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Individuals' movements are conditioned by the acquisition of information from personal interactions with the environment or from social sources. Despite the importance of social information in movement decision making, little is known about how individuals proceed when social information comes from multiple sources. Here, we specifically tackled this issue by experimentally testing (1) how social information from multiple sources is used to make relocation decisions and (2) whether a contrast in this information enables individuals to orient themselves in space. Using the common lizard as a model species, we conducted repeated experiments in which a focal neonate received information from two other neonates coming from distinct peripheral environments before being given the opportunity to relocate to either peripheral environment. Specifically, we focused on information on resource availability and intraspecific competition by considering informants' body mass (BM) at birth and their subsequent food intake. Our analyses revealed that the amount of resources in the informants' environments affected relocation decisions, depending on the focal individual's phenotype. We found the probability of relocation increased when both the informants' food intake and the focal individual's BM increased or decreased. We also found the relocation increased when both the informants' and focal individual's BM increased or decreased. Our findings suggest that focal individuals adjust their relocation response to social information according to their needs and/or physical abilities. Conversely, we found no significant effect of differences in BM between informants or spatial variability in resource availability on spatial orientation. This study highlights that multiple sources of social information that reflect the quality of the surrounding environment (competition or resource availability) can be used for movement decision making. • Common lizard neonates can use multiple social information for relocation decisions. • Social information is processed based on the information receiver's condition. • Relocation increased when both informants' food intake and receiver's body mass did. • Relocation increased when both informants' body mass and receiver's body mass did. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, millions of people are forced to flee their homes to find safety. This paper investigates the information literacy experiences of people from forced migrant backgrounds as they settle into a new country during their first few years of migration. Using a qualitative and interpretive approach incorporating thematic analysis techniques, data were collected through 19 semi-structured interviews and were analysed adopting a thematic analysis approach. Participants were new arrival humanitarian migrants in Australia. The analysis uncovered five different and interconnected themes depicting the information literacy experiences among forcibly displaced people. The themes are: (1) undertaking education; (2) reaching out for help; (3) comparing and contrasting; (4) sharing stories; and (5) getting engaged. Grounded in the relational perspective on information literacy, a long-standing theoretical perspective to explore the information literacy of humanitarian migrants, the findings from this study provide an empirically derived evidence base to inform the design and delivery of services providing information, support and education to humanitarian migrants entering Australia for protection or resettlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coloniality is strongly shaped by aspects of social foraging behaviour. For example, colonies may be important sources of information, while food competition may increase foraging efforts and limit colony size. Understanding foraging ecology considering these apparent trade‐offs is required to develop a better understanding of colonial living. We combined animal‐borne GPS, cameras and dive recorders to study social foraging in breeding adult northern gannets Morus bassanus—a wide‐ranging colonial seabird. We first tested for indirect evidence of prey depletion around the colony by estimating dive location, depth and duration. Next, we tested for sociality during different behaviours (commuting, foraging and resting) and distance from the colony. Finally, we quantified flocks of inbound and outbound birds to compare social foraging between outbound and inbound legs of the commute. Dive probability and depth (n = 46 individuals; n = 1590 dives) increased with distance from the colony, creating dive clusters at ~100 and 180 km consistent with conspecific prey depletion. Camera stills (n = 8 individuals; n = 7495 images) show gannets are highly social, but this varied among behaviours. Sociality was highest during foraging and commuting; especially inbound and social foraging was more likely far from the colony. Gannets were equally likely to be solitary or social when leaving the colony but returning birds were more likely in larger flocks. In summary, despite experiencing intraspecific competition for food, gannets engage in dynamic, context‐dependent social foraging associations. Conspecifics aggregated far from the colony possibly because of a prey depletion halo closer to home, but this provided potential benefits via local enhancement and by returning to the colony in flocks. Our results therefore illustrate how competition may, paradoxically, facilitate some aspects of group foraging in colonial animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IMPACT: Accounting systems have been traditionally seen as technical calculative practices to quantify public sector activities, used by governments for (internal) decision-making purposes and to be externally accountable. This article suggests taking a different perspective by considering the relational nature of accounting systems, with the idea that a more interactive approach between citizens and governments can enhance both decision-making and accountability. By relying on a more dialogic approach, policy-makers and