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Seeking Information (seeking + information)
Selected AbstractsSeeking Information About Sexual Health: Applying the Theory of Motivated Information ManagementHUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 1 2006Walid A. Afifi Although considerable research attention has been devoted to studying the spread of HIV, recent attention to general sexual health has refocused attention to the far greater prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections. One way we might help control the spread of these infections is by better understanding the information management process as it relates to sexual health. Toward that effort, this investigation offers an empirical test of the Theory of Motivated Information Management (W. A. Afifi & Weiner, 2004), applying it to college students' search for target-related sexual health information. The results contribute to our understanding of information-seeking processes, offer mixed results regarding the theory's utility in this context, and show an association between information seeking and safer-sex behavior. [source] Gender differences in jail inmates' symptoms of mental illness, treatment history and treatment seeking,CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2009Amy L. Drapalski Background,Rates of mental illness among prisoners are substantial, but little is known about the unique mental health needs of women in jail, those under pre-trial custodial remand or serving short sentences. Aims,To compare male and female jail inmates along a wide range of symptoms of mental illness using identical assessment methods, and to examine gender differences in treatment seeking before and during incarceration. Methods,Soon after incarceration in a county jail, 360 male and 154 female pre-trial and post-trial inmates completed the Personality Assessment Inventory, a wide-ranging measure of psychiatric symptoms. Treatment seeking information was taken from official jail records. Results,Women were more likely to report clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, borderline personality features, somatic concerns and trauma-related symptoms; however, trauma-related symptoms and borderline features were also common among male inmates. Although both men and women reported high rates of drug-related problems, alcohol-related problems were twice as prevalent among male inmates. Female inmates were more likely to seek and be enrolled in jail-based treatment; there were no differences in reported help seeking prior to incarceration. Conclusions,Female jail inmates are especially in need of mental health services. Effective interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder are needed in jail settings for both male and female inmates during incarceration and upon release. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Injecting risk behaviour and related harm among men who use performance- and image-enhancing drugsDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 6 2008BRIONY LARANCE Abstract Introduction and Aims. Performance- and image-enhancing drugs have the potential to be a significant public health issue. Detailed data on PIEDs injection are difficult to obtain because of the illicit and unsupervised way in which many PIEDs are used, and the hidden nature of the group. Our study examines the patterns of use, risk behaviours and related harm associated with PIEDs injection. We also report the ways in which PIEDs users currently seek injecting equipment and harm-reduction advice. Design and Method. Data were obtained via a structured questionnaire administered in face-to-face interviews with 60 men who used PIEDs (primarily anabolic androgenic steroids) for non-medical purposes. Results. Although the rates of needle sharing were low (5%), the men more frequently reported re-use of needles/equipment, injecting from a shared container (bladders, vials, etc.), injecting other illicit drugs, injecting insulin and targeting small muscle groups. Self-reports of being hepatitis C antibody positive were associated with lifetime use of heroin and injection of other illicit drugs. All HIV positive participants were gay/bisexual men. Participants reported a range of other injection-related injuries and diseases such as fevers, scarring and abscesses. ,Risky' injectors (38% of participants) were more likely to initiate PIEDs use at a younger age, use PIEDs in a larger number of cycles per year and report involvement in a violent/aggressive incident than ,low risk' injectors and report involvement in a violent/aggressive incident than ,low risk' injectors. Participants mainly reported seeking information about PIEDs from internet sites (62%) and friends (55%). Conclusions. An over-reliance on personal networks and internet forums limits this groups' access to objective harm reduction advice and primary care services. Targeted, PIEDs-specific interventions are needed. [source] New Mexico's 1998 drive-up liquor window closure.ADDICTION, Issue 5 2004Study II: economic impact on owners ABSTRACT Aims This study examined the economic impact of the New Mexico legislative action closing drive-up liquor windows on the retail establishments that operated them. Design A telephone survey was conducted 20 months after the closure seeking information and owners' opinions about how their outlets had changed since the closure and how this affected their business. In addition, 2 years of aggregated pre- and post-closure total gross receipts revenues were obtained from the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, with convenience stores as a comparison group. Findings Interviews were completed for 149 of 220 establishments. Over one-quarter of former drive-up liquor windows (28%) had been converted to ,step-in' sales, defined as an outside door where customers can stop and enter the premises while their car is running. Almost two-thirds (61%) of owners reported decreased annual gross revenues following closure, with a reported average 15% reduction in alcohol sales. This is consistent with findings of decreased gross receipts for operators of non-urban, but not urban, drive-up liquor windows compared to convenience store gross receipts. Almost three-quarters (72%) of those surveyed would re-open the drive-up window if the law were rescinded. Conclusion Over one-quarter of the drive-up owners converted to step-in alcohol sales that still allow a form of drive-up liquor sales. Despite this, the forced closure of New Mexico's drive-up liquor windows negatively impacted total sales and liquor sales revenues of establishments that operated them. [source] Learning from research on the information behaviour of healthcare professionals: a review of the