The Relationship between Users Cognitive Style and Information Seeking Behavior among Postgraduate Engineering Students

Information technology development brings a very broad impact on human life. With this Model View Controller (MVC) concept, information system development could be developed in accordance needs of the user’s information system development and be able to adapt the development in the organization. Needs of fast and precise and adaptive information system information is needed in this modern era when everything needs to be fast. Faculty of computer science (FIK) Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veterans Jakarta (UPNVJ) as one work unit under the government agency, has State-owned inventories to support all activities to carry out the Tri Dharma or the higher education pillars, especially in the field of education. The state-owned inventories or devices are available in FIK such as monitors, printers, LCD, mouse, etc. For continuity of this educational process, the state-owned inventories must be maintained. Therefore, in this research, the researchers will develop an information system to document the state-owned inventory records for helping the management of the state-owned inventories in the faculty of computer science at UPN Veteran Jakarta. The information system was built using the waterfall method and using the PHP programming language and MySQL database running on a server. This information system provides features to manage users, manage components, access system logs, access system settings, manage devices, manage the location, and access reports. The system that has been developed has also passed the eligibility assessment for all aspects of both visual communication aspects, software engineering aspects, and usability aspects.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connection between musicians’ information seeking behaviour and the creative process in music, providing a framework for understanding the role of information needs satisfaction in musical creativity. A number of studies in information science literature have been carried out attempting to model cognitive, affective, behavioural and contextual factors associated with music information seeking behaviour. However, only few studies have addressed the relationship between information seeking behaviour and musical creative activities such as composition, performance and improvisation, listening and analysis. Design/methodology/approach – The focus of this paper is to provide a framework for the study of information seeking behaviour for the purposes of satisfying musical creativity information needs, combining the theoretical basis of an established model of information behaviour developed by Wilson and the theoretical perspectives of a music creative thinking model proposed by Webster. The key features of the two models are synthesized in a unified model of information seeking behaviour for musical creativity and enriched with research findings identified in the literature of both musical information seeking and musical creativity. Findings – The proposed conceptual framework offers an integrated interpretation of the combinations of information needs, information resources and environmental/personal barriers, which enable musical creativity. In the authors’ approach “musical creativity” is treated as a musician’s aim or ambition or drive for expression and is influenced by the way musicians seek information for that purpose. Therefore, musical creativity is an intentional behaviour which acts as motivator for information seeking and is affected by the available information and the musician’s information seeking profile. The current study include three important findings: first, the design and development of music library and information services for musical creativity; second, the development of music information literacy skills for creativity; and third, the information seeking behavioural perspective for universal musical creativity, and the implications for cultural musical heritage diffusion around the world. Originality/value – An integrated information seeking behaviour model which includes musical creativity is developed through the synthesis of two already existing approaches, that of Wilson for information seeking behaviour and that of Webster for creative thinking in music. The present conceptual study presents a three stage pattern or process for modelling information seeking for musical creativity: the process initiates with the intention-motivation for creativity, then proceeds to information seeking behaviour and then concludes with the musical creativity outcomes. This is the first study that seeks to understand the relationships between creativity and information seeking behaviour.

The paper presents the results of experimental study of students’ information searching strategies on the Internet. The study was aimed to analyze the relationship between university students’ strategies of information Internet search for educational tasks and style characteristics of their cognitive activities (styles of information coding, styles of information processing and styles of cognitive regulation). The study was based on the Level model of cognitive-style characteristics (Kholodnaya, 2002). Main methods of study were experimental modelling of educational situations and testing for assessment of students’ styles of information coding, information processing and cognitive regulation. The results of experimental study allowed to identify two strategies of educational online searching (“direct online searching” and “improving online searching”) and their relationship with students’ cognitive characteristics and academic achievements: students’ strategies of educational online search are determined primarily by the characteristics of cognitive regulation. The results did not reveal a direct link between strategies educational online search and academic achievement.

