Human–information interaction research and development

The information field continues to evolve rapidly as digital technology changes the very nature of information and how people interact with each other and with information. This article argues that the past 30 years have seen a shift from distinct emphases on information, individual people, and specific technologies to emphases on the interactions among more diverse forms and amounts of information, people, and technologies. Human–information interaction shifts the foci of all aspects of information work; blurs boundaries between information objects, technology, and people; and creates new forms of information. This article discusses changes in each of these components of information and trends and challenges surrounding the study of their interactions are presented.     

Investigating the influence of student–teacher Facebook interaction in Thailand

ABSTRACT

In Thailand, older individuals or ‘Phu Yai’ are people with higher social status and power as compared to younger people or ‘Phu Noi’ (Komolsevin &; Knutson, 2010). In the realm of education, teachers are considered Phu Yai while students are considered Phu Noi. This concept reinforces Hofstede’s (1991) major finding on Thailand being categorized as a high power-distance culture. The current study examines students’ perspective of the effect of student–teacher Facebook interactions on intercultural communication concepts such as power distance and submission to authority within the Thai student–teacher relationship. Questionnaires were administered to 353 students (N?=?353) at a large international university in Thailand. The study found that social media use between Thai students and teachers influence how students view the face-to-face power dynamics between them and their teachers. Specifically, the more students and teachers interact on Facebook, the lower students perceive the power distance between them and their teachers.     

Forecasting research trends using population dynamics model with Burgers’ type interaction

The increasing costs of research and the decreasing lifetime of products and processes make the decisions on allocation of R&D funds strategically important. Therefore, ability to predict research trends is crucial in minimizing risks of R&D expenditure planning. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for efficient prediction of research trends in a chosen branch of science. The approach is based on population dynamics with Burgers’ type global interaction and selective neighborhood. The model is estimated based on a training set. Then, an out-of-sample forecast is performed. The research trends of filtration and rectification processes were analyzed in this paper. The simulation results show that the model is able to predict the trends with a considerable accuracy and should, therefore, be tested on a wider range of research fields.     

Theory–data interaction from the standpoint of scientific realism: a reaction to bostrom

This author is in general agreement with the arguments in Bostrom's () essay concerning theory–data interaction. Nevertheless, an examination of the issues raised in the essay from the standpoint of scientific realism lead to two different conclusions. First, the opening rationale is based on a nondefensible distinction between empiricists and interpretivists. Second, debates among paradigms are based on real ontological and epistemological differences, and the scientific realist's view of theory–data interaction accepts the validity of these differences.     

The relationship of communication apprehension and interaction involvement to perceptions of computer‐mediated communication

This study investigated how the interpersonal traits of communication apprehension (CA) and interaction involvement (II) are related to one's attitudes toward and use of computer‐mediated communication (CMC). Data were collected by administering a self‐report survey to a sample of 133 participants, and results were analyzed with multiple regression. Findings revealed that CA and II failed to predict CMC attitudes. However, each trait predicted communication style during online interaction. Findings are interpreted within the context of current theories of CMC.     

Does information technology–organizational resource interaction affect E-government performance? Moderating roles of environmental uncertainty

E-governments have become a popular topic in recent decades and have attracted widespread attention on a global scale. Previous research mainly investigating the direct impact of IT infrastructure on e-government performance lacks in the context of other organizational resources and contingency factors. This study uses a panel data from Chinese prefectural cities and further exams the effect of interaction between IT infrastructure and other organizational resources (financial and human resources) on e-government performance through the moderating role of environmental uncertainty (environmental turbulence and complexity) based on resource-based and contingency views. Interaction between IT infrastructure and financial resources has a positive effect on e-government, while the interaction between IT infrastructure and human resources has a negative effect on e-government performance. Additionally, the effect of the interaction between IT infrastructure and organizational resources (financial and human resources) on e-government performance increases with a decrease in environmental turbulence and with an increase in environmental complexity. This article helps practitioners recognize the importance of IT infrastructure in developing e-government performance and provide actionable insights on financial and human resource allocation, while considering IT infrastructure. The paper offers evidences for government managers seeking resource combination to address turbulent and complex environments.     