public managers at all levels of government can encourage citizens to participate in public service performance measurement, so that citizens can comment on what counts, how to measure it, and how to account for it. Doing this will reinvigorate government legitimacy, increase mutual trust between citizens and the public sector, and pursue public values that citizens actually want. Public sector accounting systems have been criticised for being 'monological' tools, narrowly focusing on efficiency and financial values while disregarding the plurality of public values, and suffering from limited use, relevance, transparency, and involvement of citizens. This article offers a new perspective by highlighting not only the technical but also the relational nature of accounting systems where citizens and governments interact in deciding what counts, measuring it, and accounting for it. It calls for future research exploring the potential of interactive forms of accounting systems, both government- and citizen-initiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ two changes to the research journal list produced by the Financial Times (FT) in 2010 to investigate whether citing practices in two premier accounting journals (Contemporary Accounting Research—CAR and Review of Accounting Studies—RAS) are influenced by strategic considerations. We are the first to document significant strategic citing behavior among accounting journals. Using the difference-in-difference (DiD) research design, where we account for citation practices across various groups of accounting journals, we find that while CAR and RAS papers garnered increased citations from both FT and non-FT accounting journals in the period following their addition to the FT list, self-referencing by these journals increased significantly more during the same period, compared to other benchmark journals. Our results suggest that the referencing of articles in CAR and RAS is systematically affected by strategic considerations, potentially impeding scientific progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the impact of database quality, reputation, credibility, and comprehensiveness on graduate students' information use with the mediating role of empowerment at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. The design of the study is descriptive-causal. The research instrument is a questionnaire. Cronbach's test was used to check the reliability of the questionnaire. The results of this test were equal to 0.842, which showed the excellent reliability of the questionnaire. The research population included all graduate students (N= 5137) of the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. Research sample (N=358) graduates were selected based on Krejcie and Morgan’s table via random sampling. The results showed that the quality of database resources has a positive and significant effect on the use of database resources among the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz graduate students. In addition, the reputation of database resources has a positive and significant effect on the use of database resources. The results also indicated a positive and significant effect of resource validity on the use of information resources. Furthermore, the comprehensiveness of resources positively and significantly affected the graduates' receipt, use, and ability to use resources. Finally, the implications suggest that the quality of information resources on the receipt and use of information affect the comprehensiveness of information resources and the use of resources mediated.

The environmental complexity hypothesis suggests that cognition evolves to allow animals to negotiate a complex and changing environment. By contrast, signal detection theory suggests cognition exploits environmental regularities by containing biases (e.g. to avoid dangerous predators). Therefore, two significant bodies of theory on cognitive evolution may be in tension: one foregrounds environmental complexity, the other regularity. Difficulty in reconciling these theories stems from their focus on different aspects of cognition. The environmental complexity hypothesis focuses on the reliability of sensors in the origin of cognition, while signal detection theory focuses on decision making in cognitively sophisticated animals. Here, we extend the signal detection model to examine the joint evolution of mechanisms for detecting information (sensory systems) and those that process information to produce behaviour (decision-making systems). We find that the transition to cognition can only occur if processing compensates for unreliable sensors by trading-off errors. Further, we provide an explanation for why animals with sophisticated sensory systems nonetheless disregard the reliable information it provides, by having biases for particular behaviours. Our model suggests that there is greater nuance than has been previously appreciated, and that both complexity and regularity can promote cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the impact of database quality, reputation, credibility, and comprehensiveness on graduate students' information use with the mediating role of empowerment at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. The design of the study is descriptive-causal. The research instrument is a questionnaire. Cronbach's test was used to check the reliability of the questionnaire. The results of this test were equal to 0.842, which showed the excellent reliability of the questionnaire. The research population included all graduate students (N= 5137) of the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. Research sample (N=358) graduates were selected based on Krejcie and Morgan’s table via random sampling. The results showed that the quality of database resources has a positive and significant effect on the use of database resources among the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz graduate students. In addition, the reputation of database resources has a positive and significant effect on the use of database resources. The results also indicated a positive and