literature 2004,2008 with a focus on emotionHEALTH INFORMATION & LIBRARIES JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009Ina Fourie Objective:, A review, focusing on emotion, was conducted of reported studies on the information behaviour of healthcare professionals (2004,2008). Findings were intended to offer guidelines on information services and information literacy training, to note gaps in research and to raise research interest. Method:, Databases were searched for literature published from January 2004 to December 2008 and indexed on eric, Library and Information Science Abstracts, medline, PsycINFO, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition; Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts; Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection; Social Work Abstracts; SocINDEX with Full Text; SPORTDiscus; cinhal; and the ISI Web of Knowledge databases. Key journals were manually scanned and citations followed. Literature was included if reporting on issues concerning emotion. Results:, Emotion in information behaviour in healthcare contexts is scantily addressed. This review, however, offers some insight into the difficulty in identifying and expressing information needs; sense making and the need to fill knowledge gaps; uncertainty; personality and coping skills; motivation to seeking information; emotional experiences during information seeking; self-confidence and attitude; emotional factors in the selection of information channels; and seeking information for psychological or emotional reasons. Conclusion:, Suggestions following findings, address information literacy programs, information services and research gaps. [source] Perceived Risk and Efficacy Beliefs as Motivators of ChangeHUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 3 2003Use of the Risk Perception Attitude (RPA) Framework to Understand Health Behaviors Evidence of a direct correlation between risk perception and self-protective behavior is ambiguous at best. Witte's (1992, 1994) extended parallel process model (EPPM) explains many contradictory findings by pointing out the moderating role played by efficacy beliefs. Working from the EPPM, this article introduces the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework that categorizes individuals into one of four attitudinal groups: responsive (high risk, high efficacy), avoidance (high risk, low efficacy), proactive (low risk, high efficacy), and indifference (low risk, low efficacy). We conducted two studies to test our hypotheses that these groups differ in their self-protective motivation, intention to seek information, behavioral intention, knowledge acquisition, and time spent seeking information. Results, though not entirely consistent, suggest that, when risk and efficacy are made salient (Study 1), people's risk perception guides most of their subsequent actions, but in a natural context (Study 2), risk and efficacy jointly affect subsequent action. [source] Risk news in the world of Internet newsgroupsJOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 1 2001Kay Richardson The coming of the Internet has provided those who are able to benefit from it new ways of giving and seeking information. These new contexts of communication include newsgroups, very much a text-based form of interaction with little visual enhancement. In the new era of ,risk society' (Beck 1992) people make use of newsgroups to talk about the risks which now confront the world, in their pursuit of trustworthy information and informants. Using the affair of Mad Cow Disease (BSE), with particular reference to the crisis in 1996, this article explores the dynamics of news exchange via the newsgroups as a process which is Interactive, International, Interested and Intertextual. These characteristics result in a form of discourse through which participants engage in the interpersonal social construction of risk. The credibility of the proposition that BSE poses a health risk to humans is the focus of their discussions: they are concerned with the nature of the evidence for that proposition and with the reliability of the sources responsible for endorsing it. [source] The role of information in a community of hobbyist collectorsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Charlotte P. Lee This article marries the study of serious leisure pursuits with library and information science's (LIS) interest in people's everyday use, need, seeking, and sharing of information. Using a qualitative approach, the role of information as a phenomenon was examined in relation to the leisure activity of hobbyist collecting. In the process, a model and a typology for these collectors were developed. We find that the information needs and information seeking of hobbyist collectors is best represented as an interrelationship between information and object needs, information sources, and interactions between collectors and their publics. Our model of the role of information in a particular domain of hobbyist collecting moves away from the idea of one individual seeking information from formal systems and shifts towards a model that takes seriously the social milieu of a community. This collecting community represents a layer of a social system with complex interactions and specialized information needs that vary across collector types. Only the serious collectors habitually engage in information seeking and, occasionally, in information dissemination, in the traditional sense, yet information flows through the community and serves as a critical resource for sustaining individual and communal collecting activities. [source] Parents' experiences of asthma: Process from chaos to copingNURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 2 2004Anne Trollvik MPH Abstract The aim of the present qualitative study was to describe nine parents' everyday experiences of living with a child suffering from asthma. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews and phenomenological content analysis. Four main themes emerged: feelings of uncertainty, helplessness and guilt; the need for support and help from healthcare professionals; adaptation to everyday life; and the development of coping strategies. In addition, two subthemes; trying out and seeking information, emerged. Trying out was found to be an important strategy for parents in managing the illness. In encounters with healthcare professionals, parents felt that they were not respected and that their competence was questioned. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of a mutual dialogue between healthcare professionals and parents to enable the parents to develop the competence necessary to care for their child. [source] Factors Affecting Satisfaction Levels of Japanese Volunteers in Meal Delivery Services for the ElderlyPUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 5 2008Hisayo Yanagisawa ABSTRACT Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting satisfaction with volunteer work of participants in a meal delivery service for the elderly. Design: A cross-sectional study with a self-administered survey was carried out. Sample: Of 364 volunteers assisting with a meal delivery service for the elderly in rural towns A (80), B (159), and C (125), 247 responded (response rate: 68%). Method: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was administered seeking information about basic attributes, sense of satisfaction with volunteer work, and working circumstances such as human relationships with fellow volunteers, meal service users or professional staff members, opportunities for meetings or workshop, publicity through public relations magazines, and the like. Results: In multivariate logistic analysis, the sense of satisfaction of volunteers was closely associated with human relations among volunteers (odds ratio [OR] 5.15, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.84,14.40, p<.01), meal service users (OR 3.84, 95% CI 1.37,10.77, p<.05), and professional staff members supervising the meal delivery service (OR 3.53, 95% CI 1.27,9.84, p<.05). Human relations were also affected by the emphasis on communication, consultation with supervisory staff members, having opportunities for meetings, having friends with whom to confer, and publicity through public relations magazines. Conclusion: Satisfaction levels of volunteers in meal delivery services for the elderly were most affected by human relations with fellow volunteers, meal service users, and professional staff members. Increasing opportunities for communication may be important to promote good human relationships among volunteers and volunteer activities. [source] Sharing obstetric care: barriers to integrated systems of careAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 4 2000WENDY DAWSON Objectives: To map the provision of shared obstetric care in Victoria, and investigate the views of care providers about the ways in which current practice could be improved. Method: All Victorian public hospitals with <300 births per annum and a purposive sample of hospitals with <300 births per annum were mailed a questionnaire seeking information about current practice. Interviews with key informants (n = 32) were conducted at four case study sites. Results: The response rate to the hospital survey was 98% (42/43). Fourteen different models of shared care were identified. Two,thirds of hospitals with <300 births per annum (16/28) had three or more different models of shared care. Six hospitals (15%) had written guidelines for all models of shared care offered; 13 (32%) had written guidelines covering some models. Practice varied considerably in relation to: exclusion criteria, recommended schedule of visits and use of patient,held records. There was little consensus about the content of visits and responsibility fa covering particular aspects of care. Few hospitals (6/42) had written information for women about shared care. Care providers expressed divergent views regarding the question of where ultimate responsibility lies for individual patient care and for the overall management of shared care. Conclusions: Current funding arrangements provide strong incentives to expand enrolment in shared obstetric care. Expansion of shared care has occurred without the development of formal, consultative and agreed arrangements between providers, or adequate provision for monitoring, evaluation and review. The variety, complexity and fluidity of models of shared care and lack of agreed procedures contribute to difficulties experienced by both providers and women participating in shared care. Implications: Detailed evidence,based agreed guidelines developed in consultation with hospital and community providers, and provision of improved information to women about what to expect in shared care arrangements are urgently required. [source] Recent veterinary graduates over the last five decades: recollections and perceptionsAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 11 2005TJ HEATH Objective To describe the attitudes of veterinary graduates over the last 50 years to their experiences as recent graduates Design A questionnaire, sent by mail. Procedure A questionnaire seeking information on experiences as a recent graduate was sent to about 100 veterinarians who graduated in or about 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000, and 68% responded. Data were entered onto an Excel spreadsheet, and analysed with the SAS System 8 for Windows. Results Most veterinarians who graduated in 1970 and earlier were generally satisfied with their conditions, even though these were often taxing. In the 1970s the cattle industry faltered and rural practice suffered a downturn. Veterinary positions became scarce, and there were few opportunities for graduates to move on from an unsatisfactory workplace - as many were at that time. By 1980 many recent graduates were questioning their decision to study veterinary science. Many of them, working long hours under often stressful conditions, felt that that they were not receiving adequate help or support - or remuneration - from their employers, or respect from their clients. This also afflicted many who graduated in 1990, but by 2000 graduates were reporting an improvement. Their hours of work and the expectations placed on them were more manageable, and the level of help and support, and remuneration, were more acceptable. As a result they found their first year much more enjoyable than had those who had graduated since about 1970. Many of the factors contributing to this improvement resulted from changes in society generally. Specifically, both graduates and employers have become more conscious of what might reasonably be expected, an Award specified minimum levels, the AVA started accrediting New Graduate Friendly Practices, publishing a most informative New Graduate Guide, and helping in other ways. Remuneration, especially when compared with comparable professions, continues to be a source of discontent. Furthermore, despite improved conditions on average, many graduates still suffer under substandard conditions, and these can have an adverse effect on their health and their attitude to their career in veterinary science. Conclusions Average conditions of employment of recent veterinary graduates have improved somewhat after a nadir in the 1970s and 1980s, but they are still substandard for some. Remuneration remains the greatest source of dissatisfaction for recent graduates. [source] | ||||||||||||||||