Looking for datasets to open: An exploration of government officials' information behaviors in open data policy implementation

In recent years, more and more government administrations around the world are participating in open data policy implementation. Government officials who are charged with implementing this new policy usually need to look for related information for deciding what datasets to open to the public. Accordingly, a research gap exists in understanding government officials' information behaviors in implementing open data policy. By using a qualitative approach to conduct semi-structured interviews with government officials who have extensive experience in implementing open data policy, this study explores government officials' information behaviors in searching and selecting datasets for open data publication. Specifically, this research investigates government officials' information needs, the employed information sources, and the intervening variables that influence their information behaviors. While open data is an ongoing policy implementation, government officials' information behaviors form an iterative cycle where information needs continually occur, information seeking activities are conducted by using a variety of information sources, and the obtained information is used to satisfy information needs. The findings and discussions of this study are expected to provide insights of government officials' data search and selection to practitioners and to enrich the current literature of open government data.     

不同养老模式下老人日常生活信息查询行为的影响因素

目的：调查不同养老模式下老人日常生活信息查询行为的影响因素。方法：采用分层抽样和整群抽样相结合的方法,对中部地区不同养老模式下的1178名60岁以上常住老人进行日常生活信息查询行为影响因素问卷调查,并采用自行设计的老年人日常生活信息查询行为量表评价其查询能力。结果：中部地区家庭、社区及机构养老模式下老年人日常生活信息查询行为总分分别为62.63±13.12分,65.16±13.37分,57.84±11.98分。年龄、健康状况、文化程度、身体因素、设备不全、查询能力及是否参加过培训等是老人日常生活信息查询行为的影响因素。结论：应根据不同养老模式下老人信息查询行为的影响因素,强化养老工作,提高其总体信息查询能力。     

Factors influencing information needs among cancer patients: A meta-analysis

Receiving the right information is extremely important for cancer patients as they move through the illness trajectory. However, according to previous research, not all patients are alike in the amount of information they need. A meta-analysis was conducted to study the aggregate influence of demographic and situational variables on the amount of information cancer patients need. The intent was to provide those individuals involved in information exchanges with indicators – patient characteristics and/or patient – to avoid overwhelming patients who need less information as well as to satisfy the higher needs of patients who need greater amounts of information. The pooled effect sizes produced show that younger cancer patients need more information (r = −0.26) and patients who preferred active roles in treatment decision-making express greater need for information (r = 0.38). Cancer patients' gender, thier education, time elapsed since diagnosis of cancer, and the stage of their illness may not be related to their information needs. In particular, it may be important to probe further the reasons for the lower need for information among elderly cancer patients because if their lower needs are due to their feelings of inhibition, efforts should be made in all contexts of health information transfer to enhance their information seeking.     

A call for IGO policies on public access to information

There is much discussion in research literature regarding the information produced by inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) and what publications are available for use in libraries. At the same time, there is little discussion of the information policies of IGOs regarding access to IGO information. In fact, the freedom of information debate, with few exceptions, has not been extended to include IGOs. Although IGOs are made up of governmental bodies, the role of the IGO seems to be that of facilitator for state policy formation. This role fails to recognize that IGOs produce information of their own accord and make decisions which affect peoples in the member states. This article surveys the issue of access to IGO information and discusses how national debates can be extended to the IGO level. It shows both explicit and implicit information policies with case studies from the environmental information field: the European Union's (EU) directive on environmental information, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Three issues emerge: these are varying levels of access to IGO information, varying levels of IGO information policy, and a relative paucity of research on the subject. The principles of accountability, transparency, and public involvement are being made explicit more frequently in the documents of IGOs. However, a continuing gap between explicit and implicit policies must be bridged.     

卫生信息管理专业学生学习动机影响因素与提升策略

目的：研究卫生信息管理专业学生学习动机影响因素及其提升策略.方法：采用自评问卷调查法,调查了蚌埠医学院卫生信息管理专业136名本科生的学习动机及其影响因素.实结果：不同性别和年级分组学生的外生学习动机存在差异,高考志愿分组学生的内生学习动机存在差异,＂喜爱所学专业＂、＂了解所学专业＂、＂了解就业去向＂、＂对信管类课程有信心＂和＂认可所学课程与就业的联系＂是卫生信息管理专业学生学习动机的主要影响因素.结论：建立健全学习激励机制、加大就业宣教、提高专业主干课程的教学质量,是提升卫生信息管理专业学生学习动机的有效措施.     

Principles for archival information services in the public domain

In 2010, in response to the Australian Government’s November 2009 apology to Forgotten Australians and former child migrants, a scoping study was undertaken by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) to assess the options for a national ‘Find and Connect’ service to allow people to locate and access relevant records and have recourse to support services. The scoping study noted that Pathways, a web-based public knowledge space and a product of the Victorian ‘Who Am I?’ research project, was a community-based information resource without equal in the out-of-home care sector in Australia or indeed internationally. The scoping team made the observation that Pathways, due to its quality of content and coherent structure, appeared to be based on a set of principles and wondered what they were. In response the research team set about articulating the principles that underpinned their approach to archival documentation and the use of digital technologies – principles that had emerged through more than two decades of public domain, archive-focussed projects. This paper presents those ten principles and discusses them within the context of Pathways and the ‘Who Am I?’ project. The principles played a key role in FaCHSIA adopting Pathways as the model for the national Find and Connect database and web resource, launched on 15 November 2011. The principles underpin community knowledge building in the fourth or pluralised dimension of the Records Continuum. The paper ultimately argues that all stakeholders (all people and organisations connected with records) should have the ability to contribute to the utilisation of those records through the improvement of documentation and that some archival systems do have a duty of care to ensure they can inter-operate with community-generated knowledge.     

