Information Studies

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Information Behavior

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    Toward a new understanding of immigrant information behavior: A survey study on information access and information overload among US Black diasporic immigrants
    (Emerald Group Publishing, 2020-02-18) Ndumu, Ana
    Purpose Immigration dominates much of the current US sociopolitical discourse. The research on US-based immigrant information behavior, however, remains scant. To understand the role of information in immigration, this study explores information overload among Black immigrants in the US. Design/methodology/approach The researcher developed a literature-derived information overload scale to investigate participants' information access along with experiences and response to information overload. Findings Results suggest that participants experience information overload due to behavioral (e.g. the demands of needing, seeking, or using information), quantitative (i.e. volume or length), and qualitative (e.g. authority, diversity, or urgency) indicators. Most participants mitigate information overload by turning to intermediaries and filtering resources. Research limitations/implications The information overload scale can advance knowledge of the role of information in immigrant acculturative stress. Social implications LIS researchers and practitioners can utilize findings to foster social inclusion and well-being among immigrants. Originality/value Scholarship on immigrant information behavior must reflect the centrality of information in migration and how it shapes integration and acculturation.
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    Linkages between information overload and acculturative stress: The case of Black diasporic immigrants in the US
    (SAGE Publications, 2019-07-07) Ndumu, Ana
    This study examines the information behavior of Black immigrants in the United States and specifically investigates possible linkages between information overload and acculturative stress. Focus groups were conducted with African, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latinx immigrants in Florida. When analyzed according to Jaeger and Burnett’s theory of information worlds (Burnett and Jaeger, 2011; Jaeger and Burnett, 2010), the data supports that participants experience information overload as a result of the voluminous and dispersed nature of information in the US; perceptions of belonging and transnationality; and undertaking high-stakes tasks such as immigration procedures, finding employment, and understanding cultural norms. Participants felt that the large, stratified, and complex US information landscape can prompt stress. Since information overload poses a barrier to immigrant social inclusion, it can be interpreted as acculturative stress.
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    Information at the Nexus: Young People’s Perceptions of Government and Government Websites
    (2015) Taylor, Natalie; Subramaniam, Mega; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This dissertation focuses on the perceptions that young people have of federal government websites and of the U.S. government, as well as exploring possible connections between the perceptions of government and government websites. Not only is this a virtually unstudied area of e-government and youth information behavior, but it is also of critical importance as e-government becomes increasingly necessary to Americans’ everyday lives. The case study included 37 youth across four middle-schools in the mid-Atlantic U.S. who all participated in an after-school program at which they met once per week for 10-12 weeks to research a health topic of interest. During these sessions, they participated in several data collection activities, including an interview, a survey, a word association activity, an evaluation of the homepage of a government website, and card-sorting. The study also included over 60 hours of participant observation. The study finds that while participants were slightly more likely to have a negative perception of government than to have a positive one, the majority of participants viewed e-government favorably. Perceptions were based on a variety of factors, though perceptions of government were most commonly made through assessments of policy, while perceptions of e-government most commonly focused on the source of the information (i.e. the government). Perhaps most significantly, while there was no overwhelming connection between overall perceptions of government and e-government, participants’ views of information-related policies frequently were raised during discussions about both government and e-government. More specifically, participants focused on such issues as government secrecy, surveillance, and the security of websites against hackers when evaluating government and e-government. Overall, these findings shed light on the opinions of an understudied population in e-government research, offer insight into political socialization as it relates to government information, and inform both policy-makers and educators on how to best disseminate government websites to youth.