significant effect of resource validity on the use of information resources. Furthermore, the comprehensiveness of resources positively and significantly affected the graduates' receipt, use, and ability to use resources. Finally, the implications suggest that the quality of information resources on the receipt and use of information affect the comprehensiveness of information resources and the use of resources mediated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than half of Japan's land area experiences significant snowfall during winter, and the damage caused by various snow and ice disasters remains a dire issue, which also leads to decreased living standards. Simultaneously, the nature of snow and ice disasters has been transformed due to climate change and the increasing occurrence of extreme weather conditions. The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) has been continuously conducting research to address these problems in relation to snow and ice disasters. This study presents the results of the project "Research on Combining Risk Monitoring and Forecasting Technologies for Mitigation of Increasingly Diverse Snow Disaster" conducted by the NIED over a seven-year period from April 2016 to March 2023. This project developed technology for conducting accurate observations of snowfall and snow cover conditions over wide areas as well as technology for areal prediction of snow and ice disasters through simulations. Based on collaboration with stakeholders, such as local governments, our study investigated how to optimize the use of our information products for snow and ice disaster mitigation. Through these insights, the NIED provides information for prompt and appropriate responses to snow and ice disasters, thus supporting safe and comfortable living in both snowy and non-snowy areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policy and administration debates typically assume that ICT tools, including social networking services (SNS), increase the amount of information that is communicated and thus harnessed for policymaking processes. At the same time, behavioral approaches point to the potentially detrimental effects of social media stress resulting from an overexposure to SNS. Because systematic research on the individual-level effects of SNS in policy formulation is rare, this paper explores the effect of SNS on the use of policy-relevant information and, thus, on individual political capacities. A moderated mediation analysis was performed based on survey data from central ministerial bureaucracies in Germany, Italy, and Norway, considering not only the amount of information utilized in legislative drafting but also the variability and concentration of the information sources. The results indicate that SNS positively relate to policy officials' information use, which, in turn, increases their self-reported political capacities. However, the positive relationship between SNS and both the amount and the variability of information use was found to be diminished when levels of social media stress are high rather than low. The conclusions discuss the implications for civil servants and policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals can use asocial (e.g., environmental cues) or social (e.g., conspecific behavior) information when making decisions. We investigated decisions made by zebra finches when asocial and social sources conveyed agreeing or conflicting information, and assessed the influence of initial bias on decision making. Finches completed an initial preference test ranking preference for three colors of nest-building material. Birds in the agree group (n = 14) then observed demonstrators build nests using nonpreferred color material (social information) that matched the environment color (asocial information). Birds in the conflict group (n = 15) observed demonstrators build nests with nonpreferred color material that did not match the cage environment (another nonpreferred color). A final preference test assessed any changes in color preference. The agree group reduced average preference for their initially preferred color, but did not significantly increase average preference for the asocial/social colors. The conflict group also reduced average preference for the initially preferred color and also increased preference for the socially demonstrated color. Observers with stronger initial bias were less likely to choose the socially demonstrated color than observers with weaker initial bias. This shows that social information informs nest-building decisions, even when in conflict with asocial information. However, bias influences social information use and adds nuance to how different individuals use information when making decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strong Health Information System (HIS) is a foundation for evidence-based decision making in health care management. However, there is a dearth of literature with respect to health information use practice, particularly in public health facilities of Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional, facility-based quantitative study was conducted from February 1 to February 29, 2018. Quantitative data was collected using a structured questionnaire and checklists from a sample of 48 health facilities and 213 health workers, and analyzed using binary logistic regression. To complement the quantitative findings, qualitative data was collected using key informant interviews. The level of information use based on standard observation checklists was 58%. Health information system’s specific supportive supervision (Adjusted Odd Ratio, AOR, 3.070; 95% Confidence Interval, CI, 1.206, 7.816), staff’s perception of data use practice (AOR=3.732, 95%CI 1.383, 10.068), and staff’s experience of root cause analysis (AOR=3.782, 95%CI 1.456, 9.819) were significant factors associated with the information use. Health information use among public health facilities was low. Strengthening supportive supervision, awareness creation on the use of available data, and improving the skill of root cause analysis of the problem is recommended.