A discrepancy‐arousal explanation of mutual influence in expressive behavior for adult and infant‐adult interaction 1

The expressive behaviors of adult and infant‐adult dyads are marked both by patterns of reciprocity and compensation. An alternative to the equilibrium and arousal‐labeling explanations of these findings is offered in the discrepancy‐arousal model. This model is similar to its predecessors in that physiological, cognitive, and affective components are central. However, the arousal component is given a more prominent role in predicting reciprocal or compensatory responses than in the arousal‐labeling theory. This modification permits discrepancy‐arousal to account for the reaction time of moment‐to‐moment influence, for the cycling of expressive involvement, for infant‐adult patterns of reciprocity and compensation, and for the etiology of adult patterns of mutual influence. Evidence supporting the discrepancy‐arousal position is reviewed. Predictive hypotheses are proposed and contrastive experimental tests are outlined.     

The dynamics of polarization and compromise in conflict situations: The interaction between cultural traits and majority–minority influence

The present study looks at the interplay between cultural traits (need for uniqueness [NFU] and naïve dialecticism) and situational pressure (majority–minority influence) in explaining decision-making behaviors, specifically choosing one option between two contradictory but equally convincing opinions. A total of 435 participants were recruited nationally both from the US and Korea to participate in an online experiment. Findings suggest that the NFU and disinclination toward ambivalence drive US Americans (Westerners) to move toward extreme opinions (polarize) more than Koreans (East Asians) in the majority condition, whereas naïve dialecticism and reluctance to stand out for the sake of harmony drive Koreans to merge into the middle (compromise) more than US Americans in the minority condition.     

Patent landscape and key technology interaction roadmap using graph convolutional network – Case of mobile communication technologies beyond 5G

Beyond 5G (B5G) in mobile network technologies is the latest communication technology currently under development. B5G is expected to achieve superior capabilities in ultra-high network transmission speed, low latency, low energy consumption, and high coverage, comparing to current 5G network performance. Although B5G is still in the development and implementation stage, there are many patents and non-patent literature depicting B5G innovative technologies and applications. The landscapes of B5G technologies are great references for governments and industries to understand the advances in mobile communication for R&D strategies. Thus, this research focuses on developing a formal tech-mining workflow integrating semantic-based patent and non-patent literature analysis for ontology building, patent technological topic clustering, and graph convolutional network (GCN) modeling for depicting key technology interactions among clusters of sub-domain topics. This research emphasizes the study of B5G patent landscape and key technology interaction roadmap in comprehensive steps as a valuable reference for B5G mobile network R&D, as well as for conducting tech-mining of other technology domains of interests.     

Are government internet portals evolving towards more interaction,participation, and collaboration? Revisiting the rhetoric of e-government among municipalities

Scholars and practitioners argue that the most important interactions between citizens and government happen at the local level. These relationships could become closer and more frequent with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). In fact, portals could be seen not only as channels for providing government information and services, but also as powerful tools to exchange information and knowledge between different social actors and government entities and to enable participation in collective decision-making efforts about important public affairs. For instance, social media and other Web 2.0 tools could provide new electronic channels for these interactions through their inclusion in local government portals. This paper argues that although important modifications to the organizational and institutional frameworks would be necessary, the potential for local electronic governance through networks of government and non-government actors via internet portals is clearly present. However, a very important first step would be the inclusion of more interaction, participation, and collaboration mechanisms in government portals. Similar to previous efforts with data from the U.S., this paper describes the results of a recent assessment of local government portals in Mexico. The conclusion is that progress toward citizen engagement is slow in local governments and there are very few efforts to increase interaction, participation, and collaboration channels on their portals. Most of them are still following the vision of information and services providers and a local electronic governance model is still in its very initial stages. It seems that e-government in municipalities is still more rhetoric and less reality, at least in some countries.     

The effect of interactivity on initial interactions: the influence of information valence and modality and information richness on computer‐mediated interaction

Research investigating relationship development through computer‐mediated channels has failed to acknowledge the importance of initial interactions. Increasingly, multimodal forms of communication, such as audio‐ and videoconferencing, in addition to text‐only formats have emerged on socially oriented websites designed for relationship initiation. Utilizing the principle of interactivity as a conceptual framework, the present study investigates whether increased structural interactivity provided by the additional aural and visual modalities influences initial interaction processes and outcomes online. The results indicate that increased availability of nonverbal modalities, combined with the valence of the information acquired, significantly affected interaction involvement and mutuality, which are markers of processual interactivity, as well as the interaction outcomes of uncertainty, predicted outcome value, and information seeking. Additional analysis revealed that mutuality mediated the effect of richness on postinteraction uncertainty level and the evaluations of future relationship potential.