Academics ’ responses to encountered information
نویسندگان
چکیده
An increasing number of tools are being developed to help academics interact with information, but little is known about the benefits of those tools for their users. This study evaluated academics’ receptiveness to information proposed by a mobile app, the SerenA Notebook: information that is based in their inferred interests but does not relate directly to a prior recognized need. The evaluated app aimed at creating the experience of serendipitous encounters: generating ideas and inspiring thoughts, and potentially triggering follow-up actions, by providing users with suggestions related to their work and leisure interests. We studied how 20 academics interacted with messages sent by the mobile app (3 per day over ten consecutive days). Collected data sets were analyzed using thematic analysis. We found that contextual factors (location, activity and focus) strongly influenced academics’ responses to messages. Academics described some unsolicited information as interesting but irrelevant when they could not make immediate use of it. They highlighted filtering information as their major struggle rather than finding information. Some messages that were positively received acted as reminders of activities participants were meant to be doing but were postponing, or were relevant to ongoing activities at the time the information was received.
منابع مشابه
Molar incisor hypomineralisation: Discernment a group of Iranian Dental Academics
BACKGROUND AND AIM: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge of a group of Iranian academic dentists regarding incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in two dental schools in Iran. METHODS: A survey was undertaken amongst the teaching staff of the dental schools of Shiraz and Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. In the first sec...
متن کاملFactors Affecting Information Search Behavior in Purchasing an Outbound Package Tour: A Thematic Analysis
The present study seeks to examine the factors affecting information search of heads of households in purchasing an outbound package tour. A sample of 60 academics and non-academics in the field of tourism was chosen. Sampling methods were judgmental and snowball sampling. In order to gather data, we used a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was applied for data analysis, and the col...
متن کاملHow do Medical Radiation Science educators keep up with the [clinical] Joneses?
INTRODUCTION Medical radiation science (MRS) disciplines include medical imaging, radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. These allied health fields are technology driven and evolving rapidly with regard to imaging and treatment techniques within the clinical environment. This research aims to identify the activities academics are currently participating in to maintain clinical currency and off...
متن کاملA Proposal for the Establishment of Review Boards - a flexible approach to the selection of academic knowledge
An academic researcher today is faced with many of the same basic problems as those encountered be researchers 50 years ago. These include: finding the relevant work done by other academics, being able to disseminate their work to other academics and gaining the recognition due for it. The nature of these difficulties has changed – the difficulties of access and cost used to dominate academic p...
متن کاملA phenomenographic study of English faculty's conceptions of information literacy
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to identify UK English academics’ conceptions of information literacy and compare those conceptions with current information literacy standards and frameworks. Design/methodology/approach – Three year AHRB-funded study involving 80 academics interviewed throughout the UK and using the phenomenographic research method to discover variation in experience ...
متن کامل