Animals interact with their worlds using sensory information (sounds, smells, sights) that is perceived differently by each species. This sensory information and how it is interpreted underpins most behaviours, but especially foraging decisions. Creating sensory misinformation, that is uninformative or unrewarding cues, is a new approach with applications for managing wildlife and conserving threatened species across a range of global contexts. Here we discuss recent research that demonstrates the power of strategically deploying olfactory misinformation to reduce predation on birds by predators, consumption of vulnerable seedlings by herbivores, and seeds by rodents as well as how multimodal misinformation may work. Single and multimodal sensory tactics can alter foraging decisions by both herbivores and predators, with profound consequences for the survival of prey and plants. There remains much to understand regarding sensory perception and learning but results to date suggest there are enormous opportunities to harness innovative sensory tactics in the future to improve many conservation and wildlife management scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the status of library and information science (LIS) education in Pakistan, as well as LIS progress, level of employment and issues, infrastructure and facilities, challenges faced by LIS institutions and future prospects of the profession. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 115 permanent/regular and visiting academic members from different Pakistani institutions/universities participated in the research. A mixed-method was used, and data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. The data was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings: This study's results showed that assistant, associate and associate professors have been very involved in producing high-quality research articles and producing quality graduates. This study also found that there are several problems with LIS education in Pakistan, such as a lack of qualified teachers, resources and facilities. This study provides all the answers to these problems. They are useful for LIS teachers and students in Pakistan because LIS education has been around for a long time, but there are still some problems that need to be fixed. The results could have an immediate effect on the direction, ability to survive and future of LIS education in Pakistan. Originality/value: Previously, different studies have been conducted on evolution and challenges to the LIS profession, but to the best of the authors' knowledge, no study has been reported based on the professional experiences in other Universities of Pakistan. According to the research, the findings are crucial for LIS professors and students in Pakistan. In addition, the research investigates the challenges faced by LIS teachers in Pakistan. It concludes with suggestions on how to address some of these problems. It is also said that Pakistan must develop universal standards for LIS to close the gap between what users want and what library workers can do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research offers a critical context-sensitive discourse-historical analysis of a speech by James E. Shepard, the Black president and founder of North Carolina Central University. Shepard's speech negotiated his identity as an educated Black man in the Jim Crow South by using perspectivation to switch between the point of view of an African American and that of a North Carolinian, thus establishing a bond with white members of his audience based on locational loyalty. A better understanding of how language is used by oppressed populations contributes to LIS scholars' understandings of the usage of information in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers concepts and models for digital twins of activities and methods available to use such digital twins. Emphasis is made on modelling of information actions as a part of activity and information use in the activity. Authors shows that there is a multidisciplinary gap between the inspired by the digital twin of activity need to model application of information for further activity in systems and available theoretical means for the digital twin of activity modelling. Models suggested can be used to create models for digital twin of activity, which represents an information application for activity. As a result, the digital twin of activity, represented by such models, can be used to synthesize activity characteristics and information actions for systems functioning in various conditions. To build models required, diagrammatic models of information application for activity in systems are suggested. Diagrammatic models suggested are used for further creation of formal models of activity and models of information activity application for systems functioning. Suggested models are applied to build digital twins of the activity. Such twins allows to represent and enhance activity based on information collected and to enhance information application for activity. This further allows us to solve problems related to digital transformation planning of various activities, system engineering problems, computer aided design and manufacture problems, information activities synthesis problems.