The impact of information skills training on independent literature searching activity and requests for mediated literature searches

Background: Most NHS library services routinely offer both mediated searches and information skills training sessions to their users. We analyse the impact of these two services on the amount of literature searching demonstrated by users of hospital‐ based library services in the north‐west of England. Methods: Data for (1) mediated literature searches, (2) number of library users attending information skills training sessions, (3) amount of library staff time devoted to information skills training, and (4) number of Athens‐authenticated log‐ins to databases were obtained from statistical returns for 2007, and analysed for significant correlations. Results: There was evidence of quite strong correlations between the two measures of training activity and the number of mediated literature searches performed by library staff. There was weaker evidence of correlation between training activity and total literature searching activity. Discussion: Attending training sessions may make some library users aware of the difficulty of complex literature searches and actually reduce their confidence to perform their own complex searches independently. The relationships between information skills training, mediated literature searches, and independent literature searching activity remain complex.     

Network technologies for information warfare and manipulation of public opinion

This paper explores the impact of new information technologies on the development of social communication and social systems. The properties and features of the modern information environment are analyzed. The factors and technologies of information warfare and confrontation are investigated. The role of information communication technologies in the operation of social-network movements is demonstrated. The means and methods of the mass media, social networks, and destructive network technologies that are applied to manipulate group behavior and to transform public opinion are exposed. The potential of sociodynamics as a new instrument of targeted impact on social systems is explored. Possible risks and threats that face the development of telecommunication systems and networks are assessed. Conclusions and relevant activities are formulated to prevent the rise of information confrontations and to mitigate hidden impacts and threats to the country’s social-economic, scientific, and technological development.     

A power information user (PIU) model to promote information integration in Tennessee's public health community.

Observation and immersion in the user community are critical factors in designing and implementing informatics solutions; such practices ensure relevant interventions and promote user acceptance. Libraries can adapt these strategies to developing instruction and outreach. While needs assessment is typically a core facet of library instruction, sustained, iterative assessment underlying the development of user-centered instruction is key to integrating resource use into the workflow. This paper describes the Eskind Biomedical Library's (EBL's) recent work with the Tennessee public health community to articulate a training model centered around developing power information users (PIUs). PIUs are community-based individuals with an advanced understanding of information seeking and resource use and are committed to championing information integration. As model development was informed by observation of PIU workflow and information needs, it also allowed for informal testing of the applicability of assessment via domain immersion in library outreach. Though the number of PIUs involved in the project was small, evaluation indicated that the model was useful for promoting information use in PIU workgroups and that the concept of domain immersion was relevant to library-related projects. Moreover, EBL continues to employ principles of domain understanding inherent in the PIU model to develop further interventions for the public health community and library users.     

医科大学学报审稿人审稿质量的影响因素分析

为了了解影响医科大学学报审稿人审稿质量的因素及各因素对审稿人审稿质量的影响程度,采用自制的经专家论证的问卷调查表对4种高校学报的400名编委及审稿人进行了匿名式问卷调查。结果表明,所设计的11个影响因素的得分总体比较、两两比较,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。以数理方法筛选出影响医科大学学报审稿人审稿质量的主要因素,为编辑同人寻求避免某些不利因素的方法提供了实证依据。     

信息无障碍理念在我国公益性信息服务业中的应用现状调查

本文采用文献调研、网络调查、田野调查等方法调查了我国各级政府、图书馆、第三方组织及相关企业在其提供公益性信息服务过程中应用信息无障碍理念的一些实际情况,并总结了8种具体模式及近50种子模式,并提出相关建议。     

Health information in Italian public health websites: moving from inaccessibility to accessibility

AIMS: In January 2004, the Italian government passed new legislation designed to give people with disabilities access to online services. Starting from the new legislation requirements, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether Italian Local Health Authorities websites are accessible to users with different abilities. METHODS: One hundred and seventy websites were analysed evaluating their compliance to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Priority 1 guidelines via a combination of appropriate accessibility testing methods. This review was carried out twice: the first time it took place between the end of 2003 and May-June 2004. The same survey was repeated again in December 2004, after the issuing of the draft of the Implementation Regulations for The Stanca Law in July 2004. In this second survey, all the websites analysed before were checked again to establish if some measures to make those sites accessible were taken. RESULTS: Seventy-six per cent of the analysed websites fail to satisfy the most basic W3C requirements, but Italian Local Health Authorities websites are likely to present significant improvements to access for some disabled user groups: the number of accessible websites increased consistently between the first and the second review. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that awareness of web accessibility issues is increasing among developers of health information websites because of law enforcement. Recommendations for future research and development are offered.     