The large capacity of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) with dynamic reconfigurabilities opens new possibilities in acceleration of the image synthesis. A special computing system, based on FPGA and design to implement the algorithms typically used in image synthesis, has been built at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Systems, Technical University of Szczecin (Poland). For instance, the 3DDDA algorithm has previously been used for ray tracing and implemented in a dynamic FPGA processor, called PSWO. PSWO processor provides an experimental basis for implementing procedures and algorithms applied in the image synthesis. The results of tests and simulations conducted on a large Power Challenge Computer of SGL were further verified through implementation in an actual PSWO processor. An increase of the speed from several dozen to hundred times was achieved in the test cases.

Online programming discussion forums have grown increasingly and formed sizable repositories of problem-solving solutions. In this paper, we investigate programming learners’ information seeking behaviors in online discussion forums, and provide visual navigational support to facilitate information seeking. We design engines to collect students’ information seeking behaviors, and model these behaviors with sequence pattern mining techniques. The results show that programming learners indeed seek for information from discussion forums by actively search and read progressively according to course schedule topics. Advanced students consistently perform query refinements, examine search results and commit to read, however, novices do not. Finally, according to the lessons learned, we propose, design and evaluate Personalized Information Seeking Assistant system to help query refinement by summarizing the search results and to provide social-based browsing history. Findings suggest that paying attention to the query history may lead to further reading events, which subsequently resulting in potential learning activities.

The development of information technology brings us into a new world, a world where communication plays an important role in life. A variety of facilities are provided to meet all communication needs. The Faculty of Computer Science is one of the Faculties at Pasir Pengaraian University, at the Faculty of Computer Science also provides various information about teaching staff (lecturers), lectures, teaching schedules and so on. Management of information at this time is by the archive system on file folders with a long search process. Based on these problems a special lecturer profile information system was created at the Faculty of Computer Science. In the system built this has the advantage that the search time does not require a long time and can be accessed by all parties. With this system can help all parties who need lecturer data.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine information seeking behaviour targeted to music information seeking by amateur musicians, accompanied with empirical evidence from a survey on a community concert band. While several studies in the literature have examined information seeking in the context of hedonic motives (e.g. entertainment oriented), music information can also be used for utilitarian purposes by providing amateur musicians the necessary tools to improve their skill and become better in their practice. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature on music information seeking and an empirical study on members of an amateur concert band are presented. The theoretical construct of the survey is informed by Wilsons’ macro model of information seeking behaviour. This is employed in order to understand information motives and needs, as well as obstacles in information seeking of musicians. Findings – Musicians seek information not only for entertainment but for educational purposes as well as for the acquisition of certain music works. The use of the internet for information seeking as well as the gradual adoption of online social networks has provided access to new musical resources within the digital music networks. Originality/value – A person-centred approach for information seeking behaviour is studied and adapted for musicians. The survey provides new information behaviour results for designers of music information spaces which in turn are creating a new model of the relationship between music and society.

PurposeGenerating an in-depth understanding of information needs and seeking behaviour is important both for restructuring existing agricultural information systems (ISs) and for creating new ISs. Many information seeking models have been developed over the years, most are narrowly focused on a specific role or discipline. However, no such specific model has been developed in reference to agriculture or an allied discipline. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to develop a model to explore the information seeking behaviour (ISB) of farmers.Design/methodology/approachThe model proposed in this paper is based on Wilson’s model. The theoretical insights and empirical evidences comprehended at the study were embedded into Wilson’s model to develop a model that explores the ISB of farmers. The proposed model was quantitatively evaluated using empirical data gathered through a survey of 289 farmers. Furthermore, the model was qualitatively evaluated by subject experts against criteria of simplicity, comprehensiveness, exactness, generality and clarity.FindingsThe key finding of this study is the model developed to explore the ISB of farmers. The adapted model provides theoretical and empirical bases for exploring farmers’ ISBs. Thus, the model will be useful in developing valuable design insights to apply to user-centred agricultural ISs.Originality/valueThe originality of this study relates to its demonstration of how existing models can be reconsidered and adapted based on related literature and then tested and presented as adapted models. The proposed model will be useful to promote informational studies in agriculture.