Compared to trial-and-error learning, learning from others is often a viable means of adding new adaptive behaviours to an individual's repertoire. This is especially true in long-lived, group-living species that encounter moderate levels of environmental heterogeneity. Here we review the social learning literature that uses bats as models under the framework of Galef (2009) and Laland (2009) to examine when, where, and from whom bats are most likely to learn socially about food and other foraging behaviour. We conclude that evidence exists for bats learning about novel foods from other bats, learning how to handle such food from other bats, and that bats often learn these ways when uncertain about the quality of different foods available. There is also evidence that young bats learn about new foods from their mothers, and that adult bats learn from other adult bats, even other bat species. However, whether bats more likely to learn from familiar individuals or learn about specific foraging areas from others is less established and warrants further research. We also conclude that phyllostomid bats present the best evidence of social learning about food and suggest future research, including investigating the possibility of nonhuman culture, focus on this diverse group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals vary in the sophistication of their capacities for social learning, and much research has focused on establishing when learning from others is favourable. However, social learning involves both a receiver (who learns), and a sender (who is learned from). Surprisingly, the joint evolution of traits for social learning has attracted little attention, even though learning by the receiver has consequences for the fitness of the sender. Accordingly, animals are observed to teach and mask, and thereby influence available information. Here, we provide a mathematical model to examine when reliable social learning emerges as a result of investment in traits for social and asocial learning, as well as teaching and masking. Our purpose is to provide a general framework for thinking about how social learning is impacted by sender-receiver joint evolution, so our model is heuristic; its aim is to delineate broad categories of direct and indirect selection on learning traits. Our findings lead us to theorise that social learning exists on a continuum. At one extreme, senders and receivers have strongly opposed interests, selecting for masking to combat informational parasitism; at the other extreme, strongly aligned interests lead to teaching to enhance social learning. Sophisticated, metabolically expensive traits for influencing social learning can evolve under either aligned or opposed interests, although the aim of their design differs. Furthermore, we find that traits for asocial learning should often be more sophisticated than traits for receiving, while receiving traits should often be more sophisticated than sender traits for teaching or masking. Significance statement: Learning from group members is often crucial for survival, with social learning influencing the development of behaviours in domains as diverse as foraging, mate preference, and predator defence. Formal modelling has provided a good understanding of the conditions that favour social learning, given animals already have the ability to learn asocially. However, the success of social learning also depends on the behaviour of the group member who is learned from. For instance, group members may teach others how to hunt dangerous prey. Alternatively, knowledgeable individuals sometimes take actions to hinder learning, for instance, by disguising the location of a food cache. Here, we provide a unitary mathematical framework to study how behaviours of the group member who is learned from jointly evolve with those of the learner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the European Union (EU), there are over half a million medical devices, varying from pacemakers to software. Medical devices play an important role in health care as they are used in diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction, prognosis, treatment, or to alleviate disease. Medical devices are regulated in the EU by the Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which came into force on 25 April 2017 and into application on 26 May 2021. The demand for regulation arose from the need to establish a transparent, robust, predictable, and sustainable regulatory framework. This study aims to examine how the managers and regulatory professionals in health technology enterprises perceived the application of the MDR and what were their information needs regarding the MDR. Methods: A link to an online questionnaire was sent to 405 managers and regulatory professionals representing health technology enterprises in Finland. The study included 74 respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and summarise the characteristics of the dataset. Results: Information related to the MDR was fragmented and the necessary information was sought from multiple information sources, while the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea) was regarded as the most important source of information and training provider. To some extent, the managers and regulatory professionals expressed their dissatisfaction with the performance of Fimea. The managers and regulatory professionals were not very familiar with the ICT systems provided by the EU. The size of an enterprise affected how many medical devices it manufactures and generally affected the views about the MDR. Conclusions: The managers and regulatory professionals understood the role of the MDR regarding the safety and transparency of medical devices. The available information regarding the MDR did not properly fit the needs of users and there seemed to be a gap in information quality. The managers and regulatory professionals had some difficulties understanding the available information. Based on our findings, we believe it is paramount to evaluate the challenges faced by Fimea and how it could