Preparing public librarians for consumer health information service: A nationwide study

A nationwide survey study was conducted to gain understanding as to how to prepare public librarians for consumer health information service. Findings indicate that the popular health information needs encountered by public librarians cover a wide variety of topics, including the human body, a medical/health condition, a disease, a medical concept, and fitness/diet/nutrition. The top two challenges faced by public librarians when providing consumer health information service are difficulty in interpreting patrons' questions and lack of knowledge about available and trusted/appropriate medical/health information sources. Public librarians wish to receive training on a number of topics that could help address the challenges they face, and the most favorable training format for them, among all the options provided in the survey, is the self-paced online tutorial. This study constitutes the basis for establishing training requirements and developing training programs to meet the needs of public librarians. Their mastery of the necessary skills, knowledge and competencies via training will lead to effective and efficient delivery of consumer health information service in public libraries, and ultimately generate optimal patron experiences.     

The path to information in the public domain: Official publications in Spain

Official publications are aimed towards editing and spreading the messages created by governments and other bodies of the public domain. At the beginning, the aim of this activity is twofold: on the one hand, fulfilling the principle of publicity of the norms, as it constitutes a basis for the efficiency of those, and, on the other hand, fulfilling a general function of information about the activities of public authorities. As the action of government generalises, this function of communication between those governing and those governed has extended to other fields of activity, thus, free and pay materials, both printed and electronic, are published.     

Providing access to local government information: The nature of public library activity

This article focuses on the problems associated with providing access to local government information. The research on which it is based is from a 1986 survey conducted by the author of 265 public libraries in six library systems in northern Illinois, the largest comparative study of public library providers of local government information conducted to date. Fifty-five active providers of local government information (those that received requests for this information at least every two weeks) were identified: the findings are based on telephone and group interviews with key staff of those libraries. The article examines a variety of methods that might be used to increase access to local government information. It analyzes the nature of requests received and the types of responses given by these libraries. It examines the major problems associated with providing access to local government information and discusses the reasons given by librarians for providing access to local government information sources. The article concludes that a serious local government information gap exists and that librarians who seek to over-come it must articulate a role that addresses the serious barriers that must be overcome before a library can provide meaningful access to local government information.     

Improving digital skills for the use of online public information and services

There are recent indications regarding the use of online public services that force the government to focus on the more refined conceptualizations digital divide research has produced. This paper addresses one of the factors that appears to be important in several conceptualizations of how to approach the digital divide; the differential possession of so-called digital skills. The problem of being short of skills becomes urgent when governments suppose that citizens are able to complete about every task on the Internet. Operational definitions for operational, formal, information and strategic skills are used to measure the Internet skills of the Dutch population at large, by giving 109 subjects nine government related assignments to be accomplished on the Internet. Subjects were recruited following a two step approach; randomly select a sample from the book/list of fixed telephony subscribers, followed by drawing a selective quota sample for the strata of gender, age and educational level. The results indicate that on average 80% of the operational skill Internet tasks, 72% of formal Internet skills tasks, 62% of the information Internet skills tasks and 22% of strategic Internet skills tasks assigned have been successfully completed. The Dutch government's expectation that every citizen with an Internet connection is able to complete the assignments following tasks the government thinks every Internet user can perform, clearly is not justified. The article provides two types of policy recommendations to change this state of affairs. Recommendations for improving government websites and for improving the skill levels of Dutch citizens are suggested.     

Building state information highways: lessons for public and private sector leaders

In America’s state houses small yet powerful collections of policy leaders, in the public and private sector, are guiding the initial conception and early implementation of advanced communication networks. This article investigates how the beliefs of leading actors collide to produce two distinctive state networks. Rather than focus exclusively on the simple dichotomous “yes” or “no” decision regarding the adoption or nonadoption of an advanced telecommunications system, like a statewide information highway, this article focuses on the critical role of debate imbedded within that decision. Analysis and presentation of interviews and extensive literature reviews of the development of information highways, in North Carolina and Iowa, provide the setting for the generation of hypotheses suggesting the future trajectory of technology policymaking. While praised for their bold, visionary leadership and innovative system designs, the accounts of network development in these two American states also provide a cautionary tale for other subnational governments and for private sector telecommunications firms interested in the business of building public sector information highways.     

Factors affecting users' intention to use mobile health services of public libraries

Mobile health services are a new direction for public libraries development. However, it is unclear which factors affect users' intention to use the mobile health services of public libraries (MHSPL). Integrating the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology theory along with trust and privacy concerns. This study proposes a conceptual model to investigate factors that affect users' intention to use MHSPL. The conceptual model is empirically examined, and the hypotheses are tested using a survey sample (N = 415). The findings indicate that users' intention to use MHSPL is directly influenced by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and trust. Trust also mediated users' intention to use MHSPL, leading to an indirect effect of social influence and privacy concerns. Additionally, people with different experiences using MHSPL have significant differences in their intention to use MHSPL. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of users' behavior of MHSPL and can help facilitate and improve health services provided by public libraries.