Aslib Journal of Information Management

Park, Minsoo

2015 Aslib Journal of Information Management

doi: 10.1108/AJIM-12-2013-0154

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the general nature of human multiple information task behavior in Web information seeking and retrieval contexts and identify the factors that influence the processes of prioritizing mul.tiple information tasks. Design/methodology/approach– Experiments were conducted in a laboratory setting to collect data from multiple sources including search logs, think aloud reports during the searches and interviews, questionnaires, and post-search interviews. Quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques were both used. Findings– The findings of this study reveal that effort, time and perception may all be necessary factors in producing good performance in dynamic and complex information situations, but how the author effectively manages the emotions ultimately yields successful performance. High mental effort, even when accompanied by productive time management, is not sufficient to produce high performance unless the author effectively deal with the emotions and feelings in such situations. Originality/value– A comprehensive understanding of the affective, cognitive, and physical processes underlying the human multiple information task behavior is vital if the author is to design emotionally intelligent information systems that can support people when managing dynamic and complex information situations in hi-tech environments.

Aharony, Noa

2015 Aslib Journal of Information Management

doi: 10.1108/AJIM-11-2014-0148

Purpose– This study focusses on What’s App, a mobile messaging service for smartphones, that was founded in 2009. The purpose of this study is to explore which factors may influence students’ satisfaction and duration of time, spent on What’s App. Design/methodology/approach– In order to answer this question it uses the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) approach (Katz, 1959), as well as the Big Five model (Costa and McCrae, 1992), and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989). The research was conducted in Israel and encompassed 111 information science (IS) students. Researchers used six questionnaires to gather data. Findings– The findings of this study shed light on a new technological platform: What’s App that has rarely been examined to date, and expands the U&G perspectives to new media. Findings confirm that the U&G paradigm, as well as personality characteristics and perceived enjoyment, effect What’s App satisfaction and duration, and highlight the importance of both the U&G approach and individual differences when exploring motivations underlying What’s App use. Originality/value– This study proposes a theoretical framework by combining the U&G approach, constructs from the “Big Five” model, and one variable from the TAM, to investigate the attitudes of What’s App users, and propose possible factors that may explain why certain individuals use What’s App.

Inthiran, Anushia; Alhashmi, Saadat M; Ahmed, Pervaiz K

2015 Aslib Journal of Information Management

doi: 10.1108/AJIM-09-2014-0110

Purpose– Current research topics in relation to health information searching focus on challenges faced by health consumers and domains used to perform the health search. Health consumers may not be capable of successfully searching for a health task due to limited medical knowledge. As such search assisting features provided on health domains are important in assisting health consumers during a search session. The purpose of this paper is to perform a preliminary exploratory research study to understand if search assisting features are visible to searchers and the usage of search assisting features when searching on a personal health task. Design/methodology/approach– A convenience sampling method in a university setting and an observational type study was used. MedlinePlus is used as the search domain for this research study. While participants of this research study were first time users of MedlinePlus, they were not first time medical searchers. Findings– Results of this research study indicate health consumers do not utilize search assisting features when searching for a personal health task. This is because health consumers are comfortable with their search skills. In other cases health consumers found the search assisting features irrelevant or had no confidence in the search assisting features presented. Key contributions of this research study indicate health consumers do not utilize search assisting features when searching for a personal health task. This is because health consumers are comfortable with their search skills. In other cases health consumers found the search assisting features irrelevant or had no confidence in the search assisting features presented. Research limitations/implications– Results of this research study has implications for health domain and human computer designers in relation to the development of specialized search assisting features and the placement of these features. Theoretical contributions indicate health searchers use search assisting features minimally when searching on a personal health task. Originality/value– Results of this research study indicate health consumers do not utilize search assisting features when searching for a personal health task. This is because health consumers are comfortable with their search skills. In other cases health consumers found the search assisting features irrelevant or had no confidence in the search assisting features presented.