improve its performance. To some extent, the MDR is regarded as a burden for smaller enterprises. It is important to highlight the benefits of ICT systems and to develop them to better meet the information needs of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The communication of technical information is often susceptible to cognitive biases. Technical communicators need to understand cognitive biases and know how to tackle them accordingly. This article devises a framework of principles that provides technical communicators an operable affordance and a vocabulary to approach cognitive biases and to communicate empathetically. Method: I review a vast body of literature in technical communication with a focus on problems caused by cognitive biases. This work reveals significant problems in information visualization that can provide for a nuanced discussion on cognitive biases in technical communication. Using these problems as a guide, I draw upon cognitive theories in how people use information, the prospect theory about how people make decisions, and the self-determination theory about how such decisions are influenced by the social context. I then assemble a framework of principles that illuminates the workings of cognitive biases. I extrapolate sample questions that technical communicators can use to examine cognitive biases in information visualization and technical communication. Results: The framework of principles explains how cognitive biases affect technical communication. These principles are useful for gaining a deeper understanding of users from a cognitive bias perspective and optimizing for empathetic communication. Conclusion: Technical communicators and users are prone to cognitive biases. The framework of principles, cognitive biases, and sample questions presented in this article provide technical communicators a new lens to examine their work and improve user experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Proper utilization of health data has paramount importance for health service management. However, it is less practiced in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess routine health information utilization and identify factors associated with it among health workers in the Illubabor zone, Western Ethiopia. Methods A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2021 with a total of 423 randomly selected health workers. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire that was developed based on the performance of routine information system management (PRISM) framework. We created composite variables for health workers' knowledge, attitude, abilities, and information utilization based on existing data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed and the statistical association between the outcome and independent variables was declared using 95% CI and a P

This study established the extent to which first generation publishing houses in South-west Nigeria have integrated modern electronic resources into the industry. Further, it investigated the degree of usage of electronic resources among the two major production staff in publishing houses. It also correlated the availability of electronic resources with job satisfaction among the staff. The outcome of the study revealed that the level of electronic resources availability was rated high at 130(86.7%) and 118(78.7%) through internet access and search engines respectively. It also revealed that the level of e-information use by staff in publishing firms is rated high at 96(64.0%) and 82(54.7%), in the areas of content pages in electronic journals and content pages of new pages in the e-library respectively. Finally, it established the level of job satisfaction among staff in publishing firms in South-west, Nigeria as follows; 78(52.0%), 27(36.0%) and 80(53.3%), which are ratings for being able to do the job without feeling its morally wrong, the chance for other workers to look to me for direction and being able to do things that don't go against my conscience very satisfied, respectively. This research recommends that publishers must understand that using new technologies can give companies an edge. New technologies can result in employees "working smarter" as well as providing high-quality products and more efficient services to customers. Also, work, training, programmes and reward systems often need to be reconfigured to support employees' use of new technology, hence, improving satisfaction in their jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated information seeking-behaviour of 109 widows in south-western Nigeria, with a questionnaire, using mainly snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Findings reveal that respondents were economically and educationally weak and their information needs hinge mainly on finance, children's education and training, counselling, family and personal health. They use sources including radio, children, mobile phone, church members and television when seeking for information. Factors motivating the use of information sources include ease of finding information, convenience, familiarity, relevance, and nearness for purposes of educating and training their children, personal work, running family matters, health, and carrying on successfully with widowhood. The major challenges facing respondents in their information seeking-behaviour are finance, weak education, and unemployment. This study throws light on understanding and opportunities for information workers to design relevant information systems for widows in order to meet their unveiling information needs and enhance their information-seeking behaviour activities. Governments' organs, and widows' support groups should give economic empowerment of widows and education of girl child a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures of hospitals have evolved to make them centre on patients and their pathologies, with care procedures that are both interprofessional and interorganisational. This has given rise to work environments made up of teams obliged to collaborate in their