This paper investigates various information seeking behaviour demonstrated by millennial students in higher education. The impact of disruptive technology changes the students' information seeking behaviour as millennial students nowadays depend on the Internet too much to locate the information for their academic purposes. Studies also found that millennial students have difficulty in learning and were marked by uncertainty because they are facing information overload, inability to obtain and evaluate the information. Identifying and recognising appropriate information seeking processes is crucial in determining the effectiveness of the information-seeking behaviour and the quality of the information gathered in order to support their learning process and experience. Therefore, this paper focuses on the behaviour applied by these students to fulfil demands of academic compliance especially in efforts to seek research-based information. About 328 students took part in this online survey. Findings of this research use quantitative descriptive analysis. From the findings, respondents claim that they are familiar with information seeking processes with mean value is 3.63, however 30.5% respondents claim they still lacking in information seeking skills. This research provides a valuable insight regarding the information seeking behaviour of millennial students and make a recommendation that role of modern libraries should facilitated this demand by ensuring that services such as online library resources are accessible and set-up for use by the millennial students.

There has been a long history of studying library users and their information seeking behaviors and activities. Researchers developed models to better understand these information seeking behaviors and activities of users. Most of these models were developed before the onset of the Internet. This research project studied faculty members' use of and their information seeking behaviors and activities on the Internet at Angelo State University, a Master's I institution. Using both a quantitative and qualitative methodology, differences were found between tenured and tenure-track faculty members on the perceived value of the Internet to meet their research and classroom information needs. Similar differences were also found among faculty members in the broad discipline areas of the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Tenure-track faculty members reported a higher average Internet use per week than tenured faculty members. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with seven tenured and seven tenure-track faculty members, an Internet Information Seeking Activities Model was developed to describe the information seeking activities on the Internet by faculty members at Angelo State University. The model consisted of four basic stages of activities: "Gathering," "Validating," "Linking" with a sub-stage of "Re-validating," and "Monitoring." There were two parallel stages included in the model. These parallel stages were "Communicating" and "Mentoring." The Internet Information Seeking Activities Model was compared to the behavioral model of information seeking by faculty members developed by Ellis. The Internet Model placed a greater emphasis on validating information retrieved from the Internet. Otherwise there were no other substantive changes to Ellis' model.

Existing studies have presented the relationships between task characteristics and individuals» information seeking and searching behaviors. Some task characteristics are found to have predictable influences on information seeking behaviors. However, most studies took place in lab settings and focused on individuals» interactions with information systems. How a laboratory environment affects individuals» natural information seeking behaviors is open to question. This paper proposes a study investigating the differences between information seeking behaviors in a lab setting where individuals» activities and resources are controlled and in naturalistic settings where individuals have access to all types of sources.

Introduction: Digital health literacy (DHL) has recently been proposed as a means of enabling healthy decisions for protective behavior, preventive measures, and adherence with COVID-19 policies and recommendations especially in the era of the “infodemic”. This study aimed to (1) identify COVID-19 related DHL and its association with online information seeking; (2) to elucidate COVID-19 related DHL as a mediator predictor between the importance of online information search and its association with subjective well-being among Vietnamese university students.Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was used to elicit the responses of Vietnamese students over 2 consecutive weeks (from April 25 to May 9, 2020, n = 1,003, 70.1% female students, mean age 21.4 ± 3.1). The online survey questionnaire collected data on the sociodemographic characteristics of participants, DHL about COVID-19, information seeking behavior, and subjective well-being. Mediation analysis was conducted using the importance of searching COVID-19 related information as independent variables, subjective well-being as a dependent variable, and DHL as a mediator variable.Results: Among 1,003 students, the mean (SD) of DHL related to COVID-19 was 2.87 ± 0.32. In the survey, 87.2% of the students reported sufficient well-being, while almost 13% reported low or very low well-being. The findings also indicated that search engines were the most popular platform for information seeking by Vietnamese students (95.3%) and 92.8% of participants had searched for information related to the current spread of COVID-19. Not searching for hygiene regulation as part of infection control and an average level of information satisfaction were associated with limited DHL (p < 0.05). The importance of online information searching related to COVID-19 increased the subjective well-being of students significantly and limited DHL (p < 0.05). DHL was found to mediate the relationship between the importance of online information searching and the subjective well-being of students.Conclusion: The finding provides insight into DHL about COVID-19 among university students, and their ability to find, understand, appraise, and use online health related information during lockdown throughout the first COVID-19 pandemic wave. DHL should be highlighted as a mediating factor that enhances the positive effect of the importance of information seeking on psychological well-being. However, further studies are needed to better define the mediating role of DHL across other factors.