Tan, Esther MengYoke; Hoe-Lian Goh, Dion

2015 Aslib Journal of Information Management

doi: 10.1108/AJIM-09-2014-0124

Purpose– Research has shown that when presenting large amounts of social media information on small devices, design should consider multiple contexts which include user preferences, time, location, environment and so on. It should also take into account the purpose of use, for example, the kind of tasks undertaken by users. However, little research has been done on the organization of social media information by multiple context and tasks. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach– Using tourism as a domain, the authors conducted a user evaluation study with a prototype to investigate users’ preferred ways of organizing different types of social media information based on multiple contexts. Findings– In this paper, the authors present a sequence of context types for organizing four types of social media information (recommendations, events, friends and media elements). The study revealed that users preferred to view recommendations by location and environment context, events by location and temporal context, contacts by location and identity context and finally, list of media elements by environment and identity context. Research limitations/implications– There may be different sequences of context types for organizing social media information in domains other than tourism. Researchers are encouraged to analyze users’ needs in other domains so as to find their preferred ways of organizing social media information. Practical implications– This paper includes implications for the design and development of user interface, in particular, for mobile applications presenting large amount of social media information. Originality/value– It presents a new way of organizing social media information using multiple context types and with consideration of users’ needs.

van Deventer, Jacobus Philippus; Kruger, Cornelius Johannes; Johnson, Roy Donald

2015 Aslib Journal of Information Management

doi: 10.1108/AJIM-05-2014-0057

Purpose– Academic authors tend to define terms that meet their own needs. Knowledge Management (KM) is a term that comes to mind and is examined in this study. Lexicographical research identified KM terms used by authors from 1996 to 2006 in academic outlets to define KM. Data were collected based on strict criteria which included that definitions should be unique instances. From 2006 onwards, these authors could not identify new unique instances of definitions with repetitive usage of such definition instances. Analysis revealed that KM is directly defined by People (Person and Organisation), Processes (Codify, Share, Leverage, and Process) and Contextualised Content (Information). The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach– The aim of this paper is to add to the body of knowledge in the KM discipline and supply KM practitioners and scholars with insight into what is commonly regarded to be KM so as to reignite the debate on what one could consider as KM. The lexicon used by KM scholars was evaluated though the application of lexicographical research methods as extended though Knowledge Discovery and Text Analysis methods. Findings– By simplifying term relationships through the application of lexicographical research methods, as extended though Knowledge Discovery and Text Analysis methods, it was found that KM is directly defined by People (Person and Organisation), Processes (Codify, Share, Leverage, Process) and Contextualised Content (Information). One would therefore be able to indicate that KM, from an academic point of view, refers to people processing contextualised content. Research limitations/implications– In total, 42 definitions were identified spanning a period of 11 years. This represented the first use of KM through the estimated apex of terms used. From 2006 onwards definitions were used in repetition, and all definitions that were considered to repeat were therefore subsequently excluded as not being unique instances. All definitions listed are by no means complete and exhaustive. The definitions are viewed outside the scope and context in which they were originally formulated and then used to review the key concepts in the definitions themselves. Social implications– When the authors refer to the aforementioned discussion of KM content as well as the presentation of the method followed in this paper, the authors may have a few implications for future research in KM. First the research validates ideas presented by the OECD in 2005 pertaining to KM. It also validates that through the evolution of KM, the authors ended with a description of KM that may be seen as a standardised description. If the authors as academics and practitioners, for example, refer to KM as the same construct and/or idea, it has the potential to speculatively, distinguish between what KM may or may not be. Originality/value– By simplifying the term used to define KM, by focusing on the most common definitions, the paper assist in refocusing KM by reconsidering the dimensions that is the most common in how it has been defined over time. This would hopefully assist in reigniting discussions about KM and how it may be used to the benefit of an organisation.

Tesendic, Danijela; Boberic Krsticev, Danijela

2015 Aslib Journal of Information Management

doi: 10.1108/AJIM-11-2014-0149

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to describe a case study of developing a web service that will act as an intermediary between the Audio Library system for the visually impaired and the library management systems. The Audio Library is based on speech recognition and text-to-speech engines and it produces synthesized speech from various electronic materials. It has its own database with a limited number of books and textual materials. Web services described in this paper should enable access to a larger number of electronic resources provided by libraries. Design/methodology/approach– In this paper, the author specified software architecture of a web service analyzing different approaches for search and retrieval. Findings– Web service described in this paper is the first software solution addressing the problem of lending e-books in Serbia. It aggregates collections of different libraries in a single access point for the Audio Library system. In this way, users of the Audio Library system are provided with larger number of electronic resources. Originality/value– Communication between the Audio Library and this web service is achieved by using standardized protocols for exchanging library data. However, those protocols did not fulfill all necessary requirements, so the authors propose some extensions to overcome those issues.