problem-solving, with an essential focus on proper collaborative information behaviour (CIB). The aim was to study this behaviour in a clinical service of a hospital in relation to two aspects: information culture (IC) and the exchange of information. This entailed designing a two-part descriptive study. The first step was to administer a survey based on the information orientation model to know more about the service’s IC. The second phase focussed on the exchange of information from the perspective of an analysis of social networks. The main characteristic of IC was its proactive nature, especially in the use of information to improve one’s own work (mean = 4.58) and to respond to changes and new developments relating to work (mean = 4.18). The factor that least characterised IC was control, particularly in relation to knowledge of the objective of the activity itself (mean = 2.67) and the dispersion of information about hospital processes (mean = 2.64). On social networks, factors contrary to an interprofessional CIB were identified, such as homophily and low reciprocity in terms of relationships. In practice, the results identified a need to reinforce the perception of information as a resource, the proper use of which benefits job performance at both an individual and group level. A need to reinforce flows of internal hospital-related information was likewise evident. From a theoretical and methodological point of view, a useful tool is made available for diagnosing the collaborative information behaviour of an organisation and designing strategies to improve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many animals utilize socially transmitted information, there is still much to understand about how individuals form social networks and how these networks influence social information use. Here, we tested the hypothesis that food distribution and availability can influence social structure and social information transfer when discovering novel food sources. We experimentally manipulated distribution and access to food in wild food-caching mountain chickadees, Poecile gambeli , by randomly dividing existing individuals between two feeding locations, with birds only allowed to obtain food at one of the two locations. We carried out such manipulations at multiple sites associated with two montane elevations of different environmental harshness, where birds show differing use of social information. Following 2 weeks of manipulation, we measured social networks and then introduced novel feeders to test how the manipulation affected social information use. The manipulations effectively split the resident chickadees at both elevations into two distinct communities, and when subsequently discovering novel feeders, information transmission about novel food sources followed the new, rather than the premanipulation, network structure at both elevations, although low-elevation birds used social information more than high-elevation birds. Our data show that chickadees can quickly adjust their social associations in response to short-term changes in the distribution of available resources and that these changes influence who they learn from socially when searching for food. Overall, we observed that chickadees are highly flexible in their use of social information despite their rather stable social group structure and that this information use reflects the most current social environment that individuals experience. • Mountain chickadee social networks changed during short-term resource manipulation. • Social information transmission primarily followed the most recent network edges. • Birds at high elevations showed less social information transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In today's digital society, the acquisition of parenting information through online platforms such as social networking sites (SNSs) has become widespread. Amid the mix of online and offline information sources, there is a need to discover effective information-seeking methods for solving parenting problems., Objective: This study aimed to identify patterns of information use among parents of young children in the digital age and elucidate the characteristics of these patterns through a comparative analysis of parental social support and self-efficacy., Methods: An internet-based survey was administered to fathers and mothers of children aged 0-3 years. Convenience sampling, facilitated by an internet-based survey company, was adopted, and data from 227 fathers and 206 mothers were analyzed. The survey included questions on personal characteristics, frequency of use of different sources of parenting information (websites, SNSs, parenting apps, family, friends, and professionals), availability of parental social support, and parental self-efficacy. The Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM) clustering algorithm was used to identify patterns in parenting information use., Results: A total of 4 clusters were identified: multisource gatherers (n=161), offline-centric gatherers (n=105), online-centric gatherers (n=86), and minimal information gatherers (n=68). The availability of parental social support was perceived to be relatively higher among multisource and offline-centric gatherers compared with online-centric and minimal information gatherers. Parental self-efficacy was highest among multisource gatherers, followed by offline-centric and online-centric gatherers, and lowest among minimal information gatherers., Conclusions: This study contributes to the evidence that online information can effectively complement offline information in addressing parenting challenges, although its ability to fully replace offline sources remains limited. Parenting support professionals are encouraged to understand parents' current information use strategies and actively foster their social relationships, helping them to adopt more diverse and comprehensive approaches to information use., (©Ryuta Onishi. Originally published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting (https://pediatrics.jmir.org), 19.12.2024.)

