网络空间安全的安全叙述建构 ——基于《美国国家安全战略》的话语分析(1987-2017)

[目的/意义]随着互联网及信息通讯技术的飞速发展,人类生活的各个领域与网络空间的联系日益密切,网络空间安全日益成为美国国家安全的重要议题。[方法/过程]借助安全叙述的理论框架,以17份《美国国家安全战略》为研究材料,通过话语分析的方式,探究美国政府是如何构建网络空间安全的安全叙述。[结果/结论]在此基础之上,归纳出美国网络空间安全的安全叙述的三大基本特征及深层动因,并结合这些特征对于未来大国权力博弈的领域作出展望。     

网络环境下社科信息资源开发利用研究综述

本文从网络环境下社科信息基础理论、社科信息服务和社科信息资源开发利用策略等角度出发，对近几年来国内学者有关网络环境下社科信息开发利用研究现状作出综述。     

Civil Society and the Shaping of Communication-Information Policy: Four Decades of Advocacy

This article initiates exploratory empirical research on how civil society collective action has reacted to and affected communication-information policy (CIP), a policy domain that has been reshaped by technological and industrial change. It reviews the relevant theory on social movements, citizens groups, and interest groups from political science. Data are gathered on two dimensions of the research question: (1) We quantify the number of public interest advocacy groups focused on CIP in the United States from 1961 to the present, using organizational ecology methods. (2) We track the number of U.S. Congressional hearings held each year on CIP issues. The results show that CIP now exceeds other social movement issues (women, civil rights, the environment, human rights) as a major concern of Congressional activity, that the issues are becoming more interdependent, and that modes of citizens advocacy have undergone drastic changes in recent years.     

Linking induced technological change, and environmental regulation: Evidence from patenting in the U.S. auto industry

This article uses a carefully screened patent database in automobile emission control technologies and a detailed regulatory action analysis to examine firms’ innovation in response to U.S. technology-forcing auto emissions standards enacted between 1970 and 1998. The study finds that under the performance-based technology-forcing (PBTF) auto emissions regulations, both automakers and component suppliers innovated and introduced more advanced emission control technologies for automobile applications. The study also shows that stringent PBTF regulation temporarily induced domestic U.S. firms to become more innovative than foreign firms that operated in the local U.S. market during the early phase of the regulatory regime. Findings of this research strongly imply that government intervention in the form of technology-forcing regulation can drive firms to invest in technological innovation.     

人工智能融入美国情报体系的现状及发展困境分析

[目的/意义]人工智能是美国情报界正在推动的重要技术之一,无论是学界还是官方都进行了大量的研究和讨论,分析人工智能融入美国情报体系的现状和发展困境,对未来正确运用人工智能、合理有效规避风险有重要的借鉴价值。[方法/过程]从美国情报界运用人工智能的相关报告和研究成果出发,探究人工智能在不同情报手段中的运用现状,并分析其融入情报界所面临的问题和挑战。[结果/结论]美国情报界对人工智能的研究与运用居于世界前列,不能否认人工智能在情报工作中有较好的应用,但也必须重视其带来的一系列伦理和技术问题。     

Library school faculty strengths in data processing Canadian-U.S. differences

This study examined the relative strengths of faculty expertise in the field of data processing within schools of library and information science in North America. The relative strengths of Canadian versus U.S. schools, measured by reported faculty expertise, was the particular focus of the study. Data were gathered from the directory issues of the Journal of Education for Librarianship for the years 1972–1981. Data were aggregated into two groups: (1) total faculty strength dichomotized by U.S. and Canadian schools; (2) faculty reporting expertise in data processing or automation broken down by U.S. versus Canadian. Planned comparisons using a Dunn procedure were made on each of the ten years in the study. The results of testing indicated there is a significant difference in the number of faculty reporting expertise in data processing in the two countries in four of the ten years. The differences were opposite in two of these four, however. Results of testing of overall faculty strength indicated there was no significant difference in the numbers of faculty members during the ten year period. The major conclusion of the study was that Canadian schools of library and information science have made a concerted and successful effort to increase their overall level of expertise in data processing, but without significantly adding to their faculty levels.     

The impact of social media on consumer acculturation: Current challenges,opportunities, and an agenda for research and practice

The concept of acculturation has been based on the assumption of an adaptation process, whereby immigrants lose aspects of their heritage cultures in favour of aspects of a host culture (i.e. assimilation). Past research has shown that acculturation preferences result in various possibilities and influence consumption behaviour. However, the impact of social media on consumer acculturation is underexplored, although the social purpose and information sharing online is utilized for a variety of social purposes. Recent studies have shown the transformation from an offline to an online context, in which social networks play an integral part in immigrants’ communications, relationships and connections. This study merges the views from a number of leading contributors to highlight significant opportunities and challenges for future consumer acculturation research influenced by social media. The research provides insights into the impact of social media on consumer acculturation.     