BackgroundA significant gap exists between advances in technologies in agriculture and what Ghanaian farmers practice on their farms. This paper examines rice farmers’ information seeking behaviour and the determinants of information utilization at Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of Ashanti region of Ghana.MethodsUsing a two-stage sampling technique, a total of 109 rice farmers were selected for the study. The probit model was used to examine information seeking behaviour and the determinants of information utilization.ResultsThe results showed that most of the respondents were literate and relied on interpersonal information sources. The major type of information received was on agronomic practices, and majority of the respondents utilized the information received. Respondents’ information seeking behaviour and utilization was found to be high which implied rice farmers are willing to utilize information received to improve their productivity and incomes. The results further signify that to enhance the use of information among farmers for relevant production activities such as fertilizer application, pesticide application, disease and weed control will require investments in extension services, increasing farmers’ access to education, targeting farmers with larger farm sizes, and higher rice yields. These factors have the potential to enhance information seeking and utilization for enhanced rice productivity in Ghana. Majority of the respondents are willing to pay for their preferred information needs. The constraints limiting rice farmers’ information seeking behaviour and utilization were the inadequate extension agents and lack of agricultural information services in the communities.ConclusionIt is recommended that the Government improve access to extension services by employing more extension workers to provide the necessary training support to farmers.

Introduction. Music repertoire selection is a process driven by music conductors. They focus on scoring, ensemble composition, acquisition methods (i.e., acquiring the music). Information needs and seeking are core to repertoire selection and conductors’ tasks/roles. It cannot be considered in isolation; other conductor responsibilities, past experiences, and external factors (e.g., finances) influence the process and information seeking. We report findings from an exploratory study conducted in 2023 with 37 conductors. Method. Brief literature review, triangulated with findings from a mixed-method study. A semi-structured questionnaire collected quantitative data from 37 conductors and individual online interviews collected qualitative data from two conductors. Analysis. Quantitative data revealed typical tasks requiring information, issues to consider in repertoire selection (e.g., text, ensemble capabilities), internet usage and other information seeking activities and sources. Qualitative data elaborated on factors influencing repertoire selection and information seeking e.g., repertoire inspiration and financial factors. Results &amp; discussion. Three core themes influencing information seeking are discussed: process of repertoire selection, user (individual conductor) characteristics, external factors. The repertoire selection (process) is mapped against information seeking behaviour (activities, sources), user characteristics and external factors. Conclusion. Music repertoire selection’s interdependence with other tasks of music conductors, the importance of individuality and inevitable external factors, influence information seeking.

This study aimed to determine whether cancer patients report different information-seeking behaviors (ISBs), investigate why they searched for information, and determine the relationship between their ISBs and their socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics. The authors also explored the relationship between ISB and participation in the medical decision-making process as well as the patients' health state. A sample of 4270 French cancer survivors aged 18 or older was interviewed at 2 years following diagnosis. Rather than deciding a priori who should be considered an information seeker, the authors chose to statistically define the different ISBs using cluster analysis. The authors identified 4 distinct profiles: Stereotypical high-information seekers and acquainted seekers are generally highly educated. They search for information due to their own motivation or because they are close to the medical profession. Constrained information seekers are characterized by a low socioeconomic status. They perceive themselves as "dropouts" of the health care system. Finally, the general information seekers did not systematically resort to any specific ISB. The authors show that after adjustment, belonging to a specific ISB was associated with the likelihood of participating in the medical decision-making process and, more surprisingly, with health state. A key finding of this study is that social disparities are significantly associated with the different ISBs. If these relationships are found in other samples, it would further support the need for medical teams to pay more attention to patients with lower levels of education, particularly in health care systems that have acknowledged equality as a founding principle. The clusters determined in this study offer a potential theoretical framework that can be used in future studies.