Acceptance and and use of scientific findings have been reported to face challenges that are attributable to inadequacies of science and/or society's inadequate scientific literacy and attitude. In view of the dearth of studies on these issues in Nigeria, this study explored the levels and variations in the scientific literacy, attitude to science, and persuasiveness of scientific compared to cultural knowledge in some personal decision making contexts of postgraduate students in a Nigerian university. The study collected data through a designed and validated questionnaire administered on 315 postgraduate students in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Findings among others are that attitude to science was very highly positive, religious information had slightly stronger persuasiveness in decision making for the students than scientific information, and much more than cultural information. Knowledge of scientific methodology, and critical thinking behavior have positive influence on students' persuasiveness of science while cultural belief has negative predictive influence on their persuasiveness of science. The study concludes, amongst others, that students' attitude to science and their persuasiveness of science can be influenced by their levels of knowledge of science methodology and cultural belief, though in an opposing manner. This implies that publics' understandanding of the persuasiveness of science could be improved by variations in their levels of knowledge of science methodology and cultural belief, amongst other variables. The study therefore, recommends that scientists should begin to communicate science methods to the public through public-friendly and informal means while also subjecting some of the cultural beliefs to scientific tests and communicating their outcomes to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the impact of perceived value metrics in driving satisfaction and behavioral intention to use e-resource among its users. Utilitarian, hedonic, uniqueness, epistemic, and economic are key values selected for the purpose of investigation in the study. This empirical study is carried out through a survey and responses have been analyzed using structural equation modelling. The target group is selected by means of simple random sampling (users of e-resources in selected business schools). Findings of the study reveal that utilitarian values, hedonic values, epistemic values, and uniqueness values have a significant impact on the usage intention of e-resources; however, economic values reflect an insignificant relationship to intention to use e-resources. The study is a distinctive piece of work on investigating the most and the least significant value(s) associated with satisfaction and usage intentions of e-resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the impact of perceived value metrics in driving satisfaction and behavioral intention to use e-resource among its users. Utilitarian, hedonic, uniqueness, epistemic, and economic are key values selected for the purpose of investigation in the study. This empirical study is carried out through a survey and responses have been analyzed using structural equation modelling. The target group is selected by means of simple random sampling (users of e-resources in selected business schools). Findings of the study reveal that utilitarian values, hedonic values, epistemic values, and uniqueness values have a significant impact on the usage intention of e-resources; however, economic values reflect an insignificant relationship to intention to use e-resources. The study is a distinctive piece of work on investigating the most and the least significant value(s) associated with satisfaction and usage intentions of e-resources.

We propose a system for recomputing weighting factors by the incomplete paired comparison method in the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). We present a case study in which we evaluate factors considered by farmers in deciding whether to adopt annual cash crops in a village in the central region of Cote d'Ivoire. Applying the AHP to farmers' decision-making using the complete paired comparison method (based on the total evaluation of annual cash crop preferences), only 24 of 82 farmers were able to be compared with a confidence interval (CI) of ≤0.15. And these farmers can be classified into three clusters. Applying AHP using the incomplete paired comparison method (which removes only one paired comparison result) 76 of 82 farmers were able to be compared with a CI of ≤ 0.15. And these farmers can be classified into four clusters. We conclude that the incomplete paired comparison method can enlarge sample selection and satisfy consistent criteria in the AHP and improve learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Proper utilization of health data has paramount importance for health service management. However, it is less practiced in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess routine health information utilization and identify factors associated with it among health workers in the Illubabor zone, Western Ethiopia.Methods: A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2021 with a total of 423 randomly selected health workers. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire that was developed based on the performance of routine information system management (PRISM) framework. We created composite variables for health workers' knowledge, attitude, abilities, and information utilization based on existing data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed and the statistical association between the outcome and independent variables was declared using 95% CI and a P < 0.05.Results: About two-thirds or 279 health workers (66.0%, 95% CI 61.3, 70.4) had good health information utilization. Two-thirds of health workers think organizational decision-making culture (67.1%, 95% CI 62.6, 71.5) and facility managers' or supervisors' promotion of information use (65.5%, 95% CI 60.9, 69.9) are positive. Over half of health workers (57.0%, 95% CI 52.2, 61.6) have a positive attitude toward data management, and the majority (85.8%, 95% CI 82.2, 88.9) believe they are competent of performing routine data analysis and interpretation activities. Only about two-thirds of health workers (65.5%, 95% CI 60.9, 69.9) were proficient in data analysis and interpretation.Conclusions: The use of routine health information was lower than the national target and data from other literatures. Unacceptably large number of health personnel did not use information. As a result, efforts should be made to increase health workers' data management knowledge and skills, as well as the organizational culture of data utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]