How U.S. cities compete through information technology: Securing an urban advantage

Abstract

The information age is bringing about a change in the world division of labor. Many of the great trading cities that arose during the Industrial Revolution as shipping, railroad, and financial centers are now facing new challenges, challenges brought about by global telecommunications. Information technology and the changing nature of business and government offer new opportunities and threats to these and other cities as they strive to acquire or retain treasured economic activity. Telecommunications and computation capacity are among the tools cities can use as they vie with one another for this commerce.

This study describes how U. S. cities are affected by these trends and summarizes some of the key technological and policy issues involved. Several case studies are reported, which show the various strategies used by large cities such as New York and Boston, progressive Midwest cities such as Omaha, and small cities such as Heathrow, Florida. Some preliminary principles of success are adduced.     

美国科技政策方法学（SoSP）及其对我国的启示

 科技政策方法学 (Science of Science Policy, 简写为SoSP) 是近年来在美国兴起的一门新的学科,与现有科技政策相关学科相比,SoSP更加强调基于定量数据的分析、描述和展示,发展以证据为基础的科学决策方法。简要介绍了SoSP在美国兴起的背景、学科定位与发展动态,探讨了SoSP对我国的启示。     

面向大国竞争的美国科技情报活动规律研究 ——以美国打击华为公司为例

[目的/意义]面向大国竞争的美国科技情报活动实质上特指特朗普政府发起中美科技战过程中的科技情报运作体系,中国对这一个问题的研究既紧迫又短缺,需要在理论和实践层面深入探索。[方法/过程]该研究采用案例分析和理论总结的方法,探索面向大国竞争的美国科技情报运作规律。[结果/结论]美国科技情报活动意在封锁中国技术输出,在政府层面具有明确的职能分工和全政府投入特征,以及结构化信息采集与分析、跨部门协同作战等特点。     

图书馆的学术生态环境与学术网络结构研究

[目的/意义]从社会网络视角构建图书馆理想的学术网络,促进图书馆学术研究,从而提高图书馆员知识服务的能力。[方法/过程]通过8种图书情报专业期刊的载文分析图书馆当前的学术生态环境,对比自然科学的学术网络结构,总结出图书情报学常见的网络结构,以网络结构洞理论的视角结合知识图谱对机构、研究主题、作者学术网络作全面的解读。[结果/结论]设置合理“K-丛”值约束学术凝聚子群网络,配合相应的科研政策,不仅适合图书馆的学术科研发展,也适用于整个图书情报学的良性发展。     

Social and interactional practices for disseminating current awareness information in an organisational setting

Current awareness services are designed to keep users informed about recent developments based around user need profiles. In organisational settings, they may operate through both electronic and social interactions aimed at delivering information that is relevant, pertinent and current. Understanding these interactions can reveal the tensions in current awareness dissemination and help inform ways of making services more effective and efficient. We report an in-depth, observational study of electronic current awareness use within a large London law firm. The study found that selection, re-aggregation and forwarding of information by multiple actors gives rise to a complex sociotechnical distribution network. Knowledge management staff act as a layer of “intelligent filters” sensitive to complex, local information needs; their distribution decisions address multiple situational relevance factors in a situation fraught with information overload and restrictive time-pressures. Their decisions aim to optimise conflicting constraints of recall, precision and information quantity. Critical to this is the use of dynamic profile updates which propagate back through the network through formal and informal social interactions. This supports changes to situational relevance judgements and so allows the network to ‘self-tune’. These findings lead to design requirements, including that systems should support rapid assessment of information items against an individual’s interests; that it should be possible to organise information for different subsequent uses; and that there should be back-propagation from information consumers to providers, to tune the understanding of their information needs.     

国外地质调查机构门户网站建设对我国地质信息化服务的启示——以美国地质调查局网站为例

对美国地质调查局网站的设计特点、信息内容、信息质量、技术水平和社会化服务等五方面进行了细致分析,从另一个侧面反照出我国地质信息化服务存在的不足与问题,从美国地质调查局网站建设成功的经验中获得一定的启示。     

美国智库对中美科技竞争的观点解读及对策建议

[目的/意义]准确研判美国智库对于中美科技竞争的基本观点,是分析美国对中国进行科技竞争的舆论走向、战略认知与政策取向的重要依据。[方法/过程]选取美国8家主流智库的11份代表性研究成果作为研究样本,发现美国智库主要围绕中国科技实力的发展对美国产生的影响与美国如何同中国展开科技竞争这两个议题进行全面与深入的探讨。总体而言,美国主要智库已就中国科技实力对美国形成重要挑战这一点达成一定的共识,但在美国同中国展开科技竞争应实行的具体政策上存在一定的分歧。[结果/结论]美国智库总体上对中美科技竞争持消极观点,这是美国对中国的战略认知出现转变的结果。这些观点的传播将影响美国政府对华科技政策的取向,影响其他国家同中国展开的科技合作。中国应该在理性与辩证地看待美国主流智库观点的基础上,消除美国智库观点带来的消极影响,管控中美间在科技领域的战略竞争,努力拓展同美国以及其他国家在科技领域的合作空间,增强自主创新能力,化解中国在科技外交上可能面临的不利局面。